Core Training - Find out why and how training your core can help improve your strength, balance, posture, incontinence, bowel functioning, low back pain, and of course flatten your stomach and just make you feel better.
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Benefits of Core Training at Any Age
With all the hype about core training what is it and why is everyone so focused on it?
Core Training can be any exercise that is focused on improving strength and stability in the torso or trunk. It is important because this is where all of our movements originated. The "Core" is like the solid base or foundation on which we can move more efficiently and with less risk for injury if we have conditioned it properly.
Think about a crane with the arm moving freely from it. Without the base of the crane being stable and solid whether moving or not the arm could not function properly and with ease. This is how the body works, the torso of the body is like the solid, stable middle of which the arms and legs can be mobilized and move with more ease and efficiency.
That crane is like a well-trained runner. If you've ever seen an Olympic Sprinter notice how stable the torso is while their arms and legs are turning over in a blaze of speed. If the body happened to be unstable, wobbling or swaying side-to-side they wouldn't be able to move as quickly because the arms and legs wouldn't have that stable base to work from.
Benefits of Core Training:
· Helps to prevent injuries. A strong, stable core can help to prevent injuries because with stronger muscles supporting the spine, pelvis, and shoulder joints it can better handle the forces of rotation and compression that lead to back and joint injuries.
The body's joints are like links in a chain and are surrounded and supported by muscles and tendons. If any of these supporting structures are weak others are called upon to compensate for this weakness. Because they were not designed for this purpose they can become injured over time by the repetitive wear and tear.
For example, if I was hitting a golf ball and my low back was weak and inflexible I would probably overcompensate by muscling through the shot with my shoulders. Because the shoulder joint is not designed for such a forceful swing, over time I may injure the muscles, tendons, and /or ligaments supporting the shoulder joint.
· Helps to improve bowel function and reduces incontinence. Once again the pelvic floor muscles are part of the core. These muscles help to eliminate waste products from our bodies through contractions. If these muscles are weak or deconditioned they cannot contract properly which may lead to incontinence or improper bowel functioning.
· Reduces risk for low-back pain and injury. Core exercises are designed to stretch and strengthen the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support and protect the spine.
Most low back pain is caused by bad posture, excessive body weight, physical inactivity, and faulty body mechanics. All the gravitational forces from sitting, walking, running impact the low-back area and if it is not supported properly the spine will suffer.
· Improves posture making the stomach look flatter. The protruding "pooch" people seem to obtain around middle age is usually caused by weak abdominal muscles, specifically the transverse abdominal muscles that are located deeply in the lower abdomen. The weakness in these abdominal muscles also contributes to the "slouched" posture and "hunchback" look.
Without strong abdominal muscles to support the spine and to compress or hold in the abdominal contents your posture will falter along with the protrusion of the lower abdomen.
The Best ways to Train the Core
1. Pilates exercises are well known to work the "core" or strengthen the abdominal muscles for a flatter stomach and a long, lean look.
Pilates works from the inside out strengthening the deeper transverse abdominal muscles, those that support and protect the spine and pelvis. In essence, those muscles assist with the contractions for our bowel and urinary functioning.
What most people don't realize is that Pilates is a very rehabilitative form of exercise that simultaneously stretches the tight muscles while strengthening the weak ones. This way of exercising does, in effect, help to realign the spine, pelvis, and shoulder areas.
Pilates works to stabilize the core or torso while simultaneously mobilizing the joints to move the extremities of the arms and legs more efficiently and without stress and strain.
2. Exercise Ball for Instability. The Swiss Ball or Resistaball as it has become known is also a great way to train the core. Studies have shown that just 2 days per week on the ball has been shown to improve balance in older adults.
The exercise ball is a great core workout because of the instability of having to stabilize or center your gravity while moving on or with the ball. The core is constantly working to keep you from rolling off the top or sides of the ball while you are exercising.
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Jennifer Adolfs is a certified Pilates Mat and Equipment Specialist who works with musculoskeletal injuries. Her new Pilates Ebook outlines special considerations for those affected by back and joint conditions. You can learn more by going to her web site at http://www.Pilates-Back-Joint-Exercise.com
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Why most health professionals can only give temporary back pain relief
Physical therapists and manipulators have a lot of expertise in pushing vertebrae back into place. Some do it by gentle manipulation; others may use a lot of accelerative force. Some warm up the area beforehand, others just go straight for it. In most cases, the vertebrae are restored into alignment, and that awful back pain stops. Temporarily.
