Featured Exercise - Torso Twist
Kit Miller demonstrating the Torso Twist exercise at home.
Fill up a milk or juice jug to add resisitance.
This is a great exercise to strengthen core muscles.
Feature Exercise - At Home - Full squat/overhead press
If you had to pick only one exercise to do for your home training session, this full squat/overhead press would be an excellent choice.
Featured Exercise - At Home - Back Extension
For all of us that spend to much time sitting this is a great exercise to re awaken your posterior chain.
Demo on equipment at Jim's Gym and then at home.
Rehab Solutions to Common Injuries
Alignment Drills By Registered Physiotherapist Clyde Smith
This is a follow up to registered physiotherapist Clyde Smith’s blog post titled “Why Your Misalignment Issues Persist, Pt. 1: Understanding the Cause”. Here, Clyde talks about alignment correction drills and post-correction exercises that he uses with his clients. For clients of Clyde’s this is a good refresher on how to execute them!
Alignment exercises are meant to bring your center of gravity (S2) back into a neutral position. In this position, your body can move more efficiently, with less stress on individual muscles.
Common popular treatment strategies that are often used, but fail:
A. Tight individual muscles or tissues (ITB, quadrates, hip flexors)
B. Muscle imbalance (hamstrings, VM)
C. Core weakness
None of these alone or in combination will solve an alignment problem. The symptoms are reduced but they return quickly. Once balance is restored then a participation in active strategies such and yoga, Pilates or other exercise programs will be successful.
FIRST STEP: Alignment drills and education. This may include leg length, feet and footwear assessment, and education (able to return to most activities immediately). (Shown below!)
SECOND STEP: Activation of all hip and pelvic control, muscle groups. (Shown below!)
THIRD STEP: Addressing other contributing anatomical and habitual factors (posture, sleep position, leg length, feet).
FOURTH STEP: Integration back to your life with understanding of contributing factors.
FIRST STEP: ALIGNMENT DRILLS & EDUCATION
Lumbar Correction
Pelvic Correction
Standing Correction
Right leg up twist right on exhale, (you want the trunk twisting and not just the shoulders) and repeat 2-3 times.
Hang down. Right only or right, left, right.
Exercise 2: Butt up (bridge position - image above)
- Lift the butt off the floor 2-4 inches. Do not over arch your back. Perform the same movements, reps and sets as in Exercise 1.
- A progression of this exercise is to move the heels a few inches away from the butt. This will bring in more hamstring work.
Exercise 3. Hip Flexion (flex in diagonal plane to outside of shoulder)
- Hook tube around foot of the down straight leg and the top of the thigh of the flexed hip. Flex the hip up (moving toward the outside of the shoulder).
- Stay within comfort. 2-5 sets of 10-20 reps.
Exercise 4: Rotation of Hip
- Hip at about 70 degrees
- Externally rotate hip (foot in) and internally rotate (foot out). 2-5 sets 5-30 reps.
- You shouldn’t feel any pain, but it’s okay to feel tired.
DON’T FORGET:
THIRD STEP: Addressing other contributing anatomical and habitual factors (posture, sleep position, leg length, feet).
FOURTH STEP: Integration back to your life with understanding of contributing factors.
Clyde is a registered physiotherapist and founding principal of Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre. Clyde’s specialty lies in chronic injury as they relate to pelvic and back alignment. When Clyde is not in the clinic, you can find him on multi-day cycling trips, gardening, and spending time with his family! You can contact Clyde at bookaphysio@hotmail.com for more details about this blog.