mobility/stretching drills to negate prolonged sitting

[lior]

Hello all.
Im currently rehabbing my back and increasing mobility and flexibility, after I had to stop my strength trainig due to ROM deificits and muscle imbalances around my hip and lower back that caused:
very high tension in my hip musculature, including psoas, itb , hamstrings and gastroc.
increased lumbar curvature.
incorrect motor pattern in my lower back when performing tasks with my weaker side (left) - left erectors fire before the right (should be the opposite order)

for about a month, Ive limited myseld to stretching and mobility, first lightly, and now Im more into it and started to incorporate core work.

My problem is that I started a desk job two weeks prior to my rehab training, and I feel that all Im doing is just fighting uphill the damages of the sitting and not rehabbing myself. what methods before, during or after work should I utilise to properly negate the the sitting effect and supplement my rehab? note that I sit 8-12 hours a day, on average. if the answer is in one of coach sonnon's products, I'll appreciate telling me the name of the book or video

thanks

Lior.

[bob_stra]

Must be a thing with this board - everyone asks these incredibly complex questions ;-)

>for about a month, Ive limited myseld to stretching and mobility, first
>lightly, and now Im more into it and started to incorporate core work.

In particular, what are you doing?

>My problem is that I started a desk job two weeks prior to my rehab
>training, and I feel that all Im doing is just fighting uphill the damages
>of the sitting and not rehabbing myself.

Indeed. Sitting rigidly for 8-12 hours is NOT the best way to go about things. Still, life places demands on us all. We must adapt intelligently.

> what methods before, during or after work should I utilise to properly >negate the the sitting effect and supplement my rehab?

What specifically do you feel needs to be addressed?

The ultra brief answer is - move. Every hour, get up and do something. More than anything, its a change in approach & habits of use.

If getting up is a problem (work in a tollbooth?) I have an "airplane DVT" routine here somewhere that's doesn't require this. Similary, simple devices like lumbar rolls, flat disc exercise balls etc can be of assistance.

Change your habits. Play with things. It's fun trying out stuff from the Zdorovye series in weird locations (sitting, in bed, on the bus etc). It depends on your motivation I guess.

Now, if we're talking about actual rehab work while sitting in a chair for 8 - 12 hours, yes, that too can be done. For example, Google for Supersitting.

In the end, it depends. You'll have to provide more details all around. Your type of work, injury details, things you're doing, your intended goals, etc. Even then, you should discuss things with your health care provider/s first.

Like I said - complex question.

[Ken Harper]

Lior:

Bob's right: move. And keep moving. Work all your joints, not just the ones closest to the affected areas.

Recommended tapes? Warrior Wellness by Coach Sonnon should get you moving and address most of the problem areas you mentioned, and includes demos of the 4-corner balance drills (which helped me heal from a meniscus injury that had created gastroc problems).

WW comes (or used to) in a 4-tape series, each one w/ progressively more ROM. (The 4th tape is a long session, whereas the others take about 15-20 min to do -- or less once you know what you're doing). You could start with the beginners tape & extend ROM as you progress or get the "advanced" tape and simply limit the ROM, etc., to what's comfortable.

WW is a distillation of many of the "standing" movements in the Z-Health encyclopedia, which is excellent but takes longer to get through. The Z-Health will do a lot for hips, pelvis, etc, esp the floor movements.

Ken

[James Boelter]

Lior, you are going to hate this, but at least part of the problem is going to be found in your sitting posture itself. If you are being forced to sit (I assume at a desk) for long periods of time, you must cultivate the good sitting habits in a mindful way. 30-50 minutes of corrective exercises a day is only the start - you need to bring the alertness, lightness, and sensitivity from those exercises to the desk and reassert them every few minutes, at least until they become habitual.

One thing you CAN do...Coach Sonnon's 'Be Breathed' videotape (and Steve Barnes' new '5 Minute Miracle', which is based on it) explicitly addresses the way you can practice 'perpetual exercise' even at your desk and in your car, and is worth checking out. I wrote a little article about my application of it to a long road trip, and how I ended up almost as fresh after 10-11 hours of driving as when I started. (It's in an archived issue, either #3 or #4, entitled 'Be Breathed On the Road").

Good luck, and stay with it!

[lior]

Thanks for the answers guys.
I'll try to shed some more light on my status.



>for about a month, Ive limited myseld to stretching and mobility, first
>lightly, and now Im more into it and started to incorporate core work.

In particular, what are you doing?
PNF, relaxed stretching and mobility (light).
basickly 15-75 minutes everyday, except days my back feels real bad.



> what methods before, during or after work should I utilise to properly >negate the the sitting effect and supplement my rehab?

What specifically do you feel needs to be addressed?

When I finish my day's work I feal my lower back, hamstring, gastroc,tibialis and piriformis tightening up and hip flexors/gluteus medialis not only tightening but spasming up on me. I feal restricted, ROM-impaired, almost crippled. upper body gets the usual desk job syndrom is much less severe compaired to my lower body and I think this is because I allready have a negative feedback loop started in my lower body because of prior abuse/disuse.




