Tag Archive for: Portsmouth

Traveling

4 Tips to Avoid Neck and Back Pain When Traveling

/in , , /by

4 Tips to Avoid Neck and Back Pain When Traveling

Memorial Day weekend is the “unofficial” start of summer – and AAA estimates that 39.2 million people will travel this weekend. That’s 8.3% more than last year, and it’s going to mean the exacerbation of neck and back pain for a lot of folks out there – especially the over 40 crowd.

So why does traveling wreak such havoc on our spines? 

Road trips, planes and trains typically involve lots of sitting and driving, which necks and backs just don’t like when done frequently and for prolonged periods. You’re typically off your routine when you travel, and sleep on surfaces you’re not accustomed to.  Any one of these things – but especially when combined together – can flare up old patterns of neck and back pain.

The good news is there are lots of things you can do when traveling to ease neck and back pain. Here are 4 of my top tips:

 

1. Use the 30 Min. Rule

The biggest strain on your body while traveling is undoubtedly the prolonged periods of sitting – often in cramped spaces. Our bodies are made to move continuously throughout the day. Whenever possible, getting out of your seat often is critical for keeping your neck and back healthy and mobile. Motion is lotion. And one of the best things you can do for your neck and back is to interrupt any prolonged posture – especially sitting – once every 30 min. If you’re unable to actually stand for a few seconds, then try arching your back or stretching your arms up over your head while sitting. Do a few neck rolls and chin tucks to stretch your spine. The more you move, the better your spine is going to feel.

2. Use a Lumbar Roll

Our spine is made up of distinct curves for a very good reason. They are designed to balance forces and sustain shock – and it’s best if you can maintain them. When you sit, the curve in your lower back (lumbar spine) decreases, or sometimes disappears all together, when not supported. While it’s perfectly acceptable to sit like this for small increments of time, it will start to cause problems after several hours. Prolonged curvature of your low back puts unwanted stress on the discs, ligaments, and muscles in your spine.

Your neck also responds to this posture by assuming a position we call “forward head”. This can give you headaches, neck pain, and cause extra tension to occur in your mid back and upper shoulders. One of the best things you can do is use a cylindrical lumbar roll to help maintain the natural curve in your low back. If you’re driving, the lumbar support in your seat usually isn’t enough. Take a small towel roll, sweatshirt, or pillow and place it at the small of your back any time you’re sitting. You’ll find it’s easier to maintain the natural curves in your spine – and you’ll have a lot less strain on your neck and back.

3. Bring your own pillow

Sleeping on surfaces we’re not accustomed to can not only ruin a vacation but set us up for unwanted neck and back pain. If possible – bring your favorite pillow from home – or ask for extra pillows wherever you’re staying. If a mattress is too firm for you – you can use pillows to cushion areas of your body like hips and shoulders so that you don’t wake up sore. Conversely, if a mattress is too soft, you can use extra pillows to build up the surface under your waist if you’re a side sleeper, under the small of your back if you’re a back sleeper, and under your belly if you’re a stomach sleeper.

Lastly, if a pillow is too fluffy or too flat – your neck will end up paying for it. When you’re sleeping – the goal is to position yourself in a way that allows your spine to stay in neutral alignment. You don’t want your head tilted down or up – it’s the fastest way to stir up an old neck injury or wake up with a tension headache.

4. Extend instead of bend

Did you know that the average person bends or flexes forward between three and five thousand times per day? When you’re traveling – you’re going to be on the upper end of that metric. Our spines crave balance. And because of the disproportionate amount of time we spend bent over – we need to make a concerted effort to move our spines in the opposite direction. When you’re traveling – look for opportunities to be upright and mobile.

Walking is an excellent, therapeutic activity for your spine – plus – it’s a great way to see the sights wherever you’re going. When you’re practicing the 30 min rule, give your back and neck a nice stretch backwards each time you stand to interrupt your sitting. But probably more important than what you do during travel is what you do when you’re back home. Be cautious when jumping back into your typical gym or exercise routine. All the sitting and bending that comes with travel makes your spine vulnerable for injury. It’s very common to get injured a week or two after you’re home – seemingly “out of nowhere”.

 

Looking for more help with your neck and back pain?

Sign up for a FREE Discovery Session today to speak with my client success team to see if we can help you get rid of your neck and back pain for good.

Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH.  To get a free copy of her guide to taking care of back pain – click here.

5 Summer Activities on the Seacoast to Keep You Active, Healthy, and Mobile!

/in , /by

With the weather getting warmer, it’s time to start appreciating all the amazing assets that the Portsmouth area has to offer for summer fun! The best way to prevent back pain and all-around stiffness or soreness is to stay moving as much as possible, and what better way to do so than out in nature?

Here are some of our favorite places to walk, bike, and otherwise enjoy the outdoors!

