Avoid Back Pain With Core-Conditioning Yoga Poses

Two words strike fear into the heart chakra of even the most courageous yogis: Back pain. You've heard it before — a strong core is key to minimizing injuries and enabling you to take yoga practice to the next level. But should the pangs of back pain strike, redirecting your focus on core strengthening movements could be the answer. Your core muscles — specifically your abdominal, chest and back muscles — support the spine from the lower to the upper back. Core body strength and wellness is so essential to spinal health that spine experts at Community Wellness Blog even recommend therapeutic yoga postures for patients recovering from back surgery. So before surgery becomes the only viable option, take on back pain with these top four yoga poses for core conditioning.
One caveat: If you are experiencing chronic back pain, consult your physician before performing these poses.
Image via RelaxingMusic via Flickr.

Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)

While arm strength is the focal point of this pose, the abdominal muscles work to stabilize the body, particularly the obliques. From plank position, shift your weight onto your right arm and the side of your right foot. Stack your left foot on top of your right foot and raise your left arm toward the ceiling, lifting your gaze to the left fingertips. Hold for three to five breaths and repeat on the
alternate side.
Beginner variation: Keep your right knee on the ground as you shift your weight. Position your left foot on the floor with toes turned slightly inward. Advanced variation: From the full pose, lift your left foot so that it hovers above the right.

Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana)

Half moon pose strengthens the abdomen and spine while stretching the chest, shoulders and legs. From a right side lunge position, bring your left hand to your waist. Place your right fingertips about a foot in front of your right big toe while straightening your right leg and lifting your left leg parallel to the floor. Hold for three to five breaths and repeat on the other side.
Beginner variation: Rather than reaching all the way to the floor, use a block to support your hand. Advanced variation: Bend the knee of the lifted leg and reach your hand around to meet your ankle.

Boat Pose (Navasana)

An intense move for the entire core, boat pose strengthens the key muscles of the back, abdomen and hip flexors. From a seated position, bring the legs straight up to a 45-degree angle while keeping the spine straight. Bring the arms out parallel to the floor. Hold for 10 seconds with the goal of gradually
holding for a minute.
Beginner variation: Bend your knees so that your shins are parallel to the floor. Hold the backs of your thighs for support if necessary. Advanced variation: From full boat pose, lower the legs to the floor and hover, keeping the back straight. Lift the legs back up to boat pose and repeat at least twice.

Locust Pose (Salabhasana)

Locust pose focuses on strengthening the muscles of the spine while stretching the chest, belly and legs. Lying on your belly with your forehead resting on the mat, bring hands alongside your body. Extend your legs straight behind you while lifting your torso and arms straight behind you. Hold for at least three breaths, building up to 1 minute. Rest on alternating cheeks between holds.
Beginner variation: Keep your hands on the floor under your shoulders as you lift your legs. A half locust as shown to left raises one leg at a time; also a  great choice for beginners. Advanced variation: Clasp your hands behind you as you hold. (Please note that the picture to the left shows a man performing a half locust pose rather than full because he only has one leg up rather than both at once as in a standard locust pose).

CAN YOUR TOOTHPASTE OR LIPSTICK CAUSE BREAST CANCER?

The surprising answer is "quite possibly".  Although we know that genetics does play a role in developing breast cancer, we also know that genes affecting such seem to have a biological switch that can be turned on or off with exposure to certain positive or negative factors. Some of the negative factors are contained in products we use everyday. Other things that influence development of breast cancer are: emotional stress, environmental elements, chemicals, diet, lifestyle and degree of wellness.

PINK WASHING OR WHITE WASHING THE TRUTH

Being that October is breast cancer awareness month, ad campaigns have flooded the market with products adorning pink ribbons in the name of breast cancer research. Naysayers and many researchers have condemned these tactics and have even coined such events as "pink washing" or using the friendly color pink to whitewash underlying monetary gains and/or bad intentions.

It might intrigue you to know that prevention of breast cancer is not in the best interest of some very powerful corporate giants.  On the contrary, breast cancer is making them lots of money. There is quite a bit of evidence to suggest that certain pesticides and chemicals play a factor in development of breast cancer.  Chemical producers like Mosanto, DuPont and Dow Chemical are deemed to have financial interests in companies that develop treatment for cancer. At the same time, some of the chemicals they produce are known to cause cancer. Do you see the irony here?

