How to Exercise in the Pool
Water walking is an easy way to get an aerobic workout in the pool. You can increase the intensity of your workout by putting your whole body into the exercise. To vary the exercise you can increase the size of your steps, kick the water with each step, touch your knees to your elbows, walk backwards, and walk sideways.
How To Change Your Diet To Decrease Inflammation
Listed Below are several tips to decrease inflammation provided by Julie Katz, Registered Dietitian
o Limit processed foods
o Limit deep fried foods
o Snack on whole fruits, nuts, seeds, and fresh vegetables instead of cookies and chips
o Eat more fish and less red meat
o Drink plenty of water, fresh 100% fruit and vegetable juice, and herbal teas
Proper Lifting Techniques to Avoid Lower Back Pain
1. Squat Technique
– Get close to the object
– Separate your feet shoulder width apart
– Keeping back straight, hinge at your hips and bend at your knees
– Extend your arms and pick up the object
2. 1/2 Kneel Technique
– Get close to the object
– Step forward with one leg to position yourself into a lunge position
– Keeping back straight, lower your body
– Extend your arms and pick up the object
3. Golfers Technique (ONLY for smaller and lighter objects)
– Get close to the object
– Keep back straight
– Pendulum at hip joint in one motion to reach the object
– Extend your arm and pick up the object
Quad Stretch
There are several ways to perform a quad stretch. Below is a picture and description of an alternative to the basic standing quad stretch.
Kneel on the floor with one foot out in front of you. Take a few seconds to get your balance. Reach back and grab your back foot and pull up to get the desired stretch. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.
Video on Neck Exercises
Check out this video on exercises to decrease tension in your neck muscles.
ITB Syndrome
Iliotibial Band Syndrome is pain at the outer part of the knee, thigh or hip. It is usually caused by overuse and it is often seen in runners. Other causes may be from excessive pronation of the foot, tight buttock muscles, poor running form, bowed legs or a leg length discrepancy. If you have pain at the outer part of your leg and it continues with daily activities and running, you need to consult a physical therapist.
How to Perform a Squat Correctly
Check out the below video on how to squat:
IT Band Foam Rolling Video
Check out the video below on Foam Rolling the IT Band. Please note, you first roll the whole length of the IT Band to determine what part of the muscle is tight. Once you find tight areas within the muscle, you concentrate on those areas by performing small rolling or sustained pressure over the area. Spend no more than 2 minutes on each area of tightness.
Will Abdominal Crunches tone my Stomach?
Abdominal crunches only focus on your rectus abdominus (6-pack muscle). In addition to performing crunching exercises, you should focus on strengthening your core muscles. These muscles surround your rectus abdominus and connect to your back musculature. To truly tone your stomach muscles, you need to address more than your 6-pack.
An example of a good core strengthening exercise is to lie on your back and lift your knees to a 90/90 position. Lower one leg to tap your foot on the surface then bring the leg
back up. Alternate lowering each leg and tapping each foot on the surface.
Perform this exercise for 10 reps. Progress to 2 sets of 10, then 3 sets
of ten.
Check out the video below for a demonstration of this exercise by Dr. Amanda Macht
Lumbar Stabilization Exercise- Table Top Taps