 

1. Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge

The Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge includes more than 1,000 acres of protected land in Newington, NH. Its two main trails are open to both hiking and biking and offer a close look at the flora and fauna of the Great Bay area. While visiting the reserve, you might see bald eagles, foxes, otters, turtles, deer, and a huge variety of songbirds. There are two main trails for the public to explore this unique and largely untouched area. The half mile Upper Peverly Pond path is a boardwalk trail, meaning it is fully wheelchair accessible and inviting for both young children and seniors! The William Furber Ferry Way trail is a more ambitious, yet not intimidating, two miles that delves deeper into the forest and features a beaver pond and old orchard.

NH Wetlands

2. Picnic by the Sea at New Castle

New Castle’s Great Island Common is a perfect destination for a relaxed, yet active day spent outdoors. You can spend the morning kayaking, an excellent core and upper body workout, and then kick back with a picnic on the beach or lawn. The park area also offers a large playground if you’re accompanied by young children. No matter where you stand, you’ll have a breathtaking view of the ocean, multiple lighthouses, and boats entering and leaving the harbor.

3.  Take a bike ride around Portsmouth

Get some exercise in while riding along all of the scenic views that the Seacoast area has to offer! Port City Bike Tours brings groups on historic and coastal bike tours with 5 different routes to chose from for a private or public tour. All of the tour guides are local to the area and have a love for New Hampshire history and historic preservation!

4. Odiorne State Park

Odiorne is the ocean lover’s ideal hike- gorgeous views of the rocky coastline, twisting trails through the woods that open up onto a salt marsh, and a paved bike path all in one place. Odiorne is comprised of about 330 acres of protected land, and is open year round to walkers and explorers! In the summer, you can even go tidepooling while you walk along the shore. You might find sea stars, snails, minnows, crabs, and more! And you will undoubtedly see seagulls throughout the entire coastline walk. On the wooded trails, you could come across deer, songbirds, chipmunks, and squirrels. Odiorne is a great place to stretch your legs and get some fresh air while enjoying the seacoast at its best!

5. Try Stand-Up Paddleboarding

Stand-Up Paddleboarding is a perfect way to get a core workout in while enjoying the ocean! This low-impact outdoor activity has gained popularity over recent years not only for being great exercise, but also because standing at your full height above the water gives you a unique view of your surroundings – which are beautiful at any location along the Seacoast! The balance and core stability that goes into paddleboarding is something we focus on with our Pilates program as well. In fact, Pilates and paddleboarding would be great activities to pair this summer!

Is pain getting in the way of you doing your favorite summer activities?  CLICK HERE for a free discovery visit with one of our specialists to see how we can help!

Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH.  To get a free copy of her guide to taking care of back pain – click here.

Hip Flexors Always Tight? Maybe stop stretching.

/in /by

When it comes to chronically stiff muscles – tight hip flexors are the second most common complaint I hear after tight hamstrings. Tight hip flexors are annoying, achy, and they often contribute to lower back pain. When your hips are always tight, it can interfere with your ability to enjoy walking, running, golfing, and just exercise in general.

Typically – the recommended treatment for tight hip flexors is to stretch – right along with advice to foam roll and massage. But what do you do when none of that works? What if no matter how often you stretch, the tightness just keeps coming back?

First, you need to make sure that the tightness you feel in your hips is actually due to tight hip flexors. Just because your muscles feel tight – doesn’t mean they are tight. 

Let me explain.

Your hip flexors (or any muscle for that matter) can feel tight for different reasons. They can literally be shortened and constricted – in which case – they need stretching – and lots of it. But they can also feel tight due to weakness or being overworked. If your hip flexors are weak, they are going to feel strained when you use them, which can create a sensation of tightness. If your hip flexors are compensating for another underperforming muscle group – say your deep core – then a sensation of tightness may occur because they are simply tired and overworked.

So the first and most important thing you need to figure out is what is causing the sensation of tightness in your hips. Are they actually short and tight? Are they weak? Or do they simply need a break?

Let’s do a quick anatomy review of your hip flexors to help you figure this out…

Your hip flexors consist of the muscle group located in the front of your hip and groin. They are responsible for bending (flexing) your thigh up and toward your chest. But they also play a role in stabilizing your pelvis and lower back – and this is where I see a lot of problems and confusion. The rectus femoris, part of your quadriceps muscle group, and your psoas, part of your deep abdominal muscle group, are the two major hip flexors. Your rectus muscle is the one primarily responsible for lifting (flexing) your thigh. When you are walking or running, and repetitively flexing your leg, this is the muscle primarily at play. Your psoas, on the other hand, is much shorter and has a connection to your lower back. Because of this, it has more of a stability role. When functioning properly, it will assist in exercises like the crunch or sit up, and also work alongside your deep abdominals and glute muscles to help you have good upright posture when you’re sitting or standing.

