Blog & Videos

Hip Opener 

Hip mobility is important for many athletes so its important to have not only have strength but flexibility as well.  To increase your movement in the hips we used a pose called lizard pose and we see this a lot in Yoga.

Opening up the hips take a lot pressure off the hip flexors and off the lower back.  Most lower back pain actually occurs as a result of improper movements that originate from a lack of hip movements.  For example, if you do not have good strength and movement into the hips you will being to bend from the spine.  Imagine lifting a heavy box.  When you lift from your spine you are weak but when you lift from the hip and keep your spine tense, you are strong! As a result, having the hip mobility is critical.

Finally, we added a hip core workout called spidermans or alligator walks.  This is a cross crawl type of movement that forces you to have a lot of hip movement, core strengthen and it really gets your heart rate up!  In addition, you can add a push up to help increase your upper body strength!  Again, all this together promotes hip strength, mobility, and braces your core to help prevent back pain.

Rocktape/Kinesiotape for High Intensity Activity

Many high intensity activities like cross fit, HIIT training and other sports require a lot of jumping and explosiveness.  As a result, there is often a lot of friction that results in abrasions and blisters behind the ankle and Achilles tendon.

Easy Fix!  Since we rather see you active all you have to do is apply a strip of tape to the back of the ankle.  This provides a bit of a cushion and is actually a soothing feeling that can help stop abrasions from occurring.

Getting sick sucks and it sucks even more when your illness gets in the way of the gym.  Have you ever tried to come back to the gym after an illness?  I bet your cardio was terrible, you were likely not as strong, and of course didn’t feel right.

Well, there is a right way to get back into it and without sugar coating it, you need to progress slowly!  Especially if you had the flu, cold, or respiratory illness.  If you caught one of these infections there are a few things to note.

First, your body is using energy for its immune system.  Even after we are “feeling better” from our sickness we are still not totally recovered!  It can take a week, two, three, or more to fully recover and if you try to do any high intensity workouts you will likely not feel your best as your body is still trying to make sure the infection doesn’t come back!

Secondly, the infection has already done its damage.  After getting sick, the infection has already multiplied and spread chemical signals, toxins, and damaged some normal healthy cells.  As a result, it will take some time for the body to recoup and you need to allow for that time.  The body has already sustained some damage and expecting it to work at 100% is not realistic.  If you do go back too much too hard, you can risk weakening your immune system enough that there is a possibility for re-infection.  Keep in mind after exercise your immune system does temporarily lower!

What to do instead?

When recovering from sickness I still stay active BUT you have to make sure you don’t lift too much too hard or start cardio work too soon!  Give your body a chance to recover and do very light weight workouts.  High rep and/or moderate weight is good.  This give a slight increase in heart rate but it is not too much so it will not overwhelm the body.  In addition, you will be circulating blood and lymph flow which is important for the body to heal systemically.  Try to keep the intense cardio at a minimum, do some lifting.  Workout times should be a shorter duration as well and I recommend about 20-35 min if you are used to doing bout 45-1 hour.

The spine rolling exercise is a very simple and easy way to warm up the back prior to exercise.  The great part about this exercise is that you can target different areas of the spine including the thoracic spine and lumbar spine.  When you perform the exercise is important to try and localize the rolling to a specific area at times.  When doing this, make sure you contract your core.  By doing this, you will control your movement much better!

LOW BACK PAIN IS VERY COMMON! 

Low back pain has got to be the number 1 thing I see in my office every day!  Most people have lower back pain for a variety of reasons but many can be prevented.  This goes from improper mobility/movement, poor posture, alignment, stress, and bending.  When you begin to learn how to move better you will feel and perform better.

When bending or lifting a lot of people being to bend and round the spine.  The spine is designed to have some movement but not to have the ability to completely round then take a load or lift something heavy.  That is the job of the hips!  The hips are designed to have great mobility and POWER!  In addition, we have a fairly strong core that is designed to brace the spine and protect it.  Much like an natural weight belt!  So when bending or lifting, the spine should be straight and in a neutral position while the hips and knees do the bending and lifting! The result comes in when you properly lift the object, keep a neutral spine and walk away having the job completed with NO lower back pain.

The chance of back pain occurring increases the more you lift improperly.  This contributes to more “wear and tear” of the spine resulting in pain.  Most will come in saying they hurt the back but the real dysfunction is in the hips and pelvic girdle!  The spine just happened take the forces and is now the symptom of the problem.  Be smart, improve your core strength, and focus on strengthening and balancing the hips to prevent low back pain from ever happening!

In your health,

Dr. Jagoda

Its no secret that many of us cheat and/or indulge during the holiday time!  As a result some of us gain weight and we often feel guilty based on our decisions.  Many blogs and video talk about “how to make better decisions during the holidays” and they are usually very good tips if you can do it!

For some that does not work so here is another approach.  My opinion is work out HARD! Don’t stop working out and following your diet/nutrition UNTIL its time to cheat.  Work out so hard and follow your diet so well that you can go out and indulge and enjoy yourself without any guilt.  I recognize the this is an extreme version but for many people it work!  Follow your plan all the way to the end.  There will be plenty of time to have that chocolate cake, beer, or whatever and if you work hard enough, you will know for sure that you deserve it!