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Healthy Ways for Working from Home: Fitness

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fitnessWelcome back to our blog series focused on healthy ways for working from home! We’ve explored many topics together so far, from posture and desk set up, to rejuvenating break ideas for the body and mind. Feel free to check out blog one and two for helpful tips and tricks on reducing muscle pain and increasing focus while working from home. Today we’ll discuss preventing discomfort and enhancing concentration through establishing an easy foundation for fitness at home.

Fitness

Fitness? More like fit-ness whole pizza in my mouth.

Yeah, we have all heard the word fitness and have felt convicted to exercise, but are often confused on how to approach doing so, especially while being stuck at home. The gyms nearby may be closed, or possibly inaccessible due to work schedules conflicting with limited business hours. You could go on a walk or a jog outside, but the weather may not allow for it.  

So why even try when it doesn’t seem to line up for you?

Know that you are not alone. A recent international survey indicates that despite the recommendations to stay physically active, there has been a significant decline in exercise levels during the “stay at home” period of COVID-19. Globally, people are sitting a lot, eating extra-frequently, and consuming more unhealthy food compared to before the pandemic (nothing like mac and cheese to pep up a boring afternoon). We are all in this struggle together, and we need to fight to decrease inactive behavior, promote health, and further our fitness.

Its Effect on Whole-Body Health

Studies on fitness show that physical activity can improve your health and fight against the negative effects of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Exercise also improves mental health, which many of us are struggling with due to social isolation. It is important to boost your fitness for optimal brain power and for bettering thought processes while working from home.

Your body is composed of several muscle groups that contribute to your functioning while you work. You may not notice it, but there are a lot of muscles working to help your body sit and stand with good posture. By adding in physical activity and exercise into your daily at-home routine, you can build up muscle strength and endurance to counter the painful effects of prolonged bad posture while working from home. It’ll also improve the blood flow to your brain to help your concentration!

Fitness = Physical Activity + Exercise

For our purposes, we’ll discuss two different parts of fitness: physical activity and exercise. Physical activity is when we use several large muscle groups to move the body around at moderate to high intensities. This can include hobbies like dancing or even heavy household chores, like vacuuming or mowing the yard. Exercise, on the other hand, is the strengthening of more specific muscle groups in the body. Examples may include different exercises you see at the gym and/or running for building up your heart muscle. Keep reading for some guidelines on physical activity and ideas for exercises at home!

Physical Activity Recommendations

When in doubt, move more and sit less! Start small if you need to. Feel free to get creative with your fitness and find things that you like to do at home that keep you on your feet. I personally enjoy doing yoga and completing household projects, like organizing and decorating. According to an article on fitness from Public Health Reports, physical activity should be performed every day, or at least every other day, to increase your health.

Here are the recommendations on weekly physical activity based on age:

Children age 6 to 17

Kids and teens need at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity. This should include 3 days of strengthening exercises to help with muscle and bone growth (read more below for ideas on how to strengthen from home.)

Adults age 18 to 65

Adults need 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity 5 days per week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity 3 days a week. This can also be in a combination or moderate and vigorous intensity throughout the week. The 30-minute daily total of moderate intensity can also be achieved in small bouts of 10-minute continuous activity.

How do you find out what is moderate versus high intensity for you? Check out our YouTube video!

Fitness Through Exercise

Now how do you actually build muscle from home without a gym? This is your opportunity to think outside of the box with items around your house and get creative with your fitness. Here are some ideas to try based on strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness.

Muscle Strength

Your muscles are made up of different types of muscle fibers. Strengthening specifically focuses of building your “fast-twitch” fibers for fast muscle power. We use these muscle fibers to perform many of the typical gym exercises that one might think of. The goal for strengthening is to only be able to complete 8 to 12 repetitions of an exercise before you’re tired and your form is messed up.

Try this exercise for strong arms:

      • To strengthen your arms with biceps curls, you’ll want to find a bag of books in your house that is heavy enough to challenge you.
      • Stand in front of a mirror and complete 8-12 reps of slow and controlled biceps curls. If you can go onto 13 reps without a challenge, then add more books.
      • If you can only do 8-12 reps before you notice that you body starts trying to fatigue and compensate elsewhere (your shoulder hikes up or your posture starts leaning), then that is your maximum.
      • Once you find your max, take a rest break, and try for another set.
      • Keep completing sets of your 8-12 reps until you notice you cannot do them anymore because of losing form due to muscle fatigue setting in.