Let’s talk about the psoas for a moment, because this is where many folks I speak with are misinformed. The psoas gets blamed for a lot of things – most notably – tilting your pelvis forward and being the cause of low back pain. The theory is that if you stretch, massage, and “release” your psoas muscle, then you will balance out your pelvis and your back pain will disappear. Sadly, this is rarely the case. Most of the time, your psoas feels tight because it’s either too weak and not able to keep up with what it’s being tasked to do, or it’s overworking to compensate for your deep abdominals not working properly. Either way, the result will be an angry psoas that retaliates against you by feeling tight and achy. And stretching it over and over again will simply not work.

Now sometimes your hip flexors – particularly your rectus femoris – can get deconditioned from not being used enough – and this can result in actual constriction of your muscle tissue. This typically happens slowly over time, and is more likely to occur if you sit too much and aren’t very active. In this case, you actually do need stretching to fix the problem – but one of the reasons it doesn’t work – is because you aren’t doing it properly. When your muscle tissue is actually constricted – it requires a very specific stretching protocol to work. The days of holding a stretch for 30 sec and repeating it 3x are long over. If your muscle fibers have actually become constricted – the only way for them to improve their length is to remodel. They need a lot of stress to remodel (aka get longer) and the only way to accomplish this is to stretch repeatedly and often.

At the end of the day, if you’ve got chronically tight hip flexors and you’re stretching all the time, you’re either doing it wrong or shouldn’t be doing it at all. Perhaps you need to strengthen your hip flexors so they don’t feel so tense all the time? Or maybe your core isn’t kicking in and you need to strengthen that instead? Don’t stress yourself trying to figure it out on your own.

Talk to an expert who gets this.

Stretching a muscle that feels tight isn’t always your answer, and you’ll know this because stretching over and over just isn’t fixing the problem. 

Request to speak to one of my specialists to see if we are the right fit to help get to the root cause of your tight hip flexors. CLICK HERE to request a Free Discovery.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH.  To get a free copy of her guide to taking care of back pain – click here.

Avoiding Radiofrequency Ablation in Your Back – Success Story

/in /by

Have you heard of Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)?

If you suffer from chronic back pain – there’s a good chance you have. Perhaps it’s even been recommended to you?

It’s a common procedure used to disable nerve fibers that are carrying the pain signal to your brain.

Your brain is what decides whether or not you’re going to experience pain. So the goal behind this procedure is to kill (or in this case burn) the “middle man” – the nerve that is responsible for signaling the pain trigger. An electrical impulse is transmitted through a needle that is designed to burn the nerve endings responsible for your pain.

If it works – the results last anywhere from 6 months to a year – but they typically aren’t permanent.

Most of the people I talk to who rely on this for pain relief have to go back at least once per year or more.

But in some cases… the procedure eventually stops working all together…

And then what?

Well… you’ve usually got just two choices…

  1. Live with it
  2. Get surgery

The good news?

You don’t have to accept either of these options and you don’t even have to rely on this procedure at all if you don’t want to.

How do I know?

Because 80% of all spinal pain is mechanical in nature – which means it’s due to poor or insufficient movement habits. These habits – over time – result in compensatory strategies in your body. These compensatory strategies eventually lead to “pissed-off” muscles, ligaments, or nerves – which result in pain.

So you see…

Getting a procedure like RFA is really only a bandaid.

Why not find out what compensatory strategy might be happening in your body – and from there – what caused it to begin with?

That’s what we prefer to do and I’m excited to tell you about a recent success story where this actually happened…

I was re-evaluating one of our patients (“L”) this week and even though she is still working through some back pain – it’s nothing like when we first began working together.

When we first met – she couldn’t walk very far without back pain and she didn’t even think about getting on a bike. (Biking, hiking, and staying active are things she LOVES to do for herself and with her husband)

When we spoke this week – she was not only walking – but starting to do some trail walking – and she was using her bike trainer at home regularly – all with minimal or no back pain. The next step for her is to get on the road with her bike – we have a goal of her riding 30-50 miles!

I am confident we’ll get there 🙂

But the most important part of this ongoing success story that I want to share is this…

“L” told me that the most valuable accomplishment from working with us so far is that she hasn’t had to return for any RFA!

I almost cried when I heard this… not even remotely exaggerating…

Because not everyone has the courage to see a program through and trust in the process.

But “L” did – and I’m so proud of her for it.

She said one of her goals was to not need this procedure anymore…

I’m excited to say that as of today – she’s officially far past the point when she would normally have returned for her RFA procedure.

And it’s because of our program!

The biggest motivator behind everything I do – every email or article I write – is to empower you.

My mission behind CJPT & Pilates is empowerment by education.

We aim to give you all the information you need so you can make the best decisions for your health – and hopefully those decisions involve less pills, less procedures, and certainly not surgery 🙂

I wanted to share this story with you because it is a perfect example of just that.

Yes – “L” still has back pain – but it’s progressing and we’re working through it – but on her terms and not on the procedure/RFA’s terms.

