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In this video I show you my top 5 ways to help 'free up' your mid back. In previous posts I have mentioned how shoulder injuries and pain are linked to poor posture. One of the main causes of poor posture is a restricted mid back. These 5 simple exercises are all great ways of trying to get some movement back into your mid back area and hopefully start to improve your posture. They are all really simple and require no equipment. Try them and see what you think. To watch the video, click here or on the image below. Here is our follow up to the passive hanging video. In this one we show you how to turn a passive hang into an active hang. Try it out and let me know what you think. If you have a sore upper back or shoulders and would like a check up, feel free to contact me and we can find a time to get you assessed.  Our shoulders are amazing joints. They have (or at least should have) a vast range of motion. This amount of motion comes at a cost though and that is stability. The shoulder joint doesn’t have a ball in socket type joint like the hip, which is inherently stable. The joint of the shoulder is often referred to as like a golf ball on a tee. This lack of socket allows the range of motion that our shoulders have, but also means it is more unstable than the hips. It is the muscles and ligaments of the shoulder that keep it in place. In order for the shoulders to function well there needs to be good alignment of the shoulder joint and thoracic spine. Basically, this means we need to have good posture to allow optimal functioning of the shoulders. In this post I am going show you 2 tests to try to see how your upper back and shoulders are functioning. Continue reading to try the tests.
 Back pain is very common and most people will experience it at some stage in their life. When your back is sore, it can make normal daily activities difficult and painful. In this post I will show you how to get our bed, how to get up off of the toilet, how to put on shoes and how to get up off of the ground when you have a sore back. Each of these 4 activities are relatively easy when you are feeling good, but if you are sore, they can be quite painful. Hopefully these simple tips will be useful and give you some relief if you are currently struggling with back pain.
In this video I show 3 simple exercises to help improve your posture. If you have 'poor posture' chances are you have weakness in your mid back. This is why you get tired quickly when someone gets you to 'sit up straight'. The muscles in your mid back and shoulders have weakened since they have not been used properly. These exercises are designed to help strengthen those muscles so that you can maintain a better posture for longer and ultimately get less back and neck pain. This video is a follow on from my previous video on the 'Bruggers Relief Position'. If you haven't seen it, you can watch it here. NOTE: If you have any pain with these exercises, please stop and consult your medical/exercise professional.
I have just finished my latest video showing 2 simple tips to help reduce the strain on the neck and shoulders when using a computer. They are very simple, but can a make a world of difference. See how your workstation compares.  We all know that good posture is important but often we struggle to maintain it. Getting into a good postural position can be complicated. We often are told to ‘sit up straight’, ‘keep shoulders down’ and ‘pull your head back’. Trying to think of all of this can get confusing. For this body hack, I will show you how you can use the Shaka or ‘Hang loose’ sign as a simple cue to get into a good postural position. Continue reading to see how to do it.
The static back position, also referred to as the 90/90 position is something that I show almost everyone that comes into see me in practice. It is a great postural reset and works for all areas of the back. In this post I will show you how to do it with a few progressions and regressions. Continue reading to see how to do it.
If you think of wonder woman, most people will think of her in a pose like the one pictured. This is a classic Power Pose. You may think it is just a way super heroes stand to look strong, but research has actually shown that standing in a pose like this for 2 minutes can change the way your body functions. Don’t believe it? Well keep reading to see what effect it has on the body. If it worked for Wonder Woman, it may also work for you too :)
I am sure you have heard of the saying that “sitting is the new smoking” and are probably aware of how bad prolonged sitting is for you and your posture. The unfortunate thing is that most of us have to sit at work or at home. So if we can’t avoid it, we may as well try to do it as best as we can. This way we can minimize the negative effects of sitting as much as possible. When it comes to the BEST sitting position I recently read a great quote by Dr Kelly Starrett that sums it up nicely. “Your best position is your next one”. What does this mean? and what is the best sitting position? Continue reading to find out.
It is becoming more apparent these days that children are developing postural imbalances at an earlier and earlier age. In fact, some research indicates that children as young as 10 years old are demonstrating visible spinal degenerative changes on x-ray. I don’t know about you, but to me this is kind of alarming. These postural changes can be caused by numerous things such as, spending too much time in front of a computer or TV, looking down at digital devices too much, not enough physical activity etc.
Before you read this post I would like to you to stand up tall, close your eyes, walk on the spot for a few seconds then stop. Without moving your feet, look down and see where your feet are positioned. Are they pointing straight ahead? Are they pointing outwards or inwards? Do they roll inwards or do they roll outwards? Keep this mind as we will discuss the importance of this later on.
The feet seem to be an overlooked part of the body and typically they are only focused on when they are sore. This should not be the case, in fact we should all pay much more attention to them. In this blog series, I will discuss how important the feet are and why you should be paying more attention to them. If you read my previous post on the Bruggers relief position, I hope you have tried it and put it to good use. If you haven’t seen it, you can read it here. In this post, I want to expand on the Bruggers relief position and show you 3 simple exercises to do to help improve your posture and counteract the negative effects of the sitting most of us do on a daily basis. Continue reading to see the exercises.
