Almost monthly, some form of media brings to light the ill effects of sitting. Those effects may actually seem counterintuitive – instead of feeling well rested and energetic, we are more likely to feel tired and achy. Countless studies prove that sitting shortens our lifespans as a result of increased cardiovascular disease and general musculoskeletal deterioration. So why is it that we sit so much? And what can we do about our sitting epidemic? Our culture starts us sitting early. Beginning in pre-school, we learn to sit. And that lesson is reinforced as we progress through our school systems. Then, aside from a limited number of active jobs, we sit even more once we are in the workforce. The habit of sitting that we learn in education and professional life often carries over to extracurricular activities. Those activities might include watching television, going out to dinner or grabbing a drink. It is surprising how much time we spend not moving. There are many simple ways to limit the negative effects of sitting. Switching to a sit-to-stand workstation is a great option to allow both sitting and standing throughout the day. Setting an alarm to take a walk or perform standing stretches is a fantastic strategy to break up long periods spent sitting. Taking phone calls via Bluetooth or some similar mobile call option can provide additional opportunities to stand rather than sit. Below are some simple, effective exercises to do at work while sitting or while on a short standing break: Seated 3-Dimensional Reaches @ Overhead* Seated Legs Crossed with Counter-Rotation Reaches @ Overhead* 3D Lunges to Box with Reaches @ Overhead* Squats with 3D Reaches @ Overhead* The above exercises are designed to drive more motion in your hips and thoracic spine (mid/upper back). Keeping these areas flexible and keeping the surrounding muscles strong will help prevent low back pain and many other injuries.
Conclusion: Fixing Our Culture of Sitting Breaking our culture of sitting starts with teaching our kids the value of moving and teaching them how to learn without sitting all day. Their bodies also need more mid back and hip mobility as well as strength to control their joints. Integrating functional exercises - like those shown in the videos above - into the classroom is a great way to help kids move and feel better during the day. References Gray Institute: Gray Institute created a program called Free2Play which is being integrated in many schools throughout the nation and teaches students about movement and offers exercises for students to try while in class. Although targeted to children, Free2Play is a fantastic and free resource for anyone interested in movement. http://f2pacademy.com/ Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/5/976.short Occupational sitting time – employees’ perceptions of health risks and intervention strategies http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=HE11038 Prolonged sitting: is it a distinct coronary heart disease risk factor? http://journals.lww.com/co-cardiology/Abstract/2011/09000/Prolonged_sitting___is_it_a_distinct_coronary.8.aspx Reducing occupational sitting time and improving worker health: the take-a-stand project 2011 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477898/ Sitting time and all-cause mortality risk in Australian adults http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108810</p> Too much sitting – a health hazard http://www.diabetesresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S0168-8227(12)00208-2/abstract *Disclaimer – if you attempt these exercises, you are doing so at your own risk. Although these exercises are designed to help you, there is always a risk of injury with any exercise. Dan Benson, DPT, OCS, FAFS, GPS, CAFS, FMR CEO Forefront Physical Therapy Doctor of Physical Therapy Orthopedic Certified Specialist Fellow of Applied Functional Science from the Gray Institute Nike Golf Performance Specialist Certified in Applied Functional Science Certified in Functional Manual Reaction www.forefrontpllc.com Forefront Physical Therapy Belltown, South Lake Union, Lower Queen Anne Seattle, WA
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11/29/2013 Seattle Green Lake Track Workout Warm Up Explained: Part 2 – Lunges with 3D Arm ReachesRead NowAs explained in Part 1, the track workout warm up starts with an easy 2 lap jog followed by running modification drills. Immediately following those drills are a series of lunges that are modified by changing where the arms reach during each lunge. We typically perform 10 lunges (5 lunges with each leg) with each of the 6 different arm reaches. Lunges with 3D Arm Reaches Forward Lunges with Arms Reaching at Overhead
Forward Lunges with Arms Reaching toward the Ground
Forward Lunges with Arms Reaching at Overhead to the Same Side of the Lunging Leg
Forward Lunges with Arms Reaching at Overhead to the Opposite Side of the Lunging Leg
Forward Lunges with Arms Reaching Same Side Rotational at Shoulder Height
Forward Lunges with Arms Reaching Opposite Side Rotational at Shoulder Height
All professional athletes go through a specific, well-planned warm up before any athletic activity. Creating new habits where running modification drills and lunges become an integral part of your running experience will help you maintain a healthy body while improving your speed and ability to be successful in the sport you love. As mentioned in the previous post, all joints and muscles load and unload 3-dimensionally during any activity – this allows your muscles to decelerate and or accelerate motion in one to three planes of motion. Adjusting motion and exercise patterns is critical for maintaining mobility with strength and keeping your body healthy. The overarching purpose of these movements is to increase motion while at the same time teaching your body to control new motion. Waking up as many muscle groups and nerve pathways (or to be more precise, proprioceptors) as possible before running or any activity is always crucial and this is often best accomplished by introducing variable movements. Dan Benson, DPT, OCS, FAFS, GPS, CAFS, FMR CEO Forefront Physical Therapy Doctor of Physical Therapy Orthopedic Certified Specialist Fellow of Applied Functional Science from the Gray Institute Nike Golf Performance Specialist Certified in Applied Functional Science Certified in Functional Manual Reaction www.forefrontpllc.com
