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West Hollywood Chiropractic: Glute Stretches to Relieve Low Back and Pelvic Pain

By On · Add Comment · In abdominal core, gluteal bridges, gluteal muscles, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, hip extensor, hip pain, knee pain, low back pain, muscular imbalances, walking, West Hollywood chiropractic

Low back pain, hip pain and knee pain can all originate from a weak pelvic girdle.  When the muscles of the butt and pelvis get weak, the low back loses support–add in a weak abdominal core and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

In my West Hollywood chiropractic office, I always evaluate the pelvis and buttocks muscles, which are also known as the gluteals.  The gluteus maximus is the main muscle of walking, as it is the primary hip extensor–a movement necessary to bring the leg back during walking (gait) cycle.  The gluteus medius is the muscle that holds the pelvis upright as we stand.  When the glutes get weak–or perhaps lazy is a better word–they need to be isolated and strengthened. 

No muscle can be totally isolated because muscles work together–synergistically–as a group.  However, there are two exercises that are outstanding for isolating the gluteal muscles as much as possible.  The first is called gluteal bridges, and if you watch the video below, you can see a great version that will not only strengthen the gluteus maximus muscles, but will also help correct any muscular imbalances that are in place, whereby one side becomes stronger or weaker than the other.  The second exercise is called hip abductions and we’ll save that for another post.

You should have your work cut out for you with the gluteal bridges I demonstrate in the video, so watch and practice.  If you are not sore the next day, then you aren’t doing them right.  But don’t worry, you’ll be sore…

Exercise May Ward Off Prostate Cancer

By On · Add Comment · In exercise, immune system, prostate cancer, testosterone, walking

Awright Gents, yet another reason to exercise. Recent findings show that moderate exercise may lower the risk of prostate cancer. In a recent study, men who exercised the equivalent of three or more hours of brisk walking per week were two-thirds less likely than their sedentary counterparts to have prostate cancer. Booyah!

Even more exciting is that men in the study that were found to have cancer were less likely to have aggressive, faster-growing cancer if they walked as little as one hour per week. Not bad now is it?

Researchers believe that exercise leads to lower levels of testosterone and other hormones that help feed prostate tumor growth. It may also stimulate the immune system which works hard to suppress tumor development on a daily basis.

The caveat is that this current study does not prove that exercise protects against prostate cancer. For that, further studies will be needed to determine how much other lifestyle behaviors–like diet and mental health–play a part. For now, however, we can assume a link between exercise and lower prostate cancer risk; and at the very least between healthy behaviors and lowered risk. Now aren’t you glad to know that things in life are not just random?

Walking Extends Life

By On · Add Comment · In health, longevity, pain, physical fitness, The Six Keys to Optimal Health, universal exercise, walking
Walking a mile a day keeps the Grim Reaper away. So says an Italian study that looked at the universal exercise–walking–and found that people who walked regularly lived longer.

The study followed 248 volunteers aged 86 years on average for a period of two years. Although twelve percent of the volunteers died throughout the study, those that did not walk regularly (less than one hour per day) died at a rate of more than 30% higher than the regular walkers. Wow! Additionally, the walkers suffered less from depression and cognitive impairment, had less heart disease and high blood pressure, and had less debility from osteoarthritis. Double wow!

Well, of course, this is no surprise to me. I incessantly push the idea that regular physical fitness is paramount to not only a long life, but to one of high quality as well. I call walking the universal exercise because it’s the one that all cultures engage in to some degree. In my neighborhood you can see the Russian community out every night enjoying their after-dinner walks. It’s beautiful! And my wife and I take walks with our daughter and doggies every chance we get.

As I point out in my book, The Six Keys To Optimal HealthThe Six Keys To Optimal Health, walking is the best exercise for obese people, the elderly or people who haven’t exercised in a while or are trying to solve a pain issue. But mind you, the walk must challenge you. It doesn’t have to knock you out, but you should break into a moderate sweat, otherwise you are not doing much. And note, the study saw health benefits and longevity in those who walked for an hour or more every day. Do I think you need to walk for an hour every day? No…but how about twenty minutes? Or a half hour? Just make sure you’re breaking a little sweat by the end of the walk. I guarantee that if you walk 3-4 times a week for the next three months, you’ll have no problem–neither in motivation nor ability–to extend the walking in both length and frequency. Happy walking.

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