Yoga today

NYDNREHAB - Spinal Hygiene or Back Pain Prevention. Spinal Hygiene Or Back Pain Prevention Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization A developmental Kinesiology Approach By Kolar Spinal Hygiene Or Back Pain Prevention Proper Motor Development And Its Influence On Posture Are You Teeth Much More Important Than Your Spine. Historically the spinal hygiene had evolved thousands of years before dental hygiene came into existence. I am always fascinated watching groups of elderly Chinese practicing tai-chi in early morning hours in parks and squares. Their limberness and body control is a great example of the result of years of practicing spinal hygiene with ancient martial arts exercises. Eastern cultures developed martial arts, yoga, tai-chi and other similar disciplines many centuries ago. All these methods facilitate proper breathing, lengthen muscles, increase body awareness and, most importantly, stabilize the core of the. These ancient forms of exercise were created at the times when life styles were much different. Everyday movement then was an intrinsic part of daily life rather than leisurely activity as it tends to be today. Today we live in the world of physical inactivity and the culture of movement needs to be reinvented over and over again. See October 15th Issue Of Time Magazine: "When yoga hurts". Only then yoga, tai-chi and other similar disciplines can become the best way to preserve spinal health. Especially if they are not familiar with your problems and there are 20 other students in the attendance. Moreover, you could be standing next to a professional dancer, a gymnast or simply a person in a good shape with good Emulating them beyond your limits can lead to severe consequences. This teaches the body of self awareness which has the most curative effect for the aching spine. Patients who continuously overextend their capacity can severely aggravate their condition and suffer a relapse and in some cases even become incapacitated. We are not against yoga or other such practices. On the contrary, we do recommend to our patients which type of activity will benefit them the most and explain all pros and cons. One May ask, for example, why Pilates exercise system has been so successful for patients with back pain. Contrary to the main-stream physical therapy the Pilates principles emphasize training spinal stability which benefits any back patient. This, however, is not true for everybody as spinal stability deficiency is different in each patient and May require more individualized approach. Moreover, only very qualified Pilates instructors are capable of identifying all the intricacies of motor deficiencies. Most of them are not qualified to diagnose but are simply trained to implement the principles. Another harming activity is improperly performed body building or weight training. It is very common that people tend to overestimate their power and are chasing after big weights in order to quickly gain muscle mass. The biggest problem with body building and recreational weight lifting is that it can hardly be regarded as a natural activity. The excessive weight requires engagement of synergistic compensatory muscle groups, compromising proper performance. This creates dissonance between muscles of the abdominal wall, pelvic floor and diaphragm leading to decreased anterior spinal stability and eventually pain. Another problem with bodybuilding is overdevelopment of large muscles such as pectorals, latissimus, scapular adductors, internal hip rotators, etc. The hypertrophy of these muscles creates excessive internal shoulder rotation, scapular protraction and increased stiff thoracic kyphosis. This inevitably leads to improper mechanical loading of the discs, joints, ligaments which inevitably results in back pain. Spinal hygiene is a combination of safe and simple therapeutic movements and spine-sparing strategies. The therapeutic movements should be performed frequently and on a regular basis. These movements are not designed for cosmetic or sports gains. It is a way of mitigating negative effects of gravity and every day biomechanical and emotional stresses which Act on our body. In our opinion fifteen to twenty minutes of daily exercise routines would be sufficient to accommodate this need. The exercises are simple enough for anybody to learn. They are also essential to create a foundation for progress towards healthier body and improved quality of life. Note: Spine sparing strategies should start with patients learning to distinguish between positions and movements that are beneficial and harmful to them. See our spine sparing strategies page.