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Short Foot Exercises for Better Proprioception

By On · Add Comment · In bosu ball, injury, low back pain, movement, musculoskeletal injuries, proprioception, rocker board, short foot exercise, West Hollywood sports chiropractic office

Proprioception is our sense of where we are in space.  It tells us about relative position of body parts, as well as giving us information about our movements.  Proprioception is essential to how we move, how we are supported, and how we function.  To be free from low back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries, and to be in good shape both require a conditioned proprioceptive sensory system.

This system can become deconditioned from a number of interrelated factors: lack of regular, challenging movement, previous or current injury, significant change in weight or strength, drug use and/or abuse, and chronically tight muscles.

The list above should tell you that many people today are deconditioned in their proprioceptive senses.  From increased computer time (which means increased sitting), to changes in activity type (sports, music, art to more media driven activities like video games and computers), to poor diets and lack of movement, even from our advanced medical care that has people recovering from injuries that at one time my have been game-enders, people today need to think about their proprioceptive condition.

In the next few video posts, I will be discussing and demonstrating excellent exercises for stimulating, and thus conditioning, your proprioceptive system.  Although I usually prefer to give low-tech exercises, I really do think having access to some special equipment will be very useful here. The good news is that many gyms have the equipment you will need.  If for any reason that is not an option for you, you can contact my West Hollywood sports chiropractic office to purchase either a rocker board, wobble board or bosu ball.

Watch the video below for the first instruction on proprioceptive training: the short foot exercise.  You will need to master this to go to the next level.  I would practice the short foot exercise for one week before moving on to the next level.  You will see that by mastering this movement, you will have the foundation for keeping your balance no matter what the challenge.  Learn the short foot and have fun–I’ll see you soon for the next level.

Ice, Ice Baby

By On · Add Comment · In frozen peas, ice, inflammation, injury, Los Angeles sports chiropractic, Polar Ice, pre-made ice packs

This post is inspired by something I encounter regularly in my Los Angeles sports chiropractic office: Getting the right ice-bag for the job.  Ice is ice, right?  It all decreases or prevents inflammation, yes?  No!

I’m writing this to explain it clearly–you gotta get the ice right. 

$2 Ice Bag

Many doctors (god bless ’em) recommend using a frozen bag of peas…  Look at the photo on the right.  Look how stupid that man looks with frozen broccoli on his knee.  Looks like he’s in a hotel.  Looks like he’ll be throwing away that bag of broccoli.  Looks like he wasted food and two dollars.  Disposable culture gone wrong.

Doesn’t every hotel have an ice machine?  Duh!  Fill a plastic bag with ice–it works like a charm.  Plain and simple: frozen vegetables are not good ice packs.  They do not retain the cold long enough, and once defrosted, you’ve got to eat or toss.  Nobody has broken an inflammation with a bag of frozen vegetables.

Home-Made Ice Bag works fine 

In fact, I like a home-made ice bag just fine.  They do the trick as it needs to be done.  The only knock I have against them is that they are a pain in the arse to make if you have to ice a lot, and so many people neglect their icing as a result.  So, as a matter of convenience, I don’t think these are the way to go.

As far as I’m concerned, a pre-made ice-pack is best addition to your ice-bag arsenal.  The gel material inside these babies freezes into ice crystals, yet it still retains it’s gel-like properties, allowing the cold-pack to contour to your body–invaluable when talking about icing a knee or shoulder with their sharp curves.  Keep the bag in the freezer when not using it, and it will always handy when needed.  I have several ice-packs of different sizes in my freezer, some have been with me for more than ten years.  No kidding.

First two sizes ideal; last fairly useless

In those instances where you need to ice several times a day, nothing is more convenient than having a freezer full of pre-made ice packs.  You can even nail the injured area with ice several times in the same hour really making mince-meat out of the inflammation.  But be cautious: bags that are too small will not remain cold for very long, and therefore I don’t find them very useful.

