Crab walk exercises can strengthen and tone your core, arms, and legs. Here's how to do them correctly. The post How to Do the Crab Walk Exercise for a Full-Body Workout appeared first on The Healthy.
5 Stretches for Upper Back Pain Laura Williams Bustos, MS, ACSM EP-C
What back pain really means
Back pain is incredibly common. According to the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, 65 million Americans report recent bouts of pain, with back pain ranking as the sixth most costly health problem in the United States. Sometimes the pain can be so severe that it can be hard to move, think, or even breathe. Back pain is common because it s really a symptom of something else that s going on, says Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD, a board-certified spinal and orthopedic surgeon at the Institute for Comprehensive Spine Care in New York and New Jersey. Our body has a finite number of alarms it can sound to alert us that something s wrong or that behavior is affecting our spine, so many conditions or bad habits have back pain as an overlapping symptom, Dr. Okubadejo explains. And when you don t know the direct cause of your pain, it can make it harder to treat it.
How to Use a Foam Roller for Your Back Pain Laura Williams Bustos, MS, ACSM EP-C
Foam roller for your back
Chances are by now you ve seen (and possibly used) the cylinders of foam that have popped up at gyms, physical therapists , and chiropractors offices.
In exercise communities, words like trigger point therapy and myofascial release are used in reference to foam rolling as though this form of self-massage is the cure-all, end-all therapy for muscle pain problems. One of its many popular uses is as a pre- and post-workout tool to boost circulation and flexibility.
But, as with most things that are physical in nature, it s complicated is a better way to describe the benefits of foam rolling for back pain.
6 Stretches for Lower Back Pain Laura Williams Bustos, MS, ACSM EP-C
Lower back pain 101
Low back pain is a beast. And not just because it can make you feel like your body is rebelling against you. Back pain can is a symptom of a problem. To treat the symptom with things like stretches for lower back pain you have to know what the problem is.
This becomes complicated because the cause of low back pain is sometimes hard to pin down. Sometimes it s obvious. You pick up a heavy box without thinking about proper lifting form and bam! you pull a muscle and end up with an acute bout of pain. But other times, the problem is more insidious and unclear.
4 Exercises for Lower Back Pain Laura Williams Bustos, MS, ACSM EP-C
Understanding lower back pain
Lower back pain can be a true nightmare. If you ve ever been laid up with an acute low back injury, or you ve been plagued with ongoing, chronic pain, you know how it can take over your life. It can prevent you from even standing up or sitting down without experiencing a jolt of agony.
The thing about back pain, though, is that the source can be a bit elusive. There are a slew of causes, including everything from a pulled muscle or bulging disc to arthritis, kidney infections, or even a tumor. And sometimes there s no obvious or single cause for the inflammation and resulting pain. (These are the everyday habits that are damaging your spine.)