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Why most health professionals can only give temporary back pain relief
Copyright © 2007 Rick Rakauskas
In the last article, one of the key points was: When muscles along our spine are injured, the nerve paths to those muscles in many cases are NOT restored without undue delay. (We at the Better Back system believe this happens because most of us most of the time DON’T use our backs as Nature intended.)
So when our muscles are out of balance … pulling strongly on one side of the spine … when there is little or no resistance on the other side … because the muscles have been switched off by the brain … and have not yet been switched back on again (sometimes years later) … is it any wonder we experience constant or regularly recurring back pain? Now to answer this question:
Why do doctors, chiropractors or other health professionals in most cases provide temporary relief at best? Scenario
Picture yourself looking at your own spine from behind. Take yourself out of your body and imagine standing behind yourself.You may have injured an area of your lower back because you picked up a heavy object awkwardly.Or you bent over to tie up your shoelace and twisted your back and the pain still nags occasionally. So your brain has switched off the injured muscle(s) along your vertebra, just like it’s supposed to do. But the muscles on the other side of your spine weren’t injured, so they are still active.
And you like to watch a lot of TV, lounging in your comfy chair. Or you work at a computer screen all day long sitting in an awkward chair with your shoulders tight and stressed most of the day. Or you do both! So because you aren’t using your back as Nature intended – or worse, you are actively misusing your back – your brain has not switched these injured muscles back on.
They are still inactive. Muscle Imbalance The result of the above scenario is that we finish up with strong, active muscles on one side of our vertebrae, while on the other side the muscles are switched-off and inactive. This resulting muscle imbalance will pull vertebrae out of position. Sometimes, only by a small amount, but often, when a group of muscles alongside each other are switched off, the vertebrae will be displaced quite considerably. In extreme cases, scoliosis can result. That’s when the serious trouble can start, and long-term pain can set in. Medical Treatments The better physicians at least have a go at checking for other conditions which may be causing the pain. These can include kidney and liver problems, spinal stenosis where the canal which carries the spinal cord gradually shrinks in diameter, infections, even cancer. Of course, you must make sure that these causes are eliminated from your diagnosis before you consider the Better Back system.
Sadly, most doctors when faced with back pain reach for the good old prescription pad and write out a script for a painkiller – usually a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). What’s wrong with that? The pain disappears, doesn’t it? And you can move freely again and get on with your daily activities. And all you have to do is pop a painkiller two or three time a day. Well, there’s plenty wrong with that. Some of you may not have heard about the withdrawal of several of the best-known NSAID painkillers, including Vioxx. The drugs had been found to be implicated in the deaths of many thousands of people. NSAIDS certainly can have many very serious side effects. Here’s what the website http://www.medicinenet.com/rofecoxib/article.htm has to say about Vioxx (I recommend you read the entire article if you are taking painkillers): “The most common side effects of rofecoxib (Vioxx) are headache, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, diarrhea, nausea, heartburn and water retention.
Other side effects (!! My emphasis) include insomnia, urinary retention (inability to urinate), heart failure, aggravation of hypertension, chest pain, ringing in the ears, stomach and intestinal ulcers, bleeding, blurred vision, anxiety, weight gain, flu-like symptoms, drowsiness and weakness.” Evidence for cardiovascular side effects was strongest for Vioxx and Bextra, intermediate for Celebrex, and weak for Naproxen. The best advice I can offer is to use painkillers very, very cautiously, and for short periods only, and to ease your way off them by following the suggestions I have in the manual which is part of the Better Back system. Manual Adjustments Physical therapists and manipulators have a lot of expertise in pushing vertebrae back into place. Some do it by gentle manipulation; others may use a lot of accelerative force. Some warm up the area beforehand, others just go straight for it. In most cases, the vertebrae are restored into alignment, and that awful back pain stops.
Temporarily. Can you now guess why most adjustments will not last? Yep, because the underlying cause has not been fixed.
The muscle imbalance is still there. So after a short time, the strong, active muscles overpower the weak non-functioning muscles and the spine is pulled out of shape once again.
Long-term Weakness Sets In As this cycle of manipulation is repeated week after week, month after month, a long-term weakness can set in. In particular, ligaments are stretched each time the strong muscles overpower the non-functioning muscles, and again when adjustment takes place. So What’s the Solution? Well, I think you may have guessed by now that a necessary long-term solution is to re-activate (or switch back on) the muscles so they can be balanced on both sides of the spine. And that just happens to be one of the key results from the Better Back systemm’s unique five-step, five-minute exercise routine. Note, this is a shameless plug for something that actually works:
You know, the word “unique” is thrown around a lot nowadays. It’s meant to mean “Radically distinctive and without equal” or “The single one of its kind”. In other words, there should be nothing else in the world that is the same. To the very best of my knowledge, there is NOTHING else in the world like this combination of exercises which are described and demonstrated vividly on the 40 minute DVD (or video – your choice) which comes with the Better Back system. For example, one of the effects of this five-step process is to provide regular – in fact, daily – self-adjustment of the vertebra in your spine. This means your spine has a chance to always be in tip-top condition. Another effect is to strengthen muscles in the spinal areas. And of course, the granddaddy of them all – the special movements apparently have the effect of restoring nerve signals to switched-off muscles. That’s why I believe I can honestly claim these exercises to be unique.
