A little exercise goes a long way

A patient came in who has been complaining about right-side sacroiliac joint pain. It’s been a chronic issue for her so I give her just three exercises to do. Because she loves doing child’s pose, I kept that one, then added a child’s pose with a Figure 4 stretch to loosen the hips, and suggested a classic clamshell exercise to strengthen her abductors. Doing strengthening and stretching exercises together will help rehabilitate her hip, along with her regular adjustments. I always say, “You’re with your body more than I am,” so doing daily exercise, even for just three minutes, can have a cumulative effect on your health.

Figure 4 stretch, the side view

And another view of the Figure 4 stretch

Beautiful words, simple actions

Is there a thing you say to yourself when you’re feeling out of balance and stressed? Last year, I found myself saying one phrase more than I cared to admit: “I can’t handle this.” And it became my anthem whenever life got too full for me.

I felt like I was at capacity and there was no mental wiggle room left. A close friend had asked me to bring an appetizer to a party and I just couldn’t find the bandwidth to do it. Have you been there? So “I can’t handle this” became my mantra for everything, along with shortness of breath and impatience.

Meditation had been at the back of my mind for awhile but I didn’t know how I was going to find my way back there. I used to meditate in my single days, long before kids and before life got busier. One day I skipped it and soon, not meditating became my habit for the next 20 years.

But those negative thoughts kept coming. I remembered I had heard about a meditation class on Friday nights that was only a five-minute drive from my house.

I knew what I had to do.  I went to that class, sat down on a cushion in a dimly lit room with just three other people. Amazingly, I sat for an hour and a half. 

The class was led by a monk. She showed me how to sit on the zafu (which has totally upped my meditation game) and that was it. The class consisted of following our breath, some chanting, some walking meditation, and my favorite part, the loving-kindness meditation: “May you be safe, be happy, be healthy, be at ease and at peace.”    

The most beautiful words I have ever heard.

When I’ve read about the habits of very successful people, meditation is always in the top five things they do to cultivate a happy life. By committing to a regular practice, whether it be 10 minutes, 15 or even just two minutes, I have rebuilt my reserves, my patience and my ability to stay in the present moment.

 Rediscovering meditation was a turning point for me in finding another way to be and show up for myself, my family and my work. 

I hear people say that they aren’t good at meditation, but it’s not really something you’re good or not good at. Thoughts will always be coming and going. You will most certainly think of strange things--what you ate for dinner, did you turn off the oven, or a childhood friend from long ago. The point is to bring yourself back to the present moment. As well-known loving-kindness teacher Sharon Salzberg says, the moment our mind wanders is the best moment because it allows us to begin again with just one breath.

Also I find that I am kindest to myself while I’m meditating. That’s one of the best benefits I can think of.

Don't wear your back on your front.

I'm noticing a lot of posture issues lately. Some people don't think we need to correct posture but I believe posture determines how the muscles hang on your body, which eventually leads to wear and tear on your joints. I'm seeing these things even in my own children. Yep, even a chiropractor's kids can have issues like:

1. Rounded shoulders

2. Tight upper back muscles

3. Forward head posture with the chin reaching forward

Makes me want to give everyone I see mini-makeovers.

So what to do? Get your back off your front. Open up the back of your body by strengthening the muscles of your middle back (traps, rhomboids) for starters. When you do this, you will notice an opening in your chest muscles and a contraction in your thoracic spine.

Favorite Exercise: The Airplane

Lie on the ground face down. Have your hands by your side and lightly pull in your abs toward your lower back. Squeeze your shoulders blades together and lift your shoulders off the ground. Keep your neck in a neutral position, not looking down and not looking up. Hold this for 15-20 seconds. Do three sets if you can and add a child's pose in between each set of airplanes to further stretch the spine. Just try it now and let me know what you think.

You.

You are really the best judge of what is right for your body. I had a discussion with one of my long time patients about eating and what I thought about fasting. Seems like everyone I know, including my husband, is doing some form of intermittent fasting. I’m using this as an example but you can really apply this to many things. Whether it’s fasting, HIIT workouts, deadlifts (which I love), hot yoga, bulletproof-style coffee, anti-leptin diets, barefoot running, keto diets, triathlon training…have I missed anything? The point is, what’s right for you? I know it seems like common sense but sometimes we need to go back to basics and hear it over again. What does your inner voice tell you?

Does it call to you?

Does it make sense to you?

Does it feel right for you?

Does it fit your lifestyle?

Intermittent fasting works well for my husband but not so much for me. I’m intrigued by it and can see the scientific reasoning behind it but at my core, I’m not a good candidate for it. I kept trying to do it but knew that it would trigger some unhealthy patterns for me. Then it dawned on me to just listen to that little voice in my head and follow her. I love doing deadlifts and have many friends that absolutely do not like them.

Do what works for you, not what works for someone else.

How to Soothe Sore Wrists and Arms

For anyone who uses a computer (or even a smartphone) regularly, it's common for wrists and forearms to get tight and sore. To help you stay limber and pain free (and to decrease the risk of repetitive-use injury, including carpal tunnel), I wanted to share this video. In it, I demonstrate a quick, simple forearm massage you can do throughout the day to release tension and reduce pain in your wrists, hands, and arms. I hope you'll check it out.

Practical Ergonomics

We know how important it is to have an ergonomic work station at your office. But what happens when you work a couple days (or more) at home, where we rarely have an ideal ergonomic set up?

