3 Headed Monster Cure For Lower Back Pain

Hi everyone. Today I wanted to briefly discuss lower back pain.

Did you know that 3.1 million americans experience lower back pain at any given time?And that one half of all working americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year?

Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctors office, out numbered only by upper respiratory infections. Most back cases are mechanical or non organic, meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer. Experts estimate that as many as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in our lives.

So now that I’ve given you some facts, here is a little advice on how you can prevent this from happening to you. And, if you are currently one of the statistics, some advice on how you can manage your back pain. I am going to do a brief breakdown of what I call the 3 headed monster approach to back pain relief.

Flexibility, Core & Functional Strength. 

 When people come to us with lower back pain, we find that they try to address their problem by only using one of the 3 heads of the monster we call back pain. They try some flexibility or core or strength, but never the three combined. There needs to be an integrated approach to tame the monster. You see, if you only do one of the three, you just prolong the inevitable and the back pain will return, I promise you. So, today we will talk brief on flexibility.

 We will start with the role of hamstring flexibility on lower back pain. This is often overlooked, and many people spend time stretching their lower back, but neglect to incorporate the surrounding muscle structures that support the hips and lower back. Your hamstrings attach from your knee to your ishium (your butt bone). Therefore, when your hamstrings are tight, they can pull on your ishium which then pulls on your lower back, flattening it. This takes out the natural inward curve, which we know can be harmful to your lower back.

Now, let’s move on to some other key muscles that need to be addressed in order to create relief on your lower back. 

Your hip flexor muscle attaches from your hip and part of it attaches to the vertebrae in your lower back. Therefore, when your hip flexor muscles are tight, they can pull your lower back into more of an arched position, placing additional strain on it. Your hip flexor is a deep muscle in the front of your hip, and when it is tight it can cause a hip flexor injury.

Your quadricep muscle attaches from your knee and part of it attaches to the ASIS (anterior superior iliac spine). The ASIS is that bone in the front of your hip that sticks out. Therefore, when your hip flexor muscles are tight, they can pull your iliac bone which then pulls your lower back into more of an arched position, placing additional strain on it. Your quadricep muscle is also known as your thigh muscle.

Your piriformis muscle attaches from your hip to your sacrum (base of your back). Therefore, when your piriformis muscle is tight, it can pull on your sacrum, which then pulls on your lower back, placing additional strain on it. Your piriformis is a deep muscle in your buttock region. Therefore, it can literally be a big pain in the butt!

So, as you can see, there are a lot of muscles that need to have proper length tension relationships to their opposing muscle groups. If not, you end up with imbalance, or improper and unwanted tension on muscles that contribute to the pull on the pelvis which increases the stress to the lower back.

So, it is not enough to just stretch, but to stretch the right muscles needed to alleviate the stress or tension on the lower back. Earlier I spoke of the the 3 headed approach. Now it may start to become clear why core strength and functional strength are a must.

In order to stretch the muscles properly, your core has to be strong enough to stabilize the spine. Keep in mind that any imbalances increase the tension wires, creating a greater demand on the core to stabilize and protect the lower back. Now, without functional strength, the surrounding structures cannot do their part to support the core. This is why, in order to combat low back pain, an integrated approach must be taken. I hope you find this informative and stay tuned for my next blog, where I will go over how to stretch these muscles properly.

Portion Control (Who Can Resist It)

20 Yrs Ago
 2 Slices = 500 Calories
Today 850 Calories

Portion control. It sounds like an easy concept, but what I have come to find out is most don’t really understand what a portion is, or what it should look like. And I bet if you were to go to a restaurant that actually gave you true portions, you would leave that place, hungry and upset saying “boy the portions were small!”. It is not that the portions are small, but more that we as a society have gotten accustomed to portions that have been blown way out of proportion!

 You would be hard pressed to find any place that does not feed us in excess.

 Not sure when this happened, but what I do know is that the obesity rate continues to rise, heart disease and diabetes is running rampant and childhood obesity is nearly an epidemic. Now, the reason I bring this up is that I very rarely frequent fast food places, but recently my family went away for the weekend and I was left to fend for my own meals. 

