Chiropractic Health & Wellness Blog
Self-Care for Back Pain
May 14, 2010
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Self-Care for Back Pain: Exercises to Help the Healing Process..
When it comes to back pain, your first thoughts may be to take over-the-counter pain medication and rest whenever possible. Two bad options.
First, medication is only going to temporarily relieve the pain, if at all, and may be accompanied by various unpleasant side effects attributable to drugs.
Second, rest may actually hurt more than help. While you're seeing your chiropractor, there are a few things you can do at home to help the healing process. Believe it or not, it's based on the simple principle of movement.
When you stop moving, everything tightens up, circulation slows down, and pain chemicals accumulate in your muscles and joints. It's like waking up after sleeping in a cold room on a lousy mattress with a draft. You need to move. Here are two simple exercises to get you started (discuss these with your doctor Quick read more or view full article first):
Exercise #1:
Backward Bending (extension of the lumbar spine). An exercise called the McKenzie extension is the first thing you should try if you have sciatica (pain running down your leg). If these exercises work, your pain will diminish and may centralize, which is a good thing. Centralize means your pain goes less far down your leg, and you may feel it closer to the spine. Bending backward may not feel good at first, but you should feel better immediately afterward. If you feel worse afterward or the pain goes farther down your leg, stop, as this is not the exercise for you.
How to Do It:
Lie face-down on the floor, arms bent at your sides (sort of like a starting push-up posture). Straighten your arms up slowly, lifting your upper body off the floor as you do so. Your legs and feet should stay on the ground. Hold for 3-5 seconds, then slowly lower your upper body back down. Repeat 10 times, as often as once per hour
Exercise #2:
Flexion Exercises (bringing the leg toward the chest). People with lower back pain can also feel better with various types of leg flexion, bringing the bent leg toward the chest, or doing contract-relax and then bringing the bent leg toward the chest. These people usually have sacroiliac joint problems. (The SI joints are located on either side of the spine in the lower back.)
How to Do It:
Lie on your back with one leg bent and then other flat on the floor. Bring the bent leg up toward the chest. Wrap your arms around the leg and then try to lower it toward the floor for 3-5 seconds, resisting with your arms. Relax, and then pull the bent leg up farther toward the chest. Repeat the entire process three times.
To reduce your risk of injury, consult with Lyn Lake Chiropractic and consult with our chiropractors before doing these exercises for the first time, particularly if your pain is new and/or you would like further explanation of how to perform the exercises correctly. Read Less
When it comes to back pain, your first thoughts may be to take over-the-counter pain medication and rest whenever possible. Two bad options.
First, medication is only going to temporarily relieve the pain, if at all, and may be accompanied by various unpleasant side effects attributable to drugs.
Second, rest may actually hurt more than help. While you're seeing your chiropractor, there are a few things you can do at home to help the healing process. Believe it or not, it's based on the simple principle of movement.
When you stop moving, everything tightens up, circulation slows down, and pain chemicals accumulate in your muscles and joints. It's like waking up after sleeping in a cold room on a lousy mattress with a draft. You need to move. Here are two simple exercises to get you started (discuss these with your doctor Quick read more or view full article first):
Exercise #1:
Backward Bending (extension of the lumbar spine). An exercise called the McKenzie extension is the first thing you should try if you have sciatica (pain running down your leg). If these exercises work, your pain will diminish and may centralize, which is a good thing. Centralize means your pain goes less far down your leg, and you may feel it closer to the spine. Bending backward may not feel good at first, but you should feel better immediately afterward. If you feel worse afterward or the pain goes farther down your leg, stop, as this is not the exercise for you.
How to Do It:
Lie face-down on the floor, arms bent at your sides (sort of like a starting push-up posture). Straighten your arms up slowly, lifting your upper body off the floor as you do so. Your legs and feet should stay on the ground. Hold for 3-5 seconds, then slowly lower your upper body back down. Repeat 10 times, as often as once per hour
Exercise #2:
Flexion Exercises (bringing the leg toward the chest). People with lower back pain can also feel better with various types of leg flexion, bringing the bent leg toward the chest, or doing contract-relax and then bringing the bent leg toward the chest. These people usually have sacroiliac joint problems. (The SI joints are located on either side of the spine in the lower back.)
How to Do It:
Lie on your back with one leg bent and then other flat on the floor. Bring the bent leg up toward the chest. Wrap your arms around the leg and then try to lower it toward the floor for 3-5 seconds, resisting with your arms. Relax, and then pull the bent leg up farther toward the chest. Repeat the entire process three times.