 

Muscle Endurancecardio bike

To build up fitness through muscle endurance, you’ll want to challenge the “slow-twitch” muscle fibers. This is so that your muscles don’t get tired while you do things like repetitive motions, holding still postures, and walking further distances. Many strengthening exercises can be turned into muscle endurance exercises by changing how many times you do the exercise! It all depends on your fitness goal and what you need to be able to do in your everyday life. The idea of muscle endurance is to be able to do 15-20 repetitions of an exercise before you’re tired and your form gets messed up.

Try this exercise for leg muscle endurance:

      • To strengthen your leg muscle endurance, you’ll want to find a mirror to stand in front of while you do squats.
      • You should be able to do 15 to 20 repetitions before you notice your form starting to compensate (your trunk leans to one side, your knees go forward or move together, or your back starts to arch).
      • You can make squats easier by using a chair to sit and then stand, or more difficult by holding a book to your chest to add some weight.
      • Once you find your max of 15-20 reps, take a rest break, and try for another set.
      • Keep completing sets of your 15-20 reps until you notice you cannot do them anymore because of your form messing up due to muscle fatigue setting in.

 

Cardiovascular Fitness

play basketballCardiovascular fitness is the strengthening of your heart to improve blood flow to your muscles. If your heart is pumping blood efficiently, the muscles that hold your body upright while sitting will get enough oxygen and may not get tired as easily while you work from home. The workday may feel less fatiguing when your brain is getting enough nutrients from a healthy beating heart. Great blood flow also helps your working muscles to fight against exhaustion while exercising!

To get your heart to build up strength and endurance, your lungs will have to work harder. You may feel out of breath at first, but this is normal! Increasing your pulse rate during cardiovascular exercise means that your heart muscle needs more oxygen from your lungs.

Simply put: as your heart beats faster, you will breath harder, challenging the lungs and chest muscles. Breathing will become easier as you strengthen this system by doing moderate to vigorous exercise.

Here are some ideas cardiovascular exercise at home:

      • Walking longer distances at an increased pace
      • Jogging or running outside
      • Go for a bike ride
      • Swimming if you have access to a pool
      • Dancing around the house (by yourself or with a friend)
      • Shooting hoops (with a mask on)
      • Jumping rope

 

Check out our YouTube videos on exercises to try at home for different muscle groups:

Upper Body Exercises

Upper and Lower Back Exercises

Spine and Core

Ankle and Foot

Hip and Knee

 

Bringing It All Together: Healthy Ways for Working from Home

You made it through the three-part blog journey. Congratulations! We’ve addressed several tips and tricks to help your body stay rejuvenated and pain free while working from home. You have found your best seated posture and sprinkled your workday with rejuvenating mind and body breaks. With a guideline for physical activity and several exercises to try at home, you’re now ready to conquer daily tasks with improved concentration and decreased pain. We’d love to help you with a more tailored and individual approach if you have further questions about healthy ways for working from home. Please contact Back in Step PT to schedule an online or in-person consultation today! Make sure to check out our other blogs and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for additional tips and tricks from Dr. Alyssa Arms, DPT.

 

Check out our Work from Home Kit!

 

Guest Blog by Haley Tirado, SPT

Haley Tirado is a second year Student Physical Therapist who attends the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed a work study focused on physical therapy research with the medically complex and total joint replacement patient populations. Haley currently works as an intern for Back in Step Physical Therapy.

 

Article References
  1. Effects of COVID-19 Home Confinement on Eating Behaviour and Physical Activity: Results of the ECLB-COVID19 International Online Survey
  2. Physical exercise as therapy to fight against the mental and physical consequences of COVID-19 quarantine: Special focus in older people
  3. Health Benefits of Exercise
  4. Physical activity and exercise to achieve health-related physical fitness components.
  5. World Health Organization
  6. Physical activity and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Specific recommendations for home-based physical training

Dancers’ Arm Movement & Shoulder Pain

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The shaping and flow of the arms in dance helps to:

  • add complexity to lines of movement,
  • communicate a story without words,
  • contribute to both the beauty and strength of most styles of dance,
  • and much more.

Because arm movement is so crucial to most styles of dance, we tend to do a LOT of repetitive movement, between practice and rehearsals, shows, performances, and competitions.

