Core Muscle Stability and Back Pain

Back pain can be a mysterious complaint, and for some seems to come “out of nowhere” – leaving us scratching our heads at this mysterious development in our health. As a massage therapist for 9 years, I can testify to the fact that back pain is one of the most common and debilitating conditions afflicting humankind, and idiopathic back pain (meaning no discernable cause) is seldom a result of just one factor.
Now that I’m a “little” older, it has come to my attention that the body I remember having when I was a youngster of 25 was a lot firmer and stronger than the body I’m inhabiting now. What I’m trying to say, in a roundabout way, is that our bodies change over time. Life happens, we get married (or not), have children (or not) and often because we feel good, we don’t recognize that our bodies lose strength. Many of us sit at desks all day, and we forget that our bodies are designed to move, not be stationary in one position for any length of time. We take for granted that we will always be as strong and fit as we remember, and that’s just not the case. This sedentary lifestyle can happen easily, and before we know it we have a niggling little pain in our back that can quickly take a turn for the worse if left untreated.
One of the most common reasons for back pain is weakness in the transversus abdominus, the most famous of the “core” muscles. The transversus abdominus is also known in therapeutic occupations as the TA, and is responsible for acting like a support for the trunk of the body and for “containing” the internal organs. It attaches at the back on the spine of your low back, and like a weight belt or girdle, wraps around your body and attaches to the linea alba, a fibrous band that runs from the xiphoid process of your sternum to your pubic bone.
How does this muscle get weak? Lack of movement/exercise and injury are 2 common reasons, and for our purposes today, we’ll focus on how exercise can strengthen this important muscle and help relieve back pain.
It is very important to learn how to consciously engage this muscle – that is, to contract the muscle at will. The issue here is that many people are not very body-aware, and to learn this can take some time. Often people who are very weak through here may have never been very strong, and will have to take their time. Rome, after all, was not built in one day.
How can the transversus abdominus be strengthened? I do recommend starting slowly, challenging the muscles gently by sitting on a balance ball, which is much harder than it looks. When we are seated on an unstable surface, our small “intrinsic” muscles of the spine as well as the TA must continually contract, relax and adjust to keep us upright.

Sitting properly on the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair

The important thing to remember is that your feel should be flat on the floor, your thighs should be a 90 degree angle to the trunk, and the knees should also be bent at 90 degrees. Any more of an angle and the ball is too low, any less of an angle the ball is too high. (see picture to the right of a Gaiam Balance Ball Chair). This deceptively simple exercise can be very tiring, but works wonders to strengthen the core and relieve low back pain. Personally, having had a serious back injury myself, I don’t recommend doing adbominal crunches, and certainly not on a stability or balance ball, until you have regained strength and conscious control of the transversus abdominus. Crunches also primarily exercise the rectus abdominus, which run vertically from the pubic bone to the sternum (on both sides of the linea alba). Have you ever seen a person walking, looking like he or she has the bum tucked under their body? Strengthening the rectus abdominus to the exclusion of the other muscles of the body causes this tucking, and takes the natural lordotic curve out of the low back.
What I would suggest is that the transversus abdominus be challenged gently and frequently.
How, you wonder, can I do this at work all day?

Gaiam Balance Ball Chair

Well, it is very common to see people at their desks sitting on balance balls, and I have even performed therapeutic massage while sitting on one. The drawback to this is that it’s hard to move around – for example, from your computer to the printer a few feet away. (for me, it was moving from a clients head to his or her arm or side) You can get the same benefit of sitting on a balance ball with much more versatility if you invest in a Balance Ball Chair. This “chair” is basically a removable balance ball sitting on a frame with lockable castor wheels. It also has a back on it and comes with an air pump and an exercise guide. This works because you are still sitting on a squishy, moving surface, and any shift in your weight will cause muscles to activate to maintain your upright position. At the end of the day, you can take the ball off of the frame or setting and do more exercises.
Stay tuned for many more posts on back pain

Crunch Time

Back again. Tried the Gaiam Ab-Ball Workout this morning, after a 40 minute dreadmill run. Gaiam, if you check out this link, is a pretty progressive firm, with a wide array of products.. Yoga, Pilates, green home furnishing and stuff. Nice. The picture on their website is of an attractive woman in "mid workout" pose. What is she thinking???? Hummm.

Okay, that works for me, but of course the makers of these fine products appeal to women as well.. so.... thats where Jonathan Roche comes in.

I have to give those Gaiam people some props. They are pretty sneaky, having attractive young people plug their products. Jonathan does the whole workout in the "my shirt is off and check out my 6 pack" attitude. He's done 9 Ironman distance races, and 10 straight Boston Marathons.....and he has white teeth. Even though I loathe him, I will plug his training site. Aren't I a good man??????

He has a beginners and an advanced workout. Each is about 12-15 minutes. I did the beginners today because my abs are not of six pack caliber. More like a keg. It was a good workout. Could do it twice and get a good result. Having done many of my Brides Pilates classes, I felt prepared and not out of my league. However, the Ab-ball is a great way to change things up.

Speaking of my Bride. She completed training for a Group Power workout through Body Training Systems and will be starting that discipline along with teaching Pilates classes at a new studio in Willoughby. I will keep you posted. Where would I be without this woman???? In a gutter.

