Don't do ab coaster exercises or leg raises!

 If u see these ab coaster things in a fitness store, online or at a gym where they're more commercial, don't go for it, they're a waste of $ and time. Unless your goal is to work your hip flexor muscles that cross your hip joints & connecting to your vertebrae, you don't need it. You think it's working ur abs but not for very long. Your hip flexor muscles cross your hip joints, the one major group is the (iliopsoas), the iliacus sits on the iliac fossa of the pelvis, and the psoas major attaches to the lumbar vertebrae. The muscle group helps you bring your knees up or sit your whole body up. These are as stupid as doing hip/leg raises on the floor or on knee raise machine that you rest your elbows on.. If u study what the muscle actions are & their attachments, then you'll understand how exercises work. It's Kinetics..

  

DON'T DO SIT UPS, they're ineffective, read my post on why!

The military, the gym classes in schools and still athletes and others are still doing sit ups anywhere, WHY? It's because nobody is educated enough or has the common sense knowledge about the muscles involved or not being involved. People think it's doing something for them, they think it's an ab work out when it's not!! 

I provide a picture here that shows the iliopsoas (iliacus and psoas major), these are the muscles more involved in sit ups. The iliopsoas muscles help you sit up in a chair for posture and also initiate hip flexion. The abs aren't isolated, they maybe pulled on a little bit but ideally the iliopsoas is sitting you up! Look at the picture and you'll see the attachments for iliopsaos. You'll also see the different in the rectus abdominis.  

The iliacus orginates on the iliac fossa as in the picture and the psoas major orginates off the transverse processes and bodies of the lumbar vertebrae, and both insert on the lesser trochanter, where that iliopsoas tendon comes down to in the picture. The last arrow on the left. 

 

In this picture of the rectus abdominis you can see why it wouldn't be involved in sit ups, they don't help you sit up. The rectus abdominis helps compress your abdominal contents, helps for deification, trunk flexion and inhalation. The rectus abdominis orginates on the pubis and inserts onto the xiphoid process and 5-7 ribs via the cartilages. You'll feel the abs pull but it's the iliopsoas helping you sit up, feel for these muscles.

 

Flexibilty/stretching including sciatic pain relief

Flexibility is so important for injury prevention and to help your posture. It helps relieve or prevent back pain, hip pain, leg pain, etc, Muscle tightness and muscle knots can occur, because of bad habits, bad posture.

Stretches/flexibility (Hold stretches for at least 30 sec)

           Stretching will help you prevent injury and it also helps relieve back pain. Back pain comes from tight glutes, tight lat muscles, and from having an anterior pelvic tilt (bent forward with butt sticking out) or a posterior tilt (pelvis shifted forward where the hamstrings and butt are tight). Your knees can also buckle in or supinate outward. 

          Neck & traps stretches. You can also ankle your head down to the right Ur left at an angle to stretch the levator scapula. 

(Piriformis stretch), on your own without somebody twisting your leg for you. Stretching this muscle can relieve sciatic nerve pain or piriformis syndrome. All three pictures below

     

     

Chair stretch. Push down on your knee and lean forward on the chair or do the one on the floor 

  

(Buttocks)

Pull on the knee more

(Hamstrings) 

   

   

You can use an athletic band also, get assistance or use a wall for better support 

      

(Quads) careful not to pull on the foot unless it's flexible

    

(Hip flexors and quads) 

Only do these if you can handle them. You can touch your knee on the floor with this type of lunge stretch. Point your toes forward, step ahead so you get more of a stretch, keep the knee behind toes.

       

(Adductors) 

Using the stairs or bench or ply-metric box, etc, to raise one foot/leg up, will provide you a quick stretch vs the side lung using the floor. The higher you step up, the more rang you get. (This is me (Adam) by the way) 

Don't push on your knees such as this below. Keep feet lined up. 

(Glutes) 

Good back twister 

    

(Back) 

  

(Calves) 

    Extend the leg for the gastrocnemius, and bend the knee in for the soleus muscle stretch

  

Lean in on your stretch to feel it more 

     

Here are 100% wrong stretches to do in this picture from my NASM book. A hurdle stretch places great strain on the tibial collateral ligament, which is on the inside of the knee. The plow stretch places much stress on your neck and spine obviously, the shoulder stand places strain on the neck, shoulders and spine, the straight-leg toe touch places high stress on the vertebrae, cartilage or possibly ligaments, and arching your quads will place high stress on the knee caps and surrounding tissues. People with a history of any back injury, weak ligaments or degenerative cartilage, or any body problem besides healthy people should all avoid these. 