If you want more details on how we helped “L” work through her chronic back pain and avoid procedures like RFA…

CLICK HERE to talk to someone on my Client Success Team to see if we are a good fit to help you avoid RFA.

Ready to get rid of your back pain? Lucky for you we have a totally FREE guide written by leading back pain specialist, physical therapist, and movement expert, Dr. Carrie Jose! CLICK HERE  to read her BEST tips and advice on how to start easing back pain and stiffness right away!

When exercise hurts your back instead of helps

When Exercise Hurts Your Back Instead of Helps

/in /by

The research continues to show that the best treatment for back pain is exercise. But what do you do when exercising hurts your back instead of helps? 

What most people do when exercise flares their back up is they just stop. They simply wait for the pain to go away – and begin the cycle all over again. This is not the best strategy. Instead, why not figure out why exercise might be hurting your back and do something about it?

Here are 5 reasons why exercise might be hurting your back instead of helping:

 

1. Its the wrong type of exercise

While the research isn’t wrong about exercising and back pain – the type of exercise you choose is important. For example, walking is generally considered one of the best exercises for back pain sufferers. But there are certain types of back pain where walking flares you up. In these instances, it doesn’t mean that walking is “bad” for you – and it doesn’t mean you have a serious problem. Many times, it simply means you need a different type of exercise first that gets you back to walking normally. Same goes for strength training and core training. Exercise is good for back pain – but if it flares you up – don’t be quick to blame the exercise. You may just be doing things in the wrong order. Working with a back pain expert can help minimize this and make sure you’re doing the right exercises at the right time – and that won’t flare you up.

2. Stability training is introduced too soon

Stability training is an important part of back pain recovery – but I often see it introduced too soon – and typically before good mobility is fully restored. Mobility is something you always want to look at first. If you don’t have full mobility in your spine, there is a reason. And when your spine doesn’t move well, you risk developing compensatory movement patterns that cause structures in and around your spine to get irritated. When it comes to stability training, there is often resistance or load involved. The last thing you want to do is add load to the spine that is already compensating and irritated. This is a sure-fire way to flare up your back and why exercise might be hurting you instead of helping.

3. You aren’t activating your core

Knowing when and how to properly activate your core is different from having a strong core. You can have the strongest abs in the world – but if you can’t use them when they count – it’s useless.  Knowing how to properly activate your core is essential when you exercise, but especially when you have back pain. If you don’t activate your core properly when you’re lifting weights, or performing complicated movements that require good coordination, you’re setting yourself up for injury. The ability to activate your core properly is developed through motor control training. It’s where we teach your mind how to recognize and activate specific muscles, during specific activities, so that it eventually becomes habitual. If you’re constantly having back pain every time you exercise or try to strengthen your core, it could be that you lack the ability to activate it when it counts.

4. You aren’t breathing properly

Not breathing properly can significantly impact the effectiveness of your exercise routine and impede your ability to perform an exercise properly. As mentioned previously, knowing how to activate your core is crucial when you exercise, and in order to activate your core properly, you must be able to breathe properly. Your deep core is made up of four parts: your deep abdominals, your deep back muscles, your pelvic floor, and your diaphragm. Your diaphragm is what controls your breathing. Let’s say you hold your breath when you exercise. When this happens it means your diaphragm isn’t expanding or contracting in the way it needs to for your deep core to be fully functional. Additionally, when your diaphragm doesn’t work like it should, it adds unnecessary strain to both your back muscles and your discs. If you’re not in tune with your breathing, and you aren’t timing it properly, it’s another reason why exercise might be hurting your back instead of helping.

5. You’re using improper form

The last and most common reason why exercising might be hurting your back is because you aren’t doing it right. There’s a lot of people out there who think posture and form don’t really matter. But they do. If you’re lifting weights – especially when frequently and repetitively – you want your spine to be in good alignment. It might not hurt the first time you lift with improper form, but it will hurt after several weeks or months when you get to your 100th rep. Same goes for body weight exercises. Just because you aren’t adding an external load to your spine doesn’t mean you can’t aggravate it by doing something with poor form over and over. This is where I see most people get in trouble. If you’re going to exercise – and you want to exercise daily – do it with proper form and posture or it’s going to catch up to you and keep causing your back to flare up.

 

If exercising is currently hurting your back instead of helping  – it could be due to one of these 5 reasons. Get expert help to figure out which one it might be. Because at the end of the day – exercise really is good for your back. If done correctly, timely, and in the right order – it will help your back instead of hurt it.

Ready to get help with your pain or injury?

Request to speak to one of my specialists to see if we would be the right fit to help you get out of pain. CLICK HERE to request a Free Discovery with one of my specialists.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH.  To get a free copy of her guide to taking care of back pain – click here.

Shoulder Pain

Neck Pain Not Going Away? 3 Reasons Why

/in /by

Over 30% of people report they have neck pain, and of those, 50% will continue to have problems without any real answers or solutions. And during the pandemic, we saw more people becoming generally less active, falling off their routines, and working from home in less than optimal “work stations”. It’s no surprise that people are suffering from more neck pain than usual.