Think about your average ballet warm-up at the barre – during a plie combination alone, how many arm movements do you do?

In the classes that I took growing up, we probably did a minimum of 30-40 movements per arm just in that one section alone! Multiply that by the various aspects of a barre warm-up, working at center floor, time spent going across the floor, running choreography, and a cool-down. A single hour-long ballet class likely has hundreds of movements per arm.

How often have you felt like your shoulders and arms are getting tired during class? During rehearsal? During performances? Or maybe you’ve experienced pain in the shoulders as the muscles fatigue from all of the repetition and holding of positions?

I know that that was a reality for me sometimes. So what can you do about it? Luckily, the answer is easy – you have a lot of options!

But first, let’s talk about WHY this happens in the first place.

We have several muscles all around the uchest & shoulder dance anatomypper arm and torso that contribute to movement. These include muscles like the deltoids, biceps, triceps, latissimus dorsi, and several others. Possibly even more importantly, there are multiple muscles around the shoulder blades that play a key role in the movement and stability of the arms. The muscles around the shoulder blades are the rhomboids, trapezius, serratus anterior. There are also four muscles of the rotator cuff that are important – infraspinatus, supraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor.

Here’s why the muscles around the shoulder blades are so important.

Think of it this way: when you’re building a house, the foundation needs to be strong and sturdy. If it’s not, then the house built on that foundation is liable to collapse. Those shoulder blade muscles are like the house foundation.

These muscles must be strong and working together in the appropriate ways. That way, when you are doing all of your different arm positions and movements, the arm itself doesn’t have to work so hard, strain is reduced, and things don’t fatigue as quickly. And, on the flip side, if those muscles around the shoulder blades don’t do their jobs correctly, the muscles of the arm have to work hard, meaning that it’s more likely to develop pain and fatigue.

So What Can You Do?

Like I said before, there are things that can be done to improve that foundation! The approach requires a combination of tactics, including mobility, stability, and strength, and working in that order is a great way to do it. Click each of the links to see the video of the exercise in action!

 

It’s important to know that the best plan of attack is customized for each person individually, but I still wanted to share some ideas for you to try. 

 

Mobilitypec stretch at the door
  • Pec Stretch – This stretch is easy to do at any doorway or corner of the wall. It helps to stretch out the muscles at the front of the shoulders and chest, allowing you to open up the chest more easily while you do various arm movements and positions.

  • Lat Stretch – If you ever have trouble keeping your arms overhead without arching your back, this is a great stretch for you! This targets all kinds of muscles around the trunk, ribs, and shoulder, helping with all kinds of things.
Stability
  • Wall Crawls – All you need is a wall and a resistance band to strengthen some of the muscles around the shoulder and shoulder blade. It helps to build a strong foundation, making it easier to keep your arms strong and stable while you dance!

  • I, Y, T’s – The wall crawls exercises focuses a bit more on the rotator cuff, whereas this group of exercises targets the stabilizers of the shoulder blade. Another great way to build a strong foundation.
Strength
  • PNF D1 & D2 – This group of exercises builds upon the stability that you’ve gained with the previous exercises. Now, you are using more resistance and moving through larger motions. These exercises have a great connection to some of our dance technique, particularly if you’re doing something like partnering.

 

If you’ve tried these & still are having trouble with shoulder pain or controlling your arm movement, contact us to get an appointment & get checked out!

Also check our our Dancer’s Kit!

The Rhomboids – It’s Not Geometry

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When you first hear the term “rhomboid”, it might be a flashback for you in geometry class. In this case, we’re talking about a couple of muscles that help up with shoulder movement and stability, but you wouldn’t be far off with the shape. The muscles really are rhombus-shaped – just check out the diagram below to see for yourself!

These muscles are important for good shoulder function and stability. Keep reading to learn more!

The Anatomy & Function

The rhomboids are actually two muscles that attach the shoulder blade and the spine. Rhomboid major (the larger one that sits lower) attaches from the spinous processes of the T2-T5 vertebrae to the medial border of the scapula. Rhomboid minor sits a little higher, attaching from the nuchal ligaments and spinous processes of C7-T1 to the medial border of the scapula.  Both muscles are innervated by the dorsal scapular nerve (C4-5).

rhomboid muscle group

Both muscles also help to pull the shoulder blade back and helps to downwardly rotate it. They also fixes the scapula to the thoracic wall. 