Parabens are chemicals that function as preservatives and anti-fungals and are often used in shampoos, deodorants, and cosmetics like lipstick. They are easily absorbed through the skin or by way of the gastro-intestinal tract.  Problem is that they act like estrogen in the body (often called "estrogen mimickers") and modern medicine has proven that excess estrogen plays a role in breast cancer. I find it interesting that more than 75% of breast tumor biopsies contain significant amounts of parabens.

Parabens are ubiquitous because they offer a relatively inexpensive way of preserving products used on the body.  Perhaps some companies may actually feel guilty. One example - Avon sold make-up containing parabens and formaldehyde, while at the same time contributing a portion of their sales to cancer research.  This is pink-washing in action.  One might suggest that the so-called charitable portion may better be spent on a safer preservative alternative.

HOW DO MAMMOGRAMS FIT INTO THE PICTURE?

This may not be as well as one might think. Through the years there is no doubt that mammograms have detected breast cancer and saved lives. That’s the god news, yet the overall impact may not be as favorable as touted by medical community; nor are the reliability of integrity of the results women have spent years relying upon. Several reliable sources document a high rate of performance of unnecessary surgeries, due to false positive on mammograms.

Although this author would suggest that focus on prevention is at least as important, if not more important than early detection, reliance on detection by mammogram may be less than prudent.  One reason I say this is because regular bi-yearly doses of radiation from mammograms, regardless how low the dose, seem counterintuitive. The dose received in a typical mammogram is approximately 75 times the amount of radiation we typically receive in a normal day. Although a spinal X-ray delivers about twice as much radiation, most people don’t have spinal X-rays every two years.  Being that radiation is cumulative and known to cause cancer, repeated exposure to radiation in the same area is a little disheartening because ionizing radiation has the ability to alter our DNA.

EARLY DETECTION ALTERNATIVES

Certainly, breast self-examinations and yearly physical exams are prudent preventive measures.

When it comes to high tech diagnostics, look to solutions that do not use “ionizing radiation”, or perhaps completely non-invasive diagnostics, such as “thermograms”.  Thermograms sense heat in areas with fast growing cells like cancerous tumors, and give us a map of such. This is likened to those heat-sensing infrared scopes that function to pick out humans or animals in military operations.  Sonograms use ultrasound, a form of non-ionizing radiation that can find abnormalities in the breast. Neither of these procedures offer the perfect diagnostic solution, but they may be a prudent tool worth discussing with your physician.

BE YOUR OWN BEST SOURCE OF PREVENTION

As I would say about health care reform, there is no better insurance for good health than a patient who takes accountability for making sure they offer their body the best chance to maintain, rejuvenate and repair itself. The greatest healing power exists in our own innate powers of recuperation and maintenance of homeostasis or everything in balance. Cancer cells are merely normal cells that are no longer being recognized or regulated by our own physiology. Here are wellness and prevention suggestions for your consideration:

• “Breath is life” and our breathing capacity is the first thing to go as we age. Learn to oxygenate with good Yoga-like breathing techniques. Most cancers develop in areas of the body that have poor oxygenation.
• Breathe healthy non-polluted air ( may want to use a good whole house HEPA filter in your home and change filters when indicated)
• Have your home checked for radon, the most common source of unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation
• YOUR DIET: Eat a diet that WILL NOT increase inflammation in the body.  Eat healthy, live (vs. all cooked food), unprocessed and organic foods grown without hormones, pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Make sure to have a minimum of 5 servings of organic fruits and veggies every day (all different colors with lots of reds and purples), with at least some of them raw. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts are wonderful and proven to help female hormone balance.  Use organic, unpasturized apple cider vinegar in place of white vinegar. Use olive oil, coconut oil and palm oil vs. corn oil, canola oil or other polyunsaturated oils. Oils should be cold-pressed.
• If you have gluten sensitivity stay away from it. Brown rice (GF) is better than white rice and quinoa (GF) or brown rice based pastas are wonderful tasting and much better for you than white flour or semolina.  
• If it comes from a plant, that’s great; if it’s made in a plant, stay away from it.
• Substitute well-planned vegetarian meals for animal proteins and limit your intake of red meats, pork and poultry to not more than three meals per week.
• Maintain a healthy weight and balanced blood sugar (5-6 small healthy meals throughout the day rather than 2-3 big meals).
• Take a good natural comprehensive vitamin/mineral supplement and extra Vitamin C containing bioflavonoids. Total vitamin C daily dose should be a minimum of 2000 mg per day
• Exercise 6 days per week
• Drink lots of well purified or distilled water daily. Avoid drinking or cooking with tap water.
• Don’t use anything on your skin or as make-up  that you couldn’t actually eat without hurting you. Particularly avoid anything with parabens, formaldehydes, or sodium lauryl sulfates. Check your hand soaps, body cleansers, deodorants, shampoos, conditioners, make-up, lipstick, etc.
• Clean your home and do pest control with healthy alternatives to harsh chemicals. The vapors and residues from chemical can remain harmful for a long time
• Laugh a lot, live in the moment with positivity and remember platitudes like: “Attitude is everything, so pick a good one”; AND “happiness is not found upon reaching your destination, but making a decision to enjoy the journey”.   Our attitudes literally change our physiology and that is proven science.