Having been a mechanical spine pain specialist for the last 10 years – and a physical therapist for just over 20 – I can tell you that resolving neck pain is trickier than resolving back pain.

And there are some good reasons for that. Your neck is the most mobile area of your spine – which makes it more complicated to manage – and the muscles in your neck are a bit more fragile than some of the bigger muscles in your lower back. The way you strengthen muscles in your neck can’t be approached in the same manner you might tackle your lower back – for example.

If you suffer from persistent neck pain – there could be several explanations as to why it’s not going away. But the biggest culprit I have found is an inaccurate diagnosis. Without the correct diagnosis – your neck pain treatment fails – and it’s more likely you’ll be prescribed injections or pills to relieve your neck pain and get stuck with this treatment regimen for the long-term.

Here are three reasons why the root cause of your neck pain might be getting missed – and why your neck pain just isn’t going away:

 

1. Your neck problem is disguised as shoulder pain:

Shoulder problems are confused with neck problems more often than you would think. If this happens – you risk spending weeks (or months) trying to resolve shoulder pain that is actually a neck problem. Not only will your shoulder pain not fully resolve – your neck pain won’t either – and could actually become worse. Because your neck is so mobile, it’s easy for nerves in your neck to get irritated and refer pain into the middle of your shoulder blade, top of your shoulder, or down the side of your arm. When you consider this, it makes sense why neck problems are so easily mis-diagnosed as shoulder problems. It’s a very common scenario that not only results in neck pain not going away – but persistent shoulder problems too. My general rule of thumb – if you’ve been working on a particular problem persistently and consistently for 2-3 weeks or more without significant improvement – something is missing. You’re either treating the wrong thing or have the wrong treatment approach. It happens a lot with neck pain so be sure to pay attention to this common error – especially if you’ve got coinciding shoulder pain.

2. Your core is weak:

Lack of core strength is commonly associated with back problems – but believe it or not – it can have a lot to do with neck pain too. Most people are familiar with how muscles and joints are connected – but did you know your muscles and organs are connected as well? They’re connected by a web of tissue called fascia – and this connection is often referred to as myofascial. “Myofascially speaking” – your deep neck muscles are connected to your core. If your core isn’t functioning properly – your neck will try to compensate and it will result in neck pain. Do you consistently feel neck pain or tightness every time you do a core workout? This could be a sign that your neck is compensating for your core – and there’s a good chance proper core strengthening is what’s missing. It could explain why your neck pain isn’t going away no matter how aggressively you treat it.

3. The Wrong Neck Exercises:

The anatomy of your neck, more so than the rest of your spine, is fairly intricate and quite mobile. Not only does this require special care and accuracy when it comes to examining your neck, it makes it easy for someone who is not expertly trained to miss things. For example, one of the most common things I see is someone thinking that full range of motion has been restored in your neck when it hasn’t. If you start strengthening your neck when it doesn’t have full mobility, you can run into problems later on that result in persistent pain. Additionally, strengthening the muscles in your neck, especially in a neck that hurts, needs to be done carefully. The muscles in your neck were designed for stability – which is very different from say – the muscles in your legs – which are designed for power. You can’t approach strengthening them in the same way. All too often I see neck strengthening exercises that are too aggressive for the small muscles in your neck. This results in unnecessary neck tension – and delayed resolution of neck pain.

Generally speaking – if you’ve been suffering from neck pain for a while now – and you’ve tried lots of different treatments without any success – there’s a really good chance you’ve been misdiagnosed and have the wrong treatment plan. Don’t settle for relying on pills or injections for the rest of your life. And don’t undergo any kind of surgery or procedure until you’ve truly exhausted all possible causes of your neck pain. Ideally, find a mechanical pain expert who understands the intricacies of neck problems and work with them. If diagnosed properly, it’s not only possible to get rid of your neck pain naturally, but you can learn to keep it gone all on your own.

 

Ready to get rid of your neck pain?

Download 7 Easy Ways to Get rid of Neck & Shoulder Pain written by Dr. Carrie Jose – leading physical therapy specialist and mechanical pain expert in Portsmouth, NH

pain

Shoulder Impingement Syndrome – Treating the cause over symptoms

/in /by

If you’ve ever had pain in your shoulders when you try to raise your arms overhead, pull off a sweatshirt, grab a gallon of milk from the fridge, or place grocery bags on the counter – you were likely dealing with shoulder impingement syndrome – also known as rotator cuff impingement.

They call it impingement syndrome because your rotator cuff tendons literally get “impinged” between the round head of your shoulder joint and a hook-shaped bone in the front of your shoulder joint (called the acromion) that is part of your shoulder blade. This can occur for a number of reasons… You could have a deformity that causes this, an injury could lead to this, arthritis could contribute to this, or poor posture can cause it.

