Bending Right is Fitness as a Lifestyle

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Healthline

Readers asked for more pictures of healthy bending around the house and workplace during daily life. They've been getting excited about the idea that daily life is the way to physical ability and health, instead of stopping life to do a bunch of exercises. People spend time and money for endless treatments and gadgets for back and knee pain and tight Achilles tendon. Healthy bending prevents the commonest sources of all of these.

A major predisposing factor of knee and hip arthritis is weak thighs.
A major risk factor of hip osteoporosis is lack of weight bearing exercise.
A major risk factor of falls is weak legs and poor balance.
The Achilles tendon gets a natural stretch with each time you bend right with heels down, and loses this constant normal source of stretch without good bending.
The most important contributor to making a lumbar disc degenerate, or slip out of place (herniate), and press on nerves causing sciatica, is bad bending forward.
The biggest contributor to upper back and neck pain is keeping the upper body rounded and bent over forward.

If you would like to reduce risk of falls, osteoporosis, bad discs, sciatica, achy upper back, and arthritis, get a built-in Achilles tendon stretch, and get strong shapely legs all at the same time, just use your legs with good body position for daily healthy bending.

Why go to the gym or to physical therapy to do knee bends to strengthen your legs, then spend your "real life" weakening your legs and degenerating your lower back discs with bad bending, and say, "I don't have time to exercise."

You will get free built-in exercise just moving in life. My friends and family in Asia are astonished when I tell them I teach Americans how to bend to look in the refrigerator, and that Americans tell me it is too much work to bend right to load dishes in a machine that washes for them. Then they pay money to go to a gym or buy equipment to exercise their legs.

Here is a fun way to change mindset to exercise as a lifestyle:

Count how many times a day you bend and how many times you can choose to harm yourself or help yourself.

If you would like to try "fitness as a lifestyle," this is the best place to start. Think of it:

when bending to make the bed,
to pick up laundry,
look in the refrigerator,
load and unload the dishwasher,
to pick up your shoes,
open a lower cabinet,
lift a child or pet,
feed a child or pet,
pick up things from the floor,
pick up hand weights to do exercise,
put down weights after exercising,
many daily activities.

Related Fitness Fixer:

Books:

Learn bending, reaching, and fixing knee and back pain: Fix Your Own Pain Without Drugs or Surgery
Get built-in lifestyle exercise, fix back and knee pain, learn health and fun at the same time: Health & Fitness in Plain English THIRD edition.

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Read success stories and send your own of these methods.
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For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions.
Subscribe to Fitness Fixer Free - click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
See Dr. Bookspan's Books, take a Class, get certified DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Labels: achilles stretch, arthritis, disc, fix pain, knee, leg press, leg strength, leg stretch, lower back, osteoporosis, practice of medicine, sciatica, squat, strength, stretch, upper back

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10 Comments:

At Sunday, February 18, 2007 2:28:00 AM, Anonymous said…

I must admit that I did smile when I read how doing squats helps one get shapely legs. It was only this morning while dressing that I saw myself in the full length mirror and I thought to myself how the shape of my legs have improved, particularly my thighs. I have been doing squats as I go about my daily life for a year now, obviously it has paid off and by the way, I am 70 years of age
At Monday, May 18, 2009 11:55:00 AM, Anonymous said…

Dear Dr. Bookspan: in alost any other exercise, practicing the tuck-in-your-pelvis advice made a notice difference, and i do see the better postrure and feel better during most exercises. Thank you :-) However, i am failing times and even to make progress with the basic half-squat:
a. It is really challenging to keep my feet and kness in a complete straight position. They almost always turn slightly outward. Any advise?
b. While I am able to keep my upper body upright AND keep my kness over my ancles, I still feel some pain in my knees. Shifting the weight completely to my tights and heels elimiates the pain, BUT i then fall backwards ):-
Any advise you can share?
At Monday, May 18, 2009 2:42:00 PM, Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

Ivy, wonderful!