Swim for Back Pain Relief: How Swimming Helps Your Back

Improve range of motion, cushion stiff joints or fragile bones and alleviate stiffness and pain with a few laps across a pool. The body only bears 50 percent of its weight when immersed in water to the waist, 25 to 35 percent when immersed to the chest and just 10 percent when immersed to the neck, according to exercise physiologist Robert A. Robergs. Swimming may be the ultimate low-impact activity for easing back pain with minimal stress on the joints. Swimming and aquatic exercises also strengthen the back and core muscles.

Water Walking

Water walking takes pressure off your muscles, joints and bones as a low-impact activity. Even in a fairly large above ground pool like those from In The Swim or simply the pool at a local YMCA or fitness club that has water deep enough to reach your waist, walk back and forth across the pool swinging your arms in the same manner as you would on land. Keep your back straight, tighten your abdominal muscles and avoid walking on your tip toes. Wear web hands or other pool devices to increase resistance.

Pull Freestyle

Rotating your body in a freestyle pull can result in reduced back pain. Pulling freestyle means to swim with your legs trailing behind. Keep the body high in the water with the help of a pull buoy. Concentrate on keeping your head steady, your body elongated and the muscles in your back stretched.

Breathstroke

Swimmers of all skill levels use the breaststroke because of its simplicity and it is one of the swimming strokes that is very easy on the spine. Control the swimming pace for a low-impact or more intense workout. During the breaststroke, the swimmer remains above the surface of the water, arms extended straight in front and the legs in the back. Push your arms apart to create a diagonal with your body. Face your palms outward and keep the elbows straight. Pull your elbows into the sides of the body, and bring your hands together in front of your chest. Lift your head, neck and upper chest out of the water while bending your knees and bringing your feet toward your torso. Gently glide across the surface of the water.

Butterfly

The butterfly stroke targets your chest, shoulders and back. It builds powerful upper body and abdominal strength, but is not the stroke most advisable for those with severe back ailments.

Swimming Frequency

Swimming should begin gradually. Practice twice a week at first and progress to four to six times a week as your body adapts to the techniques. In a study performed by the Department of Surgery at Kyoritsu Hospital in Kitakyusya, Japan, 35 people with lower back pain were enrolled in an aquatic exercise program. Nearly all the patients showed low-back pain improvements after six months, but the patients who participated a minimum of twice a week showed significant improvements over those who swam just once a week.

Fitness, Not Age, Is Key To Successful Surgery

Fit older people recovered better and had shorter hospital stays following surgery, suggests a 2013 study conducted by Newcastle University and the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Participants pre- and post-surgery fitness levels were tested to make these determinations. Other advantages of being fit before and after surgery are that fitness can: (1)enhance balance and coordination (2)improve cardiac health aiding the flow of blood to the affected surgical area, and (3) reduce the risk of falling and other injuries. Let's explore what this may imply as it pertains to successful spinal stenosis surgery.

How Pre-surgical and Post-surgical Fitness Can Affect Spinal Stenosis Surgery Outcome and Long-term Wellness

1. Choosing the right types of fitness is essential for daily wellness and preventing future injury. With a myriad of exercise routines out there, choose one that is most ideal for everyday wellness and recovery from spinal stenosis surgery. One good adjunct to physical therapy is aquatic therapy:

• Exercising in water increases strength, mobility, balance and coordination without having to bear weight.
 
