I recently gave my Coaches an assignment to come up with a seated exercise. I handed Gail a pool noodle cut in half, and—voilà—a new easy, very effective seated exercise is born.
This exercise is a great way to start your day or end your day to loosen up and improve your postures. It: Continue reading “How to Use Your Noodle to Improve Parkinson’s Stooped Posture”
Parkinson’s is notorious for causing neck pain and poor posture, which we know causes neck and upper back pain. Did you know for every inch your head protrudes past your normal alignment, you add 10 pounds of extra force on your neck? It can add up to muscular spasm, premature joint arthritis and nerve impingement. Let’s fix this!
I hear this often “I just don’t feel like moving,” or “My husband sits all day long and doesn’t want to get up and even go for a walk.” It’s not just men, it’s the ladies too. Between computers, T.V., driving, eating, and just having low energy from Parkinson’s causes us to sit too much.
It’s a vicious cycle, Parkinson’s causes low energy and apathy, you give into it by sitting, then the sitting causes a variety of maladies including tight muscles and back pain, so you don’t feel like being active because your back hurts.
Take a “movement” break every 30 minutes. In a published study of nearly 8,000 adults, Annals of Internal Medicine found that sitting for excessively long periods of time is a risk factor for early death, and people who sat for less than 30 minutes at a time had the lowest risk of early death. Continue reading “Find and Activate Your Glutes “Squeeze Your Bum, Bum, Bum” for Parkinson’s”
I notice my dancers and fighters struggle to get their arms over their head. Most likely this is due to rounded, stooped posture of Parkinson’s. In addition to tight chest muscles, tight Latissimus dorsi “Lats” are most likely a culprit in this limited motion.
Latissimus dorsi means “broadest muscle of the back,” is one of the widest muscles in the human body. It is a very thin triangular muscle. It has many widespread origins and runs obliquely, superiorly and laterally through the back and armpits to insert on the back side of the upper arm. The lats also connect to the lumbar spine, and assist with lower back movements. Continue reading “How to Roll Out Your Lats for Parkinson’s Tight Shoulders”
“Kimberly, my back hurts and I think my posture is getting worse, what can I do?” I get asked this all the time.
As I’ve mentioned in my earlier blog posts on foam roller exercises, Parkinson’s disease causes you to flex forward, creating a host of problems but most certainly back pain. You can use a foam roller to facilitate some great extension improving pain and posture.
Foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial release. In previous posts, I’ve demonstrated myofascial release with soft ball on the chest and feet.
Watch the video below on how you can safely use a foam roller to help with Parkinson’s poor posture: Continue reading “How to Safely Improve Parkinson’s Stooped Posture and Back Pain Using a Foam Roller”