This will be a 2 part series designed to explain the “why” behind the different exercises I guide the Green Lake track workout group through every Monday evening. We always start with 2 laps of slow jogging to get the blood flowing. At lap 3, on the straight sections, we begin the running drills. Those technique modifications include running with feet normal width apart with toes turned in and then toes turned out. The next set of alterations move feet further apart than normal with toes neutral, turned in and turned out. And the final set involves the feet coming across midline with toes neutral, turned in and turned out. To explain the effects in detail, I will limit the discussion to one variable at a time. Modifications Introduced While Running Toes Turned In
Toes Turned Out
Feet Wide
Feet Across Midline
All joints and muscles load and unload 3-dimensionally during any activity – this allows your muscles to decelerate and or accelerate motion in one to three planes of motion. Adjusting motion and exercise patterns is critical for maintaining mobility with strength and keeping your body healthy. There will be little difference if you are a heel, midfoot or forefoot striker with these drills. The overarching purpose of these movements is to increase motion while at the same time teaching your body to control new motion. Waking up as many muscle groups and nerve pathways (or to be more precise, proprioceptors) as possible before running or any activity is always crucial and this is often best accomplished by introducing variable movements. Next Segment: Part 2 – Lunges with 3D Arm Reaches Dan Benson, DPT, OCS, FAFS, GPS, CAFS, FMR CEO Forefront Physical Therapy Doctor of Physical Therapy Orthopedic Certified Specialist Fellow of Applied Functional Science from the Gray Institute Nike Golf Performance Specialist Certified in Applied Functional Science Certified in Functional Manual Reaction www.forefrontpllc.com
Golf is a fantastic game that brings with it friendships, laughs, beautiful scenery and, sadly, great frustration. Usually this frustration is a result of knowing you can hit a solid shot, but finding it harder to do so the harder you try. Why does it feel like despite everything you do, even receiving lessons from the best golf teachers, you still cannot consistently hit the ball the way you want? More often than not, the reason is that your body is unable to move the way you or your golf teacher desires. That is why the great shots only appear occasionally; they only occur when another part of your body compensates in just the right way. And that’s why consistently repeating the great shots is so hard. The Gray Institute, at the request of Nike, created an innovative golf enhancement program. It allows NG360 Performance Specialists like me to analyze your swing 3-dimensionally in order to identify movement limitations and weaknesses and then help you gain the motion and stability necessary to allow you to play the game of golf like never before. The Analysis In-Depth: The golf swing is an amazing but complicated motion that involves two major transformational zones including the backswing and follow through. NG360 analysis finds and resolves problems in those zones. If I were looking at your backswing transformational zone, I might ask you to hold your backswing and then check your hips to see if they have any extra motion 3-dimensionally. And if something looks limited, then I would start feeding out in which plane of motion that limitation exists and simultaneously checking your ability to control your available motion. In between the transformational zones are two areas of sequencing that must also be analyzed. The first is the sequencing of the club head slowing during the backswing and the hips speeding up in the opposite direction at the same time - also known as distal deceleration and proximal acceleration. The second is the sequencing of the club head whip that occurs in the hitting zone - also known as the chain reaction whip caused by sequential deceleration, in this case, proximally to distally. It is the combination of these two sequencing events that creates such a massive stretch or load to your muscles and allows you to generate such high speed at the club head. When your body is allowed to swing through the range of motion it needs for your swing style with proper stability throughout, golf really becomes fun! That is when you are able to hit with power, to hit the type of shot you want and to play the game without pain. It is highly recommended that you continue working with a golf pro while you are going through the NG 360 Functional Performance System. You will be amazed by how much easier it becomes to follow swing instructions after training with a Nike Golf Performance Specialist. If you want to improve your golf game through a Nike Golf 360 analysis, please call at (231) 577-6593 or email Daniel.H.Benson@forefrontpllc.com to schedule an appointment. Franconia Ridge, NH Welcome to Forefront Physical Therapy! I'm excited to become a part of the Seattle community and look forward to having the opportunity to work with and learn from all of you. Here's my story: I grew up in northern Michigan in a small town called Cadillac. It's a great place with access to almost any outdoor activity you could imagine. This meant skiing in the winter and running, tennis, basketball, golf, barefoot waterskiing (training camps with Brett Sands, Andy Sable and Ron Scarpa), slalom waterskiing, wakeboarding, soccer and biking during the other months of the year. I played soccer for Kalamazoo College in southern Michigan. While majoring in health sciences and minoring in economics, I learned how to manage intense classes and intense training for soccer. I loved that balancing act – soccer was a relief from my schoolwork and other responsibilities and the consistent exercise always made me feel good. In the winter of my second year at Kalamazoo, I managed to break my back (T5 compression fracture) while on a weekend ski trip at Caberfae, my hometown ski resort. I was lucky - I did not suffer any spinal cord damage and did not need surgery - but was required to wear a