Sleeping with your pillow!

So many people do not realizing that the position of their head on their pillow is causing problems as they sleep!  Yes, this is a true statement.
The placement of your pillow is quite important to your posture, over-all.

So - what is proper pillow placement? The following picture shows how NOT to place your pillow .

It looks quite comfortable BUT, your shoulders are at one level and the pillow brings your head and neck to another level. This will cause tension in your neck not only as you sleep but throughout the day..... If you persist with this position as a habit, the fascia in the front of your neck will shorten and you will develop neck and shoulder tension that won't go away.




I would suggest the following picture as a better  option for sleeping:

Notice how the pillow is underneath his shoulders? This allows the part of his spine between his shoulders and head to be in a  straight line.  It will make a big difference to him when his is awake.
He will not have that awful tightness in the back on his neck and shoulders that so many live with.

If you have been sleeping in the wrong position even for part of the night, I would recommend the post " How is your posture" It will show you how to stretch over the exercise ball.
I would also recommend the following stretch for your neck.

Instructions for Cervical Retraction While Sitting (or Standing)

Assume your chosen start position, whether it is sitting standing or lying prone.
Gently tuck your chin down toward your neck, like forcing a double chin.
Keeping your chin where it is, press your head back. Remember, this is a diagonal direction; it's as though you are moving your head both backwards and up toward the ceiling. Feel the stretch at the back of your neck. Relax and repeat.
You might try doing the cervical retraction about 20 to 30 times each day, either all at once or broken up into 5-8 reps 4 to 5 times during the day.

I would like to add a little blurb about those pillows with the 2 round bumps and your head is supposed to go in the center so that one bump support your neck. I do not think these are helpful, especially if sleeping on your back, for the same reason as cited above. It puts your head at a higher level than your spine.  The only time I would consider a pillow like that would be for side sleeping!

#neckpain #sleeping

How is your sitting posture?

 Does this remind you of the way you sit at your desk?
 

 Can you see the forward head and the collapsed chest,?

Most of us spend a good deal of time sitting at our desk or work
table. Are you comfortable after you have been sitting for a long
period of time? Do your shoulders and neck feel "tight" and "strained" when you get up?

What causes these problems and what can you do to avoid them? 

In order to sit properly, first if all, your hips need to be all the way back in the chair.
Your lower back needs to be supported and your head and neck will then balance on the top of your spine.
Many of us sit in what feels like a "relaxed" posture, but is really slouching. This
allows your head to be forward of mid - line, requiring your neck and
shoulder muscles to do all the work of holding your head up.
An average head can weigh up to fourteen pounds!
That's a lot of weight to support.
 

When you do not sit upright, the balance aspect is gone. Over time,
your muscles can become tight and overused.  One small movement in the
wrong direction will cause a spasm and, suddenly, you have a stiff
neck or intense pain in one shoulder.

 In summary, here are some specific tips to avoid these problems:

1.  First, check to see that you are sitting properly, hips all the
way back in your chair with your neck and head upright and your feet
touching the floor. You want to make sure that your lower back is
supported (use of a lumbar cushion is good - see below for link to  McKenzie Lumbar Support Cusihon) and that your elbows are
resting on the arms of the chair. Sitting in the right position is the
key to everything else in terms of maintaining comfort and ease of
movement.

 
2.  When talking on the phone, avoid holding the phone between your
head and shoulder. This is one of the worst things you can do because
it causes a tightening of your neck and shoulder, resulting in
possible long standing pain. Instead, use a headset, speakerphone or
just hold the receiver in your hand!

3.  At the computer, remember that the monitor should be at eye level
so that your neck is not tilted down or up, but is straight.
When using a mouse or touch pad, ideally your elbows should be supported to
relieve strain on your shoulders. To avoid carpal tunnel pain when
typing, you should have your wrists supported and ideally, your fingers lower
than your wrist. Use of a wrist rest pad can be beneficial.