Any of these scenarios can cause crowding in the space where your rotator cuff tendon passes in front of your shoulder – and if this happens often enough – it’s going to get irritated every time you raise your arm past 90 degrees.

When this first begins to happen, it will typically cause acute inflammation, and you may be diagnosed with rotator cuff tendonitis. But eventually, the more constant pain and irritation of tendonitis subsides and you only feel pain when you go to raise your arm or reach in certain directions. This is more commonly known as shoulder impingement.
With the exception of a deformity, almost all cases of shoulder impingement can (and should) be resolved naturally. The tempting and easy fix is to get a cortisone shot to calm the inflammation. But what you need to understand is that impingement syndrome – in most cases – is actually the symptom of a more overarching problem. And injecting the tendon with cortisone will often cause more harm than good. While the cortisone will temporarily mask your problem, it will eventually cause damage to your tendon if you keep getting injections.

Remember, impingement is caused by crowding of the space where your tendon passes through. You can temporarily take the inflammation away and it will feel better – but unless you address the reason for the crowded space – your problem will keep coming back.

So how do you naturally get rid of shoulder impingement for the long term?

First, you must address the reason for the crowded space in your shoulder joint where your tendon passes through. Most often – it’s due to poor postural habits and immobility around your shoulder joint – specifically your neck and upper back. For example, if your upper back is stiff, curved, and lacks adequate mobility – it’s going to impact how your shoulder blades move and are positioned. With a stiff and curved upper back, your shoulder blades will respond by moving out and up. This scenario makes that hook-like bone (the acromion) sit more forward and down than it should. When this happens, there isn’t enough room for your tendon when you lift your arm above shoulder height. The bony surfaces above and below your tendon create friction and this eventually turns into pain and inflammation. This can happen slowly over time – or more quickly if you’ve got something like arthritis where that space might have naturally already narrowed. Another common scenario is after a shoulder injury. Your neck and upper back may have learned to compensate for a time while you were healing from your injury – and the result is some unwanted postural deformities that can lead to impingement of your rotator cuff tendon.

When it comes to shoulder pain, always make sure to examine your neck and upper back first.

If there are poor postural habits there, your shoulder will undoubtedly be impacted. If you really want to get rid of your shoulder impingement – and back to lifting, reaching, and carrying things without any worry – it’s essential that you identify and address the root cause, not just the symptoms (inflammation of the tendon). Next time you go to the doctor complaining of shoulder pain – and you hear the words “impingement syndrome” or “rotator cuff tendonitis” – don’t assume you need rest, ice, a cortisone shot, or surgery to resolve it. None of these solutions will give you the long-term solution you’re looking for. The very last thing you want to do is choose passive treatment interventions that either mask the pain or prolong the problem because they only address symptoms. You want to do everything possible to preserve the integrity of your tendon – and the best way to do that is by optimizing the mobility and strength around your shoulder joint first – before resorting to more aggressive measures like cortisone or surgery.

Ready to get help with your pain or injury?

Request to speak to one of my specialists to see if we would be the right fit to help you get out of pain. CLICK HERE to request a Free Discovery with one of my specialists.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH.  To get a free copy of her guide to taking care of shoulder pain – click here.

Back Pain

Is it Safe to Push Through Pain?

/in /by

“No pain no gain” is a common phrase we hear but is it accurate? Not always. And it’s important to know when it’s safe – and not safe – to push through your pain. While unpleasant – pain provides us with important information that when understood – can be extremely valuable.

But first, what is pain exactly?

Britannica.com defines pain as “a complex experience consisting of a physiological response to a noxious stimulus”. Say what? In simpler terms – pain is our warning mechanism. It’s designed to alert us of harmful stimuli that are primarily associated with injury or threat of injury. The key word here is threat. Not all stimuli are harmful, even if it elicits pain. And that is where our cognitive brain must kick in to interpret the signal of pain and decide… should or shouldn’t you push through pain?

So how does your brain decide?

Well, your brain learns how to deal with pain from experience. And how those experiences are shaped is important. For example, if your brain is conditioned to think that all pain signals are “bad” or harmful – it’s going to always trigger you to withdraw or freeze. While this might be the safest option from a glance, it’s not always the most effective, and it can cause you more problems down the line. In fact, this is how a lot of chronic pain problems are formed. Your body becomes hypersensitive to pain signals because your brain never learns how to interpret them properly. For some suffering from chronic pain – it’s because your brain has been conditioned to think all pain is dangerous and your body – in turn – will reject any attempt to rectify it.

The best response to pain is to examine how it behaves versus judging it at first glance. There are some instances where pain and damage are synonymous and obvious – such as burns, trauma, broken bones, etc. But for most musculoskeletal aches and pains – it’s not so clear. How your pain behaves in specific situations and over time is what’s most important and it’s how your brain learns what to do.

Does it get worse? Does your pain move around? Does it come and go? Does it get better and stay better the more you move? Or does it worsen the more you move? Understanding how your pain behaves is the first and most important thing to look at when it comes to pushing through your pain or holding back.