So I decided to go to a local pizzeria and order a small calzone. Now I know you may be thinking, “Frank you are a personal trainer... what are you doing eating that?” Well, I am human, and every once in a while I run with scissors and get something that may not be the best thing for me! So anyway, after about 20 minutes the waitress came with my meal and, much to my surprise, she placed in front of me a monster calzone! I could not believe the size of it! This thing could have fed my entire family! Well, I dug right in and before I knew it, I found myself halfway through the meal and it hit me...I was full but I had not stopped eating.I felt full but kept eating more. Not because I was hungry, but because it was there.

 And then the light bulb went on. I realized at that moment  that this is what most people do.They finish it just because it’s there. We have simply become so accustomed to these jumbo size meals, that when we sit down to eat, we just go on auto pilot and keep eating until it’s all gone. So, I want to give you a simple tip. The next time you find yourself in a fast food place. Stay away from those wasteful calories found in soft drinks.

Order yourself water instead and a fresh side salad to accompany your meal. Try to finish your water and your salad first, then ask the waiter  for a ‘to-go’ container and split your meal in half. Or make the portions the size of the palm of your hand and take the rest home for another days meal. 

Remember, your portion should be the size of your fist. Now, you might say “well, I have small hands”. Well, that may be true but remember... we are eating to sustain ourselves, not stuff ourselves!  

In closing, portion control should be 

thought of as controlled discipline, because that is what it will take if you plan to eat out on a frequent basis. Here are what your portions SHOULD look like: Now Bon Appetit.

It's Snow Joke

The weather outside is frightful...that’s right folks! It’s that time of year when the temperature drops below zero and those lovely snow flakes begin to fall.

This is a beautiful time of year, and usually a happy one for most, but for others it’s not. You see, the holiday season brings with it snow, which for some equals a trip to the emergency room. Aside from the number of people who injure their backs shoveling, the bigger concern is heart attacks. 

 Did you know that shoveling snow is a strenuous activity that should not be taken lightly? Persons with high cholesterol should be extremely cautious if they must shovel snow.

I read recently that some 72,000 emergency room visits each year are associated with snow-removal injuries. And even more alarming, as little as an inch of snowfall and temperatures below 20 degrees can cause the death rate to triple among men 35 to 49 years old.

Doctors have long known that cold weather in general is hard on the heart and cardiovascular system. Blood pressure can rise as vessels narrow to conserve the body’s heat. This forces your heart to work harder to get blood to your extremities. Blood also clots more easily when it’s cold. This can be particularly dangerous if you have a small plaque rupture in a heart vessel wall (and some of us have them frequently but just don’t know it).

In addition, any challenging physical activity that you haven’t trained for is perceived by your body as stress, and that spurs the release of blood-thickening and vessel-constricting adrenalines. The amount of adrenaline that is released depends on your physical fitness level, however. The more fit you are, the less this high-intensity exercise will induce a large peak in adrenaline output and the safer you will be.

Needless to say, if you are not in shape or have other risk factors, cold weather can put a real strain on the heart. And when you add in strenuous exercise like shoveling snow, it can trigger a deadly heart attack.  

And make no mistake, shoveling is definitely strenuous. A few years ago, researchers at Michigan State did a study where they monitored the vital statistics of healthy 20- to 30-year-old men who ran on treadmills until they couldn’t run anymore. A few days later, the same group was asked to shovel heavy snow for about 10 minutes. The results are worth noting: The group’s heart rates were at least as high, and in some cases higher, while shoveling than they were on the treadmill. And these guys were young and fit.

