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Thoracic Spine Pain | Upper Back Exercises From A Physical Therapist

Six of the best stretches and exercises to decrease pain and tension in your upper back. Thoracic self-mobilization techniques and strength training exercises to help eliminate your back pain and help you feel better. Tips and advice from a doctor of physical therapy.

WHAT CAUSES UPPER BACK PAIN?

There are many potential sources of upper back pain. In my professional experience, the three most-common causes of thoracic spine are joint inflammation, rib dysfunction, and muscle strain/knots. Again – there are many more potential causes than this, but these are the three that I encounter the most often in my physical therapy clinic. Fortunately, there’s a lot that the right stretches and strengthening exercises can do to alleviate your pain and symptoms in this area.

DOES POOR POSTURE CAUSE UPPER BACK PAIN?

Absolutely! In fact I would say postural issues are the #1 cause behind the majority of the back and neck pain issues that I treat in my clinic. In normal posture, your head sits squarely on top of your shoulders. Gravity keeps it there with very minimal effort required from your muscles. However – as soon as your head starts to come forward and your shoulders round forward (poor posture), now your muscles have to be active in order to keep your head from flopping straight down.

It’s this constant muscle activation from muscles that normally aren’t supposed to be active that causes fatigue, muscle tightness, and even pain in your neck and shoulders.

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Best Exercises For Sciatica Nerve Pain and Lumbar Stability

A bulged or herniated disc is a common condition that affects millions of people. It is usually manifest as pain in your lower back that may or may not be accompanied by shooting pain, numbness, tingling, or burning down one or both legs. Fortunately – there’s a lot that conservative care including the right stretches and strengthening exercises can do to alleviate this pain. Today I wanted to share with you some of my favorite core stability and spine strengthening exercises that are ideal for a bulging disc.

The best lower back exercises for bulged disc and sciatic nerve pain. From the physical therapist at Tone-and-Tighten.com

WHAT IS A LOWER BACK DISC?

Our spine is made up of vertebrae bones stacked one on top of the other. Between each of these vertebrae you have a “disc“. These discs act as shock absorbers and also allow us to move. The vertebrae in the lowest part of your back are called “lumbar vertebrae“; the discs that separate these vertebrae are referred to as your “lumbar discs“.

 

WHAT IS A BULGED DISC?

intervertebral discVertebral discs are composed primarily of two structures:
There is a tough outer layer made up of multiple layers of overlapping cartilage and an inner “core” that is primarily aqueous (water based). Often times we refer to this disc structure as a “jelly donut“ – a tough outer layer with a “jelly“ inside. This structure is key to enable the two functions listed above (shock absorption and movement).

Over time, the outer disc layer can develop areas of weakness. With the right forces, your inner “jelly“ can “bulge“ into the outer layer resulting in a disc protrusion or “bulged disc“.

When this bulged disc butts up against one of your lumbar nerves this can cause pain in the area and/or pain/numbness that radiates down your leg.

Keep in mind – not all back pain is created equally!

It’s crucial to mention that not all low back pain and not all disc pain is the same. Depending on exactly which diagnosis you have and what symptoms you present with I might recommend a completely different treatment plan for you. The exercises I’m going to present to you below are specifically for a “bulged”, “herniated”, or “protruding” lumbar disc. If you have a diagnosis of “stenosis” or “degenerative disc disease” these are NOT the exercises I would recommend. You can see the best exercises for stenosis or DDD when you click on this link: https://tone-and-tighten.com/how-to-treat-sciatica-at-home.html

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The Mommy Tummy Fix – Postpartum Abs Workout Program

The most comprehensive postpartum abs workout program available! An abdominal workout progression, healthy eating plan, and at-home cardio guide designed to help you lose weight and tone and flatten your stomach. Every workout is also diastasis-recti friendly.

My wife is AMAZING. She has always loved to be fit and active and has worked incredibly hard to “bounce back” to pre-pregnancy shape after having each of our four children.

Personal fitness has always been important to her and she has always carried a certain air of confidence about her body image.

That all changed after she had our fourth child.

With each subsequent pregnancy she found it a little harder to “bounce back” afterwards.

Where the pounds noticeably melted away after our first was born, it took a lot more work and yielded much slower results after our fourth (I’m sure many of you can relate).

There are two primary reasons behind this – 1) it’s typically harder to recover from subsequent pregnancies and 2) she was a little older each time.

Sure this is normal and even expected, but she didn’t see it that way.

“Why have I stalled out in losing weight?”
“How come my stomach still looks like this?”
“What am I doing wrong?”

Gone was the self-esteem and body confidence I was used to seeing. It had somehow been replaced by self-doubt, fear, and negative body image.

It was at this time that she humbly came to me and said…

“I’m ready for you to put me back together.”…

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Home Exercises For Neck Stiffness And Pain

5 of the best exercises and stretches you can do at home to treat neck stiffness and pain. The best home exercises to decrease tension and pain in your neck and help you return to doing the things that you love!

The best stretches and exercises to decrease neck stiffness and pain. From the doctor of physical therapy at Tone-and-Tighten.com.

The best exercises and stretches for neck stiffness and pain:

  1. Upper trapezius stretch
  2. Levator scapulae stretch
  3. Cervical rotation stretch
  4. Chin tuck stretch
  5. Shoulder shrugs and rolls

Keep reading below for a full description and complete video instruction on how to perform each of these exercises.

As a physical therapist, neck pain and stiffness is one of the most common injuries that I treat. It’s a very prevalent problem that affects millions of people every day.

Fortunately, there is a lot that the right stretches and exercises can do to eliminate stiffness and pain in your neck.

Before we get started, it’s imperative to mention that NOT ALL NECK PAIN IS THE SAME!

For the purposes of this video, I will be showing the best exercises for general neck stiffness and pain. If your pain/stiffness is accompanied by any numbness or tingling in your hands or arms, these exercises may not be the best for your you. I would encourage you to go get your condition checked out by a doctor or physical therapist who can recommend a treatment plan based on your individual needs.

WHY DO I HAVE A STIFF NECK?

Neck pain and stiffness can be caused by a number of things. Muscle strain/injury, poor posture, and bad positioning (either while seated at work or laying down to sleep at night) are among the most common causes of this problem. 

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO ON HOW TO FIX YOUR NECK POSTURE: 

HOW TO ELIMINATE MUSCLE KNOTS FROM YOUR NECK AND SHOULDERS

Often times stiffness in your neck can lead to muscle knots (sometimes referred to as “trigger points“) in the muscles of your neck and upper shoulders. Muscle knots are caused by certain contractile fibers located in the muscle that contract to a shortened position and then don’t let go. You can feel a tight area of tension, or “knot”, in your muscles that can be very painful. 

HOW TO FIX MUSCLE KNOTS IN YOUR NECK AND SHOULDERS:

WHICH MUSCLES IN MY NECK ARE STIFF?

If you are experiencing a stiff neck, the muscles that are likely affected include the upper trapezius, the levator scapulae, the capitis group of muscles, and the cervicis group of muscles. These muscles are the prime movers of our neck through the motions of extension, side bending, and rotation. In order to decrease stiffness and pain in your neck, we need to stretch these muscles by lengthening them through the opposite motions.

 

HOW TO STRETCH

Stretching should be very comfortable. You should stretch to where you feel a good pull in the structure but not pain. The goal is to hold the stretch in a comfortable position for longer rather than hold a painful position for shorter.

STIFF NECK EXERCISES YOU CAN DO AT HOME

For detailed video demonstration of these exercises please watch the video above.

1. Upper trapezius stretch: Bend your left ear down towards your left shoulder until a comfortable stretch is felt in your right neck and upper shoulder. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat three times each direction.

2. Levator scapulae stretch: Angle your nose down towards your left armpit and use your left hand to apply gentle overpressure to the back of your head. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat three times each direction.

3. Towel rotation stretch: Wrap a towel or pillowcase around your neck. Cross your arms (right arm under left) and grab the loose ends of the towel/pillowcase. Hold your right hand firm to your chest and use your left hand to pull the pillowcase across your right cheekbone and rotate your head to the left. Hold for 20 seconds and repeat three times each direction.

4. Chin tucks: Lay on your back with your knees bent. Tuck your chin down into your throat to flatten your neck down into the floor. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat 10 times.

5. Shoulder shrugs/rolls: Raise both shoulders up towards your ears. Now squeeze your shoulder blades together. Now return to the starting position. Repeat this motion 10 times.

Neck stiffness and pain can be a miserable condition, but there is a lot you can do about it naturally, safely, and in the comfort of your own home. Try these exercises out for your stiff neck, and be sure to leave a comment below if you found them effective!

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Make it happen,

Jared

How To Treat Sciatica At Home

The best exercises for the treatment of degenerative disc disease (stenosis) and sciatic nerve pain at home. How to eliminate back pain and treat your sciatic nerve symptoms with stretches and exercises. Tips and advice from a doctor of physical therapy.
 
The best tips and exercises to treat low back pain and sciatic nerve symptoms from lumbar degenerative disc disease. From the doctor of physical therapy at Tone-and-Tighten.com.
 
The most-common condition that I treat in my physical therapy clinic is lower back pain. It’s estimated that 60% of us experience a case of moderate to significant back pain at some point in our lives. If you haven’t experienced it firsthand, you probably know someone who has.
 
From muscles and joints to discs and ligaments, pain in your lower back can come from multiple sources. Depending on the source, back pain can also cause multiple symptoms including back pain, lower muscle weakness, and numbness and tingling.
 
We typically refer to leg symptoms that originate from lower back pain “sciatica”. This simply means an irritation to the sciatic nerve that causes pain, numbness, or tingling down into your leg(s).
 
For the purposes of this post today, I’ll be covering the signs and symptoms associated with one very specific type of low back pain – degenerative disc disease (or DDD), stenosis, and sciatic nerve pain. There’s a lot that the right stretches and core exercises can do to alleviate the symptoms associated with this condition and help you to feel better.
 

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