back pain | Tone and Tighten

Thoracic Spine Pain | Upper Back Exercises From A Physical Therapist

May 17, 2019

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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How to Treat Sciatica – Best Exercises For Sciatic Nerve Pain

September 19, 2018

Sciatica is pain, numbness, or tingling down the back of your leg that originates in your back and travels down your leg. Oftentimes exercising and moving in certain ways can help to minimize these symptoms. This is a progression of the best physical therapy exercises to help you treat your sciatic nerve symptoms.

(Below we’ll discuss sciatic nerve pain as related to the most common cause – a bulged or herniated disc. If your sciatica is coming from a different source, this may not be the best exercise progression for you. You’re encouraged to consult with your doctor or physical therapist for an individualized treatment plan.)

Best Exercises For Sciatic Nerve Pain

Lay prone on your stomach – extension and gravity help bulged disc material back into the center.
Prone on elbows – as your tolerance allows, lay on your stomach and prop up onto your elbows.
1/2 Prone press up – lay on your stomach, keep your hips on the floor, and press with your hands until your elbows are halfway straight.
Full prone press up – lay on your stomach, keep your hips on the floor, and press up onto your hands fully extending your elbows.
Standing back bend – stand up and bend over backwards as far as you can per your tolerance

Keep reading below for video demonstration and full picture/text descriptions of each exercise.

As a doctor of physical therapy, spine injuries are the most common condition that I treat.

It seems like at one time or another low back pain or neck pain inflicts all of us. To a degree, almost all of us will experience some degree of low back or neck pain.

Depending on the cause of your low back pain, you may experience the accompanying symptom of sciatica. This is characterized by pain/numbness/tingling down the back of your leg. It can travel to your glute, hamstring, or (in more severe cases) down into your calf and ankle.

Today I wanted to share with you the best exercises for treating sciatic nerve pain. This method of treatment is it clinically proven and backed by dozens of research studies to be the most effective exercise treatment for a common cause of sciatic nerve pain….

How To Fix Your Low Back Posture

May 30, 2018

4 Great exercises to fix your anterior pelvic tilt!

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As a doctor of physical therapy, the most common condition that I treat in my clinic is low back pain.

While this is a widespread problem that can come from many different sources, one of the most common causes that I see comes from our posture.

Oftentimes if you have a desk job or spend much of your day sitting you can start to develop this “anterior pelvic tilt” or “sway back” posture. That’s where your hips tuck forward creating a larger-than-normal arch in your lower back.

This can be a source of tightness, discomfort, and eventually even pain.

Today on Tone and Tighten we’re talking all about this low-back posture… specifically what it is, why you get it, and (most importantly) 4 simple exercises you can do to start to solve this issue today!…

Best Stretches For Low Back Pain

January 15, 2018

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As a doctor of physical therapy, low back pain is without a doubt the most common injury that I see in my clinic. For those of us who have experienced it before, we know how utterly debilitating this pain can be!

Whether it’s “come and gone for years” or you just experienced it for the first time after mowing the lawn or shoveling the driveway, it’s estimated that about 80% of us will experience some degree of back pain in our lives.

Today I wanted to share with you four of my favorite lower back stretches to help decrease your pain. I recommend these more than any others and I hope they can help you get back to doing those things that you love!…

Best Exercises To Treat Low Back Pain

February 4, 2014

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Hey everyone! I am totally and completely stoked to introduce you to our newest series here on Tone and Tighten! I’ve always encouraged reader questions and comments here on the site – the response has been phenomenal! A number of these emails have been questions from T&T’s readers regarding injuries, pain, and other common problems that I treat daily. In an effort to respond to these emails/messages, I thought it might be kind of cool to help the masses and make my answers available to everyone! That being said, I want to introduce you to our new monthly “Feel Better Now” series! Each month I will discuss a common injury that I see often in the physical therapy clinic. We will share some information about what it is and why you’re experiencing it. Then, most importantly, I want to offer you a few solutions/exercises as to what you can do to help it! My goal is to make Tone and Tighten the most comprehensive health and wellness website on the web; this is just another step in that direction! Hope you enjoy……