People who rarely exercise can be up to 30 times more likely to have a heart attack when they do something exerting such as shoveling snow. As the Michigan study shows, shoveling can be a physical challenge for anyone, but some people are more at risk of cardiac arrest than others and should always check with their doctor before even contemplating a session with a snow shovel. This includes individuals who fall into the following categories and have:

* Already had a heart attack
* A history of heart disease
* High blood pressure or high cholesterol
* A smoking habit
* A sedentary lifestyle

Even if you don’t fit into the highest risk group, it’s only smart to take some sensible precautions before you head out to deal with winter’s latest assault. Here are a few tips I think are important to heed:

• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water since dehydration while physically exerting yourself can be as dangerous in the winter as the summer. Avoid caffeine (and nicotine!), which are stimulants and may increase your heart rate or cause your blood vessels to constrict.

• Dress sensibly. You’ll want to be warm, but not sweaty or overheated. Wearing layers is a good idea because you can then remove a layer as needed. Light-weight, sweat-wicking modern fabrics are a good choice.

• Warm up indoors first. Before you head out, walk or march in place and stretch a bit to get your blood circulating. Once outside, start slowly with light shovel loads, which will
help to open up your arteries gradually.

• Shovel smart and in sessions. Attack the job in stages; newly fallen snow tends to be lighter than when it’s deeper and more heavily packed. Remove the snow in layers, 2 inches at a time. And take frequent rests. As a rule of thumb, you should aim for a 5-minute break for every 15 minutes of shovel work.

• Listen to your body. If you observe any signs of cardiac distress or a heart attack, you need to stop shoveling immediately, call 911, and chew an aspirin. These signs may include chest, shoulder, arm, or neck pain; dizziness, fainting, sweating or nausea; or shortness of breath.

When it comes to a strenuous activity like snow shoveling, this is no time to prove how tough or self-reliant you can be. Friends, family, snow-blowing neighbors, or a snow-removal service will be more than happy to shovel for you. And just think, with some sensible foresight, you’ll have a much better chance of enjoying the first pristine snowfall next year and maybe create a first-rate snowman yourself.

My Christmas Wish

 

Every year at this time I get asked the question, 

what would I like for Christmas?
And every year it’s the same answer. I don’t really want anything

for Christmas. But this year for some reason I feel different. 

My want is not for something material, but more for something spiritual. There has been a change in the air recently.

Many have fallen on hard times by no fault of their own, but because of poor decisions made by politicians. 

These decisions have affected everyone of all demographics, rich or poor, and it seems like the country has started waking up

and taking notice.Personal responsibility seems to be on the rise. 

Fiscal responsibility seems to be front and center, and there has been a resurgence of pride and love for our country again. 

These are all great things, and they stem from our traditions of being a nation of strong willed people who ask only for the chance to shine. And this time of year we shine the brightest. 

We are the greatest nation in the world and the most generous, not only with our time but also with our wallets. We are a resilient bunch, a melting pot of people joined  together for one purpose.

And that purpose is to acquire our piece of the American dream.

So, my Christmas wish this year is that we all take a moment out of our busy lives and look around and see how truly blessed we are.

We should also remember this holiday season that we have been given the chance to have these lives we live because there of those who felt a desire to serve this great nation. Every day they protect those freedoms our fore fathers laid down for us.

The brave men and women of the military have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live our daily lives and pursue our dreams of raising our families and running our businesses. Many will be away from their families this Christmas, some will not see their children open Santa's presents for the first time, and many may not ever come home, paying the ultimate price for our freedom. 

Let us all take time out this holiday to thank a service member for there sacrifice and keep them in our prayers.

Let us try not to get to caught up in our daily lives and forget to stop to tell our spouses how much we love them.

Kiss your kids often and thank your friends for their support

  A hope I have this year for christmas is that I can teach my children to give more of themselves, to help others, to be thankful everyday for the blessings we so take for granted, and to teach them about the things that have made this country great. I want them to be aware of the sacrifices made by many for our precious freedoms. My hope is that our country gets back to the traditions of old, where honor meant something and we stood together as one in the United States of America. And to all the men and woman who serve and protect this country, my wish is that you hear our prayers and know that we all stand humbled by your bravery and commitment to your country. It has not gone unnoticed.

 God Bless You All and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays