Tag Archive for: flexibility

Stretches not Working? Three Reasons Why

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Do you suffer from chronic muscle tightness or back stiffness and ever wonder… why aren’t my stretches working?

Perhaps you’ve Googled and YouTubed every stretch under the sun but still – you haven’t gained an ounce of mobility.

There are a few reasons why all your stretching efforts might not be doing anything for you. It could be your technique. It could be that you’re doing the wrong stretch. Or, it could be that you just shouldn’t be stretching at all!

Let’s go over the different reasons why your stretching routine could be failing you – and most importantly – what you can do about it.

You’re doing it wrong.

Although research studies are inconclusive regarding how long you should hold a particular stretch, most people feel good when they hold a stretch for 30-60 seconds. When it comes to technique, one of the biggest problems I see is not relaxing enough. If you’re tense, or gripping your muscles at the same time you’re stretching, it won’t work very well. It’s important to breathe and move easily into any stretch you’re doing. If you try to force it or push through pain, you’ll likely tense up.

Now let’s say you’re doing everything right (not tensing or gripping) but your stretches still don’t seem to work. Some people (myself included) respond better to “moving stretches.” This is where instead of holding one static position for a prolonged period, you repeatedly move through one or several end-range stretches. Moving neck rolls are a great example of this. If you’ve been diligently stretching and not seeing the results you want, try adjusting your technique. Moving stretches might be a better strategy than static holding. I know for me it is!

You’re doing the wrong type of stretch.

This one could be a little tougher to figure out on your own. There is a difference between corrective stretching and stretching to feel good. For example, let’s say your back is tightening up because you’ve been under a lot of stress or you just did a lot of activity that stiffens up your back. Generic back stretches, such as bringing your knees to your chest or child’s pose, may be all you need to quickly get rid of the general stiffness you’re experiencing.

But let’s say you have associated back pain, or pain and numbness running down your leg. In these instances, generic back stretches won’t work or could even make you worse. You likely need corrective stretches, like what we prescribe for patients in our office. Corrective stretches are specifically prescribed to address symptoms, and are very different from the generalized stretches that are designed to feel good and relieve tension.

You shouldn’t be stretching at all.

Did you know that chronic muscle tightness can be a sign of a weakness? This is a very common problem with our clients. I’ve seen many folks over the years with chronic tightness and discomfort in their neck, backs, hips, etc. – and no matter how often they stretch or massage, it doesn’t improve.

How does this happen?

Well, groups of muscles are connected by this substance called fascia. If one group of muscles in the “fascial line” are not doing their job, a different group of muscles will have to take up the slack. When muscles are tasked with more work than they are intended for, they can become tight.

For example, if your deep core is not working properly, then the front of your neck will often kick in and try to help. If your neck is always sore or tight after a good ab workout, this is what could be happening. Stretching your neck won’t help one bit in this case – because what you need to be doing instead is strengthening your core. I see this same pattern with tight hips flexors. Once people start strengthening their core properly – the chronic tightness magically melts away.

Remember, when we are attacking the correct problem and doing the right thing – our body will respond. If you’ve been stretching and stretching and not seeing results – something is missing.

The longer your problem goes on, the more time it has to develop into a complicated fix.

If you’re suffering from any kind of pain or tightness that is keeping you from doing the things you love, our specialists are here to help!

Just CLICK HERE to request a Free Discovery Session!

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Five Reasons People over 40 are doing Pilates

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Recently, Pilates has been gaining popularity with folks over age 40. Why? Well, let’s take a look at the history.

It was first created by Joseph Pilates almost 100 years ago, who suffered from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. When traditional exercise systems failed him, he turned to anatomy books and became obsessed with the human body. Refusing to let his body ailments define him, he eventually developed his own system of exercising, now known as the Pilates method. But the original name for his method was “Contrology,” because the focus of his exercises were to have full control of your movement and to feel empowered in your body.

I’ve been incorporating Pilates into my physical therapy practice for the last 11 years – and it’s been transformational for my clients.

Pilates is a full body strengthening system that emphasizes breath, precision, coordination, and core strength. It helps our clients connect to their bodies in a way they haven’t been able to achieve with traditional strengthening methods. Most of my clients are over the age of 40, and they love Pilates because it helps them have more energy, better balance, and improved strength and mobility. It allows them to participate in all the activities they love with more ease, and significantly decreases their likelihood of injury.

If you’re over 40, and aren’t yet doing Pilates, here are five reasons to get started:

1. Pilates helps prevent back pain.

Once you hit 40, your risk of back injury starts to climb. We see a lot of folks in our office who’ve tried traditional physical therapists, chiropractors, and so many kinds of core strengthening programs – but still have recurring back pain. Getting rid of back pain in the short-term is easy, but keeping it gone is the challenge.

We specialize in keeping pain gone, and Pilates helps us do that. Our Pilates instructors work closely with our PT team and get enhanced training on how to navigate back pain. We also keep our classes small so that we can pay close attention to everyone. This is key if you’re recovering from an injury and want to consider Pilates. Beware of classes that are overcrowded and not individualized. More than 5-6 people per class could be dangerous if you’re dealing with back pain. It’s impossible for your instructor to keep a close eye on you or give you individualized modifications.

2. Pilates strengthens your whole body, not just your core.

One of the keys to lifelong fitness is what I call “balanced strength.” In other words, each part of your body works together to produce the right amount of force, at the right time. I see lots of “strong” people in my office, but they can’t do the activities they love, because their muscles aren’t working together. Pilates emphasizes full body strength that is coordinated. Coordinated strength is essential to a balanced body.

3. Pilates improves your flexibility.

Do you stretch your hamstrings every day but they never seem to improve? It could be because you’re not stretching the right way. The great thing about Pilates is that it improves your flexibility in a way that strengthens at the same time. The “old school” way of stretching was to find the most uncomfortable position for your muscle and just hold it for 30 seconds. Research has shown this is not effective. The best way to stretch is to keep moving and do it dynamically. In Pilates, we do just that! One of the central concepts to Pilates is “lengthening.” This helps you stretch your muscles in a way that results in long lasting, sustainable improvements.

4. Pilates minimizes stress to your joints.

As we age, it’s normal to have arthritis. But it doesn’t have to be the death sentence to activity that most people think. The key to combating arthritis is maintaining a mobile and well balanced joint.  When you optimize everything that surrounds your arthritic joints, your symptoms decrease. Pilates helps with all this – without causing any additional stress. Since Pilates is based on the idea of constant opposition – lengthening while strengthening – you end up with a joint that is happy and balanced. This helps to minimize the impacts of arthritis and even prevent the rate of degeneration as you age.

5. Pilates trains your nervous system.

Since Pilates emphasizes small, precise movements – it’s very good for your nervous system and coordination. We refer to this as motor control. Having good motor control is key for controlled, coordinated movement.   A strong muscle that isn’t coordinated to “turn on” when it’s needed is almost useless. It’s why strong, healthy people still get back pain. Your core could be strong – but if it isn’t trained to function properly and when it’s supposed to – it won’t help you prevent back pain. When done properly, and with a qualified instructor, Pilates is one of the best exercise methods I’ve found to train your nervous system and improve motor control – which is key for injury prevention.

PhysicalTherapy Porstmouth NH

Five Reasons to Include Pilates in Your Life

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Pilates has been around for about 100 years, yet so many people have NOT heard of this incredible exercise method. It was first created by Joseph Pilates and initially gained popularity among the dance community as a way to recover from and prevent injuries.

But you don’t have to be a dancer to practice Pilates or enjoy the benefits. It’s become very mainstream over the years and for good reason.

I’ve been incorporating Pilates into my physical therapy practice for the last 11 years and it’s been transformational.