To reduce your risk of injury, consult with Lyn Lake Chiropractic and consult with our chiropractors before doing these exercises for the first time, particularly if your pain is new and/or you would like further explanation of how to perform the exercises correctly. Read Less
Good Luck tonight at the TC 1 miler
May 13, 2010
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Lyn Lake Chiropractic just want to cheer and send positive energy to all the runners at the TC 1 Miler Race in Minneapolis tonight. Look for Meghan Armstrong, Lance Elliot, Garret Heath and Heather Domiden. Runners know the benefit of chiropractic and with have the best body biomechanics with regular chiropractic care. Avoid running injuries, get to your local chiropractor.
Lyn Lake Chiropractic supports all the local runners, triathletes and every weekend runner!
"Runners Treating Runners"....If your down at the race look for our running shirts, we'll all be there!
Lyn Lake Chiropractic supports all the local runners, triathletes and every weekend runner!
"Runners Treating Runners"....If your down at the race look for our running shirts, we'll all be there!
Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Armstrong
May 13, 2010
Meghan Armstrong, Heather Dorniden to Compete at
USA 1 Mile Road Championships in Minneapolis May 13;
Patrick Smyth at Healthy Kidney 10k in New York May 15;
Josh Moen to Run Bay to Breakers 12k on May 16
Minneapolis/St. Paul - May 11, 2010 - Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Armstrong and Heather Dorniden will be among the competitors at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships, which will be held on the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Thursday evening, May 13. The Championships, hosted by the Medtronic TC 1 Mile, will feature a field of male and female professional runners and a total prize purse of $22,500, with $4,000 each for first place and a $10,000 bonus for the first male who breaks 4 minutes and the first female who breaks 4 minutes 32 seconds.
More than 3,000 runners will participate in the TC 1 Mile with the first wave starting at 6:50 p.m. Quick read more or view full article The championship female race begins at 7:53 p.m. and the championship males will run the mile starting at 8:03 p.m. This is the second year the event has been designated the national 1 mile road championship.
In the 2009 race, Armstrong finished fifth in the women's field in a time of 4:42.5. Most recently she ran the Grand Blue Mile in downtown Des Moines on April 20 to finish third in a time of 4:45. She also ran a personal best of 33:21.55 (previous best was 33:26.70) in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational on May 1.
Dorniden will be running her first road mile at the event. So far this year she has posted 2:02.33 in the 800 meters to finish third at the USA Indoor Championships in February, ran 4:22.84 in the 1500 meters at the Drake Relays in April, and last weekend finished fourth in the 800 meters in 2:03.58 at the Ponce Grand Prix track meet in Puerto Rico.
UAE Healthy Kidney 10k - May 15
Patrick Smyth will be among the Americans competing against a strong international contingent of male runners at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10k in New York City on May 15. The race, which is sponsored by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates to benefit the National Kidney Foundation and is hosted by the New York Road Runners, will be held in Central Park beginning at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern).
Smyth's 2010 competition year to date includes winning the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run 4 mile in Central Park on Jan. 1, finishing second at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston in January, placing second at the USA Cross Country Championships 12k in Spokane in February, and finishing seventh at the USA 15k Championships in Jacksonville in March. He was also a member of the U.S. team at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Poland on March 28.
Most recently, Smyth posted 28:33.14 in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational on May 1.
ING Bay to Breakers 12k - May 16
Team USA Minnesota's Josh Moen will make his second appearance at the ING Bay to Breakers 12k when he returns for the 99th annual race in San Francisco on May 16. One of the world's largest and oldest footraces, the 7.46-mile race has more than 65,000 participants ranging from world-class athletes to costumed runners. An equalizer component starts the elite women before the men at 8 a.m. (Pacific time).
In 2009, Moen placed 10th in the men's field in 36:53. So far this year, Moen has finished sixth at the USA Half Marathon Championships, was 20th at the USA 15k Championships, and most recently posted 13:57.49 in the 5000 meters at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational and 28:43.27 in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational.
Meghan knows the positive effect Chiropractic has to offer for her races! Good Luck tonight! We'll all be there! Lyn Lake Chiropractic Gang! Read Less
USA 1 Mile Road Championships in Minneapolis May 13;
Patrick Smyth at Healthy Kidney 10k in New York May 15;
Josh Moen to Run Bay to Breakers 12k on May 16
Minneapolis/St. Paul - May 11, 2010 - Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Armstrong and Heather Dorniden will be among the competitors at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships, which will be held on the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Thursday evening, May 13. The Championships, hosted by the Medtronic TC 1 Mile, will feature a field of male and female professional runners and a total prize purse of $22,500, with $4,000 each for first place and a $10,000 bonus for the first male who breaks 4 minutes and the first female who breaks 4 minutes 32 seconds.
More than 3,000 runners will participate in the TC 1 Mile with the first wave starting at 6:50 p.m. Quick read more or view full article The championship female race begins at 7:53 p.m. and the championship males will run the mile starting at 8:03 p.m. This is the second year the event has been designated the national 1 mile road championship.