• Following spinal stenosis surgery, states brainline.org, water provides a natural environment to give the brain a boost to re-teach everyday ranges of motion and accelerate healing. The YMCAhealthylivingcenter.com offers one place for specialized water walking, water therapy and water aerobic classes in almost all communities across the country.
 
• In a life guard-supervised pool, aquatic therapy can be used as a self-guided exercise.

Other good calisthenic type exercise maybe performed before getting out of bed or perhaps on a carpeted floor or exercise mat. Ask your physical therapy professional.

2. Professionally guided pre- and post-fitness support is key for successful surgery and long-term wellness. Best practices combine therapeutic exercises, occupational therapy and physical therapy to shorten healing time and help you return to the activities you love most. Sometimes patients may be so debilitated from their spinal condition, that simple activities such as driving to and from appointments and walking long distances to and from buildings can be difficult without assistance. Assisted living environments can be useful when patients do not have access or help from family members nearby. One such facility is the Emeritus Assisted Living Facility as it offers multi-faceted therapeutic support in one location. There are many such facilities across the nation.

Get Active, Stay Active

Motivation to exercise can be difficult to muster up when experiencing discomfort. Patients who have onsite support staff are more likely to regain fitness and regular activities of daily living because rehabilitation is more convenient to access. The National Care Planning Council supports the idea that an onsite community of trained professionals combines well in an enviroment whereby a patient is surrounded by others their age who can help boost morale and make the recovery phase an engaging experience. Once one recovers from spinal stenosis surgery and returned to an optimal fitness level, your physical therapist can offer customized suggestions for the right types of continuing exercise. This routine should include ways to correct posture and demonstrate exercise techniques to avoid future injury and maintain daily wellness.

8 Superfoods That Silence Back Pain & Fight Inflammation

Chronic back pain is debilitating, and treating the pain is even more of a pain, figuratively. If you're one of the 35 percent of Americans who suffer from back pain, then you're most likely very familiar with visiting a pain specialist, receiving physical therapy and dealing with medical billing and coding. Complement your pain treatments with a holistic approach, such as adopting superfoods into your diet that fight inflammation and lessen pain.

Jalapeño Peppers

These inflammation-fighting superfoods not only punch the palate with spicy heat but relieve pain as well. Red and green chili peppers contain a pain relief agent known as capsaisin.  This substance has demonstrated an ability to deplete the "pain neurotransmitter known as substance P, thereby hiding pain signals from the brain. Why not lessen your back pain by mixing up a spicy-cool blood orange jalapeño margarita. TheKitchn.com's smokin' hot recipe mixes freshly squeezed blood orange juice, lime juice, Cointreau, and jalapeño-infused silver tequila. Infuse a whole pepper in a half cup of tequila, and your cocktail will take the edge off indeed.

Salmon

Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, salmon combats inflammation and helps prevent pro-inflammatory components from being produced in the body. Omega-3 fats suppress inflammation-causing cell signalers. Studies have shown that absorption of these essential fatty acids is often improved when consumed in a diet containing certain fish, rather than just taking a supplement. Put on your chef's hat and cook up jalapeño salmon burgers for the ultimate pain-relieving meal. Between two grilled pitas, the jalapeño and tabasco-seasoned salmon patties topped with avocado will make your mouth water.

Raw Spinach, Cherries and Red Grapes

Just when you thought your pain-silencing meal couldn't get any better, pair it with a red grapes and dried sour cherries spinach salad. Red grapes, cherries and raw spinach are all pain-reducing superfood ingredients.


Because red grapes contain resveratrol, these flavorful fruits can lessen back pain by protecting against cartilage damage. Resveratrol also blocks enzymes that cause tissue to regenerate. Cherries help reduce pain because the fruits contain anthocyanins, a phytonutrient which contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Anthocyanins neutralize cell-damaging free radicals and help block enzymes that trigger tissue inflammation. Raw spinach also fights systemic inflammation, both as an antioxidant-rich vegetable and additionally by alkalizing the body's pH.


Along with dried sour cherries, sliced grapes and chopped spinach, mix scallions, a thinly sliced green apple and chopped walnuts into your salad. Sprinkle crumbled goat cheese, and drench the salad with an apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing with freshly ground black pepper.

