Tax Stretch
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
The tax filing date is coming in a few days in the United States. Bending forward over a desk is a common source of sore neck and upper back.
A nice stretch for the upper back is to stretch back.
Stretching back reduces pressure on (unloads) the discs. A little about why bending forward loads the discs is in Disc Pain - Not a Mystery, Easy to Fix and Are You Making Your Exercise Unhealthy? Stretching back also is nice for the muscles.
Keep it simple. Breathe. Don't stress.
Photo by the15
Labels: fix pain, holiday, neck, stress, stretch, upper back
8 Comments:
At Friday, April 13, 2007 12:21:00 PM,
elat said…
Dr Jolie I would appreciate your feedback. I have been teaching pilates and I did a long term professional course. However after reading your books and comments on certain exercises I am concerned. In Pilates on the mat there are a lot of exercies where you have your head forward, chin to chest, for example in '100' and the abdominal exercises. in '100' you are lying on your back with chin to chest, arms out long by sides, pumping up and down, legs up to the ceiling or out at a 45degree angle. You do use your abs to stop the arching in your back. YOu also do this a lot on the abdominal series, having chin to chest. I am concerned because of forward head which i have and i notice that these exercises seem to aggravate my neck. could you do these exercises without having your chin to chest and have your head down on the floor? There are also quite a few exercises on the reformer where you have your spine in a c curve and head forward. Pilates always made sure you do extension afterwards so you are working your spine in flexion and extension. I know you rehab'd from serious injuries and admire what you have to say. ARe you familiar with classic pilates? what do you think of his exercises and the craze around pilates at the moment? And also this chin to chest business?
At Saturday, April 14, 2007 4:30:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Keep it simple. Breathe. Don't stress.
I like that!
At Sunday, April 15, 2007 5:46:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
elat - good insights. Yes I have taken assorted pilates technique courses and recognize the exercises (and pain) you mention.
You can do these without chin to chest. I am familiar with the various claims that you must. One is of increased ab involvement with the neck forward, however neck muscles are not connected to the abs, and separate or co-contraction isn't needed. I studied "facilitation of reflex" in school, where bending the neck down helps contract other muscles (like biceps or torso curls). It still puts unhealthy force on the neck. The claim of lengthening the upper back is true, but is the very issue that the average person who bends over a desk and steering wheel all day probably doesn't need more of the same. It is nice to teach to bend backward after bending forward - for the muscles. The long ligament down the back of the spine is not good to stretch forward. Once it lengthens over years of excess flexion, it is like old underwear - doesn't snap back to hold neck bones in healthy position. Spine joints rub and have early wear.
In quick sum - an exercise may work the muscles, but why not try a fun way that doesn't promote other problems while you do it? The information on how the moves you mention put herniating forces on the discs, sheer neck vertebra forward over the one beneath, overlengthen the neck ligament, and promote vertebral bone spurs may not have been available when these courses were developed. I frequently see pilates instructors as patients, mostly for neck and hip tightness, herniated neck discs, and upper crossed syndrome (fancy term for upper body pain from forward head). At the ACSM meetings last year, there was a well done paper on herniated neck disc in a pilates instructor, specifically from these exercises.
Better than bogging down in the "who is wrong" pathway, make happy progress by first asking what is your exercise is supposed to do. If you want to work your abs, you don't need to do it with flexion (bending forward). If you want something to retrain your posture, you would even less want flexion. If you want an exercise that works your abs the way you need them to power your exercise, then flexion is not what teaches muscle use for real motion (is not a functional exercise). What to do instead?
Over several years I looked into how ab muscles are needed for real movement. A technique that we called The Ab Revolution developed from the studies. It's a revolution because it is a different way of thinking - using abs the way you really use them when standing and living and doing all you do and that doesn't injure one thing while exercising something else. There are no flexion exercises and you can get more ab exercise than with conventional exercise. The book is on my Books page. Workshops are on the Class page. I understand that flexion is popular and familiar, and sells more easily than trying to teach more functional movement. This gives more exercise without the old problems.
At Sunday, April 15, 2007 6:34:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Dr. Bookspan wrote:
The long ligament down the back of the spine is not good to stretch forward. Once it lengthens over years of excess flexion, it is like old underwear - doesn't snap back to hold neck bones in healthy position. Spine joints rub and have early wear.
Dr. Bookspan, I have been a flexion addict my whole life, hunched over a steering wheel and keyboard. I have the "upper crossed syndrome" with significant tightening of shoulder muscles. I have been doing your exercises and they have been helping but progress is painfully slow. I think it will take at least a couple of years to return a normal resting length to my shoulder / chest muscles.
My question is about the ligaments that you mention above. If they are stretched out, is there any hope of maintaining a healthy posture? Will building up the posterior chain of muscles help? I have had a physiatrist recommend PROLOTHERAPY. He tells me that with stretched out ligaments, that maintaining posture on my own will be very difficult.
Thoughts on prolo?
At Monday, April 16, 2007 3:05:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
KH - hold healthy comfortable positioning using your own muscles. Many dozens of injections (prolo) is not needed.
If the exercises are not working right away, let's look at how you are doing them. They are designed to start working as soon as you use them. Two specifically designed to restore resting muscle length as soon as you try them are:
Fixing Upper Back and Neck Pain
which stretches the tight pectoral muscles in front, (not the already overly rounded back which was the problem)
and
Nice Neck Stretch.
As soon as you try them, you check results with the wall test. Try my book Fix Your Own Pain Without Drugs or Surgery and please come to a workshop. We fix years of pain and poor positioning right there in the class. See if you are contributing to the rounding bad habit with forward rounding exercises and stretches, for example, The Stretch You Need The Least.
The key to my method is that you don't "do" exercises and stretches. They are not what fix the problem. *Use* them to move and live in healthy ways. As soon as you finish the pectoral and trapezius stretch, don't walk away rounded forward. Hold the new position with comfort. It's toilet training. You have to hold it. Not so that it is painful and unhealthy but so that you easily control what your body does and when.
I designed all this to be quick and uncomplicated (thank you, anonymous, in above comment). So I want to keep this reply simple. Please feel hopeful, breathe, smile, feel supported, and know that we can easily reverse this. Start now and keep me posted.
At Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:54:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
Dr. Jolie,
I have spondylolisthesis, Grade 1, and bought Ab Revolution. Should I share this with my physical therapist to get the most out of this book? When will you offer classes in the San Francisco, CA area as I would love to attend one!
Many thanks for your assistance and I look forward to hearing from you!
At Tuesday, May 01, 2007 2:29:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
So sorry for delay replying. People with spondylolisthesis (my "spondys") often respond quickly and well using the Ab Revolution because hyperlordosis is an overlooked part of spondy as the vertebra slides forward. Many people find they can quickly control it and are happy.
Yes I hope the Ab Revolution book will be a nice addition for your PT. They know a lot and can do much good with this method.
I will be in Colorado this July for the Wilderness Medical Society meeting teaching the fun method to control spine position (The Ab Revolution). Come then. Check the CLASSES page. It would be wonderful to have you attend. Colorado is kind of closer to San Francisco than I am now. Can you convince Healthline to run a fun health seminar with all the class and blog info (on a beach or cruise).
At Saturday, February 09, 2008 11:45:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
I notice a broken link in the reply above. This should be a working link for the CLASSES page.
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