In the 2009 race, Armstrong finished fifth in the women's field in a time of 4:42.5. Most recently she ran the Grand Blue Mile in downtown Des Moines on April 20 to finish third in a time of 4:45. She also ran a personal best of 33:21.55 (previous best was 33:26.70) in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational on May 1.
Dorniden will be running her first road mile at the event. So far this year she has posted 2:02.33 in the 800 meters to finish third at the USA Indoor Championships in February, ran 4:22.84 in the 1500 meters at the Drake Relays in April, and last weekend finished fourth in the 800 meters in 2:03.58 at the Ponce Grand Prix track meet in Puerto Rico.
UAE Healthy Kidney 10k - May 15
Patrick Smyth will be among the Americans competing against a strong international contingent of male runners at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10k in New York City on May 15. The race, which is sponsored by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates to benefit the National Kidney Foundation and is hosted by the New York Road Runners, will be held in Central Park beginning at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern).
Smyth's 2010 competition year to date includes winning the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run 4 mile in Central Park on Jan. 1, finishing second at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston in January, placing second at the USA Cross Country Championships 12k in Spokane in February, and finishing seventh at the USA 15k Championships in Jacksonville in March. He was also a member of the U.S. team at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Poland on March 28.
Most recently, Smyth posted 28:33.14 in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational on May 1.
ING Bay to Breakers 12k - May 16
Team USA Minnesota's Josh Moen will make his second appearance at the ING Bay to Breakers 12k when he returns for the 99th annual race in San Francisco on May 16. One of the world's largest and oldest footraces, the 7.46-mile race has more than 65,000 participants ranging from world-class athletes to costumed runners. An equalizer component starts the elite women before the men at 8 a.m. (Pacific time).
In 2009, Moen placed 10th in the men's field in 36:53. So far this year, Moen has finished sixth at the USA Half Marathon Championships, was 20th at the USA 15k Championships, and most recently posted 13:57.49 in the 5000 meters at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational and 28:43.27 in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational.
Meghan knows the positive effect Chiropractic has to offer for her races! Good Luck tonight! We'll all be there! Lyn Lake Chiropractic Gang! Read Less
SCIATICA TREATMENT - CHIROPRACTIC CARE
May 4, 2010
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SCIATICA TREATMENT - LYN LAKE CHIROPRACTIC
Sciatica-Pain can be a pain in the butt.
No pun intended.
Last night we had a 32 year old female that presented with Sciatica down her left leg into her calf. She has been suffering with this symptom for 18 months and has had physical therapy on and off for 6 months with no real success.
Her MRI was negative for disc herniation or disc bulges.
She walked with a limp and had a hyper-lordotic curve. Upon examination her left Piriformis and Glutuel muscles where extremely hypertonic (tight with multiple knots) and her Sacro-Illiac joint was locked in a posterior position.
No one has told her to see a Chiropractor,her husband works in NYC and she was suffering so they did some research and found out about Lyn Lake Chiropractic.
We adjusted her left SI joint with a side posture adjustment and a Light Drop Table Adjustment and preformed some Quick read more or view full article Active release technique ART on her Piriformis and Glut muscles along with some SOT blocking / Traction and Kinesio taping.
She walked out with the biggest smile!
Nothing makes all the employees at Lyn Lake Chiropractic happier then seeing patients improve with Chiropractic.
She is going to need more care to help normalize muscle balance and spinal alignment but she is on the road to recovery.
Sciatica can be a real pain,make sure that Chiropractic care is integrated into treatment.
If you or someone you know need help please have them call Lyn Lake Chiropractic for a Free Consult. Read Less
Sciatica-Pain can be a pain in the butt.
No pun intended.
Last night we had a 32 year old female that presented with Sciatica down her left leg into her calf. She has been suffering with this symptom for 18 months and has had physical therapy on and off for 6 months with no real success.
Her MRI was negative for disc herniation or disc bulges.
She walked with a limp and had a hyper-lordotic curve. Upon examination her left Piriformis and Glutuel muscles where extremely hypertonic (tight with multiple knots) and her Sacro-Illiac joint was locked in a posterior position.
No one has told her to see a Chiropractor,her husband works in NYC and she was suffering so they did some research and found out about Lyn Lake Chiropractic.
We adjusted her left SI joint with a side posture adjustment and a Light Drop Table Adjustment and preformed some Quick read more or view full article Active release technique ART on her Piriformis and Glut muscles along with some SOT blocking / Traction and Kinesio taping.
She walked out with the biggest smile!
Nothing makes all the employees at Lyn Lake Chiropractic happier then seeing patients improve with Chiropractic.
She is going to need more care to help normalize muscle balance and spinal alignment but she is on the road to recovery.
Sciatica can be a real pain,make sure that Chiropractic care is integrated into treatment.
If you or someone you know need help please have them call Lyn Lake Chiropractic for a Free Consult. Read Less