Green Tea

To start your morning or while relaxing at night, sip on a cup of warm green tea. Green tea is proven to help alleviate arthritis. The powerful component EGCG helps inhibit the production of molecules that can harm bone and cartilage. Drink one to three cups of the natural substance a day. Stir in freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, lemon juice and honey for a delicious cup of citrus-honey green tea. On a hot day, mix up a pitcher of iced ginger green tea. (Turn it into a cocktail by adding prosecco!) Ginger also contains gingerol, the phytonutrient that supplies pain-relieving properties. Fresh ginger is believed to relieve pain just as well as anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen.

Intelligent Design of the Human Back

Our spines and low backs were very intelligently designed. The functional anatomical design of your spine is truly a marvel of nature. Our spines are meant to be incredibly strong, and highly bendable in all directions. That being said, the stresses of daily living exert incredible forces on the human frame. Unforeseen accidents, poor ergonomics, carrying groceries, putting kids in car seat, recreational activities and working in chairs rather than in the field, are all factors that subject our back to destructive forces capable of damaging our neck and back.

What are the most common causes of back pain?

• Working in a seated position, especially when exhibiting a slumping posture over many years
• Imbalance between the flexors and extensors of the torso (we do everything in a flexed or sitting position, but do very little extension of our spine during our normal routine).
• Lifting with tight hamstring muscles
• Weakness and inflexibility of the core muscles of the torso (abdominals, gluteal, hamstrings, hip flexors, TFL, rectus femoris). This requires abdominal compression back braces with mechanical advantage until strength to the core muscles is restored.
• Old soft tissue injuries or sprains/strains that have led to immobility and/or generative arthritis
• "Weekend Warrior Syndrome"

What are the 4 regions of the spine?

The first 3 segments are made up of 24 moveable vertebrae as follows:

1. Cervical Spine (neck) - consisting of 7 vertebral segments, with the majority of rotation occurring in the upper two segments known as C1 and C2 while flexion/extension is most prevalent in the lower five known as C3-C7. 
2. Thoracic Spine (upper/mid-back/rib cage) - consisting of twelve vertebral segments and more limited motion due to the organ protection and support of the rib cage.  Interestingly enough, more folks suffer pain in between their shoulders or in the thoracic area than anywhere else in the spine.  One reason for such is because ribs fasten to the spinal vertebrae via a synovial joint and these joints become easily inflamed through postural stress, emotional tension or fast rotational movements of the spine (e.g. pushing a vacuum, swinging a golf club or tennis racket). Pain in this region is more often misdiagnosed than in other spinal regions and although maybe not as debilitating, the pain can be quite nagging, sharp and bothersome.
3. Lumbar Spine (lower back) - consists of five vertebral segments that run from the lower thoracic spine to the sacrum. The majority of pain is sourced from the discs at the L4 and L5  because they are angled and form a major pivot or stress point with the less mobile spinal base. Fifty percent of forward bending (flexion) occurs in our hip joints while the rest occurs in the lumbar spine. The majority of motion is focused at the bottom two segments (L4/L5), and that is another reason the discs wear out more here than anywhere else.
4. Sacral Region (base of spine) - this region consists of 5 fused or semi-fused vertebral segments that form a heart-shaped spinal base that is wedged between and forms a synovial joint with the pelvic bones. These are known as the "S/I Joints" and are the source of a great majority of lower back pain. The bottom of the sacral region (sacrum) joins with your coccyx or tail bone.

The 24 moveable vertebral bodies are stacked upon one another with a disc between each pair. The main bodies of these vertebrae function to support the human frame and the discs act as hydraulic shock absorbers. Did you know that only half of your body weight is supported by your muscles and the other half is supported by the stacked vertebral bodies? Another note of interest is the fact that 80% of energy we expend every day is simply just to maintain posture against the forces of gravity. That is why ergonomics and good posture is so important -- it conserves energy and prevents us from getting fatigued.

Common Areas of Spinal Failure

• Spinal Discs -- our spinal discs function as shock absorbers and space occupiers to allow room for spinal nerves. They are composed of (1) a tough outer material, and (2) a soft, gelatinous (jelly-filled) inner core. This is very similar to the design of a hydraulic shock absorber for your car.
  
  Our hydraulic discs are made up of 75% water. Often, the discs may dehydrate, leading to dessication or degeneration; becoming inflexible or stiff. This, in itself can become what some describe as their typical morning stiffness. A logical progression of this degenerative process can lead to breaks in the outer tough fibers and actual leakage of the soft inner core. This is often referred to as a slipped or herniated disc because this herniated portion can apply pressure to sensitive nerve roots.
  
