As stated in the last two week’s posts, core strengthening is not just limited to working your abdominal muscles by doing crunches. It also includes exercising other muscles that help stabilize and strengthen your back, trunk, pelvis and hips. In this three part series, I will be writing about three different muscles that I like to encourage my Seattle Treatment Massage clients to strengthen if I find they are weak. Strengthening these muscles is a great addition to any core workout program.
In the last two parts of the Core Strengthening Series, we talked about the hip flexors and the adductors. The final third section is really going to get to the core of the matter. I am referring to the muscles know as the pubococcygeus muscle or the PC muscles. This muscles is located between the pubic bone and the tailbone. The PC muscle and the pelvis make up the bowl that holds your internal pelvic organs. When this muscle is weak it can contribute to hip instability and incontinence in men and women. A strong PC muscle can also aid with child birth and prevention of pelvic organ prolapse.
To exercise the PC muscle, you must first be aware of this muscle. Awareness can be found by attempting to cut of the flow of your urine midstream. The muscle you feel clamping down is your PC muscle. It is important for men and women to have strong PC muscles. If you are having a hard time feeling your PC muscle, see if a health practitioner can help you.
Exercises strengthening your PC muscles are generally called Kegels. One way to do a Kegel is to squeeze and hold your PC muscle for as long as you can. You might feel your PC muscle start to weaken and other abdominal muscles take over. That is fine. With time you will get stronger and getting a little abdominal strengthening with this exercise can be an added bonus.
Another way to strengthen these muscles is to picture them tighten like an elevator climbing your pelvic muscles, tightening at the bottom and working your way up.
You can also just do repetitions. One thousand and one, one thousand and two- squeeze. One thousand one, one thousand two – release. You can use Mississippis, if that is your counting preference.
This concludes the core strengthening series. I hope it has been helpful and thank you for reading. PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/
Core strengthening is not just limited to working your abdominal muscles by doing crunches. It also includes exercising other muscles that help stabilize and strengthen your back, trunk, pelvis and hips. In this three part series, I will be writing about three different muscles that I like to encourage my Seattle Treatment Massage clients to strengthen if I find they are weak. Strengthening these muscles is a great addition to any core workout program.
The first core muscles we are going to talk about are the hip flexors. This muscle group consist of three muscles; the iliacus, psoas major and the rectus femoris. The responsibility of the hip flexors are to bring the thigh towards the abdomen. When these muscles are weak, the hips can tilt forward and contribute to an extreme curve in your lower back. This is commonly known as a sway back or lumbar lordosis. Someone with lumbar lordosis can have quite a bit of low back pain.
I am introducing you to two levels of exercises to help strengthen your hip flexors. Do the first level of exercises for a few weeks until you feel the front-upper part of your hips and thighs become stronger, then incorporate the level 2 exercise.
PHASE ONE Exercise - Pelvic Tilt
1. Lie on the ground with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Starting by flattening your low back.
3. Tighten your buttocks and lift your hips up off the floor.
4. Lift until your lower back is totally flat on the floor and your hips are totally off the floor.
5. Breathe out when you lift your hips and breath in and lower your hips.
6. Start off with 10-20 of these depending on your strength.
7. Do this twice a day.
PHASE TWO Exercise – Single Leg Pelvic Tilt
This exercise is similar to the pelvic tilt exercise above. If this exercise is difficult for you go back and just do the Phase One exercise for a week more and then try again.
1. Lie on the ground with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Starting by flattening your low back.
3. Raise your left foot a few inches off the ground.
4. Tighten the front of your right thigh and hip and lift your hip up off the floor.
5. Lift until your lower back is totally flat on the floor.
6. Breathe out when you lift your hips and breath in when you lower your hips.
7. Repeat with the other foot and opposite hip.
8. Alternate raising each foot, start off with 10-20 of these depending on your strength.
6. Do this twice a day along with the Phase One exercise.
The intention with strengthening these muscle is to help correct that forward pelvic tilt and bring more stability to your core so that your back gets some assistance with being upright and moving.