In the end, it depends. You'll have to provide more details all around. Your type of work, injury details, things you're doing, your intended goals, etc. Even then, you should discuss things with your health care provider/s first.


first of all, my health care provider sucks and is incompetent. I have an apointment set with another doctor this week, maybe he'l diagnose me better. its hard to diagnose yourself.
type of work - software team leader and studying to be a personal trainer as a part time hobby.
injury detail - disuse - doing flexed hip movement patterns like deadlift object lifting and squats with lower back rounded due to poor flexibility. training with strength and rom imbalances between right and left side.
shortened hip flexors and exagurated lumbar curve (pelvic tilt) due to history as an inactive child/adolescent.
I actualy stopped training with weights two weeks before I stated feeling realy awfull, I guess it was too late and the new job only made it worse.

Im pretty sure that Ill get out of this and despite all this will have the fuctional, pain free body I want and need to serve my goals

my intended goals:
ROM that will enable my errectors to protect my back, allow me to sit properly and perform everyday tasks.
freedom of back and hip pain.
mobility and gradualy returning to strength training (I was about to join an olympic weightlifting team).
, as I found out I had potential in that sport)
about the products recommended - can you expand please? which is best for me?

thanks

Lior.

[Scott Sonnon]

Lior,

Considering I've encountered virtually the same problems due to extensive airline travel overseas (as well as domestic), and long bouts of reading, I used Warrior Wellness and Be Breathed to release the stored tension chains in me. Both are necessary for me (if you read my training log, you'll understand why.) The former addresses the entirety of the chains, and the latter goes deeply into discharging any localized tension.

[bob_stra]

Lior wrote -

> PNF, relaxed stretching and mobility (light).

PNF on what and where? How long? How many reps?

What mobility exercises?

How did you come up with your program? From a book, or was it prescribed to you?

More importantly, what is the origin of the injury etc? IIRC, your intro mentions you were in the military? Is your injury due to trauma (accident, fall, carrying heavy loads etc?). Or do you feel it was more down to the imbalances you mention below?

>When I finish my day's work I feal my lower back, hamstring,
>gastroc,tibialis and piriformis tightening up and hip flexors/gluteus
>medialis not only tightening but spasming up on me.

To get to the core of this would take more posts than I have the luxury for right now. For that I apologize. Hopefully this previous thread will give you some inspiration & ideas as to how to tackle things-

http://tinyurl.com/y421

I suspect you may have a pattern of use that is aggravating the situation.

Let me simplify. Do you get this kind of tightness in other situations? Laying in bed? Walking? Swimming?

Do you get this kind of tightness in other sitting positions? Sitting at the cinema, sitting at the dinner table?

That is the first place to begin exploring. Your environment and how you physically relate to it.

Regardless, if sitting is the problem, the quick fix / band aid option is to change the sitting environment. Alter the relative height of chair : desk. Change type of desk. Change type of chair. Use external supports like lumbar rolls and braces. OH&S (occupational health and safety) should be able to help you travel that route.

(I'm not poo pooing that by any means. However, the solution doesn't really fix the problem, merely displaces it)

The longer route has you exploring and developing your body awareness and movement so as to sit effectively in any situation. Definitely NOT a quick fix.

Have you read the article on motor sensory amnesia?

http://www.somatics.com/s-m-a.htm

The folks here can give you many good pointers, but be warned, half cultivation leads to ruin.

> first of all, my health care provider sucks and is incompetent. I have
>an apointment set with another doctor this week, maybe he'l diagnose >me better. its hard to diagnose yourself.

I hope you have better luck with the second guy! ;-)

I don't know where you are in the world, but the over here, physical medicine is not the strong suite of MD's. Better off seeing a physical therapist, chiropractor, osteopath, physiatrist etc.

Re: What Products. Folks here seem to be of the opinion that the Warrior Wellness series are more..."concrete" and easier to understand for the beginner. I've not seen them myself so can't comment. The zdorovye tapes are good, but you will need to invest your mind into how best to program a routine. An example can be seen here -

http://www.zdorovye.com/zdorovye/products/seasonal.html


However, I'm certain, if you asked "hey, what stuff can I use from zdorovye to address lower back discomfort", there would be several replies.

Take your pick - either / or, depending on your budget and personality. All of this stuff has multiple view points and applications.

Sorry I can't be more helpful at the moment. For what its worth, you've done well so far figuring out what / where things are happening for you. Dig into the depth of the posts & links here and you may yet find what you're looking for.

[lior]

Thanks all for the comments.
I went shopping for the recommended videos and also saw "Movement Health TRILOGY"

if someone can expand on that one because I didnt seem to find a description

thanks

Lior.

[lior]

OK. I just ordered Warrior wellness and Be breathed.
I wonder if I'll need that movement rehab tape later.

also, I have another question - I have a gym pass for a gym with a pool - are there any benefits in swimming ot other movements to enhance/regain spine and hip mobility/proprioception? if so, what exactly should I do?

thanks

Lior.

[Scott Sonnon]

Lior, you won't need the Movement Health tapes with your Warrior Wellness and Be Breathed courses.

Remember that any exercise, unless exploring the release of residual muscular tension and awakening of sensory motor amnesia reinforces the problem (the kinetic chain of tension). After you first reclaim a degree of bodily awareness, you'll be able to transform *virtually* any activity into dynamic relaxation. Your life becomes Body-Flow from the moment you begin moving until the moment you stop.

Follow Warrior Wellness and Be Breathed for 3 weeks every day smoothly and slowly and report back with your progress.