  Sometimes a twisting injury damages the disc and can subsequently cause degenerative spondylosis (this is a special name given to arthritis when it involves the spinal disc) in this area. Much of the pain in these cases is the subsequent swelling that compresses the nerve root. Over much time, the body's amazing ability to heal lessens the amount of inflammatory proteins in the area, especially after age 60. Therefore swelling goes down and many of these low back conditions that had been chronic can sometimes subside on their own. This is nature's normal course, but assumes a lifestyle consisting of: a healthy weight, consumption of lots of water,  a nutritionally sound diet and performance of a sound, regular exercise routine.
  
  
• Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments and how they affect your back:
  Injuries to back muscles and soft tissues can cause spasm, immobility and pain.
  
  If the pain lasts for more than two weeks, and proper treatment methods are not instituted,  muscle weakness and tightness may occur; leading to chronic, recurring bouts of back pain.
  
  HAMSTRING MUSCLE TIGHTNESS: I want draw particular attention to this most common instigator of low back injury. Not only do low back pain suffers often develop tight hamstrings leading to a chronic backache, but those folks with tight hamstrings will almost always eventually develop lower back pain. This is even true of young athletes who do not properly obtain and maintain good flexibility of these muscles. Remember, I said earlier that 50% of our flexing forward occurs at the hip joints. This CANNOT happen if the hamstrings are tight because they must release their hold on the pelvis, allowing it to rotate forward at the hip joints. If this motion is limited, then the slack is taken up at the L4-L5 vertebral levels, often discs and/or ligaments at that level.

Is Your Pillow Causing You Pain?

Buying Neck Pillows

Many folks scratch their heads, wondering why they wake up with so much neck pain, and yet they don't know how to solve the problem. It could be as simple as their choice of pillow. Here are solutions to the five pillow mistakes you may not know you're making:

Long Lifespan

If you can fold your pillow in half and it doesn't rebound within 10 seconds, it's time to say farewell and throw that old thing out. Dead skin flakes, dust and sweat fill pillows with extra weight and bacteria. Aim to replace your pillow every 12 to 18 months to best maintain firmness and support for a restful sleep. See this Interesting Pillow Choice Article for some thought provoking suggestions. I often recommend the Nimblepedic Pillow brand (contoured version) as one of the best all-around support pillows for the neck.

What's the Use?

If sleep quality is the only benefit you are receiving from your current pillow, you may be missing out on other benefits and therapeutic value over that eight hour period. Specialty pillows keep your face from wrinkling, acids from refluxing and snores from waking up the whole house. If you have sinus congestion, make sure your pillow is hypo-allergenic. Make sure your head is propped up so your nose is higher than your heart. If you fear wrinkles, find a memory foam pillow like Nimblepedic, so wrinkling pressure on your skin is reduced.

Neck Pillows Should Be Versatile

If you have a conventional, fairly thick, non-contoured pillow for side-sleeping; yet you spend a portion of time on your stomach or back, you may be doing yourself a disservice. To not cause neck or back pain you need a contoured pillow that adapts to all your positions, or you will need to change pillows for each sleeping position. Michael Breus, PhD, told WebMD that sleepers must find the right pillow to fit their specific needs.

Side sleepers should use a pillow that is firm enough to sufficiently accommodate the distance from the ear to the shoulder, so that your head rests parallel to the mattress. Back sleepers need neck-contour-orthopedic pillows. This ensures that their heads aren't pushed up too high or sunk down too low in relation to their shoulders and that they have support for the natural neck curvature (lordosis).

Sleeping prone (aka: face down) is for the most part not recommended. Such stomach sleeping notoriously wrecks havoc with the ligaments and spinal disks of the neck, leading to loss of normal curvature and arthritis over time. If you still choose to sleep on your stomach, use a thin pillow, and try to place a portion of it under your shoulder and chest on the pillow portion opposite the way you turn your chin. Ultimately, the proper pillow aligns the neck and spine, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Filling Material Matters

Pillows should provide comfort and support the same way a mattress should. It’s great if you think a down pillow is super comfortable, but if you are having constant neck pain it could be because you aren't getting enough neck support when you sleep. A  good orthopedic neck pillow can solve this problem, and so can occasionally switching your sleeping position. When you experience neck or back pain, choose a high-density foam or firm cotton pillow that offers more support. Feather pillows are pretty much a non-viable alternative unless you purely sleep on your back and don't really have neck problems.