Pilates is a full body strengthening system that emphasizes breath, precision, coordination, and core strength. It helps our clients connect to their bodies in a way they haven’t been able to achieve with traditional strengthening methods. Most of my clients are well into their 50’s and 60’s, and they love Pilates because it helps them have more energy, better balance, and improved strength and mobility. It allows them to participate in all the activities they love with more ease – and most importantly – significantly decreases the likelihood of injury.

But not all Pilates classes are created equal. And it’s important you choose your Pilates studio based on what your most important needs are.

Here are five reasons to consider adding Pilates to your life – and things to watch out for when choosing a program:

1. Pilates helps prevent back pain.

Once you hit 40, your risk of back injury starts to climb. We see a lot of folks in our office who’ve tried traditional physical therapists or chiropractors, and so many different kinds of core strengthening programs, but still have recurring back pain. They’ve been successful in getting rid of their pain in the short term, but they aren’t able to keep it gone for the long term.

Keeping pain GONE is what we specialize in – and one of the ways we do that is with Pilates. But “general/cookie-cutter” Pilates isn’t always enough.

For example, our Pilates instructors work closely with our PT team and get enhanced training on how to navigate back pain, and we keep our classes small so that we can pay close attention to everyone. If you’re recovering from an injury, or vulnerable to back pain, you’ll want to beware of classes that are overcrowded and not individualized. More than 5-6 people in a class when you’re trying to recover from back pain could be dangerous and increase your likelihood of re-injuring yourself. It’s impossible for your instructor to keep a close eye on you or give you individualized modifications when there are too many people in class.

2. Pilates strengthens your whole body, not just your core.

One of the keys to lifelong fitness is what I call “balanced strength.” In other words, each part of your body works together to produce the right amount of force, at the right time. I see lots of “strong” people in my office, but they can’t do the activities they love, because their muscles aren’t working together in the right way at the right time. This can result in compensatory patterns over time – that may predispose you to injury.

Pilates emphasizes full body strength that is coordinated. Coordinated strength is essential if you want balanced strength – which will give you the best shot at avoiding injury.

3. Pilates improves your flexibility.

Do you stretch your hamstrings every day but they never seem to improve?

It could be because you’re not stretching the right way – OR – it could be that you shouldn’t be stretching them at all! (Conversation for another day…)

Either way, the great thing about Pilates is that it improves your flexibility in a way that strengthens at the same time. The “old school” way of stretching was to find the most uncomfortable position for your muscle and just hold it for 30 seconds. Research has shown this is not effective in most cases. The best way to stretch is to do it dynamically with movement. In Pilates, you never stop moving, and one of the central concepts to the practice is “lengthening”. Basically, you use the concept of self-induced opposition to strengthen and stretch at the same time – this is how you end up with flexibility that lasts.

4. Pilates minimizes stress on your joints.

Aging is a real thing and along with it comes arthritis. But it’s not a death sentence like most people are led to believe. The key to combating arthritis is maintaining a mobile and well balanced joint. When you optimize everything that surrounds your arthritic joints, your symptoms decrease.

Pilates helps with all this – without causing any additional stress.

Since Pilates is based on the idea of constant opposition – lengthening while strengthening – you end up with a joint that is happy and balanced when you incorporate a regular practice of Pilates into your life. It helps to minimize the impacts of arthritis and even prevent the rate of degeneration.

5. Pilates trains your nervous system.

Say what? Is this even something I should care about?

Yes it is — and it’s almost ALWAYS a missing link I find for people who’ve been at a certain activity for a really long time, and then suddenly start having pain.

If you don’t train your nervous system, it gets lazy, and compensation patterns develop. When one part of your body is compensating for another, it ultimately leads to imbalance. The right type of Pilates will help with this.

Notice I said “right type.”

If you’re looking to just work out and have fun, then almost any Pilates will do. But if you’re wanting to truly correct your body’s imbalances and train your nervous system, Pilates is still your ticket but it needs to be with a qualified instructor.

If you’re not yet incorporating Pilates into your everyday routine… what are you waiting for!?