Hello Anonymous, good work. The idea is simple healthful movement for your actual life.
a. One reason for a turn out is tight Achilles tendon. Each good bending with feet parallel will give a natural built in stretch. If you never let them stretch, it is easy for them to remain tight. Bend right and let them stretch so they then allow you to length as needed. Hundreds of good bends a day, and soon it will work itself out. Don't force. Obviously. Next see if your knees are outward. You don't want knees in one direction and feet in another. Keep both the same, even if both are outward, that is better for knees. Next body shape may prevent feet forward, when the belly and thighs have to make room for each other :-) Check and see.
b. Great that you found that shifting the weight in a healthful way does stop knee pain. Practice. As the Achilles and other structures loosen from built in normal activity, you will be able without shifting so far that you lose balance. Have fun with it.
At Tuesday, May 19, 2009 3:08:00 PM, Anonymous said…

I appreciate the quick response! a. Any specific stretch exercise recommended for the tight Achilles tendon (or simply let the daily squats make the difference over time)?
b. My knees are definitely pointing outward. Aside from being aware of it, and trying to conciously fix it, any specific exercise you recommend ?
At Thursday, May 21, 2009 6:53:00 PM, Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

For good Achilles stretch, good daily habits are key. For a specific stretch, try Better Achilles Tendon Stretch.

Also look under each post. Most have a list of labels. Click the label to get all posts on that topic. For example, Achilles - chlick that label and all posts come up.

If you do an Achilles stretch, any one, but spend the rest of your day walking and bending with legs pointed outward then you reduce or stop the natural built-in functional stretch your would get.

If your knees point outward, look why, summarized in my answer already given, instead of yanking them straight. Fixing the cause is healthier than trying to stop the result.
At Friday, August 14, 2009 5:20:00 PM, mr.glass said…

Hello Dr. First i would like to express my appreciation and admiration for the work you do and the informative advice you offer to everyone, the information you provide has been wonderfull in helping me understand how the body is supposed to function mechanicaly. However after reading your articles on back and knee pain etc. and making crucial adjustments in my lifestyle accordingly, there is one area which continues to pester and effect me in my day to day life; my left knee. My right knee/leg fairs pretty well with supporting my weight walking even lifting objects, but i feel a loose twisting fragility in my left knee and pain on the inside face of the knee. When walking small strides, my left foot tends to drop flat on the sole instead of heel to toe, causing stress on my knee and hip. My job demands constant lifting of objects, walking with objects, getting on and of of vehicles and i find it difficult to meet my quota of boxes picked. What makes it worse is my hobbys are kickboxing, wrestling and other martial arts, sometimes basketball too. The only time i feel relief is when i sleep/rest.
Any suggestions or info you could spare would be highly appreciated, thanks Dr.
At Monday, August 24, 2009 6:04:00 PM, Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

Mr. Glass, thank you for using the information to improve mechanics. Do I understand right that your question is that you hold your right knee well and it does not hurt, but you let your left knee twist a bit and your left foot drop flat instead of heel to toe rolling during gait, and you believe those things are the cause of pain to knee and hip? What happens when you hold your knee and foot in healthier way (like the right) and prevent uncomfortable twisting?
At Thursday, September 03, 2009 5:54:00 PM, mr.glass said…

Thank you for your reply. I find if i make a concious effort to straighten my pelvic bone it takes stress of my knee and hip joints. I beleive the root of my knee pain may have been bad posture in not tucking in my pelvis. However even in making these corrections and relieving stress on my knees i find knee pain- pins and needles, aching- still persists and also my right knee is now affected too. The advice you have given already has been helpfull, i may be leaving something out in fixing my problem so if you feel you you could help i would be very grateful. Cheers Dr.
At Thursday, September 03, 2009 5:55:00 PM, mr.glass said…

Thank you for your reply. I find if i make a concious effort to straighten my pelvic bone it takes stress of my knee and hip joints. I beleive the root of my knee pain may have been bad posture in not tucking in my pelvis. However even in making these corrections and relieving stress on my knees i find knee pain- pins and needles, aching- still persists and also my right knee is now affected too. The advice you have given already has been helpfull, i may be leaving something out in fixing my problem so if you feel you you could help i would be very grateful. Cheers Dr.
At Thursday, October 22, 2009 1:27:00 AM, Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…

Hello Mr. Glass, Glad you already feel how it "takes stress off.. knee and hip joints." Pins and needles should not happen (of course). More info is needed:
- Do you feel the pain when bending only?
- Sitting?
- Is the pins feeling in the front or back?
- When you try Fast Fitness - First Morning Stretch does it relieve the pins and needles?
- Have you had medical assessment?
- Do you have the book Healthy Martial Arts? It covers many methods to fix up all the body segments at once so you can get back to your martial arts.

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Bending Right is Fitness as a Lifestyle

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