Crappy Short-Acting Pre-Mades

Another no-no, as far as I’m concerned is using the crappy little packs they hand out at hospitals.  Sorry, they may be inexpensive for the hospital, but they’re darn-near worthless otherwise.  We were sent home with a few after the birth of each of my daughters.  I was actually offended.  What the heck are these going to do? I wondered.  We tried them.  They sucked.  End of story.

For Ice Coolers

 Same with those packs for ice coolers or lunchboxes.  They’re usually too small and/or too hard.  Yeah, try icing a knee with one of those.  Your inflammation won’t go away, and you will stop icing.  I see these scenarios all the time.

Listen, for the inflammation of a joint or muscle, nothing beats ice.  It’s the guaranteed way to decrease the pain and inflammation associated with musculoskeletal injuries.  If you are active like me and many of my clients, you need pre-made ice bags in the freezer.  You’ll tweak something here or there, or have a full-on injury.  Icing immediately (or at least within the first 24 hours) saves many a chronic condition.

Use a barrier like a paper towel  

Also, don’t forget: Never put ice directly on your skin.  Use a thin material as a barrier–I like paper towels, but tee-shirts, thin jeans, and so forth, are okay.  Terry towels are too thick, so avoid using them.

Drop the frozen bag of peas nonsense, and grab a good pre-made ice pack from your chiropractor, physical therapist or online.  I wouldn’t get anything smaller than a 6″ x 12″ (for shoulders, knees, ankles, and so on) and I’d have at least three of those, and I would grab at least two 12″ x 12″ bags as well for larger areas (neck/upper back, low back, buttocks).  I use Polar Ice packs (see photo above), but there are many other decent ones on the market.

Work Out at All Costs

By On · Add Comment · In abdominal core, exercises, gym, injury, low back pain, pumping iron, resistance exercise, stretch, weight training, workout

Life happens…and sometimes its intricacies interfere with a well-intentioned exercise program.  The most oft-cited reason people give for neglecting to work out is “no time,” a situation we can all relate in one way or another.  This is precisely why I have a self-imposed rule I call WOAC–work out at all costs!

Get it?  Move your butt, no matter what.  Living by this principle allows me to work out anywhere, anytime: planes, trains, and hotel rooms, I always say.  Another advantage afforded by the WOAC philosophy is “no time is too short.”

Since I can stretch at home or the office, the important thing for me is to go to the gym to pump iron or skip rope.  Essentially it’s “go get in whatever you need that requires special space or equipment.”  Truth is, though, I really could do resistance exercise anywhere, so at the very least it’s my cardiovascular requirements that require specific equipment.

Here is why it matters: Like everyone, I find time to be a limiting factor when it comes to working out–I mean, there’s only 24 hours in a day (which is plenty if you have round the clock access to space or equipment–a home gym, for example).  So when I find that time is limited: WOAC!

The Memorial Day holiday today meant the gym at my apartment complex was closing by 4pm.  I wasn’t ready to go until 3:30 pm.  Now…far too many people would have said, “Screw it,” and picked up a pizza and beer and rationalized why Memorial Day is time for celebrating, and NOT working out.  But because I live by the WOAC principle, I knew that it was plenty of time to bang out a session.  Here is how I did it today:

Upon entering the gym, the counter clerk reminded me of the time.  I assured him I wouldn’t be the last person walking out the door. I went right up to the yoga/dance studio with it’s slippery, shiny hardwood floors and proceeded to skip rope–balls to the walls–for ten minutes.  I was winded by five, and dripping sweat at ten.  I needed a rest, so I took one minute to drink a cup of water and catch my breath. 

Next I did plank poses, abdominal crunches, reverse crunches and side planks for my core; then pounded out gluteal bridges and hip abductions for my butt and pelvic regions.  In total, the mat work took me five minutes.  Then I stretched my hips, legs and low back–three more minutes.  Finally, I took two minutes to stretch my arms and chest–areas that I am working on specifically in response to an injury.  Done.  And not the last person to leave, either.

You see, WOAC helps me to get my arse to the gym–moving, sweating, and feeling pumped–even in a short time period.  No excuses for me.  And I guarantee I will be sore tomorrow.  Twenty minutes is all I need–heck, even ten will do.  WOAC…a way of life for me.

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