Stay tuned for next week and the second part in this three part series. We will learn about the adductors. Thank you for reading, PJ Harris, LMP. http://www.pjharris.com/
Do you have pain on the tops of your shoulders? Do you find the more you feel stress the higher your shoulders climb or are you feeling like atlas with the weight of the world on them? This is a common occurrence in this high paced electronic age we are in. The more we invent gadgets to make our lives easier, the more complicated life seems to get. Today’s post is going to offer you a few simple ways to “shrug off” your stress.
When you feel tension and pain in the top of your shoulders that sometimes will run all the way up your neck, one of the main muscle reacting is your Trapezius. I believe the whole body is involved when we exhibit poor posture, but in particular, the muscle we are addressing in this post is a part of the Trapezius called the UPPER Trapezius. One of the functions of the UPPER Trapezius is shrugging or raising your shoulders. When you keep your shoulders slightly raised or as I like to say “wear them as earrings,” this causes an amazing amount of stress on them.
So here are a stretching and breathing exercise you can do to provide upper shoulder relief:
* STRETCH – To help decrease stress in your shoulders and the sides of your neck, there is a very simple stretch you can do right there in your chair. Put your feet flat on the floor, grab the underside of your chair seat, and slowly tilt your head to the side. Breathe and hold stretch for at least 20 seconds. Remember to stretch both sides.
* BREATHE - Start to bring more awareness to your shoulder posture. Are you finding that they are raised up often? When you notice they are raised, do this simple breathing exercise:
1. Take a deep breath in and raise your shoulders up as high as they can go.
2. Move your shoulders as far back as they can go.
3. Breathe out and drop your shoulders at the same time.
This should all flow in a semi-circular motion.
Both of these tips have helped many of my Seattle Treatment Massage clients decrease their shoulder and neck pain and tension. If they help you or if you have a question, leave a comment. Thanks for reading, PJ Harris, LMP. http://www.pjharris.com/
I received a request from a follower on twitter to post about problems with knees. While I can’t give detailed advice on recovering from an injury without seeing someone in person, I can give some general suggestions on how to keep your knees injury free.
Like all parts of your body, your knees are not islands in your legs. Knee health is mostly depended on the health of other surrounding body structures. I have boiled down knee care to a few hints that will increase your chances to have strong and flexible knees for years to come.
1. Reduce Impact and Twisting- Are your favorite activities high impact or require lots of twisting? These activities put enormous strain on your knees. It’s hard for many who love these activities to stop doing them altogether. Maybe you could cut down. Cross training can be most beneficial. For instance instead of running 5X a week you could run 3X a week and swim or row 2X a week. Give those knees a break and still keep fit.
2. Leg Muscle Balance- Often people will develop pain on either side or the top of their knees. This can be caused by a muscle imbalance in the legs. A certain muscle or muscle group might be too weak. Make sure when you are strengthening your legs you hit all muscle groups not just quads, hamstrings and calves. The most common leg weakness I find with my Seattle massage clients are the adductors (inner thighs).
3. Pelvis Alignment and Muscle Balance- When your pelvis is out of alignment or you have a weakness in the muscles that stabilize the pelvis there is a large chance that you will become a victim to “trickle down ergonomics.” Which is a silly way of saying, what is going on structurally above the body greatly effects the lower structures. This is extra critical when the structures are as close to the knees as the pelvis.
4. Feet and Ankle Alignment and Muscle Balance- Are you landing on your feet evenly? Do you have weak ankles? Are you using comfortable and supportive shoes? These are all important things to keep mindful of and address immediately. This could be based on the “trickle up ergonomics” theory.
5. Range of Motion- If you spend more than an hour a day with your knee in one position then it is important for you to move it. Are you sitting a lot? Get up, stretch your legs and walk around for a few minutes every hour. Don’t drag your feet or shuffle when you walk. This bad habit promotes poor range of motion in the knee, hip and ankle.
6. Flexibility- Do you stand a lot? Do some leg stretches, especially for the quads and calves, every two hours. It is important that you stretch ALL OF THE LEG daily. The most common tightness I find in folks are the quads and adductors. Many runners will sacrifice stretching for added running time. This is not a good idea if you want to keep running for many years.
7. Body Support Team- If you are an active person or are currently having knee pain, it is important that you have a health practitioner that you can go to that will help you keep everything strong, flexible and aligned. My favorite type of practitioners for this are massage practitioners, physical therapists, and personal trainers.
