CHALOM PHYSICAL THERAPY AND WELLNESS
  • Home
  • About
    • In Depth
  • Scoliosis
  • Services
    • Physical Therapy
    • Schroth Method for Scoliosis
    • Yoga
    • What I Have To Offer
    • Payment Information
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Health Tips
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Linktree

                                       

    BLOG

Your Back Your Core

1/23/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture
Your Back Your Core


Having a back that doesn’t keep you from doing things you love, is a goal most who have had back problems place at the top of their list.

Of course if you are in the midst of a flare up your more urgent goal may be pain relief,
which is of course understandable!


This blog is aimed at the time period when you are no longer in a flare,
but possibly dealing with some symptoms, and mostly want to get a
healthier back and core so it doesn't happen again.


I see time and again that most people don’t really get the results they are after
when trying to achieve a stronger core and back. We can all
download exercises from the internet, but what really matters 
is how you do them and which muscles you are actively recruiting.



So what are your core muscles anyways?
They are your deep stabilizer muscles of the spine, abdominals and pelvic floor.
You can’t necessarily touch them since they lie deep to other muscles and structures.
It’s the same in other joints of the body too - the muscles that lie
closest to the joints are our stabilizers,
not the ones closest to the skin - those are typically our prime movers.


Pain often causes our deep stabilizers to be tense,
guarded and not fire when we need them most.
That’s why using techniques to improve recruitment
as well as the ability to contract and relax at the right time is a key function
of developing a healthier back.


So what are your deep stabilizers?
There are three categories to focus on:
  1. Deep Abdominals - Transverse Abdominus
  2. Deep Spinal Stabilizers - Multifidi
  3. Pelvic Floor Muscles

The catch is that they are not always easy to cue and get them to activate properly
- it’s not like telling yourself to make a muscle with your bicep!


Here are some simple tips: 
First start in hook lying - lying on your back with knees bent. 
Instead of jumping right into your abdominal exercises take a few minutes
to see how well you are stabilizing.

Place your hands gently on your lower abdomen and lift one foot a few inches off the ground.

Did your abdomen pop up into your hands? 
If so, you were not stabilizing well with transverse abdominus. 
So imagine what happens when you are doing harder exercises!

Spend some time here learning to control this, and only move on to more
challenging exercises when you can do so at any stage.

To work on this think of gently drawing your navel towards your spine,

then try lifting one foot again.


Next cue is to first draw your pelvic floor up, then navel to the spine, then lift your foot.
You will most likely notice better control of your abdominal wall.
That’s because the deep stabilizers “talk” to each other so using your
ability to cue pelvic floor can help you activate your deep abdominals.


We can more easily cue the pelvic floor muscles since we have the
physiologic function they serve as an easy way to cue them!


The deep spinal muscles are harder to cue but if you are doing the other
two groups that will get you off to a great start!

One cue you can try though is to be in hook lying or side lying and
imagine a guide wire going from either hip bone (ASIS) or your pubic bone
to a point in the lower back
- imagine drawing one of those front points towards your back point.


With all of these techniques, practice activating with control and releasing with control.
It really is a coordination activity that you do as a foundation for any strength work you do!

As far as your yoga practice goes, the same principles apply,
so think about how well you balance front, back and bottom of
your trunk in your poses …. But that’s a whole other blog post…..


I hope you find this helpful! I
If you are in the San Diego area we will be doing all of this live in my
upcoming
Back workshop  

There are 2 dates available, February and March.

If you are not local, stay tuned for the online version which will be live in a few months.
Be well and don’t hesitate to message me with your questions!








​

2 Comments

How To Tame Your Headache

12/24/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
How To Tame Your Headache

Headaches happen for all sorts of reasons and it’s hard to pin down the exact one.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to nip one in the bud by cycling through a few simple approaches to short circuiting your headache before it takes full hold.

You know, that point when there is really nothing left to do but crawl into bed in a dark room.

Headaches can be a debilitating problem that most definitely decreases our quality of life. 
By all means, please see a doctor and be screened for potential causes. 
Once you know there is no serious health issue causing your headaches, it’s time to look at what you have control over and how you might affect change in the progression leading up to a full blown headache.
There are many things you can look at - diet is a big one with triggers like sugar, alcohol and more. I won’t dive into that in this blog but it’s worthwhile to do a bit of research and ask your doctor for guidelines. I have seen that neurologists who specialize in headaches are quite thorough in this area.

Let’s look at some of the common causes for headaches:
  1. Neck - Muscle Tension
  2. Sinus  
  3. Ocular
  4. Stress - Emotional and Physical
  5. Food triggers

How many of you feel that your headaches can be triggered by one of these three? 
Can you tell which one?

The truth is, it’s not always easy to know for sure what the trigger is, which is why I recommend cycling through a few self treatments.