It’s my go-to exercise system for folks over the age of 40 and it’s my favorite way to help people keep their back pain gone.

 

Weight Loss

How to Keep Knee or Back Pain from Derailing your New Year’s Goals

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The most popular goals for the New Year continue to revolve around weight loss and exercise. But here is one thing that can get in your way when pursuing those goals… unresolved back or knee pain. So many people make the mistake of thinking that exercise or weight loss alone, is going to “cure” their nagging pain. But that’s not always the case. 

Here are some top tips and advice I give all my clients around this time of year to help you get the most out of your health and fitness goals for 2021, and NOT let something like back or knee pain get in your way…

Mobility before Stability

Your muscles can’t function at their best if you don’t have optimal joint mobility. In other words, you don’t want to strengthen around a joint that isn’t moving at its best, or you’ll encourage compensation. If your nagging back or knee pain is due to inadequate mobility, you’ll run into problems (and more pain) if you suddenly increase your exercise or activity level. We saw this happen at the beginning of the pandemic. People started walking and exercising more and we saw a huge influx of unexpected back and knee pain as a result. Their joints weren’t accustomed to moving so much and it highlighted the lack of mobility and compensations. Don’t let the same thing happen to you! Make sure all of your joints, including your spine, can move fully and freely without any pain before you begin a new exercise program.

Pace yourself

It’s very tempting to go “all in” on your new exercise or weight loss goal… but remember, the tortoise won the race, not the hare. It’s important to not beat yourself up if you’re not seeing immediate results. If you’ve been out of shape for a while and doing something completely new, expect to be sore. But if you’re limping around for days or experiencing sharp pain in your back or knee, there is a chance you overdid it.

My general rule of thumb is to monitor your soreness on a scale of one to ten. I tell my clients to not let their pain go above a five when they are pushing themselves or returning to an exercise we haven’t tried in a while. If you find that your pain level goes above a six, or persists at that level (or higher) for more than a day, there’s a chance you’re overdoing it and setting yourself up for an unwanted injury. When in doubt, listen to your body. And if you’re not sure what it’s saying to you, enlist the help of experts like us!

Stay Hydrated

Most people don’t drink enough water during their regular day, never mind when they increase their activity level. Drinking lots of water has two great benefits. It will give you the extra hydration you need if you’re planning to be more active. And it will help you lose weight by curbing your appetite. Some additional benefits of staying hydrated include increased muscle strength and stamina, more lubrication in your joints, more supple skin, better cardiovascular function, and improved energy and mental alertness. One really easy tip to jumpstart your day is to begin with 10 oz of water first thing upon waking. A good place to start when you’re trying to stay adequately hydrated is to drink at least half your body weight (in ounces) of water every day.  

Get assessed by a movement expert

If you’ve already got some nagging back and knee pain, do yourself a favor and get assessed by a movement expert FIRST, before you begin your new exercise routine or New Year’s goal. Your first thought might be to go see your medical doctor, which of course isn’t a bad idea, but it’s important you understand how different medical professionals look at you when you have knee or back pain.

Medical doctors are trained to screen your whole body and spot for serious problems. If you see them for musculoskeletal pain, they will typically take X-rays and MRI’s to make sure there are no broken bones or serious pathologies. They do not have extensive training to assess how your pain behaves during movement or exercise, which is the majority of people’s problems. That’s where we come in.

A specialty practice like ours will be able to assess your movement in detail, through various movement tests, which will tell a much better story about how your pain may or may not impact the new exercise or weight loss program you’re about to start. Plus, once we know how your pain behaves, what the triggering patterns are, we can also teach you how to control it – so that you don’t have to let nagging back or knee pain derail your 2021!

I hope your New Year is off to an amazing start, and if you want to ensure that back or knee pain doesn’t get in the way of that, reach out for a FREE 30 minute Discovery Session. We would love to talk with you about your goals and be part of your support team as we all launch into 2023!