Gaiam Balance Ball Chair

• Created by leading health and fitness experts to improve your back health
• Employs the same balance ball used in your workout routine
• Helps to build a healthier back, relieve pain, and improve your overall well being
• Includes removable 52cm Balance Ball, an adjustable support bar, easy-glide casters, an air pump
• Designed for users 5′ to 5′11″ tall; 300-pound weight capacity

Product Description
The innovative BalanceBall Chair lets you reap the benefits of the popular BalanceBall right at your workspace. This patented design lets you do tension-relieving techniques while seated in the chair – or simply remove the ball to stretch and strengthen key muscles without a trip to the gym. Relieves stress on the spine, helps prevent back discomfort and repetitive motion disorders, helps prevent health issues related to poor posture, illustrates non-impact strengthening exercises and stretching and keeps you active, even on busy work days. When you sit in the BalanceBall Chair, the ball acts as a shock absorber and eases your body into an ergonomic position. When your muscles become stiff or whenever you want a break, the exercises in this guide will help you relax, build strength and foster a wide range of health benefits. Exercises performed with the BalanceBall in the chair offer maximum support, stability and convenience. Exercises performed on the ball alone allow greater range of movement. The BalanceBall Chair was developed with Dr. Randy Weinzoff a pioneer in chiropractic care. Trained at the acclaimed Palmer West University in California, Dr. Weinzoff runs his successful practice in Santa Monica, CA based on his philosophy of “Vitality through total alignment of the whole being.” Some assembly required.Amazon.com Product Description
The Gaiam Balance Ball Chair, developed under the consultation of a chiropractic pioneer Dr. Randy Weinzoff, greatly alleviates the aching back/legs/arms syndrome that comes from working at a desk for hours. Designed for people between 5-feet and 5-feet 11-inches tall, this unique “chair” employs the same balance ball used in your workout routine, but with it you also get an adjustable support bar, easy-glide casters, an air pump, and a desktop guide to help keep you moving. Designed by leading health and fitness experts, Gaiam back-care solutions build a healthier back, relieve pain, and improve your overall well being.

The Balance Ball Chair is an effective tool for strengthening core muscles and improving spinal alignment.

The height of the back of the chair is 2.5 feet tall, and the base measures 20 inches wide from one side of the wheels to the other. The chair comes with 2 locking casters and 2 regular ones. The locking casters go on the back of the chair. Some assembly is required. The chair measures 21 x 31 x 22 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 13 pounds. It has a 300-pound weight capacity.
About Gaiam
Gaiam was created as a lifestyle company with the vision that, given a choice, people would choose a lifestyle that is healthy and life enhancing, for themselves, their families and the Earth. The Gaiam lifestyle is a vote for individual health as well as the future sustainability of the Earth’s resources. Gaiam strives to provide customers with alternatives to traditional products by offering natural, eco-friendly or healthy versions that compare with the style, quality and price of conventional products.

Gaiam’s goal is to become the trusted source and unifying brand for Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) participants. They understand that the opportunity to affect people’s lives with information and products is both a privilege and a responsibility. Gaiam believes in the concept of Conscious Commerce, the practice of making purchasing decisions based on personal values and beliefs. It takes into consideration all the aspects of our lives and the impact we have upon the planet. Research indicates this concept appeals to approximately 50 million people in the U.S. alone. Gaiam’s strategy in delivering the distinctive quality for which they are known is to partner with experts in health/wellness, eco-living and personal development to develop proprietary products that meet our customers’ needs with meaningful solutions.
The name GAIAM is a fusion of the words Gaia (the name of Mother Earth from the Minoan civilization in ancient Crete), and I am reminds us that we are all interconnected with the Earth, the air and water, and very much a part of this living system that sustains us all.

What’s in the Box?
Gaiam Balance Ball chair, air pump

Special Note:
A new ball will not be able to inflate to its full capacity initially. After a few hours, the ball will be more pliable and you can add more air at that time.

Gaiam Balance Ball Chair

Most of us around the world lead a sedentary lifestyle in the present times. A lot of time is spent on surfing the web or watching television for leisure. We use much time on the chair even when we are working. Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is a product which can help you improve your health.

With such habits, it is not surprising that many of us suffer from bad posture and persistent back pain. It is possible to take advice from a health supplier like the chiropractor or you also have the option of managing things yourself finding out more on fitness products like a Gaiam Balance Ball Chair.

Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is a very innovative invention which offers to assist in improving your posture as well as relieving you of shoulder, back and neck pain. It was initially noticed by people on the show "Good Morning America," which has led to a surge in sales since then. Let us find out if it really works.

Now the fundamentals as Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is chair which makes use of a balance ball rather than a normal seat. It will look different in the office surroundings.

Gaiam Balance Ball Chair has been designed by the well known chiropractor Dr. Randy Weinzoff. The design of Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is simple and is based on the concept that when a person is made to balance himself on a sphere-shaped object, like a ball, it aids in aligning the spine and also makes the main muscles of the body strong. This leads to an improved posture and a reduction in back pain.

Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is available with a bar which supports, but the manual for owners recommends not placing a lot of weight on the support at the back and it has only been added mainly to provide more stability.

Gaiam Balance Ball Chair also comes with ‘Easy-glide’ wheels which lets you makeover it over the carpets as well as any different surfaces. You can lock two casters.

The ball in a Gaiam Balance Ball Chair can be compared to any exercise ball object and it has been designed in non-burst vinyl. It is possible to remove the ball from the base of seat and do any kind of exercises. It may deflate with time and you can get back the firmness with the air pump which is included.

You get an Exercise Guide for a Desktop with the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair and this manual gives has details on the stretches which can be performed when you are seated, or even when you use the balance ball separately.

There have been a lot of positive reviews of the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair by the users. It has been remarked by them that the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is very promising and is good for removing pains and aches in the shoulders, back and neck. You just have to get used to using a Gaiam Balance Ball Chair.

The height of the chair has some negative reviews as it could be tough at time to adjust the height of the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair for your fit. Some consumers would prefer to have arm rests.

In totality, if you have chronic aches and pain and spend much time on a desk then Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is one of the best options which you can consider.