Here is some practical advice to keep your body healthy and happy when working from home:

The most important thing is not to stay in any one position for more than 50 minutes.  Moving into different scenarios keeps your body in different positions so it doesn’t settle into any (potentially harmful) patterns. For example, if you like to work from a certain comfy chair with your laptop, that’s fine, but don’t let it suck you in for hours. Set a timer for 50 minutes, and when it goes off, switch locations. Try using your kitchen counter as a makeshift standing desk. After another 50 minutes, move to your kitchen table. 

When you change location, take a few minutes to walk the stairs in your building or to take a walk around the block. Getting the blood flowing helps keep your muscles loose, and has the added benefit of quieting and focusing your mind.

Every hour or two, get on the ground (a yoga mat or rug is great) and do some spinal twists, hug your knees to your chest, or just stretch and roll around however feels good to you. If you’d like some simple exercises to target specific sore or tight areas, check out my YouTube channel. 

Keep Your Hips Happy & Healthy

Do your hips get tight or fidgety after sitting down for a long time? I hear this from lots of my patients, since so many of them spend most of their day in front of a computer. Try this simple hip stretch throughout the day to keep your hips supple and pain-free. You don't even need to leave your chair (although I recommend you do that, too ;) 

This quick, simple hip stretch is great for people who work at a computer all day, including from home. It can be done without leaving your chair, even while talking to coworkers or on the phone. Recommended by San Francisco-based chiropractor Helaine Shpritz.

Get to Know Your Latissimus Dorsi

Ask any of my clients and they have undoubtedly heard me talk about the psoas, a muscle deep inside the pelvis that connects to the lower spine and is a key stabilizer for the whole body. The latissimus dorsi, or the "lat" for short, is kind of the psoas of the upper body. It is the muscle that pulls your shoulders back and opens your chest—and it's commonly underdeveloped, helping contribute to our computer-related posture issues, including "text neck." 

While well-meaning yoga and exercise instructors may tell us to "pull" our shoulders away from our ears, if the lats are not strong, this action can create unwanted tension in the neck and shoulders. Instead, I suggest a few simple exercises that, done regularly, will help you strengthen the lat, improve your posture, and relieve upper body pain.

To strengthen the lat, try a single arm row, which allow you to focus on one side of your lat muscle at a time. Choose a weight that you can perform at least eight repetitions with; don't do more than 12 repetitions. To perform a single-arm row, place your left knee and left hand onto the bench and place your right foot on the ground (or place your left elbow on your left knee, as in the illustration). Keep your back flat, hold the weight in your right arm, allow your right arm to hang toward the ground, lift your right hand upward until it is next to your chest, and lower your arm back down. After you complete the desired number of repetitions on the right side, switch to the left side.

The easiest way to stretch the lat is to lay flat on your back with legs bent, and let your arms fall to your sides in a "cactus" position (see video). Slowly raise your arms, keeping your elbows and hands in contact with the floor, then lower. Repeat eight or ten times.

Do You Practice You-ga?

I have a lot of patients who enjoy yoga. Yoga is a wonderful practice that can help with strength and flexibility. But, like any physical activity, it can have negative side effects if you don’t listen to your own body’s needs while doing it.

Have you ever heard the instructor suggest a pose you’re pretty sure you’re not strong enough to hold, and when he or she gives a modification, a little voice in your head says, “Oh come on, do you really need to modify this?” I’m here to suggest that you kindly tell that voice to buzz off. 

Because the fact is, you are the one who has to go home with your body when the class is over. Not the instructor. Not the person next to you with perfect form who can balance their entire body on one arm. You. Hence, “you-ga.”

When that “Oh, come on” voice speaks up, just remember what the instructor probably told you at the beginning of class: whenever you feel you need a rest, you’re welcome to return to child’s pose. Child’s pose is a totally valid pose, it’s not just “resting,” even though it’s restorative.

If you don't pay attention to what your body is capable of at any given moment, you may end up pushing yourself to the point of injury. Common injuries occur from stretching too deeply (remember to relax into a stretch, rather than pushing into it) and doing poses you don’t have the strength for (which makes you likely to be out of alignment and, therefore, prone to hurting yourself). 

After an injury, you most likely will need to stay away from yoga and potentially other activities until you heal, which is no fun. So next time you’re heading to a yoga class, remember to practice you-ga as well. 

Who goes to the chiropractor? Laura from LK Skin Studio!

What do you do for a living?

I am an esthetician/makeup artist by trade and I own LK Skin Studio, a day spa in San Francisco.

How long have you been going to a chiropractor?

Before meeting Helaine, I had been to see a chiropractor once a few years back. It was a very different experience.

I started coming in regularly in September, 2015. Immediately I knew Helaine wanted to get a full understanding of my body and how it works. She asked so many questions and watched me walk. You can tell she is passionate about her work!

How does it make you feel?

I always feel like a million bucks when I leave. I LOVE when she adjusts my neck!! I feel so invigorated!

What else do you do to feel healthy?

I am always playing around with my diet to see what helps my mind and body operate at an optimal level.

I also play soccer in a women's league and sample different types of workouts at all the boutique fitness studios in SF. Most recently I tried Barry's Bootcamp (killer). I would like to incorporate some extra time for stretching this year and work on running more.

Favorite health tip?

I am constantly on the go and sometimes don't realize how wound-up or in my head I am. I like to rub peppermint oil or tiger balm or the Headache blend by DōTerra onto my temples throughout the day. All 3 have analgesic properties. This can tame tension headaches and calms me down, too.