Dizzy? How is your ankle mobility?

Last week I didn't feel so hot. Whenever I turned my head left I got dizzy and I'd feel sick to my stomach. The day before my workout consisted of heavy Turkish Get Ups, Windmills and single arm kettle bell swings.  I noted that my neck felt a bit tight, but I didn't really associate the dizziness with lifting and just thought I didn't feel well. It didn't make for a very good day of trying to make others feel better. All I wanted to do was sleep. 😪😪

The next day my husband gently nudged me out the door to go for a walk, thinking the fresh air would help. As I started on my walk I noticed my upper and lower back felt stiff. I noticed I wasn't really rotating my trunk to the right as I stepped, which in turn limited my neck rotation to the left. I started to work my way down the body chain to my feet and could feel that my right foot wasn't moving very much and my big toe felt jammed. Suddenly it dawned on my that the lack rotation in my foot was connected with a lack of rotation in my hips, my trunk and my neck. 

In putting my attention to how I was walking, I could actually feel how the foot bone was connected to the head bone. This is just one example of how foot mobility can influence core stability and why I encourage working up to barefoot training. Increasing the time out of your shoes can help you be more aware of just how your whole body is moving. It needs to happen gradually, though, so that you don't over stress the tissues that have been stuffed into your shoes. 

                                                         Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash

There are multiple exercises to condition your feet. The book What The Foot? by Gary Ward is a great starting point to learn more about connecting your feet and creating mobility.

As I walked, I started putting my focus on improving my rotation. If I took a bigger step with my left foot and pushed off more with my right foot, my toe hurt more. So I decided to start from the trunk down. With each step of my right foot I encouraged more rotation to the right. This helped minimally, so I switched it up and over exaggerated rotation to the left. I looked a bit like John Travolta  in Saturday Night Fever but I just didn't care.  By the time I was 1/2 way through my walk, my back pain went away, my foot felt less stiff and the best part...no more dizziness.

Sometimes when we don't feel good we do need to lay low and rest, and sometimes the nudge out the door to get some fresh air is what we need. Whenever you can, tune into how your body is moving. Everything is connected. When one movement feels stuck, try the other way. If starting at the point of stiffness doesn't feel right, perhaps pick the opposite.

Many times our ailments can be resolved by actually listening to our body and getting a feel for what is missing. If you try something and it doesn't work, check in with your movement professional and fine tune where the stuck is. This can be the very thing you need to get back to your favorite activities, like putting up your feet and listening to the crashing waves of the ocean.

                                           Photo by pan xiaozhen on Unsplash

To gym or not to gym..that is the question

I was asked today whether I thought a patient should join a gym. My thoughts are fluid and ever changing on this topic. He specifically asked me if joining a gym would make him worse or better. My answer was, as always, "it depends".

I would generally describe myself as a gym rat, but lately I think maybe we don't NEED to be at a gym to get strong. I think moving your body through all planes of motion on a regular basis is important to your health. I also think having the ability to pick up heavy things is important in life. Have you ever carried a 5 gallon Poland Springs bottle upstairs? Even just a gallon can be work. If you don't have the physical strength to do that, you do need to do some focused strength and mobility work. Does this mean you have to sit in the gym to do it?

I work with people who sit, drive and do minimal activity thru the day. If this is you, the gym may be a good place to help you to get some mobility in your life. It also can be detrimental if you jump into it too fast or get sloppy with your technique. Working with a good personal trainer can help you to stay injury free. Working with someone who's motto is to get you to puke, pee your pants, or faint is not going to help you stay injury free--in my opinion.

I also work with people who are active moving wood, hiking, climbing multiple flights of stairs, get up and down from the floor while keeping up with their kids. It's possible that adding a gym workout may be too much and overkill. Or it may give them a way to build the mobility and stability they need to keep going with those things as they get older. Resistance training and impact activities are known to prevent things like falls and osteoporosis.

Gyms offer a wide variety of equipment and they may be more cost effective in the long run so you don't have to buy everything. Of course, you can get just a few kettle bells, bands and a yoga mat and you can create your own 'gym' at home with plenty of variety to be able to target all aspects of fitness.

This particular person had knee replacements years ago and he felt like his knees were getting loose. When we check his mobility, he had lost some knee flexion that he had post-operatively. He thought going to the gym just to ride a stationary bike would be the fix since that's what he did just after the surgery. Unfortunately, what was needed at the time, may not be the exact answer now. I do think cycling is good to keep some motion in the knees, but it doesn't allow for end ranges of motion nor is it addressing the feeling of looseness.

Since I enjoy working out in a gym setting, I will usually recommend gym workouts. For all of us I think fitness and mobility wellness is dependent on a variety of factors. We need some cardiovascular, some strength, and some stretching. If we over focus on one area, the other areas lack. I am learning more each day the beauty of finding balance in life. I struggle with it myself, but I do think that is the key to happy, healthy, pain free living. This includes balancing our workouts. If you can find ways to include resistance, mobility, agility and heart pumping activities in your daily life without the gym then go for it. If you need the gym for motivation, equipment, or instruction then go for it.

The answer, in my opinion, is to move well and to move often...the rest is up to you.

Why your mother always tells you to stand up straight

Posture matters.

The best posture is the one you can move in and out of freely without pain.

 At rest, we aim to keep our chin level, with the back of the neck elongated; shoulders stacked over your hips and ankles, and relaxed down; hips are even; knees straight but not hyper-extended; and 3 points of contact on your feet (first toe, 5th toe and heel sharing equal load). When we do things like walk or run, our posture should be dynamic and moving through the 3 planes of motions.

Unfortunately, because we are creatures of habit, we get 'stuck' in postures that not so awesome.

Slouched: shoulders rolled forward, neck jutting out

Hyper-lordotic: over extending at lower back

This leads to muscles not in good alignment and when we move out of that posture we risk injury.

I frequently see people in the gym who are so focused on increasing their weight for an exercise that they compromise their form. Yesterday I saw a woman killing it on the pec deck as far as weight goes, but her neck and head was down, and her shoulders were totally rolled forward like this

Chest fly castastrophe waiting to happen

What I see when I look at this is either a Rotator Cuff or Neck injury just waiting to happen.

 To decrease your risk of injury, work toward keeping your alignment when you lift. This is what I like to see when you're lifting.

A simple exercise to create better postural awareness is weight shifting on a physioball. This is a good way to change your position through the day and can help you on your journey toward better posture. 

As with any of my posts, please leave a comment or send me an email (which you can find on my websiteif you have any questions or thoughts.  :)

90 90 breathing