Money Isn't Everything

Just because a pillow is expensive doesn't mean its less expensive counterpart won't work. ConsumerReports.org sent 71 people home with expensive and inexpensive pillows and instructed them to sleep on each pillow for five consecutive nights. What were the results? Pillow quality relied mainly on each sleeper's personal preferences about pillow firmness, fluffiness, flatness and size, according to the site. When buying, don't just go for best price. Find the right pillow for you by testing its comfort and seeing if it offers you the right neck support.

Back Be Nimble Introduces HealthTap

PRESS RELEASE  -- HEALTHTAP LAUNCHING APRIL 15TH, 2013

HealthTap brings the Full Spectrum of Doctors’ Knowledge to Mobile Health
Leading mobile health platform unveils results of nationwide Top Doctor Competition, and announces new ways to interact with winning doctors and their insights. 

HealthTap is an Interactive Health Information company, backed by some of the top investors in the Silicon Valley. The unveiling of HealthTap will change the face of health information online and redefine how people connect with physicians.  On HealthTap:

• Users can: find real answers to their questions from leading physicians, quickly discover what information other doctors agree with, and find the best physicians in their area
• Users can also find ratings for doctors nationwide

HealthTap puts the relationship between people and doctors first. They offer mobile and internet access to relevant, reliable and trusted health knowledge that is kept current through daily contributions  from top physicians. Web and mobile apps connect  a vast Medical Expert Network of  U.S.-licensed doctors with people seeking answers to their health-related questions.

•  Concise doctor updates on the latest health findings
•  Daily health tips created by doctors in more than 100 topics
•  Quick, personalized doctor answers to health questions
•  Deep Health posts where doctor share their opinions and insights
•  Transparent doctor-doctor consults and dialogues

“HealthTap is putting care and trust back into healthcare by placing the doctor and patient relationship back at the center of the healthcare experience,” says HealthTap Founder and CEO Ron Gutman. “By giving top doctors a simple way to share their knowledge and opinions and get recognized by their colleagues for their expertise, and by users for their bedside manner and care, we’re creating a healthy competition that motivates the best doctors to stand out and help millions everywhere. In a world where we expect to get immediate, reliable and deep insights on movies and restaurants on our mobile devices anytime anywhere, it’s high time we have an easy way to get the same when it comes to our health and well being. With the new HealthTap Spectrum we’re leading the way to comprehensive, caring, trustworthy and high quality mobile health.”

About HealthTap
HealthTap is the best way to connect with trusted health information and doctors. With top-rated web and mobile apps, HealthTap offers immediate and free access to personalized, reliable, and trusted health answers and tips from a network of over 36,000 U.S.-licensed doctors. Sign up today and download HealthTap’s free app for iPhone, iPad or Android at www.healthtap.com.

Physical Therapy Yoga For Pain Managment

Low-back pain is one of the most common physical ailments with over 80 percent of people in the United States suffering some degree of back pain. According to one my colleagues, Dr. Grey Gardner of Van Chiropractic Clinic, chronic lower-back pain can be debilitating—limiting sufferers from performing daily activities, causing sleep deprivation, negatively affecting intimacy and triggering weight gain.

Although chiropractic treatment is often an effective solutions for eliminating lower back pain, practicing yoga serves as complimentary, natural-pain management. The practice of Physical-therapy Yoga and Pain-management Yoga focuses on many advanced and innovative therapeutic techniques to heal injuries and eradicate back pain (as mentioned by physical therapist Reach Krentzman in his interview with LAYogaMagazine.com). Not only can therapeutic yoga target the source of the physical pain, it is thought to deepen spiritual connection, cleanse the soul and foster vitality. This offers a more comprehensive approach to wellness. The practice of yoga helps to alleviate stress and pain while enriching the mind and enhancing awareness.

Pain Management

Yoga followers can encourage healing of mental, emotional and physical pain by engaging in postures. Senior Pastor Ed Young is dedicated to helping people live optimally and healthily. On his official Ed Young Facebook page, he posts a quote by C.S. Lewis: "pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Suffering from lower-back pain can be an indirect result of mental and emotional pain. Suppressed emotional pain, stress and the self-internalized pressure of over-achieving can manifest as physical pain in either the torso or lower back.