Running injuries/pain, knee or hip pain or feet.

As a runner I know what it's like to have some leg strains, that's mostly what I've had, but the only thing I've sprained was my right ankle though. In this post here are big tips that'll help you runners out there, middle school, high school or up through college, or if your just a avid runner on your own. 

Patellafemural syndrome: dislocated or displaced patella. Pain/inflammation around and in the kee joint possibly. Due to one side of the quad muscles being developed over the other, or all the quads being weak. Just depends which side the patella shifts to, that will determine what side is weaker. It'll be the opposite side of where the knee shifts to.

                   Casues: running on an eneven surface or puttin too much stress on the knee and quad muscles. Stress during running and/or exercising.

                    Treatments/prevention: avoid activity until it feels better, ice if neccessary, run on an even surface. Strengthen all of your quad muscles, get a massage or use a self-myofascial release roller, to break up knots and soreness.


Patella tendinitis/tendinosis: this pain occurs down below the knee where you can feel your tibial tuberosity or a bump. One of the knee tendons below the knee flairs up and it's called Os-good slotters in runners. That bone is where the quad muscle tendons also attach to. Tendinosis is without the swelling of course.

                 Causes: too much stress on the knees and running in the same direction. Running on a hard surface and wearing bad shoes as always.

                  Treatments/prevention: ice, get new shoes, don't run in the same direction, reduce the stress on your knees and pick a better surface to run on. Get a massage around the knee area as well..

Foot pain, planter fasciitis: muscle pain underneath the arch, the mid foot area, but mostly the heel. If there's no swelling, it's tendonosis then. 

           

              Causes: running/walking on the balls of your feet with your heels raised up a lot (plantar flexion). Being on your feet a lot and possibly pronation of the feet and a high body mass index such as 25 - 29.99 (overweight), 30 - 34.99 (obese 1), 35 - 39.99 (obese 2), and 40 being obese 3 (the heaviest). 

                Treatments/prevention: take a waterbottle and freeze it in a whole day or over night. Then you can roll your injured foot on it for 15-20 min at a time. Stretch your calves. Try to avoid pain meds, but take only if needed. It'll eventually heal if you keep working with it. To prevent planter fasciitis, don't walk or run on your toes so much. Sprinters will only run for a moment on their toes like I did. Stretch the calves and strengthen your dorsiflexors (anterior tibialis, extensor hollucis longus & extensor hollucis brevis). Then you'll have normal ankle flexion/extension. Gel inserts orthotics. Better shoes. Get a massage.

Achilles Tendonitis: any pain in the Achilles tendon, the tendon that helps connect your gastrocs and soleus muscles to the calcaneus heel bone. Tendonosis is without the swelling, just pain. 

                 Causes: jumping a lot and improper landing, repeated stress from running or jumping, especially if your heels are raised, (plantar flexion). You have no good dorsiflexion.  Running up stairs and on your heels more. 

                  Treatment/prevention: stretch the calves, ice if you have to. Strengthen your tibialis anterior and extensor hollucis longus & brevis, and walk/run heel to toe properly. Better or new shoes that fit your feet better. Get a massage or use a foam roller.

Medial tibial stress syndrome or shin-splints: pain/inflammation in the front of the shin or behind the tibia bone. Due from the tibialis anterior or posterior tibialis. The tendon behind the bone or in front and alng the shin bone is inflamed. It can be deep pain in the whole front of the leg or just the shin. 

                      Causes: pronation of the feet, flat feet, repeated stress, bad worn out shoes and type of running surface.

                          Treatment/prevention: freeze a cup of ice and use it to ice up n down your shins, orthotics, arch inserts, build up your arches if you have flat feet, strengthen your medial gastocnemius muscles and tibialis anteriors, and then stretch your poroneals, lateral gastrocnemius muscles and soleus muscles. Work out those imbalances. Better or new shoes that fit your feet tighter. Get a massage or use a foam roller. 

IT-Band Syndrome: this can be common in runners, even I had this. It's when you're experiencing inflammation pain up and down the side of your thigh or at the corner of your knee where the it-band connects around it. Or maybe tenderness in your glutes. 

                        Causes: repeated stress, running in the same direction over and over, like on the same leg or too much stress on the thighs. Like if you run and then start doing leg exercises on the same day like did. Bad worn out shoes.

                                Treatment/prevention: newer/better shoes that fit your feet better, get orthotics, use a foam roller on the side of your thigh for the it-band or get a massage there, ice if its swollen, don't run in the same direction all the time.