If you have a more specific persistent issue that you are dealing with in regards to your knees, please seek medical help immediately. The sooner you start care the greater your chance for a speedy recovery and don’t underestimate the power of ice for injury recovery. PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/
This post is an interview with Kate Conwell, Personal Trainer Extraordinaire followed by her tips of 10 Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk. Below are some of the questions I asked her:
What suggestions do you have for people who have a hard time motivating themselves? When someone wants to get back into shape and needs some help getting motivated, I would recommend two things: 1) Find someone to hold you accountable to your workouts – either a personal trainer or a friend. This person should be encouraging and dependable. You want him or her to “force” you to follow through on your commitment. 2) Figure out what physical activities you enjoy most and pursue those first. There are so many ways to exercise these days – dance and fitness classes, yoga, running, weight lifting, swimming, kick boxing, pilates – the list goes on and on. Try them all, and find the one for which you have the greatest passion. If you like doing something, you’re more likely to stick with it, and you will be excited about including it in your day. After you get going, if you feel it’s necessary to add something that you don’t enjoy as much in order to accomplish your goals, then do it. But always start with the stuff you like!
How do you think that a fitness trainer and massage therapist could work together to help a client? When I work with a client, the first step is to decrease/get rid of any muscular imbalances in order to help her body function properly and effectively. Over time some muscles get too tight, while others are constantly stretched, and therefore weakened. Correcting these imbalances will help exercise be more productive, and overall life more comfortable. I enjoy working with massage therapists, like PJ, because massage helps decrease muscle tightness and increase mobility, which would help a person get rid of her imbalances more quickly.
What advice might you give someone who is having a challenge with a chronic injury due to a sport or fitness activity? Chronic injuries are usually the result of a muscular imbalance or weakness. I would tell that person to go see their doctor, or a sports rehab specialist, to figure out if they are healthy enough to start a weight training program, and what muscle groups that specialist would recommend focusing on. When they got clearance from their doctor to proceed with weight training, I would create a program that focuses on strengthening the weak areas, stretching any tight muscles that are contributing to the imbalance, and developing an overall healthy body to prevent this injury from recurring. I would also tell them to listen to their body as we progress through the program, and suggest ice and massage to help speed the recovery process and ensure future health.
10 Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk
1. Heel Raises – With both feet on the ground, press toes down and lift heels off the ground. Repeat 10-20 times. 2. Isometric Bicep – Bend elbow to 90˚ angle and press hand, palm up against bottom of desk. Keep constant pressure for 10 seconds then relax. Repeat 8-12 times. 3. Leg Extension and Hold – Extend leg straight ahead and squeeze. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 8-12 times. 4. Neck Stretch – Lean head toward one ear and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side. 5. Toe Raises – With both feet on the ground press heels down and lift toes off the ground. Repeat 10-20 times. 6. Upper Body Twist – Cross right leg over left knee then slowly twist body to right shoulder. Hold 15-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side. 7. Arm Circles / Shoulder Circles – With arms straight and parallel to floor circle in each direction 10 times. For shoulder version leave arms at sides. 8. Tricep Stretch – Hold one arm behind your head so that your elbow points up toward the ceiling. With the other hand, slowly pull on the elbow and hold for 15-30 seconds each arm. 9. Seated Crunch – Hands at side to support weight. Feet start on the floor in front of you. Lift your knees toward your chest and hold for 5 seconds. Lower legs back toward ground and repeat 10-15 times. 10. Inner Thigh Squeeze – While seated with back flat, place one fist between your knees. Squeeze your fist by contracting your inner thighs. Release slightly, keeping abs engaged and repeat 10-20 times.
How can people sign up for your newsletter?
Email me at: kate@purebdodyfitness with “Newsletter Sign-Up” in the subject line. Or visit my website, www.purebodyfitness.com and click on the link there to sign up directly.
Many of the clients coming to my Seattle treatment massage practice suffer from a lack of flexibility and/or a lack of strength in their muscles. I believe these issues are often the ultimate cause of their pain. One of the most effective ways to increase your strength and flexibility is with yoga.
Yoga is an ancient form of movement developed by yogis to support their bodies while they sit and meditate for hours on end. Do you sit for hours on end? At least you probably have a chair back.
