Stretch of the Week: Head to Knee Forward Fold
This week’s stretch is called head to knee forward fold. Don’t let the name fool you! It can take years to actually get the forehead to the knee WITHOUT rounding in the back. Just do your best and be happy with where you are in it today 🙂 This stretch is great for calming the mind, relieving mild depression/anxiety, simulating the liver/kidneys and also helps to improve digestion just to name a few benefits!
Stretch of the Week: Hamstring Stretch Part II
Keeping with our theme of stretching the hamstrings for this month, I give you wide angle seated forward fold! Things you might need for this stretch: a blanket/towel and possibly a block, or something to rest the hands on as shown in the photo.
Stretch of the Week: Hamstring Stretches
Welcome to the stretch of the week blog! This weekly blog is intended to expose you to different stretches that will help make the body more functional and to help reduce pain, which will hopefully help you live a happier healthier life! These stretches will have a yoga origin. (more…)
How Physical Therapy Can Help Back Pain
The back is designed to protect the spinal cord. However, it is also like a set of stackable blocks with bones that connect and run from the base of the head, to the bottom of our tailbone. Those stackable blocks keep us erect/upright, maintain posture, absorb shock and provide a stable base for our arms and legs to attach to for everyday movement. There are three sections of the spine: (more…)
PostPartum Back Pain: How to Get Relief
You’ve made it through the 9 months of pregnancy and now you can interact with your adorable little one face to face!
With all the time spent snuggling, rocking, carrying, and feeding your infant, your back is feeling tense and sore. Wait! This is not how you imagined this special time would be!
Caring for an infant creates new stresses on your lower and upper back. You now are carrying your little one frequently during the day in your arms or perhaps in their infant car seat. To soothe your baby, you may be standing and rocking or bouncing them for an extended period. You bend over frequently to pick them up from the crib or change their diapers. Even feeding them for an extended time puts stress on your upper back.
What can you do about it now? (more…)
A Twist on Fall Fitness: Helpful Resources for Some Family Friendly Fun
Fall is one of my favorite seasons as I love the vibrant colors and the more comfortable temperatures. It is also a great time to be active so below are some family friendly activities to consider taking part in this fall. If by chance we don’t mention one of your favorites be sure to take a second to share your fall activity idea below so we can all add it to our list of possibilities. (more…)
7 Signs You May Need a Massage
We all know that massage therapy feels good and is a healthy reward for our overworked bodies. But, how do you know when you need a massage? I have provided a little cheat sheet for you below. (more…)
America’s Growing Epidemic: Text Neck
Take a look at any group of people and you will, without fail, see a few of them with their cell phones out, heads lowered, and shoulders rolled forward – temporarily hunchbacked because of an incoming text. Any physical therapist, athletic trainer, or physician can tell you that that type of posture (text neck) can lead to a wide range of injuries in the neck, back, shoulders, and arms. Now I’m not advocating abandoning texting and moving to a Bluetooth headset-only society/dystopia. I’m also not saying we should eschew cell phones like a grizzled hermit, angrily shaking our fists at anything that plugs in. I just want you to be aware of what you’re predisposing yourself to and what you can do to help counteract the effects of text-neck. So here are a couple of key things to think about the next time you pull out your cell phone. (more…)
Featured Health Resource
