Breathing is something we do every moment of our lives, yet few of us think about how we breathe or how it affects our overall health. At the center of this vital function is the diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle that plays a crucial role in respiration, posture, digestion, and even stress management. The diaphragm plays…
You may be asking yourself, “Why is a physical therapy blog addressing the topic of breastfeeding?” I have been on a journey with my kiddo as we go through the first hand experience of the challenges and bonding that comes with breastfeeding in the modern era. As I prepared for my goals to nurse my…
How do you view the process of aging? And why is this important to think about? A 2014 study looked at the effects of implicit age-related stereotypes on physical function in 100 adults aged 61-99. Implicit positive stereotypes included descriptive words such as “spry,” that were judged to be typically related to increasing age. Those…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’m excited for Dec 21st. It’s the winter solstice, and it’s just 5 days away. That means the days will start to get longer! Here in the Pacific Northwest, winter hits me hard; the rain and the shorter days have a significant impact on my overall well being, and my mental health as a result….
Bowel movements. It’s something we can all relate to so I want to give you a quick and dirty run down of all things constipation. Most people suffer from constipation at some point in their life. This could be seasonal, when we travel, or on a daily basis. In the US, there’s an average of…
Our spinal column serves to protect our nervous system and is an attachment site for the muscles, ligaments, nerves, guts and fascia, it stores kinetic energy and it helps transfer the loads of the body into our base of support. To function effectively, the spinal column needs to be both stiff and flexible at the same time. This dynamic dance of stiffness and flexibility is orchestrated by the brain’s incredible ability to control a symphony of muscles around the spine.
Most people don’t move in ways that maximize their strength and potential. The CoreFirst® Strategies are fundamental movement strategies that will help you move better and feel better!
The term “core strength” often invokes the image of ripped six pack abs and trimmed obliques. Spinal stabilization is another term that is commonly associated with core function. Although the abdominals and obliques serve important roles in generating efficient movement of our bodies, in isolation they do not serve as effective stabilizers of the spine. The intention of this article is to give the reader a functional context of how our core functions and how postural strategies impact core function.
Inherent to this goal is our desire to help you feel better, move better, and live better. This article provides information that we believe is foundational to the understanding of overall health and healing.
Chronic inflammation will make joints feel stiff, nerves more sensitive, muscles more spastic, zap your energy, and generally make you feel lethargic. One helpful step you can take while trying to sort out the source of chronic inflammation is to increase your consumption of anti-inflammatory foods, which are typically high in antioxidants.