Weakness or dysfunction of the rhomboids can contribute to shoulder pain or upper back pain. It will also impact how well the shoulder and arm can work, especially with things like getting something down from a kitchen cabinet, doing push-ups, or starting your lawnmower. The rhomboids also help to stabilize the shoulder, so if you ever feel like your arm isn’t as stable when it’s out away from your body, this could be an important muscle to focus on.

What to Do About It

Here’s a couple of great exercise variations to work both the rhomboids and the posterior deltoid. They are possible to do without using the rhomboids so well, so make sure that you’re focusing on pulling those shoulder blades back with each repetition. Each repetition should be slow and controlled. Avoid shrugging your shoulders or arching your back.

Version #1: Standard low rows. Keeping elbows closer to the body, start with your arms in front of you. Keep your shoulders down throughout the motion. Initiate by squeezing the shoulder blades back and then pull your elbows back. Avoid pulling back so far that your shoulders start to roll forward.

Version #2: High rows. Still keeping the shoulders down, keep your elbows out to the side, not quite at 90* from your body.

Check out the video on our Instagram feed here.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this site is to promote understanding of health, wellness, and prevention. The information on this site is not intended/implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing pain, please see a medical professional.

Rotator Cuff Strength is Important!

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The “rotator cuff” is something that a lot of people had heard of, but they’re not really familiar with what it actually does, why it’s important, etc. It’s also commonly called the wrong term – “rotator cup” or “rotary cup”, for example. The name tells you exactly what it does if you really think about it!

It’s a group of 4 muscles in the shoulder that surround the shoulder joint. Together, they provide the bulk of the stability for the shoulder itself, and surround most of the perimeter of the joint, much like any other type of cuff is used. For example, the cuff of a sleeve, handcuffs, and a blood pressure cuff surround another structure and provide some stability. This article will specifically talk about one of the muscles within this group – the infraspinatus.

The Anatomy & Function

The infraspinatus travels from the infraspinous fossa of the scapula (back of the shoulder blade) to the middle facet of the greater tubercle of the humerus (upper arm). It is one of the four rotator cuff muscles. Its innervation comes from the suprascapular nerve (C5-6).infraspinatus

The infraspinatus helps with external rotation (turning your palm away from your body) of the shoulder and participates in abduction (moving your arm up from the side of your body). It also assists with stability of the shoulder joint and capsule.

A dysfunctional infraspinatus can contribute to arm or shoulder pain, upper back or shoulder blade pain, decreased range of motion and function of the arm. It can even be related to pain that travels through the arm, as far as the pinky finger.

What to Do About It

There are many ways to work on strengthening this muscle. This article describes an easier exercise to start with. We’re using a resistance band in this example, but this can also be done with a cable machine. You can use a free weight, but you then have to do this while lying on your side – otherwise, you’re not getting the right line of pull to be as effective.

infraspinatus start

infraspinatus finish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Anchor the resistance band.
  • Stand sideways to that anchor, with the band coming in front of your body.
  • Keep your elbow bent at 90* and keep your elbow close in to your body.
    • If you have trouble keeping it close to your body, put a small rolled up towel or other object between your arm and your body. If it drops, your elbow moved away from you.
  • Keeping your thumb pointing up towards the ceiling, pull the band away from the anchor point.
  • Only pull as far as you can comfortable go without twisting your body or shrugging your shoulder.

Give this exercise a try! If you’re experiencing any pain, hold off on doing the exercise and get in for an assessment with a physical therapist. You can contact us here for an appointment!

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this site is to promote understanding of health, wellness, and prevention. The information on this site is not intended/implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing pain, please see a medical professional.

Shoulder or Back Pain? Keep Reading!

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When you’re experiencing pain in the shoulder or in the back, there are a lot of things that can be contributing to it. An evaluation with a physical therapist can help assess what all is playing a role in your pain. One structure that can be involved with BOTH areas is a large muscle called the latissimus dorsi.

The Anatomy & Function

The latissimus dorsi (lat) spans a large area across the back, originating from various points throughout the pelvis and low back (at the spinous processes of T7-L5, the thoracolumbar fascia, the iliac crest, and inferior 3-4 ribs). It then inserts at the intertubercular groove of the humerus (near the shoulder on the upper arm bone). It is the largest muscle in the upper body. The innervation is from the thoracodorsal nerve (C6-8).

latissimus dorsi

It helps in many different motions or actions, including shoulder extension (moving your arm behind you), shoulder adduction (bringing your arm across your body), and arm internal rotation (rotating your palm towards your body). The lat also assists with several other motions at the shoulder and helps to support and move at the spine.