Some of the benefits of yoga are as follows:
Strength
Yoga offers a gentle way to build strong healthy muscles with a lower risk of injury than most types of strengthening exercises. This gentle build offers a full body muscle balance that is, in my opinion, second to none. This can make you strong enough to withstand the stress of a modern body.
Flexibility
I don’t know of a more effective activity for flexibility than Yoga. Except for a circus performer, who is more flexible than a person that practices yoga. A flexible body has less chance of injury, increased efficiency and greater capacity for relaxation.
Body Awareness
Many people’s main focus in their lives is outward. This can increase their occurrence of injury because they are not fully aware of where there body is and what it is up to. They might injure themselves and have no idea how it happened. Body awareness is an important step to having a injury free life. Yoga increases body awareness and balance.
Breath
As stated in my previous post on the breath, the practice of deepening and focusing on your breath is a most powerful relaxation tool. Most of us breathe shallow and yoga teaches us to breathe deep, clear our nasal passages and calm our nervous system.
Mind Calming
When we are focusing on our bodies and our breath the mind naturally calms itself. We are more present to the now and less focused on our worries as we enjoy the movement of our bodies.
Circulation
Better breathing practices and increase in movement are key ways to improve your circulation. The different angles that yoga puts your body in work wonders with relieving and improving the strength of your blood and lymph vessels.
Yoga Journal has a pretty decent yoga studio search directory. Click this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Thanks for reading. I would love to hear about anyone’s experience with yoga in the comments section. PJ Harris, LMP http://pjharris.com
Many of the clients coming to my Seattle massage practice are suffering from pain and/or muscle tension when they first wake up in the morning. Some people have low back pain and many have shoulder pain. It leads to reason that they are doing something while they are sleeping to cause themselves this discomfort. Unless they have a serious sleep walking issue, it probably has to do with the position their body is lying in.
To support your body better while sleeping breaks down to what angle best takes care of your individual joints and how to achieve that optimal angle.
To care for your neck while sleeping on your side, it must be in a neutral position like the picture to the left. There are many types of pillows that can help you achieve this. Ikea has a few and you can try them on a bed the store provides next to the pillows display.
The best angle for shoulder support when sleeping on your side is for the shoulder to not cave in or angle back. Keeping a neutral position across your chest and upper back as much as possible is better. To do this you can hug a pillow while you sleep. This will help keep your shoulders from curving inward.
When you are also sleeping on your side, the best angle for your legs is with your knees hip length apart. You can create this angle by placing a pillow the correct amount of thickness between your knees. To support your low back, your legs bent at the hip between a slight and a 90 degree angle is preferred.
When you are sleeping on your back, a great way to support your low back is to put a pillow under your knees.
There are a few common muscle weaknesses I see on my table with clients coming to my Seattle massage practice. Today we are addressing the ones that contribute to low back pain. These exercise will get you off to a great start. As always, check with your physician before starting any exercise routine. Only do as much as you are comfortable with. It is better to start slow and build.
For those of you who feel you need to start off easy due to lack of activity, I would suggest starting with the *BEGINNING ABS* (first video) exercise and work your way up. Others can start with one excersise from each of these muscle groups: Abdominals, Obliques, Lower Abdominals and Adductors. Those of you feeling more ambitious, fell free to do them all.
1. Abdominal muscles
When these muscles are weak, your back has to do more than its share to keep your body upright and bending. Good exercises for this are:
BIRD DOG: Great for working abs and back. Try and hold each stretch for at least 10-15 seconds.
And/Or
AB CRUNCHES: Do not do this exercise if you have neck issues.
2. Obliques
Obliques help you twist and bend. When they are strong, your back doesn’t have to work so hard at twisting and bending to the side. Here are two oblique exercises:
SIDE PLANK TWIST: Remember to do both sides.
And/Or
BICYCLE TWIST: Do not do this exercise if you have neck issues.