Healing Yoga Postures

Whether you're resorting to holistic healing methods or experimenting with therapeutic yoga to compliment your therapy, you can practice various yoga exercises at home.
Release tension or help heal nagging pain and stress in the neck, upper back and shoulders with the following sample of therapeutic yoga practices:

• Postural Awareness & Breathing: Target and relieve neck tension by breathing deeply into the abdomen using your diaphragm. In a seated upright position, plant feet on the floor and lower knees below below the hips. Relax while taking 10 deep breaths with exaggerated inhalation (through the nose) and exhalation (through pursed lips). Push the vertex of your skull skyward to maintain proper posture during the exercise. NOTE: if you place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth while inhaling, it will facilitate diaphragmatic/abdominal breathing vs. chest expansion.
• "The Clock:" Standing with your right torso next to a wall, place your right hand at 12 o'clock on the wall and slowly move it clockwise until you are at 3 o'clock. Watch here: The Clock Yoga Exercise Video. Put your left hand on the right rib cage. Inhale deeply and rotate your right torso forward while exhaling. While holding for six deep breaths, you'll stretch your right shoulder down and forward away from your hand.
• Overhead Arms With a Strap: Stretch a fitness strap over your shoulders with your arms apart. Palms should face outward. Place arms on the strap so that you can keep elbows straight. Dropping your chin into your chest will relax the neck. Inhale and hold for six deep breaths. Repeat twice.
• Wall Downward Dog: Put your hands against the wall in a downward dog pose such that your torso is bent forward at 90 degrees with your arms in line with your torso. Legs are underneath hips creating a tabletop. Lift sitting bones into the air while "opening the chest and lengthening the spine." For a demo picture visit "PracticeYoga.net"

Reduce the Hurt of Low Back Pain When You Sit

Reduce Back Pain When Sitting

How many people do you know that say: "I have back pain when I sit". This was a prevalent complaint among many of my patients before I retired from chiropractic practice. Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do that will go a long way in helping you manage your back or neck condition on a daily basis. One of the most important is to have proper support and posture while you're sitting at your desk.

People who sit at a desk for long periods of time are definitely at risk for developing back pain, as sitting (especially slouching) can add a lot of pressure to the back muscles and spinal discs.

Sitting with your back properly supported without slouching helps to minimize the strain on your back. Supporting the natural inward curve of your lower back (lordosis) is very important if you're sitting for a long time.

Here are a few guidelines for good posture, support for your lower back while sitting at a desk:

• Adjust your chair to make sure your knees are slightly lower than your hips and the weight of your thighs is held more by your feet than by the seat of the chair.
• Sit as close to your desk as possible.
• Make sure your computer screen is about at eye level.
• It's good to have armrests on your chair to support your elbows at a 90-degree angle when your shoulders are relaxed.
• The backrest of your chair should support with some pressure in your lower back. If you can, get a new chair that provides this support, or place an orthopedic support in your chair.
• It sometimes helps stabilize your back to put something under your feet to elevate them slightly. There are good adjustable foot rests made for this purpose.
• If you spend lots of time on the phone, consider using a headset or speakerphone to take the strain off your neck.

Support your back while driving:

Driving for long periods of time, or during a stressful daily commute, can place a lot of strain on your back. When you're driving, remember to:

• Make sure your car seat provides enough support for your lower back. If it doesn't, try using a good back support like the Skwoosh Gel Cradle Lumbar  or Thermarest BackRest by Cascade Designs. 
• On a budget? Try rolling up a small towel and placing it between your lower back and the seat.
• Slightly recline the seat back and move the seat closer to the steering wheel to compensate.
• Sit so that you don't have to stretch to reach the steering wheel, as reaching increases the pressure on the spine and can stress your neck and shoulders.

Move about throughout the day:

Even if you're sitting with correct posture, holding the same position for a long period of time can build up stress and cause discomfort, so it's important to move about during the day. Try to take frequent breaks to stretch and walk around. Whenever possible, take the stairs instead of the escalator and walk/bike, rather than drive.

High tech help for lower back pain while sitting:

• Eradicate pain with the latest medical advancements in pain control with
  WiTouch Wearable | Wireless TENS Unit
• For real stiffness when sitting in the car try unobtrusive "continuous passive motion" or CPM -
  BackCycler Lumbar Support

We hope that these suggestions for simple changes you can make to your sitting posture will help you reduce the hurt of lower back pain. Be Well !