07/18/2024
We have to admit it, we haven’t been great about keeping up on our posting on here. With the addition of Dr. Hosler, our hope is to broaden our approach and offer more insights to our patient base to help them live their best life possible. One way we can do that is through offering articles and tips that you can use but also pass along to friends and others who are in need of help.
We often have patients who were unaware we treated a condition that they’ve been struggling with until a friend tells them about it. From foot pain, shoulder pain and headaches, to jaw pain, treatments like needling, etc. Patients had no idea we were an option and often wish they would have started with us much earlier!
If you wouldn’t mind, we’d love to have you share this post and maybe it will end up in the hands of someone who could truly use the help!
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Movement Is Medicine // Dr. Ryan Hosler, D.C.
When it comes to rehab for spine-related pains (eg: lower back pain), most approaches focus on “spine stability.” Spine stability exercises are often exercises that train the spine to not move (eg: planks, side planks, bird-dogs). These types of exercises may be necessary in early stages of rehab. However, there comes a point in time in the rehab process that the spine must be trained to move. This is because the spine is made up of joints and joints need movement to stay healthy.
Think about this: when other joints outside of the spine are rehabbed (shoulders, hips, knees, elbows, wrists, ankles), movement is involved. They are not solely rehabbed to “not move.”
But for some reason, rehab for spine-related pains often stops at training the spine to not move. This approach is incomplete - the spine must move to stay healthy.
If the spine wasn’t meant to move, it wouldn’t be made up of joints. Instead, it would just be one long bone that didn’t move.
One of the easiest ways to begin training the spine to move is through the cat-cow exercise (pictured).
The cat-cow exercise should be performed slowly and with control. The goal is to try to move each joint in the spine one-by-one.
If this exercise is painful or you would like help perfecting it, we’re here to help you! Simply reach out to us by calling (260) 755-5953 or you can TEXT us at (260) 204-3330 to schedule an appointment.
