When you crack your exercise toolkit open each week on back day, you ve got a seemingly endless array of movements available. Knowing which tools are best suited for building a wide, thick back will help you get the job done faster, which is why we ve assembled our list of top 10 mass-building back exercises. While head-to-head exercise comparison research is a bit…
Spinal manipulative therapy, including chiropractic care, provides modest relief from pain and improvements in function for those with acute lower back pain, a new study finds. In general, the benefit of SMT was about the same as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the study stated. The quality of evidence for benefit was “moderate.” The meta-analysis encompassing…
The most common cause of pain in between the shoulder blades is the poor posture that most of us slip into at work, when we re driving, eating or tapping away on our phones—rounded shoulders, head forward and chest collapsed. Combine this with a sport like cycling, in which you spend long periods of time rounded over the handlebars, or swimming, which puts considerable…
Photo Sommer Kleweno Walley at home in Seattle. After she slipped on steps and began having back pain, a doctor prescribed physical therapy and an anti-inflammatory drug. Her pain was gone in a few months. Credit Ian C. Bates for The New York Times On Monday, the American College of Physicians published updated guidelines that say much the same. In making the new…
Workout fads come and go, but virtually no other exercise program is as enduring as yoga. It s been around for more than 5, years. Yoga does more than burn calories and tone muscles. It s a total mind-body workout that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation. There are more than 100 different forms of yoga. Some…
How to do Wind-Relieving Pose (Pawanmuktasana) Lie on your back with your feet together and arms beside your body. Breathe in and as you exhale, bring your right knee towards your chest and press the thigh on your abdomen with clasped hands. Breathe in again and as you exhale, lift your head and chest off the floor and touch your chin to your right knee. Hold it there…
Impaired movement control may result in chronic lower back pain. A new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that the combination of manual therapy and exercise is an excellent way to combat movement control impairment in the lower back. This combination reduced the disability experienced by patients and significantly improved their functional ability…
Back pain, whether it be chronic or acute, is one of the most agonizing experiences one could endure. Ask anyone who has any significant degree of back pain, and they will attest to the restrictions it presents: limited range of movement, reduced mental focus, a sense of helplessness and even severe depression can result from a back injury. While any form of back…
The condition is much more common in women than men. It is usually caused by trauma to the tailbone or surrounding area, such as a backward fall or childbirth. On rare occasions, an infection or tumor can also cause pain in the coccyx. See Osteomyelitis, a Spinal Infection and Spinal Tumors and Back Pain This article provides an in-depth review of the causes of coccydynia…
Here s what we re going to do: I m very fond of using a tennis ball to release your hips, but recently I ve started using a softball (or a baseball) for the upper part of your hips. I find it is very comfortable and allows me to put a great deal of my body weight on the muscles in the hips, while in a position that just about anyone can sustain comfortably, all while…
Back muscle pain or its aliases: pulled back muscle, back muscle spasm, torn back muscle or back muscle strain, is very common. In fact, back muscle pain is the most common source of back pain. The good news is, that it is also one of the quickest to heal and rehabilitate. What Causes Back Muscle Pain? Most causes of low back pain are muscle, ligament or joint related…
*Heads up: We just launched the YBC Yoga Forum, where health conscious people (like you!) are coming together to chat about everything from chaturangas to chocolates. Come join! We d love to connect! If you consider how often we sit (ahem, slouch), it s not a huge surprise that many of us suffer from minor upper back pain. I mean, we probably spend the majority of…
Here’s a grimly edifying set-piece for twenty-first-century feminists to ponder: when my grandmother was a teenager at Greenwich Academy, a girls’ prep school in Connecticut, she and her fellow students were required to pose nude for photographs taken by the P.E. teacher. Once a year, in a mirrored studio on campus, they would shed their itchy, matronly uniforms—green…
For those with diabetes or pre-diabetes, adopting a regular yoga routine in addition to other healthy lifestyle habits can provide relief from diabetic symptoms and even help overcome the condition. The best beginning yoga for diabetes will include postures and breathing exercises that are designed specifically to target and stimulate the pancreas. By improving blood…
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon teaching Teacher Training at Tranquil Space. As always, it was a fabulous experience and I left feeling exhilarated, exhausted and inspired. To me, there s nothing like a group of students who are hungry for more-who have chosen to study what they re studying because they truly love it- and who have so much knowledge, experience, and…
Being afraid I’ll end up looking like the humpback of Notre Dame when I’m older is a reasonable fear. Overall health and wellness has become much more of a priority now that I’m in my thirties. Good posture was something I may have only heard about from my mom when she told me to straighten up (or when I was acting out, more likely). As a yoga teacher I find myself…
