Touching Your Toes... Can You Do It?

I saw a link on Yahoo.com yesterday about a man who has never touched his toes.  #ToeTouch  It took him 41 days to do it.  I say, CONGRATULATIONS.  Most people would have given up after only a few days.   The world is loaded with I can'ts and never coulds, but this man showed a lot of heart and commitment to try and do something that many can do with ease.  The shear joy and happiness that he shared with his family was really sweet to see.  He did it!  And so can you.  Being a Chiropractor, I have come in contact with so many people who are inflexible and have tight legs.  START!

Here's 4 things I talk to them about:

    1.  Back Aches  -   so many back aches can be contributed to tight muscles of the thighs.  With attachments to the front and back of the pelvis, tight muscles can influence the lower back greatly.  Stretch the muscles to ensure that your pelvis is supported and in line with spine for decreased back pain
    2.  Walking -  a flexible hamstring/quadriceps muscles allows you a free flowing gait or walking pattern.  If you have tight hamstring muscles you walk like you have no rear-end.  The tight hamstring pulls down on your pelvis and give you a flat butt appearance. Nobody wants that!  Conversely, if you tend to have tight quadriceps muscles, then you walk like you just got off a horse and your butt sticks out!  Nobody wants that either! 
   3  Strength  -  your muscles are like rubber bands, stretchy, bendable and can take a lot of loading stress.  In addition to the hamstrings, flexibility in the quadriceps allow a person to gain maximal strength and power in their legs.  If the muscles are not flexed or worked enough, it gets brittle and more likely to rip or pull and you spend more time rehabbing them, than you do using them.
   4.  Safety  -  slip and falls are never planned.  If you like the "bend but don't break" mentality in life then flexibility in your hamstrings allow you to bend with fall and not break a hip or pelvis.  It will allow you to make the correction needed to stabalize the fall or trip and you will come out of it with less injury.  Every professional athlete spends 50% of their stretch time devoted to their hammy's.

Just like anything, you get out what you put in.  Here's where you can FINISH!

4 Steps When The Weather Outside Is Frightful..

Wow!  How long has it been since you shoveled snow???   If it has been as long at it has for me (2 years or so) then prepare your body for the activity.  I can remember back in the days of Chiropractic school that our teachers would tell of stories of their patients who did worse than just strain their low backs while shoveling snow.  "-(

Here's the 411 on shoveling. 
1.  It's a short burst of high intensity exercise.
2.  It's done during cold temperatures.
3.  We are not used to it.
4.  It's usually done for a duration of time.

SO, how do you prepare or do it without injuring yourself?

1.  Take it easy- the more snow accumulation the more chill we should be doing it.  Taking more frequent breaks and not moving as much snow as possible each time.
2.  Acclimate to the environment before you start.  Go outside for 5-10 minutes and just be out there.  The body will accomodate with different blood vessels tightening and some opening up more.
3.  Do some warm up strething.  Click here for stretches.
4.  If you have to shovel out your driveway or yard, most likely you are off from work anyways.  Take more time and do it slowly the first time.  IF we were in an area that saw a lot of snow, then we would be more adept in shoveling it.  AS it is, the Raleigh area doesn't see to much, so be careful!

Strength in your Core

The common misconception to strength is that your power comes from the big muscles that you can flex and see in the mirror.  When in reality, real power comes from the small core muscles that may pay little attention to.  Like a fighter, who derives his power from his core and legs when he throws a punch, you have to pay special attention to the core muscles in order to hold your adjustments. 
So what are the core muscles?
They are the abs, internal/external obliques, quadratus lumborum, lumbar paraspinal muscles, gluteus and piriformis, all the pelvic bowl muscles.  These muscles help to make sure that you keep your center of gravity as balanced as possible.