Ergonomic Snow Shoveling Tip

Ergonomic Snow Shoveling Tip

The Heft is a Canadian made invention by Marco Longley who pitched his click on handle on Dragons Den and the product is now featured at Home Hardware stores. We haven’t used the device but it is highly endorsed by Dragon, David Chilton.

In the promotion videos we noticed that the product is often used with feet in external rotation. This mal-aligns or deflects the psoas/iliacus muscles which attach to the top of the femur. Psoas/iliacus are key, foundational muscles in the kinetic chain. When mal-aligned, this causes loss of strength and function. Other muscle groups compensate, performing beyond their load tolerance. All of this equates to a wide variety of possible symptoms from general muscle aches and pains, back/leg/knee pain to nerve impingement (mal-aligned muscles can pull on joints). To avoid problems with repetitive strain, perform all your daily activities, including snow shoveling with your feet pointed forward. 

The Heft You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJs1ZZ01ZK4 Watch for external rotation. Below shows the incorrect and correct ergonomics for snow shoveling with or without The Heft.

Dig In The Dirt & Avoid Injuries!

Dig In The Dirt & Avoid Injuries!

At the first sign of warmer weather and chirping robins gardeners begin counting the days until they can gleefully dig in the dirt. After a long winter season though, many of us have been lacking in exercise and are generally unconditioned for the heavy tasks that gardening can bring such as lifting, shoveling and excessive bending. This makes us susceptible to strained muscles and nagging injuries. Some common sense tips and proper ergonomics can make all the difference in maintaining your health while gardening.

  

 Common Sense Tips To Avoid Gardening Injuries:

• Warm up before you begin. Get your heart rate up by taking a 10-minute walk followed by some stretches for your upper and lower back, neck, arms and legs. Roll your shoulders back in a circular motion and slowly move your head from side to side a few times to loosen up.
• Don’t over do it. Be mindful of how the body feels. If you experience an aching back or neck, slow down and stretch or stop and switch to a different task.
• Use a garden cart or wheelbarrow to move tools and heavy planting materials.Don’t kneel on both knees. Keep one foot on the ground to give your back more stability. If you have to kneel use knee pads or a pillow to absorb some of the pressure.
• Change positions frequently to avoid stiffness or cramping.
• End your gardening session with a short walk or some light stretching. Take a warm bath or shower to help prevent next-day soreness.

STAMINA Ergonomic Tip For Gardening Longevity: 
This tip will dramatically decrease your chances of unnecessary injuries! Any gardening activity should be performed with your feet and legs in neutral or internal rotation. In other words feet are positioned straight ahead and make sure your knees are closer together when kneeling. 

If you garden with your feet or knees in external rotation this will cause loss of strength and stability in muscles and joints and lead to potential injury. Be aware of this simple tip and see the difference it makes in preventing injury while doing your digging, planting and pruning!

Core Muscles Redefined

Core Muscles Redefined

We commonly refer to the "core muscles" of the body as the abdominals and a lot of exercise focus goes into trying to strengthen the "abs or 6 pack". A close look at anatomy reveals the abdominal muscle, Rectus abdominis, is a thin sheath at the outer body that covers the viscera or internal organs. At the core of the body attached to the lumbar spine are the Psoas major muscles - this more accurately defines the "core muscles". Innervation occurs first in the psoas muscles, so if these muscles are weakened or mal-aligned it affects the performance of other muscles in the kinetic chain, including the rectus abdominis.

STAMINA is a measurable physical rehabilitation system and through this measurability a consistent pattern has emerged that shows Psoas major as a primary stabilizer in the kinetic chain. A research study is currently underway in collaboration with STAMINA Academy and University of Alberta to scientifically validate this theory. See Academy News & Events for more information on current research with University of Alberta.

 

Driving Can Be Hazardous To Your Health!

Driving Can Be Hazardous To Your Health!

Why is this simple action while driving potentially harmful to your health? When your feet are in external rotation (toes pointed outward) it effects the psoas muscles at the base of your lumbar spine. In simple terms, the psoas muscle fibres become deflected or mal-aligned which affects the overall strength, stability and nerve signal to the muscles. As a result compensation patterns can develop throughout the whole kinetic muscular chain.

Habits are deeply ingrained over time. We are often unaware of how our daily actions can lead to repetitive strain and injury. There are many common actions that most of us do countless times a day that can lead to gradual onset injuries with symptoms ranging from mild aches to extreme pain. When patients come for STAMINA Rehabilitation Therapy, not only are their muscles rehabilitated to improve strength and function but emphasis is placed on comprehensive Patient Education and Ergonomic Assessment to alleviate aggravating factors that can be at the root cause of their problem(s) or condition. This is essential to positive treatment outcomes and long term results. 

PSOAS / ILIACUS Muscles Are The Boss!

PSOAS / ILIACUS Muscles Are The Boss!

It would not be unusual if you haven't heard about psoas major and iliacus muscles. They are often the most misunderstood and least treated muscles. Most people think of them only as a hip flexors. It's a lot more than a hip flexor! The psoas stabilizes the lumbar spine and trunk and the iliacus stabilizes the pelvis. These muscles can be the number one cause of low back pain when dysfunctional.

Psoas major/iliacus are crucial to form a powerful triangular of support at the epicentre of your body, attaching to the lumbar spine, ilium (hip bones) and femur. The direction of the muscle fibre, tension and the line of pull is important for correct function.

Everyone knows the infamous structure of the Eiffel tower; built in 1889, it stands 320 meters tall and weighs over 10,000 tons. Utilizing an intricate lattice frame work it follows precise engineering principles. It is shown metaphorically below in relation to the spinal column and the psoas major and iliacus muscles.

Notice similar principles of structural engineering within the human body. Our spinal column is a tower like structure and needs a solid foundation to stabilize it against sheering forces. These images clearly show that the psoas muscles are not only hip flexors but act as centralized load stabilizers and play a key role in supporting our structure.

STAMINA Academy has identified the psoas muscles as Primary Stabilizing Load Management Muscles with a registered trademark. Further blogs will explain how the psoas/iliacus muscles provide protection for the ligament and multiple joint structures.

All About Muscles

ALL ABOUT MUSCLES

Generally, we don't give our muscles much thought unless we start noticing stiffness, resistance to movement or pain.  It's important to understand that our muscles are interconnected, working like a system of pulleys and cables to stabilize and operate our joints. Some muscles have significantly greater roles than others in stabilization and function.

To understand how some muscles more than others stabilize the skeletal frame let's use a simple analogy : the walls in your house. There are load bearing and non-load bearing walls. The positioning of load bearing walls is critical to the structural integrity of a building. They hold and distribute weight from the roof of the structure to the foundation. If a load bearing wall is weakened or poorly constructed then walls can crack, floors sag and even the whole building can collapse. Secondary walls act as braces or supports to the primary load bearing walls.

This is similar to the muscles in your body, some muscles are key players or foundational to the integrity of the whole muscular system. If these key muscles become weak or unstable it has a domino effect on the other muscles. Secondary muscles compensate in attempt to do jobs they are not designed to do. This causes problems such as joint disease, lesions, ligament instability and other problems. 

STAMINA has identified 38 key muscle groups responsible for stabilization and load management in the body. These muscle groups are referred to as Stabilizing Load Management Muscles with a registered trademark through STAMINA Academy Inc. When your stabilizing load management  muscles are optimally aligned then compensation is eliminated along with painful or debilitating symptoms.