In the next article we explore how to restore healthy joints and cut inflammation.
Live life free of back pain! Rick Rakauskas
------------------------
Rick Rakauskas is a marketer who is passionate about natural health treatments.
You can get more details on how to conquer back pain here http://www.fixbackpainnow.com
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Why most health professionals can only give temporary back pain relief
Copyright © 2007 Rick Rakauskas
In the last article, one of the key points was: When muscles along our spine are injured, the nerve paths to those muscles in many cases are NOT restored without undue delay. (We at the Better Back system believe this happens because most of us most of the time DON’T use our backs as Nature intended.)
So when our muscles are out of balance … pulling strongly on one side of the spine … when there is little or no resistance on the other side … because the muscles have been switched off by the brain … and have not yet been switched back on again (sometimes years later) … is it any wonder we experience constant or regularly recurring back pain? Now to answer this question:
Why do doctors, chiropractors or other health professionals in most cases provide temporary relief at best? Scenario
Picture yourself looking at your own spine from behind. Take yourself out of your body and imagine standing behind yourself.You may have injured an area of your lower back because you picked up a heavy object awkwardly.Or you bent over to tie up your shoelace and twisted your back and the pain still nags occasionally. So your brain has switched off the injured muscle(s) along your vertebra, just like it’s supposed to do. But the muscles on the other side of your spine weren’t injured, so they are still active.
And you like to watch a lot of TV, lounging in your comfy chair. Or you work at a computer screen all day long sitting in an awkward chair with your shoulders tight and stressed most of the day. Or you do both! So because you aren’t using your back as Nature intended – or worse, you are actively misusing your back – your brain has not switched these injured muscles back on.
They are still inactive. Muscle Imbalance The result of the above scenario is that we finish up with strong, active muscles on one side of our vertebrae, while on the other side the muscles are switched-off and inactive. This resulting muscle imbalance will pull vertebrae out of position. Sometimes, only by a small amount, but often, when a group of muscles alongside each other are switched off, the vertebrae will be displaced quite considerably. In extreme cases, scoliosis can result. That’s when the serious trouble can start, and long-term pain can set in. Medical Treatments The better physicians at least have a go at checking for other conditions which may be causing the pain. These can include kidney and liver problems, spinal stenosis where the canal which carries the spinal cord gradually shrinks in diameter, infections, even cancer. Of course, you must make sure that these causes are eliminated from your diagnosis before you consider the Better Back system.
Sadly, most doctors when faced with back pain reach for the good old prescription pad and write out a script for a painkiller – usually a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). What’s wrong with that? The pain disappears, doesn’t it? And you can move freely again and get on with your daily activities. And all you have to do is pop a painkiller two or three time a day. Well, there’s plenty wrong with that. Some of you may not have heard about the withdrawal of several of the best-known NSAID painkillers, including Vioxx. The drugs had been found to be implicated in the deaths of many thousands of people. NSAIDS certainly can have many very serious side effects. Here’s what the website http://www.medicinenet.com/rofecoxib/article.htm has to say about Vioxx (I recommend you read the entire article if you are taking painkillers): “The most common side effects of rofecoxib (Vioxx) are headache, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, diarrhea, nausea, heartburn and water retention.
Other side effects (!! My emphasis) include insomnia, urinary retention (inability to urinate), heart failure, aggravation of hypertension, chest pain, ringing in the ears, stomach and intestinal ulcers, bleeding, blurred vision, anxiety, weight gain, flu-like symptoms, drowsiness and weakness.” Evidence for cardiovascular side effects was strongest for Vioxx and Bextra, intermediate for Celebrex, and weak for Naproxen. The best advice I can offer is to use painkillers very, very cautiously, and for short periods only, and to ease your way off them by following the suggestions I have in the manual which is part of the Better Back system. Manual Adjustments Physical therapists and manipulators have a lot of expertise in pushing vertebrae back into place. Some do it by gentle manipulation; others may use a lot of accelerative force. Some warm up the area beforehand, others just go straight for it. In most cases, the vertebrae are restored into alignment, and that awful back pain stops.
