We'll cut right to the chase. The most common cause of low back pain is from tight or weak muscles in your low back. Our low back makes up a significant portion of our torso and is pretty well the center (aka middle) of our body, attaching our upper half to our lower half. This makes our low back a crucial area in our body for transmitting forces from our arms to our legs and vice versa. If you've experienced low back pain before, you may have noticed pain in your low back while walking or running as a result of this transmission of forces. In fact, almost ANY movement you do transmits forces through your low back. This is why most movements are painful or uncomfortable when you experience low back pain. From getting up from a chair, to getting out of bed or getting into your car, to lifting every day items. All of these movements require coordination between your upper body and your lower body to be successfully completed, transmitting forces through your low back.
Since so many forces pass through your low back on a daily, it makes sense that there would a lot of muscles in your low back. And you'd be correct, there are a LOT of muscles in your low back, both big and small. These muscles may get tired from daily activities and result in pain for you or you may have a sudden, obvious injury that results in low back pain. Regardless of the mechanism of injury, one very important part of healing and recovering from ANY type of low back pain is core strengthening. Your core is collectively made up of your abs, your obliques and your low back muscles. When your core is strong and functioning well, it acts as a stabilizing belt for your low back similar to the belts you see professional weight lifters using when lifting extreme weights. For a stabilizing belt to work properly, the muscle coordination between your abs, obliques and low back muscles must fire at the same time otherwise you get a tight part here and a loose part there. A stabilizing belt that is both tight and loose at the same time doesn't do much stabilizing at all. And of the three parts of your core, the low back muscles will often fire the hardest and that results in tightness, fatigue or injury in those muscles. And that results in you having low back pain. Have more questions about your low back pain or interested in other reasons for low back pain? Comment down below or if you're in the Guelph area, drop on into Nurture Family Chiropractic and ask for Dr. Brenda Yee.
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As it turns out, twins are a lot of work. Albeit, it's the best kind of work there is. Dr. Brenda Yee will be extending her maternity leave two months and will return to practicing June 1, 2022. Dr. Aislinn Rooney will continue your chiropractic care in Dr. Yee's absence.
Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you at the clinic still and soon! Before a big or nerve-wracking task, I'm sure someone has said "take a deep breath" to you in the past. You may have thought to yourself "how is taking a deep breath going to help me accomplish what I need to do?". Turns out, taking that deep breath very well might help you accomplish your big task better than if you were to "panic breathe", those short and shallow breaths that you take when things are just about to become overwhelming or difficult. Here's the science on it.
Diaphragmatic breathing, or “belly breathing,” involves fully engaging the stomach, abdominal muscles, and diaphragm when breathing. This means actively pulling the diaphragm down with each inward breath. In this way, diaphragmatic breathing helps the lungs fill more efficiently. Here are just some of the benefits diaphragmatic breathing can have:
There are many ways to breathe from your diaphragm, my personal favourite is box breathing is also known as square breathing. This is because each of the four steps involves breathing or holding the breath for 4 seconds, creating a 4×4 effect.
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! Whether you're able to spend time with your loved ones this Christmas, we hope you experience simple pleasures in all the ordinary things surrounding us. From the snow outside your window, to the mug of hot chocolate in your hands, to the fuzzy socks you're wearing. We wish you enjoyment in this season and look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
It's the most wonderful time of the year! For those of us who are doing our best to keep watch on our health while still enjoying what this season has to offer, here are some tips recommended by Canada's Food Guide.
5 Strategies for Healthy Eating Use these 5 strategies to help you make healthier food choices during the holidays or other social events.
As always, stay healthy and happy and ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON! |
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