back brace for 3 months. Since the injury, I have fully recovered and have no lingering physical limitations. Six months after the injury while on foreign study, I was skiing in New Zealand and surfing in Australia. Being active and hurting myself has given me a clearer picture of what my patients go through each time I provide them with treatment or fitness training. On the day that I graduated from Kalamazoo College, I headed east for a summer business program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. I then immediately went north to the University of Vermont where I earned my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. While at UVM, I was fortunate to have many great opportunities including the ability to start a pro bono physical therapy clinic, tutor graduate students in neuroscience and ski and hike in the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. I also had the opportunity to start a physical therapy club. The UVM Physical Therapy club and its members helped put together a number of fantastic community service events including a food drive, a 5k fun run and a health career promotion day at local high schools in coordination with the Vermont Healthcare Workforce Development Partnership. UVM offered the opportunity to complete clinical rotations anywhere in the United States. I first went to the Cambridge Health Alliance in Boston, MA where I learned the basics of an outpatient, orthopedic practice. I then spent 8 weeks at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD and worked with some of the best and brightest in the world on the Neuroscience floor. My next 8 weeks was spent in Portland, ME at an inpatient rehab facility and I was exposed to an incredible group of patient and caring physical therapists. And my final 14 week rotation was spent in Big Sky, MT at an outpatient, orthopedic practice where I was exposed to fantastic physical therapy practices and the best environment for outdoor activity. I remained in Big Sky, MT after graduating from physical therapy school and continued to pursue my passion for outdoor activities. I downhill skied 50+ days every winter and skate skied in the evenings for cross training. Summers brought the opportunity for golf, tennis, biking, soccer, trail running and triathlon training. In addition to my outdoor passions, I have a strong passion for learning. While in Montana, I became an Orthopedic Certified Specialist. This specialty requires the review and learning of information dense material on different pathologies of each part of the body and an understanding of the most up-to-date research backed treatments. Only a small percentage of physical therapists hold this certification and it allows us to better analyze each patient and understand their specific issue. However, many of the treatments suggested are rather old school… A new kind of physical therapy: Although the Orthopedic Certification material was great, what I have learned through the Gray Institute's teaching of Applied Functional Science is the real reason I love my job so much. It allows me to use a logical thought process to help better my patients’ lives through movement. Every exercise is prescribed for a precise reason. With my understanding of how the body moves, I know exactly what is happening, or should be happening, at every joint in the body in all 3 planes of motion during every movement I ask my patients to perform. This means I spend minimal time treating patients on the table. Table-based treatment typically involves the use of manual therapy, such as massage, stretching and/or range of motion. It is a method in which the patient does not actively participate in the treatment but instead remains still or passive. Manual therapy can be a powerful tool, but I believe it should play only a small part in a patient's road to improved movement and fitness. The activities we all live for are exactly that - active. Table-based or non-active treatments, such as manual therapy, provide little translation to the activities we enjoy in life. This is why Forefront Physical Therapy offers a new kind of physical therapy. Our treatment philosophy relies on utilizing patients' own abilities to drive improved function so that they can get back to the activities they love and gain improved performance at the same time. This means that a patient who comes in with low back pain will be actively participating in their therapy. It is likely that this patient will be doing different lunges, squats and reaching patterns to simultaneously and functionally create motion and strength in order to improve movement faults and fix the real cause of their low back pain (which typically arises from hip or feet issues). I moved to Seattle to gain access to a new environment of outdoor opportunities as well as to start Forefront Physical Therapy. Seattle is rated as one of the most health conscious and active cities in the U.S. This is exactly the type of population I enjoy working with and the type of people I love to be around. Since moving to Seattle, I have become a Nike Golf 360 Performance Specialist. This specialty, powered by the Gray Institute, builds on the theme of understanding movement patterns in all 3-dimensions and utilizing that knowledge to analyze a client's golf swing and enhance their game through improved mechanics. My next continuing education step is to become a Fellow of Applied Functional Science through the Gray Institute. This is a one year fellowship and I look forward to improving my understanding of how the body moves so I can better serve my patients and clients in the future. Every physical therapist who works for Forefront Physical Therapy will have initiated this fellowship within 2 years of employment. My greatest passion is helping others. The reason I do so much continuing education and participate in so many different activities is so that I can better serve my patients. I look forward to working with you. Thank you for visiting my blog! I will be writing about different injuries, treatment techniques, fitness programs and general health advice. Please feel free to request specific topics to be covered. Sincerely, Daniel H. Benson, DPT, OCS Founder & CEO of Forefront Physical Therapy |
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