Recommended Products



Ziraki Memory Foam Lumbar Cushion
Modway Edge Mesh Office Chair

Wonder Worker Einstein Adjustable Laptop Stand

Seville Classics Tilting Laptop Desk Cart

Trideer EXTRA THICK Yoga Ball Chair

DeskDoc Premium Standing Desk Converter

I'm Pregnant! So WHY do I need a physical therapist?

Pregnancy is a wonderful thing.... so why would I need to be in the office of a physical therapist?!

What I want to discuss are some reasons that will either make it easy to carry and deliver, naturally, or not so easy, maybe even impossible to have a natural delivery and therefore require a C-section.

Here is a question:
Would you want to carry your child in a compromised space?
The womb of a mother was designed perfectly to be the space between the 2 large pelvic bones.
The problem occurs when one or the other is one of two things.
One side can be twisted (torqued) on the other as in the picture below - OR

One side can be slightly higher than the other side. (upslipped)
Either way the result is a compromised space between these 2 bones.  This space is where the baby is carried!




 I am quite convinced that this is the reason we hear of women not able to go through with a natural birthing process...  the space where the baby is carried is very compromised. There is no room! OR the baby will be feet first, or sideways - the space dictates the position....

The facts are, either of these configurations are very easy to take care of. We do it all the time at my office. Pregnant woman come in with severe pain, some not able to walk without pain, and leave much relieved!
The sooner your pelvis is aligned, the better your pregnancy, and birth, will be; it is just that simple.
I can teach you to keep your hips aligned, yourself, which will help with the pain and discomfort that can be a part of pregnancy.

So, that answers the question as to why it is especially important for a pregnant woman to see a physical therapist!

#pregnancy #pregnant

Have you been told you have scoliosis?

I mentioned this word scoliosis, in the post "Understanding the causes of back, neck and jaw pain".

I want to tell you that the condition called "scoliosis" is treatable and in most cases reversible!
It is NOT a disease!

• There is a CAUSE for this condition. In many cases, a mis-aligned pelvis will begin that process.  You fall on one butt cheek.  Your pelvis torques( 2 halves twist on each other). Your sacrum has to pull to one side. The spine follows the tilting of the sacrum and begins it's trek to your neck in a crooked manner.  In order to finally end up with your head fairly on "straight" your spine then has to curve the OTHER way and that is called scoliosis.  See below.

• The post "What to do about a mis-aligned pelvis" describes the methods used in my office to cause your pelvis to re-align and then stay that way. 
• Once that is accomplished, you will need to follow the targeted, simple. exercises that create space between your thoracic vertebrae and therefore allow the body to re-align the spine.  
• It is as simple as using the exercise ball! (once you understand)

What to do about a mis-aligned pelvis and Cranio-Sacral Therapy)

This is an answer to a previous post examining what a mis-aligned pelvis would look like, and what can be done about it.

If you suspect this is your problem, and I can honestly say that only about 10% of the population escape, the best thing is to come in to the office and have it taken care of.
Once that is done..and it can happen in one session, I will be happy to instruct you, giving you tools to be able to keep yourself aligned.
I use manual techniques, but it is the addition of craniosacral therapy that really aligns and balances you from the inside out.

So, you are probably wondering what IS craniosacral therapy?

First of all the craniosacral system refers to the membranes and fluids that surround the brain and spinal cord.
By definition, craniosacral therapy is a very gentle treatment approach that works with the natural, self-correcting mechanism of the body and the craniosacral system.

The goal of this type of therapy is to detect and release restrictions in mobility of the craniosacral system (and therefore the body), and to enhance function of each.
The rhythmic movement of the craniosacral system can be palpated and is used to determine the core issues so that treatment can focus on the cause rather than the symptoms.

I have found that once the craniosacral system is balanced and functioning according to design, the body follows suit and the pelvis will actually re-align itself.
There are exercises one can learn, then, to keep the alignment and to allow the rest of the spine to unlock naturally.

 It is the goal of my treatment to not only bring this alignment in your body but to give you the tools to keep it that way.

Understanding the causes of back, neck and jaw pain.

In order to understand what causes back, neck and even jaw pain, we will need to see exactly what we look like on the inside. The crucial relationship of our pelvic bones, sacrum( tailbone) and spine.

