Have Low Back Pain?

Between shoveling our early winter snow, bending over dishes and holiday baking, and reaping the dark side of stress, our backs can take a toll on us this time of year.

Shallyn’s Physical Therapy and Wellness Services should be your first stop to address the root cause of your back pain!  No referral needed. Call, e-mail or request an appointment online today.

What can cause low back pain?

Stiff joints, tight muscles, weak muscles, nerve irritation…a combination of all of the above.
Here are a few of Shallyn’s favorite home exercises to maintain what we sow during your therapy session to address your low back pain.  *These exercises are not expected to necessarily address your specific root cause of your low back pain; each individual is just that, individual, and at Shallyn’s Physical Therapy and Wellness Services, Dr. Shallyn will provide you specific techniques to meet your individual needs and goals.  If an exercise ever makes your symptoms worse, stop and consult Shallyn’s for treatment  specific to improving your low back pain!  

Rolling:

Standing Forward and Backward Bends against Resistance:

Blood Pressure Cuff Feedback for Specific Core Strengthening:
     1. Set-up: position the blood pressure cuff in the center of your low back.  Inflate the blood pressure cuff, while in the starting position, to 40 mmHg.  Maintain 40 mmHg throughout each of the exercises.  Each level progresses on the skills of the one before. 
     2. Level 1 (PLLTi)
     3. Level 2 (PLLTii)
     4. Level 3 (PLLTiii)
     5. Level 4 (PLLTiv)
*Like this exercise and want a friendly handout to consult as you are learning it?  Click the button below.

Prone Ball Postural Strengthening:

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22
It is said that happiness is related to external circumstance; joy is an internal existence.  Anger, denial, grief, fear, or confusion have you trapped in a crushed spirit?  Without knowing it, your mindset could be adding to your low back pain.  Shallyn’s Wellness Services can shepherd you toward joy-filled freedom from abundant low back pain causes.

Ever wonder why you have tried and tried to break a habit that you know is just unhealthy for you and you just can't do it?  Ever wonder why you have tried "every treatment out there" to heal your pain and nothing has worked?  You're not alone. 

Do you find yourself evaluating every occurrence in your life as right or wrong?  Do you find yourself thinking someone else or something else is the cause of your problem?  Do you find yourself thinking you can't do "this" by yourself?  Do you find yourself stating "I don't have...(money, time, energy) to do "this"."?  Do you find yourself repeating the phrase "I don't know..."?  You have a subconscious resistance to healing; expressing your ultimate state of health.

So, how do you break this mindset and give yourself a chance at finally healing?  Shallyn's Physical Therapy and Wellness Services can coach you to change your wheel of resistance into a wheel of success.

Key Muscle Activation during Brush Knee includes: thoracic and lumbar rotators, deltoid muscle, rotator cuff, and obliques.  Balance and Coordination Benefits include: postural control, anterior/lateral/diagonal patterns, gait weight shift, midline crossing movement, dynamic stability, single leg balance, step accuracy, center of gravity transfer, and rhythmic motor control.

Key Muscle Activation during Parting the Wild Horse's Mane includes: thoracic and lumbar rotators, deltoid muscle, and obliques.  Balance and Coordination Benefits include: postural control, anterior/lateral/diagonal planes, gait weight shift, midline crossing movement, dynamic stability, single leg balance, step accuracy, center of gravity transfer, and rhythmic motor control.

Tai Chi walking provides rhythmic motor control, center of gravity transfer, step accuracy, single leg balance, dynamic stability, and postural control.

Key muscle activation during Cloud Hands include: cervical, thoracic and lumbar rotators, mid and lower trapezius, infraspinatus and teres minor (rotator cuff muscles), all heads of the deltoid, abdominal obliques, quadriceps, and gluteus medius.  Balance and coordination benefits when adding side stepping to Cloud Hands include: dynamic stability, postural control, lateral plane, hemi lateral movement, midline crossing movement, and lateral stability.

Whether you're suffering from arthritis, tendonitis, or nerve irritation in your hands and wrists, Shallyn's can help you get to the root of your symptoms effectively and efficiently to get you back to doing your household to-do's with better ease. 

Remember to practice your principles: body (postural alignment), breath (listen to my verbal cues on where to inhale and where to exhale), and vision (your eyes' gaze should follow your hands in this one).  This move is helpful for healing the vestibular system, increasing leg strength, improving bone density, and inducing range of motion through your spine, shoulders and legs...just to mention a few.  Mindfulness focused motion will help lower your heart rate, blood pressure, increase vital energy, and promote more efficient healing of your entire system.
Here's to better health!

Having general challenges with core stability?  Having low back pain that other health care practitioners have been unable to help you resolve?  Check out some of Shallyn's Physical Therapy and Wellness Services favorite non-weight bearing core favorites with bio feedback using a standard (non-digital) BP cuff.
Aced those and still having issues or seeing positive results and want more?  Call Shallyn's Physical Therapy and Wellness Services at (719) 219-5865 to schedule your next appointment toward healthier living!

*Don't forget to check out Shallyn's earlier blog post on resolving low back pain.