If the latissimus dorsi isn’t doing its job, it can contribute to arm or shoulder pain, low back pain, decreased range of motion and function of the arm, and more. It can also make it difficult to pull something towards you. Lastly, it can also affect how you can do exercises like pull-ups, lat pull-downs, rows, and deadlifts.

What to Do About It⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

We’ve got a couple of options to share with you – both a stretch and a strengthening exercise.

Lat Stretchlat stretch
  • Stand with your feet hip width apart or even slighty wider.
  • Hold on to the door frame with your thumb pointing up towards the ceiling. Hand should start around chest height.
  • Lean your hips back, like you’re trying to squat or sit back in a chair.
  • To vary the stretch:
    • Place your hand higher or lower on the door frame.
    • Before sitting back into the stretch, rotate your body so that you’re facing your arm slightly, or so that your arm crosses slightly in front of your body. Then sit back.
Lat Strengthening
lat pulldown start
lat pulldown finish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are several different pieces of gym equipment that can be used for this exercise. However, one of my favorites is the TRX. It adds a dynamic balance component and works the core and hip stabilizers even more than some other options. Here’s how to do it:

  • Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.
  • Hold on to each of the TRX straps, arms in front of you and straight. Elbows do not need to be locked out in a straight position, however.
  • Lean back, keeping your core engaged with spine and pelvis in neutral.
  • Pull your hands down by your side, while keeping your body in this plank position.
  • Make sure that you don’t let the shoulders hunch or roll forward as you come up to an upright position. Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down to avoid this compensation!

Try these exercises and let us know how they work for you! They are two ways to try to combat shoulder or back pain. If you still have pain, give us a call and we can help get you back on track.

Do you have other things that you want to learn more about? Check out other blog posts and our Instagram page.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this site is to promote understanding of health, wellness, and prevention. The information on this site is not intended/implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing pain, please see a medical professional.

Keep Your Back Healthy & Pain-Free

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As someone who has personally dealt with back pain, I can appreciate how important it is that my hips stay strong to maintain a healthy back. By having good strength in the hips, some of the extra work and strain can be taken out of the back and can even help decrease the workload on the knees too! These muscles are some of the largest and/or thickest in the body, but we don’t always utilize them in the most efficient ways.

Let’s learn a little bit more about the gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in the back, or posterior section, of the hip. And, of course, we’ll give you a few ways to work this muscle to keep your back healthy.

The Anatomy & Function

The gluteus maximus (glute max) sits at the back of the hip and pelvis. It is the true powerhouse of our lower bodies. It originates from the gluteal surface of the ilium, lumbar fascia, sacrum, and sacrotuberous ligament. The glute max then inserts on the gluteal tuberosity of the femur and iliotibial tract. It gets its nerve supply from the inferior gluteal nerve (L5, S1, S2).gluteus maximus

The glute max helps with external rotation and extension (turning your foot outward and moving your leg behind you) of the leg. Because of its connections and location also helps in keeping your torso upward (like coming back up from bending forwards) and can help with abducting the leg (moving the leg to the side).

If you’ve ever dealt with hip, knee, or low back pain, or even feeling like your hamstrings are tight, you may actually need to do some work on the gluteus maximus. Let’s keep your back healthy!

This muscle is important for a wide variety of activities, including:

  • getting up & down from a chair,
  • going up & down stairs,
  • walking or running up/down hills, or navigating more challenging terrain,
  • power for squats, jumps, and leaps,
  • and more.
What to Do About It

There are a lot of different ways to work the glute max. We’ll talk about a few options, including some squat variations, hip thrusters, and donkey kicks. We’ll also show you how to stretch the glutes, since tightness here affects the back, just like weakness can cause problems.

The Basics

There are a couple of things that we need to consider any time that we are working on the glutes.

First of all, while working the glutes, it can be tempting to let our back do some of the work, which it isn’t necessarily meant to do. One way to combat that is to keep your core engaged. We like to think about gently pulling your bellybutton towards your spine, without flattening your back. It should feel like when you’re trying to fasten that top button of a pair or jeans. 😊

Secondly, our hamstrings also like to help the glute max in doing its job. As you’re working to strengthen the glutes, make sure that you’re feeling more of the effort in the buttocks or back of the hip, not in the hamstrings in the back of the thigh. You can imagine gently squeezing the glutes as you work. Another option is to bend the knee, giving less advantage to the hamstrings.

