Northern Physical Therapy Newsletter by Northern Physical Therapy VT
Newsletter
“This Part Of The Body Helps Relieve Back Pain!” BUILD A STRONG CORE TO RELIEVE BACK PAIN Do you want to target your core? One of the first actions a physical therapist does is to evaluate your core strength, flexibility and coordination. This can pinpoint the root cause of your back pain. Then with hands on therapy, the spinal joints can be freed up to move like they should and specific exercises are prescribed to restore your core strength. Find out for yourself, what is truly causing your nagging back pain. After all, if you let it go on, it can get a lot worse, or even cause long-term damage such as arthritis. Call us today about your problem and discuss the right solution with one of our physical therapists. (continued inside)
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“Life Is Better Without Pain!” BUILD A STRONG CORE TO RELIEVE BACK PAIN
Ben McCormack, PT, CEO
“The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.” —Anonymous Quote of The Month:
If you suffer from an aching back or even neck pain, weakness in your core muscles can be to blame. Do you have to sit for long periods at a computer, in the car, or are you just not that active anymore? All these positions can lead your core muscles to become weak. Even if you exercise regularly, unless you target your core muscles, you can cause an imbalance in your muscle strength, straining your back and putting you at risk for injury. A prime example of how important core muscle strength is to protect against back pain was shown
in a study with 443 firefighters that were put through corestrengthening routines.Overa12monthperiod, those firefighters had 62% less injuries than the group who did no core strengthening exercises. When your core is strong, it means your spine is better protected against injury when you twist, lift or strain your body doing an activity. Bliven, Kellie C. Huxel, and Barton Anderson E. “Core Stability Training for InjuryPrevention.”SportsHealth.SAGEPublications, Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
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“Work On Your Core To Relieve Pain Correctly.” 4 CORE ACTIVATION TIPS
1. Strengthening Perform specific strengthening exercises that engage all the layers of your abdominal wall, pelvic muscles and spinal muscles. Lying on your back, place your hands on your lower abdomen. Try to activate the transverse abdominis muscles beneath your hands drawing the muscles together towards your belly button. Keep breathing while you do this and hold for 10 second counts. Repeat 10 times and do 3-4 times a day, even while you stand! 2. Balance While keeping your abdomen tight in standing, try to stand on one foot. Stand close to a wall so you can keep your hand on it. Hold for 10 seconds each foot and repeat 5 times a day. Enhancing your balance engages the nerves that control the core muscles, helping everything work together.
3. Move Avoid sitting for prolonged periods and if you have to work, then break up the day with standing for 1-2 minute periods every 30 minutes. Keep working on tightening up your abdominal muscles in sitting, standing and lying down. Walk for 15-30 minutes a day, focusing on your posture and abdominal muscles. 4. After pregnancy Pregnancy severely stretches out the abdominal wall and many women can suffer from a condition called diastasis recti. Carefully strengthening your core muscles is essential for long term spinal rehabilitation after child birth. Talk to one of our physical therapists today about having a complete recovery, even years after your last pregnancy.
Strengthens The Core
PRAYER STRETCH - LATERAL While on your hands and knees in a crawl position, slowly loweryourbuttocks towardsyour feet.Also, loweryourchest towards the floor as you reach out towards the side. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 6 times.
January 31st is National Hot Chocolate Day Enjoy A Cup of Happiness!
Why Northern PT By Nic Tremblay, PTA
If you’re looking for the holy grail of healing well…you’ve kinda found it! The reality is that it’s not a singular moment where you drink from a magic cup and receive its ethereal healing power, circa Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. It is, in fact, a series of moments. More specifically, the decisions made in said moments. Confused? Don’t be! Choose to follow me to the next paragraph and all will be revealed… Gladyouchose to joinmehere!Physical therapy isonemediumofhealing.Others includeoccupational therapy,speech languagepathology,psychotherapy,music andart therapy,aswellasapproaches likeguidedmeditationandaromatherapy. While these all have their merits, they share an Achilles heel. Each of them requires consistency. The moment you choose to say “no” instead of “YES” to healing is the moment it stops working for you. Wishful thinking can only take one so far because the devil is in the details. The first thing that needs to be done, when trying to achieve a goal, is to make a plan. Without a guide, you have no path to reach your destination. It’s like trying to navigate through unfamiliar woods. You’re bound to lose your way and then all is lost (and so are you!) Okay, now you have a plan to set in motion. The first few times you participate in this (exercise, meditation, mantras, etc) you’re typically filled with enthusiasm and vigor. This can often be fleeting and if you chose to allow this feeling to be your only motivator then plan participation can wane as quickly as your excitement does. This is why you need accountability-based habits by forming routines that you or someone close to you can hold you to! This can be as simple as having someone you live or work with be your accountability partner that monitors how consistently you participate in your plan. This can also be done in the form of a daily checklist that will reveal any times you neglected to stick to your routine. The inverse of this (being consistent with your plan) can also result in a sense of personal satisfaction with positive feedback from your accountability partner or a very neat and tidy checklist with no missed routines! The last subject of this article and the endgame of the plan is having a goal. I firmlybelieve thateveryoneneedsagoal insomecapacityeverydayof their lives… even something as simple as getting through the day without a meltdown! It’s this forward-moving approach that is the crux of every successful person’s life. What is intimidating about this idea is how far away and unachievable it might seem at the beginning. This is why it’s important to have what I call progress goals while working toward your end goal. These are small “checkpoints” that can be achieved along the way to your ultimate success. Let’s say you had a total knee replacement and you want to get back to your daily five mile walks. Now, with most total knee replacements, that’s a lot of ground to cover (literally) and if you are ONLY focused on the end result any progress you make in the meantime may seem insignificant or even go unnoticed. Some checkpoints could be regaining 90 degrees of knee flexion (eventually wanting to reach 120 degrees) or be able to push X amount of weight on the leg press machine. These are milestone in strength and mobility that are necessary to reach the ultimate five-mile-walk-a-day achievement. So, goal-oriented thinking is great but being able to stick to the plan, forming healthy and productive habits, and staying motivated are all crucial elements when being an active participant in your healing. Recruiting those close to you can help you on your journey and make the process more engaging with them celebrating in your success (even if they make you crazy in the process!). Remember,saying “yes!” tohealing is thefirststep toahealthierandhappier life!
What is it about hot chocolate that makes us feel so good? Aside from itsability toelicitnostalgicfeelings of a “warm snuggle in a cup”, it is also good for you. Chocolate, and particularly dark chocolate, contains many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and biochemical compounds – all of which give our body a satisfying health boost. It decreases risks of heart disease,
Come Back In For A Consultation Whether you want to come in for a check-up, suffered a recent injury or you want to improve your health, you can choose the physical therapy practice you want! Come back to Northern Physical Therapy for a consultation today! lowers blood pressure, and increases the microcirculation in your skin (thus warming you). Chemical compounds in chocolate trigger the brain to release endorphins and serotonin which induce feelings of calmness, and reduce pain and stress. But a good cup of cocoa also has a lot of calories so enjoy in moderation. Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa • 2 oz. quality dark chocolate (or to taste) • 1 C milk • 1 tsp brown sugar • 1 T heavy whipping cream • 1 pinch cinnamon Heat milk to just before boiling. Add brown sugar and stir till dissolved. Stir in dark chocolate till melted. Stir in whipping cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. See our physical therapists for: • Recent injury • Nagging aches and pains • Back and neck pain • Joint pain and movement problems • Walking or balance difficulties CALL TODAY! (802) 626-4224
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