The last piece of this puzzle is strengthening your pelvic floor. An exercise for that is called Kegels and they are not just for women. Instruction for this excersise will have to come from your Doctor. I think it is important to strengthen the pelvic floor to support your pelvis and internal organs. All of which will support your back. Thanks for reading, PJ Harris LMP, http://www.pjharris.com/
In my Seattle treatment massage practice, one of the modalities I use is Myofascial Release (MFR). What is Myofascial Release you say? Well, myo means muscle and fascia is connective tissue. What is fascia? To know what fascia is, it helps to think of the thin saran wrap type film that covers a precooked chicken breast after you remove the skin. That is fascia. This tissue is located throughout your body. It surrounds and connects all organs, muscles (including individual muscle fibers), and bones. Muscle and fascia form the myofascial system. To release both your muscles and your fascia and the relation between them is Myofascial Release.
When your fascia is healthy, your body moves more fluidly. But your fascia gets gummed up when you have an injury due to an accident, surgery or poor posture. Myofascial release is designed to free up your fascia so that your muscles, organs and bones move more smoothly and with an increased range of motion. Flexibility is just as important to the stability of our bodies as strength.
In a previous post, I spoke about my Treatment Massage philosophy. It is based on an Open, Strengthen, and Release theory. Well, one of the modalities I use in the “Open” phase of treatment, is Myofascial Release. I explore the myofascial system with touch, feeling for areas that need the fibers realigned. This skill is called palpation and is an important part of this work. These areas are often found in muscles that are shorter than would be appropriate for healthy posture. Without lotion, to help get a good grip, I stretch the muscle to loosen all the adhesions. Adhesions are a fibrous band of scar tissue that binds together normally separate fibers. This helps to break up all of that built up scar tissue and brings blood flow and flexibility back to the area.
Another form of myofascial release I use in my practice, is pin and stretch. This is done by pressing on one end of a muscle while stretching it by moving the limb in the opposite direction that the muscle performs. Pin and stretch is great for the chest, forearms and calves. This gives the muscles and fascia a nice stretch to realign those fibers.
I would not recommend applying Myofascial Release to muscles that are elongated past their normal length due to poor posture. It will only add to the overstretching.
After Myofascial Release is applied, suppleness returns to the muscles and fascia and we all live happily ever after, or so the story goes. Thanks for reading, PJ Harris, LMP. http://www.pjharris.com/
Many of the clients I see in my Seattle massage practice have pain due to poor ergonomics at their desks. What is ergonomics?
Ergonomics, when applied to sitting at a desk, is the process of the correct placement and alignment of the joints of your body. When your body is supported in its proper alignment you will decrease your risk of injury.
Here are a few basic ergonomic suggestions to keep your body pain free:
Feet flat on the floor - Raise or lower your chair or put your feet on something.
Knees bent at a 90 degree angle - Adjust your seat height or put your feet on something.
Hips at a 90 degree angle - Move hips as close as possible to the seat back.
Back supported - Make sure your seat back supports your back. You could use a little pillow if needed.
Elbows at a 90 degree angle - Raise or lower your keyboard shelf or adjust your chair.
Shoulders should be relaxed and not hunched up toward ears.
Wrists straight - This is yet again a seat height issue
Eyes level with the top of the screen of your computer monitor.
The monitor should be an arm’s length away and then adjust the distance for your vision.
muscles know as the pubococcygeus muscle or the PC muscles. This muscles is located between the pubic bone and the tailbone. The PC muscle and the pelvis make up the bowl that holds your internal pelvic organs. When this muscle is weak it can contribute to hip instability and incontinence in men and women. A strong PC muscle can also aid with child birth and prevention of pelvic organ prolapse.
- Pelvic Tilt
When you feel tension and pain in the top of your shoulders that sometimes will run all the way up your neck, one of the main muscle reacting is your Trapezius. I believe the whole body is involved when we exhibit poor posture, but in particular, the muscle we are addressing in this post is a part of the Trapezius called the UPPER Trapezius. One of the functions of the UPPER Trapezius is shrugging or raising your shoulders. When you keep your shoulders slightly raised or as I like to say “wear them as earrings,” this causes an amazing amount of stress on them.
relief:
I received a request from a follower on 
This post is an interview with Kate Conwell, Personal Trainer Extraordinaire followed by her tips of 10 Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk. Below are some of the questions I asked her:
Many of the clients coming to my 
To care for your neck while sleeping on your side, it must be in a neutral position like the picture to the left. There are many types of pillows that can help you achieve this. Ikea has a few and you can try them on a bed the store provides next to the pillows display.