Neck issues - If you suspect your headaches is caused by your neck, here are a few things to try:
  1. Ice to the back of your neck and base of skull
  2. Roll up a towel so it’s fairly firm - lie on your back and place the rolled towel across the base of your skull so it provides gentle pressure to the muscles there
  3. Lie on a folded blanket along your spine with another folded for head support. You should be comfortable here and feel like you can relax neck and shoulders and breathe better.


Sinus problems - if you suspect your sinuses are triggering your headaches, try these:
  1. Steam your sinuses - a hot shower is a great way
  2. Ice along the sides of your nose and sinuses
  3. Head down position - like a supported dog pose where you can let your head hang down for a bit - come up slowly!


Ocular - if you suspect eye strain is contributing to your headache:
  1. Obvious but needs to be said :) Step away from screen time including your phone
  2. Lie down with a cool or warm compress across eyes
  3. Check your glasses or check if you need glasses so you don’t strain to see


Stress - if you suspect emotional or physical stress is a contributing factor
  1. If possible - go for a short walk somewhere calming - I get that if the headache is full blown already this may not be a good option
  2. Sit on the floor in a comfortable position with support as needed. Lean forward and rest your forehead on a support - like a chair, coffee table etc - you can cross your forearms and rest your head there. Focus on your breath - just watch it as it moves in and out. If sitting on the floor is not an option - sit in a chair and lean forward onto a table with a folded blanket for support and comfort.
  3. Passive chest opening - Lie on a folded blanket along your spine with another folded for head support. You should be comfortable here and feel like you can relax neck and shoulders and breathe better.


I find that there is a lot of overlap with contributing factors as well as interventions that might help.
It’s good to spend a bit of time and energy considering these different categories but don’t get stuck trying to figure it out!
As you can see, the recommendations from one category will quite possibly influence a headache triggered by another. So choose your path and cycle through the others if your first doesn’t do the trick.

Learning to spot triggers as well as taking a close look at behavioral patterns is key. You all know that changing the course of a headache is much easier if you catch it early so try and work through this process when you feel one coming on.
Not when you are already in the bed and dark room stage!

This is a topic I care deeply about since I see so many people who suffer from debilitating headaches that dramatically change their quality of life.
Sometimes….. I know it's not always, you can dramatically change the course of a headache with these basic guidelines. I have helped many people through this process and plan on developing a course on this soon.

Please reach out to me with any questions.


0 Comments

Step One

12/14/2019

0 Comments

 
Step One
Picture

​I hope to share helpful information relating to health and wellness, based on my years of experience as a physical therapist and yoga practitioner/teacher.
We all have to start at the beginning - so here we go!



Step One - in order to help ourselves have a better life we need to be aware of what we are hoping to effect.  Is it general wellness, injury prevention or recovery, improved energy or focus?  The list could obviously go on and on……. it is for each of us to define.

Self awareness on the most basic level. What do you want to accomplish today? Where are you today? - no…not literally:)
 Sounds so simple, doesn't it?  While working with many human beings I see that often we disconnect from what really matters to us as well as from what and how we are actually living.
If I narrow this down to the physical, I see that many of my patients and students have truly disconnected from their bodies.

Therefore….STEP ONE is to help inspire self observation and awareness. 
How can any thing change if we aren’t even aware of it?
​
Most people come to physical therapy or a yoga class with some type of change in mind. I believe helping them see where they are in the present moment helps them actualize and understand the changes they are hoping for.  
Maybe the hope is for less pain, better function, more sleep, less anxiety, more knowledge and wisdom of how to achieve these goals.
Step One = Self Observation and Awareness so you can work towards those goals.



0 Comments

All Or Nothing ...... Just Don't Do It!

12/14/2019

0 Comments

 
All Or Nothing ...... Just Don't Do It!
Picture
​So many of us use this approach as we try to start or restart fitness programs. We think we should be able to jump in where we left off 6 months ago, and then we give up when doing so leads to pain and defeat.

I’ve been a physical therapist for 30 years and can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this conversation with my patients and my yoga students.
Coaching the behavioral side of things has become a regular part of my practice.

Why is moderation so hard?  It takes patience and humility. We need to acknowledge that our body needs time to catch up to our wishes.

I have been there too. After an injury - I slowly start to get more active and am challenged by how much I have to do.  First there is the excitement and enthusiasm, then the realization of how slow I will need to go. Not fun - but so what? It’s better than the alternative of doing nothing.

We all need to sort through this and come to terms with the ebbs and flows of rehabbing from an injury, getting more fit or picking up a new activity.

Don’t crash and burn!

0 Comments

    Author

    My things to say as a long time physical therapist and Iyengar yoga teacher
    Dina Chalom PT, MOMT, CIYT, C-IAYT

    Archives

    January 2020
    December 2019

    View my profile on LinkedIn

Home

About

Services

Contact

                               Email: dina@chalompt.com
What's New? 
Connect here for my newsletter and to be notified when I add classes and events:
                Phone:   858 692 8455
              
Copyright © 2015