Temporarily. Can you now guess why most adjustments will not last? Yep, because the underlying cause has not been fixed.
The muscle imbalance is still there. So after a short time, the strong, active muscles overpower the weak non-functioning muscles and the spine is pulled out of shape once again.
Long-term Weakness Sets In As this cycle of manipulation is repeated week after week, month after month, a long-term weakness can set in. In particular, ligaments are stretched each time the strong muscles overpower the non-functioning muscles, and again when adjustment takes place. So What’s the Solution? Well, I think you may have guessed by now that a necessary long-term solution is to re-activate (or switch back on) the muscles so they can be balanced on both sides of the spine. And that just happens to be one of the key results from the Better Back systemm’s unique five-step, five-minute exercise routine. Note, this is a shameless plug for something that actually works:
You know, the word “unique” is thrown around a lot nowadays. It’s meant to mean “Radically distinctive and without equal” or “The single one of its kind”. In other words, there should be nothing else in the world that is the same. To the very best of my knowledge, there is NOTHING else in the world like this combination of exercises which are described and demonstrated vividly on the 40 minute DVD (or video – your choice) which comes with the Better Back system. For example, one of the effects of this five-step process is to provide regular – in fact, daily – self-adjustment of the vertebra in your spine. This means your spine has a chance to always be in tip-top condition. Another effect is to strengthen muscles in the spinal areas. And of course, the granddaddy of them all – the special movements apparently have the effect of restoring nerve signals to switched-off muscles. That’s why I believe I can honestly claim these exercises to be unique.
In the next article we explore how to restore healthy joints and cut inflammation.
Live life free of back pain! Rick Rakauskas
------------------------
Rick Rakauskas is a marketer who is passionate about natural health treatments.
You can get more details on how to conquer back pain here http://www.fixbackpainnow.com
Choosing A Chiropractor
It's amazing that in these days when so many healthcare options
are readily available, some people still view chiropractic care
as a 'newfangled' or 'radical' alternative. The truth is,
chiropractic medicine can be traced back to the days of
Hypocrites. In 1895, chiropractic medicine became a registered
form of care. There is nothing new about this proven form of
health care.
Like all medical practitioners, chiropractors must receive
university degrees in order to practice. Chiropractic care is
based on the understanding that the biomechanical makeup and
structure of the spine can directly affect the nervous system.
With this theory in mind, it makes sense that adjusting the
spinal structure can help to alleviate or erase a variety of
discomforts, including back pain. Bad backs can be brought
about by a variety of causes, and choosing a chiropractor can
help treat or alleviate the situation. Chiropractic care is a
natural form of medicine that can reduce or eliminate the need
for over the counter or prescription painkillers. .
When choosing a chiropractor, you will initially be offered
treatment without the use of drugs or surgery. However, should
the treatment not bring about the desired results, a
chiropractor may refer you to another practitioner. This is a
natural method of medicine, so it's important to be sure there
aren't underlying factors that can be contributing to your
pains. For example, a kidney infection can cause lower back
pain. In this particular case, choosing a chiropractor would
not bring about pain relief or cure the cause of the pain.
If your pain is caused by an accident, choosing a chiropractor
can offer the relief that you need. Spinal injuries due to
accidents can bring about a chain reaction through your entire
body, because the spine is directly connected to a network of
joints and muscles. Like the old children's song, "the back
bone's connected to the arm bone" and so forth. Every part of
your body is connected to another part, and a qualified
chiropractor will be able to get everything back in its proper
place. Chiropractors work to maintain the correct spinal
position, thus relieving body pain.
It's interesting to note that some body aches and pains can be
relieved by chiropractic care, even if they're not directly
related to the skeletal system. For example, there are
meridians connected to the spine that can affect areas such as
your gastrointestinal tract. This is why people suffering
backaches will often feel stomach pains. Unattended injuries
can bring about a 'pain chain', and choosing a chiropractor can
provide the relief you need. If the internal pain is not
alleviated with chiropractic care, there is likely an
underlying medical problem that needs to be addressed by a
medical doctor.
Natural doctors can't help with every problem, or offer the
medications and surgical procedures that other health
practitioners can deliver. However, not every ailment requires
drugs or surgery. On the contrary, many common problems can be
fixed with natural alternatives, including acupuncture, herbal
remedies, simple dietary adjustments, and chiropractic care.
Choosing a chiropractor can help you pinpoint and solve the
problem, reducing the risk of having the problem resurface down
the road.
About The Author: Linda Brown contributes articles to several
web sites, including http://lutok.
http://web-healthy.
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