Core Strength & Back Pain You may be surprised how frequently issues with the neck and back actually stem from issues with core strength. Your core refers to the muscles that make up your torso, including your abdomen. These muscles are called the core because they are at the center of your body, and they are necessary in just about every action that you engage in. Everything from walking and running and swimming to sitting and driving require you to engage your core.
Sometimes, when your core is weak, it can cause you to experience added pressure on areas like your neck and back. There are a lot of ways that working with a physical therapist can help you improve your core strength. You may be encouraged to practice core exercises, for example, which may include abdominal crunches or leg lifts. Light weight-training activities are also frequently helpful, as are balance-based activities like yoga. If you haven’t spent much time building core strength in the past, then working with a physical therapist is a great place to start. Your physical therapist will guide you through proper postures and movements to reduce further risk of injury. For more information about how to start improving your core, contact us at 610-544-8500.
There are a lot of reasons to improve core strength outside of any existing neck or back pain. When you improve your core, you are likely to also improve your posture and thereby reduce your risk of developing further back pain in the future. Furthermore, the exercise that helps to improve core strength is often helpful in promoting weight loss, and for those who are overweight, this could also help reduce pain in the neck and the back.
Try this movement if you are experiencing back or neck pain Exercise Essential
The Critic Corner GREEN BOOK
Strengthens Back & Spine
The film Green Book is a dramatization of the real-life friendship formedbetween Dr. Don Shirley—a Jamaican-American world-classpianist—andTonyVallelonga, an Italian-American night club bouncer from New York City, who Shirley hires to be his personal driver and bodyguard during a concert tour that takes him through the Jim Crow South. Ienjoyed it,despite itsflaws innotbeing accurate to theactualeventsof the time. The story is told through a lens of Tony Vallelonga’s son via the stories from his father. It was funny in the right places, touching in the right places, and even serves as a time transport to a salient past inourcountry’shistory.GreenBook provides something of a starting point for all of us to learn from and grow. Thisfilm isworthseeing foreveryone. It isa funmovie toseeasabuddy-pic ifyou are looking fora feel-goodmovie for the weekend. It is worth seeing simply for Mahershala Ali and his brilliance as an
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PRONE ALTERNATE ARM & LEG LIFT Lying flat on your stomach, slowly raise your right leg and left arm off of the ground. Keep your arms and legs straight. Inhale while lifting up. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Exhale while setting down. Repeat using the opposite arm and leg. Alternate 3 times on each side.
actorand forViggoMortensen’samazing tough-guy act. I love movies that bring back the look and feel of a particular time and place. Green Book does a wonderful job of taking a snapshot of the 60’s through its’ dress, speak, feel, landscapes, cars, storefronts, relationships and growth duringa tumultuous time inourcountries history.
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-Ryan Mullin RATING:
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