For example, let’s look at an acute back pain episode.

It’s typically debilitating, and the last thing you want to do is move. If you rest, your pain will eventually subside, but you’ve taught your brain that doing nothing is the best response, until you hurt your back again. This strategy will only get you so far. Eventually, rest doesn’t work anymore and you’re at a loss. Movement is almost always the best solution for back pain – even when it’s scary. The first time you try to move after a debilitating back pain episode is typically terrible. But the secret to movement is in its repetition.

You want to evaluate how your back pain responds to any given movement over time versus just once. Does it get better and stay better the more you move or stretch a certain way? Or does it only get better temporarily? The response you’re looking for is getting and staying better. This is the kind of experience that reinforces your brain to take an active approach to pain and appropriately push through it. When you have the opposite response, then you know to stop.

I like to think of pain’s behavior like a traffic signal.

When you move in a specific way more often and it feels better – green light – keep going. When you perform a specific movement and it feels worse – stop – that’s a red light. Yellow lights are murky and where you need to decide whether or not it’s wise to push through pain. If pain is not changing and staying the same – or you consistently have good days and bad days – then you might want to “push”. You’ll find yourself at either a green light or red light. This is where you get valuable and reliable information about your pain and know exactly what to do.

Pain is a complicated concept that even those in the medical field have difficulty understanding and managing well. I’m not a fan of managing pain via medication. While it might be a successful strategy for getting rid of pain quickly – it tells you nothing and gives you the best chance of it coming back again or living a life hooked on that medication. Eighty percent of the time the best “medicine” for pain is movement. Use these guidelines to help you figure out if you’re on the right track or not – but the best advice when it comes to getting rid of musculoskeletal pain is to talk to an expert who understands how pain behaves and can help you figure out how to manage it on your own.

Ready to get help with your pain or injury?

Request to speak to one of my specialists to see if we would be the right fit to help you get out of pain. CLICK HERE to request a Free Discovery with one of my specialists.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH.  To get a free copy of her guide to taking care of back pain – click here.

Common Pickleball Injuries and what to do

/in , , /by

If you haven’t heard of pickleball yet, odds are good you will very soon. Pickleball is quickly becoming one of the most popular recreational sports in the US, especially in the over 50 crowd, and especially in Portsmouth and all around the Seacoast of New Hampshire. It’s essentially a cross between tennis, racket ball, and ping pong. The court is smaller than in tennis and the net is set lower. People love pickleball because it’s a great way to not only get exercise – but to socialize and meet new friends.

But like any other sport, injuries happen. And because injuries become more significant and harder to rehabilitate as you get older – it’s important to have an awareness about the common injuries that tend to occur in pickleball players and what you can do to prevent them.

Here are four of the most common injuries I see in Pickleball and what you can do:

 

1. Rotator cuff strains

Your rotator cuff is a group of muscles in your shoulder that play a critical role in both stability and mobility of your shoulder joint. Because pickleball involves repetitive swinging – your shoulder is at risk for overuse injuries and strains. To help minimize the risk of rotator cuff injury, it’s important to ensure that you have good mobility in your shoulder joint, and good mid-back or scapular strength. Your scapula is also called your shoulder blade – if your scapular muscles are weak – then your rotator cuff might be tasked with extra work or strain. The more mobile your shoulder is, and the more balanced the strength around your shoulder joint is, the more effective your rotator cuff will be when playing a repetitive sport like pickleball.

2. “Pickleball” elbow

This is pretty much identical to tennis elbow – known medically as lateral epicondylitis. It causes pain and tenderness on the side of your elbow or forearm – and happens due to overuse of your forearm muscles – typically due to poor mechanics above, below, or in the elbow itself. To prevent this, you want to make sure the areas above and below your elbow joint are strong and stable. Your shoulder needs to be both strong and mobile for when you swing – otherwise your elbow will compensate and try to help out. Your wrist needs to be stable when holding the racket – or your elbow will need to kick in and try to help. The ligaments and muscles around your elbow aren’t designed to do the job of both your shoulder and your wrist – so if you don’t give these areas some love – you could end up with pickleball elbow.

3. Ankle sprains

Because there is a lot of pivoting and starting/stopping directions during pickleball – it’s easy to sprain your ankle if you’re not careful. Most ankle sprains occur from rolling on the outside of your ankle. This results in bruising, pain and swelling of the ligaments along the side of your ankle. While this injury does heal over time, it can often result in chronic weakening or scarring of those ligaments as well as tightness in your ankle joint – which only makes you susceptible to future ankle sprains. It’s best to make sure you have a good warm-up before you play. One that conditions your ankle and feet for quick stepping and flexibility. You also want to make sure you have strong hip muscles. If your side hip muscles aren’t strong and helping you stay stable in your pelvis – your ankle will take the brunt – and you’ll be more likely to sprain it.