Squats
squat

There are MANY variations of squats. Here we have a standard squat pictured, using a weight in the hands as a counter-balance. By doing this, it allows you to get your hips further back by counter-acting your body weight. Notice that knees are staying aligned with the toes and feet are pointed straight ahead. Core is engaged and we are squeezing the glutes on the way up and down.

You can do these with a wider stance, single leg, standing on an unsteady surface (BOSU is our favorite), and more.

Hip Thrusters
hip thruster starthip thruster finish

 

  • Start by lying on your back, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor.
  • Keeping core engaged and glutes activated, push your hips up towards the ceiling.
    • The goal is to make it a smooth, fluid motion, not jerky.
  • Slowly lower yourself back down to your starting position.

We’ve added a little resistance by holding a weight over the pelvis. You can use a kettlebell like we did, a free weight, a barbell, or even use a resistance band. Another option to engage core even more – keep your upper back and shoulders on an exercise bench with feet on the floor. It will allow for a larger range of motion to work the glutes.

Donkey Kicks
standing donkey kick start

standing donkey kick finish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing Kicks:

This is good if you have more back pain, have difficulty maintaining the hands and knees position, or can only work in a limited range of motion at the hip. This is also a good starting spot if you are new to this sort of exercise.

  • Stand about 1-2 feet away from a table, counter, or other sturdy piece of furniture that is at least waist height.
  • Lean forward to get your upper body supported on the surface, whether it’s bend elbows as picture or on your hands with straight arms.
  • Engage your core.
  • Extend one leg behind you while maintaining a neutral spine. Feel as though your heel is driving your leg backwards or like you’re even extending through your heel.
  • Slowly lower back down to your starting position.

You can start with a straight leg, which will get both glute max and hamstrings to help with the motion. As it gets easier, work towards doing this with a bent knee, which starts to focus in on the glute max even more.

Make sure that you don’t let your back arch or pelvis twist as you do this!

donkey kick start

donkey kick

 

 

Quadruped Kicks:

  • Start on hands and knees. Your shoulders should be over your hands and your hips should be over your knees.
  • Engage your core, keeping your spine straight.
  • Extend one leg behind you while maintaining a neutral spine. Feel as though your heel is driving your leg backwards or like you’re even extending through your heel.
  • Slowly lower back down to your starting position.

You can start with a straight leg, which will get both glute max and hamstrings to help with the motion. As it gets easier, work towards doing this with a bent knee, which starts to focus in on the glute max even more.

Again, make sure that you don’t let your back arch or pelvis twist as you do this!

Glute Stretch
glute stretch

Tightness in the low back and glutes can also contribute to low back pain, so here’s a way to combat that. We like to use the stretch strap or a belt to help hold the legs in place, so it doesn’t feel like you’re straining your upper body in order to stretch the lower body!

 

 

 

 

  • Lie on your back on the floor.
  • Bring one knee up towards your chest and then the other. By moving both at the same time, you may place more stress on your back, especially if you’re already having low back pain.
  • Bring your knees towards your chest until you feel a gentle stretch in the low back or buttock.
  • Hold for a total of 1-2 minutes.
  • To come back out of this position, again move one leg at a time.

Give these exercises a try and let us know how they work for you. Here’s to a healthy back!

Want more exercise ideas? Check out our other blogs and our YouTube channel!

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this site is to promote understanding of health, wellness, and prevention. The information on this site is not intended/implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing pain, please see a medical professional.

Strong Hips are Crucial!

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There are many important muscles and other structures to consider in the hips, and it’s important to have strong hips. One that is often neglected or underused is called the gluteus medius.

The Anatomy & Function

This muscle sits at the back of the hip and pelvis, underneath the gluteus maximus. It originates from the gluteal surface of the ilium and inserts onto the greater trochanter of the femur, and gets its nerve supply from the superior gluteal nerve (L4, L5, S1).Gluteus medius anatomy

The gluteus medius helps in abduction, or moving your leg to the side. It also has a small part in flexion and internal rotation (moving the leg in front of your and turning the leg in) with its anterior fibers, and extension and external rotation (moving the leg behind you and turning the leg out) with its posterior fibers.