Most of us are walking around with a slight mis-alignment in the pelvic girdle. This means that the 2 large pelvic bones are either twisted on each other, or one is actually a bit higher than the other (up-slipped)

Below is what our spine looks like: The 2 large pelvic bones join in the middle at the front and then wrap around to the back where they join the sacrum or "tailbone" on either side. Those places are called sacro-iliac joints - I am sure you have heard that term and wondered what it meant!


In both these pictures,
there is symmetry between the two halves of the pelvis and the spine.












So what happens when one side of the pelvis twists on the other?
It is called a torque and it looks like this:

It results in an incorrect positioning of the tailbone and therefore a curving of the spine above, which is what is called scoliosis! >












Another problem that can cause a scoliosis is an upslip.
This is where one of the 2 large pelvic bones actually slips up higher than the other one

Can you see that the pelvic bone on the right is higher than the one on the left? This causes the sacrum  (tailbone) to pull to the right and that will cause the spine to begin a crooked ascent to your neck.  In order to make up for this the spine will do a compensatory curve the other way, so that you remain standing up straight....this then, is called scoliosis - a treatable condition!

How is your posture?

Does this look like you?
Most of us stand with parts of all of this poor posture!

Did you know that this posture can totally be revised?

First, let's look at the reason's we find ourselves like this. 
Most often, in a day, if we examine what we do, we are in a forward leaning position.  We work on the computer, slightly leaning our head forward, or hunching down to see the screen; we are cooking, leaning over the counter most often head forward; and then there is driving! most often in a slightly slouched position.
After most of our waking hours in a "forward" position there is something that comes into play. 
The "fascia" on the front of our chest, especially, begins to shorten from being habitually in that position. (Fascia is the connective tissue of our body - VERY strong - holds us together down to the cellular level). So someone then tells us to 'stand up straight"! We forcefully pull our shoulders back, look good for a moment, and then go right back to the original posture.
Why? We cannot fight our shortened fascia ( tensile strength of 10,000 lbs per sq inch  - that is what you are fighting!).

The GOOD news is: we can STRETCH the fascia and re-set it. This happens over a few weeks.
                      If we know the proper way to stretch we can
                                                  totally change this slouchy posture into this!




So then, how do we do this?

Every heard of an exercise ball? (I give some purchasing recommendations below).
If you will stretch over this every day for about 3 minutes at a time, in about 2 weeks you will be amazed at what happens.

Choose one that is right for your height, and blow it up until it is good and firm.
You then sit on it and roll out until the apex of the ball hits the area between your shoulder blades.
Tighten your abs so that your butt does not sag - you want your torso to be in a straight line. Clasp you hands behind your head and cradle it relaxing everything. Allow the fascia to st-r-e-t-c-h. It actually responds to a

slow, gentle, sustained stretch.  Take about 45 seconds to a full minute.

Next stretch your hands about to either side with palms up,
again wait about a minute. Remember not to allow your butt to sag.












Lastly bringg both your hands above your head with palms up for about a minute.
   

If you will do this every day taking 3 - 5 minutes, even twice a day if time allows, you will certainly begin to re-set you fascia over your chest area, allowing your posture to correct.
The other benefit to these stretches, is that by reversing the habitual curve in your back the vertebrae are allowed more space and then can spontaneously begin to re-align.  You may even hear a "pop", which is a great thing.

There is, however, a complication to all of this, and that is a mis-aligned pelvis.
Once we have determined that this is the problem, it is best to get that taken care of first.
I will cover that in the post called "what to do about a mis-aligned pelvis". After that, the above is all crucial for bringing the body into perfect alignment according to design!

Recommended links:
Trideer Exercise Ball (45-85cm) EXTRA THICK Yoga Ball Chair, Anti-Burst Heavy Duty Stability Ball Supports 2200lbs, Birthing Ball with Quick Pump (Office & Home & Gym)

Exercise Ball (Multiple Sizes) for Fitness, Stability, Balance & Yoga - Workout Guide & Quick Pump Included - Anti Burst Professional Quality Design