4. Achilles tendonitis

Your Achilles tendon is a very strong, thick tendon that connects your calf muscle to your heel. It’s responsible for generating a lot of power to help you spring off your foot and jump. Its power is generated from its ability to stretch and then contract. Therefore, your ankle needs to have good mobility in order for your Achilles tendon to do its job. If your ankle is stiff and tight, you could be at risk for developing Achilles tendonitis. One other consideration is the strength of your glutes (or butt). Calf muscles love to compensate for weak gluteal muscles. If that happens over and over, they become tight and can put extra strain on your Achilles tendon – since they are connected. So make sure your butt is strong and your ankle is mobile in order to help prevent this common pickleball injury.

If you’re a pickleball lover – or perhaps wanting to get into this popular sport for the first time – I hope these tips help you to become more aware of what you can do to protect yourself from injury.

Ready to get help with your pain or injury?

Request to speak to one of my specialists to see if we would be the right fit to help you get out of pain. CLICK HERE to request a Free Discovery with one of my specialists.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH. 

 

Senior Man Suffering From Back Pain Whilst Gardening

5 Tips to Avoid Back Pain While Gardening

/in /by

Gardening has so many health benefits and it’s an activity many people fall in love with. It gets you outdoors in the fresh air, exposes you to vitamin D, it’s meditative, helps to improve hand-eye coordination, and it’s great exercise. But one thing it’s not always great for is your back. If you love gardening – but cringing about what it might do to your back this Spring – keep reading.

Here are 5 tips to avoid back pain while gardening:

 

1. Avoid bending from the waist

A common gardening posture I see is folks standing with straight or slightly bent knees and bending over from their waist – creating an “L-shape” with their body. While this posture is acceptable to do from time to time – it’s not a good idea to do this over and over again while gardening. This particular posture puts a lot of strain on your lower back as well as the backs of your knees. Over time, your lower back muscles will become very sore and tight, which can make them susceptible to injury when you least expect it. What to do instead? Get in the habit of squatting and bending from your knees. If you must do a particular gardening activity for a sustained period – try being on all-fours – and switch your hands periodically. These positions are much better for your back and you’ll be able to sustain the activity for much longer.

2. Take frequent breaks

It’s easy to get lost in the activity of planting and weeding. But even if you’re choosing good postures like I mentioned above – your back still needs a break. Our spines do not enjoy being bent forward for prolonged periods and when you do this for too long without taking a break – it puts a lot of stress on the vertebral discs in your spine and makes them more likely to bulge. I recommend setting a timer and giving yourself a break every 30 min. Simply stand up and get out of the bent over posture. Your back will thank you and you’ll be able to garden for much longer without risk of injuring your spine.

3. Pivot instead of twist

One of the most vulnerable positions for your back is the combination of bending and rotating. And when done repetitively, you’re almost guaranteed an injury to your spine. When you’re doing things like digging or planting – activities that have you bending and twisting – you want to pivot instead. Keep your body in line with the activity you’re doing. Don’t rotate or twist from your waist. How do you do this? Make sure your hips are always in line with the object you are moving and maneuvering. Keep your ribs in line with your pelvis and always move them as a unit. While it’s ok to bend and twist from your waist on occasion – you’ll find yourself in some trouble when you do this over and over again – especially if you have a history of back pain episodes happening to you in the past.

4. Use gardening tools wisely

Gardening tools can be of significant help when it comes to maintaining good posture and avoiding overuse of your muscles and joints. When you have to lift something heavy – especially repeatedly – use a wheelbarrow. This valuable gardening tool will allow you to lift and move heavy things with significantly less strain on your back. If you’ve got to be on your knees or squatting a lot – consider using a gardening bench. This will make it easier to sustain activities that require prolonged bending or kneeling. Lastly, use tools with longer handles to help avoid crouched over postures. If you can maintain a more upright posture while gardening, you’ll be able to tolerate it longer and with less back pain. 

5. Raise your gardens

Let’s face it, gardening involves bending over and lots of it. Activities like this are just not good for your back when done over and over. Consider modifying your garden to include more raised boxes and beds. This is going to make it so much easier to tend to your plants without having to bend over so much. And when you need to create a work surface – make sure that is raised too. Bending forward isn’t “bad” for your spine – but when you bend all the time without giving your back a break – you’re asking for trouble. Modifying your garden to make it more ergonomic can make a huge difference in the health of your spine.

Gardening has so many positive benefits – and the last thing I want is for back pain to be the thing that stops you from doing something you love. Hopefully these tips give you some important things to consider – and more importantly – help you look at gardening as something enjoyable again versus something you dread because of your back.

Do you have nagging back pain that gets in the way of your everyday activities? Request to talk to one of my specialists to see if we would be the right fit to help you get out of pain. CLICK HERE to request a Free Discovery with one of my specialists.

 

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH.  To get a free copy of her guide to taking care of back pain – click here.