Young or old, you can always benefit from a good sense of balance. If you’re younger, good balance helps you in everything from sports activities to chasing kids around. If you’re older, a good sense of balance is the key to avoiding a fall and the sometimes frightening effects of one.
Feeling a bit of shoulder pain? You might be avoiding the pain by limiting how far you move your shoulder. Is that a good solution? Absolutely not, and here’s why. Unused muscle can actually atrophy at a rate of two to three percent per day. Also, if you don’t use a joint’s full range of motion, the portion of the joint capsule and cartilage not in use lacks the hydration it needs to stay healthy. Read More
Having a little lower back pain after working all day at the computer is as predictable as the sunrise. The problem is that we naturally and unconsciously begin to hunch over after just a few minutes at the keyboard. Read More
All right, raise your hand if you spend much time on a smartphone or a computer. Just as I thought – that is literally everyone over the age of two and under 90. As valuable as our devices are, though, they come with a cost, and I’m not talking about your cell phone bill. By spending hours per day looking down at a phone or hunched over leaning in toward your computer, you end up shortening your chest muscles and lengthening your back muscles. This is reflected in a problem I see all too often — forward head carry and curvature of the spine. Read More
All right – here’s an exercise that just might be as much fun as the twist. How’s that for dating myself!
Have you ever wondered why yoga is such an effective way of helping you remain limber and flexible? One key is yoga’s use of “passive range of motion” during an exercise.
By Dr. David Biedebach, D.C., C.C.F.C.
No matter what age you are, would you like to avoid hip, knee or shoulder surgery, or even a joint replacement? Avoiding surgery or a joint replacement is not only possible, it’s easy if you act early.
The key is understanding how your body functions. When you suffer an injury, you voluntarily and quite understandably limit your own movement — because it may hurt to strive for a full range of motion. That’s the beginning of the problem — you get into a habit of limiting your movement. Eventually, whatever movement you do not use becomes movement you cannot use. That part of the tissue becomes very brittle, drying and dying over time.