Help ease your upper back pain and improve your posture with the Bruggers Relief Position23/5/2016 It is common knowledge that we all tend to sit for too long and that too much sitting is bad for us. You may have also heard the latest slogan that “Sitting is the new smoking”. One of the problems with sitting for too long is that it can lead to postural deviations and dysfunction. This, of course, leads to aches and pains, headaches etc. The Bruggers Relief Position was developed by Alois Brugger, a Swiss neurologist. It is a very simple exercise that is best done as a micro break and can help improve your posture or at least minimize the damage from sitting in front of the computer all day. It is well worth trying. Continue reading to see how it is done.
Now that children have started back at school, it often means lugging about a heavy bag. Carrying a heavy bag can be detrimental to good posture and spinal function which can lead to aches and pains and injuries. In this post I wanted to share some simple tips you can use to help minimize the effects of heavy bags and also discuss how heavy your child’s bag should be. Continue reading to find out more.
Most of us watch TV. A new study, which will appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, shows that too many hours spent sitting in front of the TV can increase your risks for eight of the major causes of death. I am an avid TV watcher and after reading this research, I may have to change a few things when it comes to watching TV. Continue reading to see what the study showed.
Recently I did a 2 part blog series on Upper Cross Syndrome. In this series I showed how our poor posture often leads to this head forward, rounded shoulder syndrome which can cause, upper back and neck pain, shoulder injuries, headaches etc. Most people I see in practice have this syndrome to some degree. It is the slouching that we do that causes our shoulders to roll forward leading to forward head carriage and then the symptoms of Upper Cross Syndrome. The second part of the series discussed several ways to help this syndrome. If you want to read the original posts, and try the simple test to see if you have it, you can read them here and here. In this post I wanted to show you a very simple standing or sitting position that can dramatically improve your posture and take the strain off of your upper back and shoulders. Continue reading to find out how to do it.
Hopefully you have read my previous post on two simple tests you can do to see if your poor posture has caused upper crossed syndrome (UCS). If you read it, I bet you were interested in trying the test to see how well you fared. If you did the test and there were signs of UCS, I bet you are wondering what you can do to help it. Well, here is the answer, my 4 steps to help Upper Cross Syndrome. If you haven't read the previous post, click here to do so and try the simple test. Continue reading to find out what you can do to help.
Our tendency to sit a lot these days and our sedentary lifestyle often leads to numerous problems, in particular, postural abnormalities. One of the main outcomes of these postural changes that I see regularly in practice is called Upper Cross Syndrome (UCS).
Upper cross syndrome is characterized by tightness in the chest and the upper back/neck and weakness in the mid back and the front of the neck, hence the ‘cross’ part of the name. This syndrome can cause several different problems in the body and can lead you to be more prone to injuries. Continue reading to find out more about UCS and the simple test you can try at home to see if you have it. I think the feet are a part of the body that should have more attention paid to them. Most people wouldn't look at the feet unless there was a problem with them. This could be a mistake. Having feet that are working well enables your body to function better. Foot dysfunction can lead to knee, hip, lower back and upper back problems. I came across this research the other day that showed how self-myofascial release of the underside of the foot can increase hamstring and lower back flexibility. It is a very simple thing to try. Continue reading to see what they did PLUS I give my 5 simple tips for improving your foot function.
I was doing my CPD (Continuing Professional Development) training this week and came across an interesting quote, “your body gets good at what it needs to get good at”. The program I was studying was a mobility program and this quote was based on mobility, but I think it can apply to other areas as well. What does it mean you may ask? From a mobility perspective, your body will adapt to what it needs to. In part 1 of this series I explained how technology can put you in poor positions that often lead to pain and dysfunction and can even increase your risk of injuries. Simply looking down at your phone can lead to 27kg of extra pressure being put on your neck and spine. We can’t get away from technology and less than ideal postures all the time, so how can we minimise the effects? Here are 5 ways to help counteract the problems stemming from the use of technology.
I love technology. Anyone that knows me is aware of my love for gadgets and all things new and shiny. Technology can make life easier, I often think what it was like before I had a smart phone and how I couldn’t live without it now. However there is a downside to this technology and our continual use of it. Our bodies are not designed to continually look down at computer screen or mobile phones. I see the effects of this every day in practice. Neck and upper back pain, headaches, lower back problems, all stemming from poor posture. You may have seen an article floating around Facebook and the internet the last week, where the weight of your head changes depending on the angle you are looking at. What Dr Kenneth Hansrai found was very interesting and something we all should be aware of.
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Dr Craig BuscombBringing you news, research and advice on health, wellness, exercise and chiropractic care to help take your health to the next level 
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