When the gluteus medius is working appropriately, it helps to keep your pelvis level when standing on one leg. This also means that it helps with maintaining balance. Lastly, when this muscle is strong, it helps maintain an even workload through your back, hips, and knees. It’s an important player with take off and landing for jumps and leaps. So you can imagine why this is such an important muscle!

What to Do About It

There are MANY ways to work on strengthening and improving the performance of the gluteus medius. Ideally, we get to a point where it’s being worked in a variety of positions and through different movements.

Today, though, we are just talking about a simple place to start. We’ll be working through five different levels of an exercise called Clamshells. Our examples are without any additional resistance added, like a resistance band or ankle weights. To see these exercises in action with a full walk-through, check out our YouTube video here.

Otherwise, keep reading to learn the progression!

The Basics

The starting position is the same for all levels. Start in side-lying with hips stacked on top of one another, knees bent, and fee stacked. Your hips should be bent to about 45* and knees at about 90*.

Some important things to remember:

  • Keep your pelvis stable with abdominal muscles engaged.
  • Minimize the use of your hands for balance.
  • Slow and controlled motion is key.
Level 1Clamshell Level 1

 

  • Feet remain stacked and touching.
  • Top knee lifts towards the ceiling, moving into external rotation.
  • Hold for 5-10 seconds.
  • Slowly lower back down to starting position.
Level 2Clamshell Level 2

 

  •  Knees & thighs remain stacked and touching.
  •  Top foot lifts towards the ceiling, moving the hip into internal rotation.
  •  Hold for 5-10 seconds.
  •  Slowly lower back down to starting position.
Level 3Clamshell Level 3

 

  •  Hips remain stacked, without rolling or tipping.
  •  Entire leg stays in slightly bent position, and lifts towards the ceiling, only lifting as high as possible without the spine collapsing towards the floor.
  •  Hold for 5-10 seconds.
  •  Slowly lower back down to starting position.
Level 4Clamshell Level 4

 

  • Hips remained stacked, with bellybutton just slightly rolled towards the floor.
  • Bottom knee stays on the floor, and feet lift off of the floor.
  • From this new starting position, lift the top knee up off of the other leg, while maintaining contact at the feet.
  • The top leg then extends to a straight leg, while maintaining the rest of the position.
  • Hold for 5-10 seconds.
  • Slowly bend knee and reconnect at the feet, then lower back down to starting position.
Level 5Clamshell Level 5

 

  • Position yourself into a side plank, hips without any bend (straight line at hips), knees bent to 90*.
  • While maintaining the side plank position and keeping feet stacked, lift top knee towards ceiling.
  • Hold for 5-10 seconds.
  • Return to side plank position.

Try these exercises out to create strong hips for yourself. Let us know if you have any questions!

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this site is to promote understanding of health, wellness, and prevention. The information on this site is not intended/implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing pain, please see a medical professional.

 

Low Back Tightness – Stretches To Try

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In some cases, tightness in a variety of muscles can contribute to low back, hip, or knee pain. We wanted to share a couple of basic ideas to try.

It’s best to contact your physical therapist if you’re suffering with pain in any of these areas. You will get evaluated and your PT will ensure that stretches like these are appropriate for you and your situation.

Stretch #1: Single Knee to Chest

Lie down on your back. Bring your knee towards your chest, supporting underneath the thigh/knee. If this places any strain on your back, keep your opposite leg bent with the foot on the floor. For a deeper stretch, keep your opposite leg straight as pictured.

This stretch should be felt in the buttock or back of the hip.

Stretch #2: Double Knee to Chest

Lie down on your back. If your back is currently feeling painful, bring one knee up at a time to take some stress off of the back. Bring both knees towards your chest, again supporting under the thighs.

This stretch should get further into the low back, as compared to Stretch #1.

Stretch #3: Piriformis Stretch

Lie down on your back. Start with both knees bent and feet on the floor. Cross one ankle over the opposite knee, and let you knee fall out to the side. To increase the stretch, pull your knee towards your chest as pictured.

Dosing

For all of these stretches, aim for a total time of 1-2 minutes of stretching. Break it up into workable chunks, but aim for at least 10 seconds. These stretches should not increase pain and should not make you more sore afterwards.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this site is to promote the understanding of health, wellness, and prevention. The information on this site is not intended/implied to be a substitue for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing pain, please see a medical professional.