If you have flat feet, u should still wear arch inserts to build your arches up! Flat feet or probated feet will cause knee pain because it rotates your knees inward.. Wear and tear on the knees will also occur. As well supination your feet outward. Lateral knee pain will occur. 

Injury Prevention, muscle imbalances and bad posture

THE PAIN IN THE BUTT THAT YOU HAVE, AND HOW YOU'RE WASTING MONEY ON CHIROPRACTORS!    Information by Adam.

Besides the thousands of people who are overweight or obese, including children; there's something else to think about: The pain and the bad posture that people have! Everyday, people are suffering and complaining of their back's hurting and getting stiff, or they're complaining about their knees, hips, or neck pain, or any joint that's aching on their bodies. Why? What's causing all of this? I'll tell you in a moment! Also flexibility is important! If your muscles are tight, you lose mobility. Joints are stiff because nothing's lubricated, you'll have more injuries at any age. Bad balance is also a factor. 

Millions of people are always going to their local chiropractor or a chiropractor who maybe a little more distant to them, and they're getting their backs cracked or adjusted, or treated. People think they're getting a good treatment done, but in some cases they're not! Plus not to mention, people have a popped disc or a herniated disc/s in their backs! And chiropractors won't tell you to stretch and correct your posture, which is causing pain in the first place! Whyyyyy the pain?

The answer is, that people are walking around with bad posture due to sitting for long periods of time, repetitive movements, postural stress, injury/trauma, improper exercise techniques or from working and doing tasks improperly. Tight muscles in certain areas, and the weak muscles in the other areas are causing bad posture! And then you'll have improper movement, then muscular and joint pain. Your body will go into the cumulative injury cycle. From trauma to inflammation, to muscle spasms to muscle knots, to altered neuromuscular control and then muscle imbalances again!  So then what do people do? They run to a chiropractor because they're having back pain or hip pain, etc, or they pulled their back. Going to the chiropractor isn't the fix, BUT it's YOU who can fix this problem! You pop or herniate your disks because of your pelvis being lopsided, which provokes scoliosis, an S or a C in your back, either permanently or temporary. People also have muscle knots that need to be worked out. I show a picture on here to show normal tissue & tissue with knots. Knots block blood flow and nutrients. I believe pain can develop from that also. Muscles are starved from oxygen & nutrients carried in the blood. Then muscles can't function, and nor do you have energy. Our brain also feeds off glucose from carbs. to function. 

Change the way you sit, change the way you lift things at work or at home, change the way you walk around. Correct your posture: Keep your head up, keep your back straight most of the time when you sit and walk, keep your feet straight when you walk and start stretching your muscles more often each day!  You got to increase flexibility (range of motion + extensibility) and extensibility (your muscles being able to stretch).

Order one of these chairs from Isokineticsinc.com, and sit on it at your office or ay home, and it'll help your posture and your spine from injuring ever again!
               
     

            

BACK PAIN CAUSES

• The buttocks or gluteus maximus is weak, or your butt is tight & pushing up on your iliac crest. And your latissimis dorsi muscles get mostly tight, so there's a tug-of-war going on. The glutes need massaged & stretched, and possibly the latissus dorsi. Every time you sit down or walk around, everything you do, your butt will weaken from office work. So then other muscles compensate like your hips, your quadratus lumborum or love handle areas, your thighs and even your upper back (lats). 
• Your latissimus dorsi muscles and your butt muscles work together (synergistic-ally), to support your low back, they create strength. But when they're imbalanced, you get back pain. 
• Hip flexors are tight pulling you forward in a bent position. Therefore, hamstrings and butt could be weak. The lats are also a factor in the anterior pelvic tilt with your arms falling forward.
• Long periods of sitting also makes your hamstrings and your hip flexor muscles (in front of your body above the quad muscles) tighter. So when those are tighter, it creates pain. It pulls on your back, and spine.  
• If you have an anterior pelvic tilt, that means your butt pops out, or sticks out in the back, and your back (spine) is curved. This causes back pain and stress because all the muscles in your vertebrae are being flexed. Your hip flexors will get tight and pull you forward into that tilt. Your butt could remain normal though unless it's weak to pull you up, or like in a excess forward lean (bent over), and hamstrings will be weak also because you can't erect yourself up. The gluteus maximus is the most muscle that erects you up or extends your hips as you walk up stairs. That's how you herniate or pop a disc. Chiropractors don't tell you that. When the hip flexors are right it's hard for a person to stand up erect, those front hip flexors need stretched to improve posture! 

• Or you have a posterior pelvic tilt where your butt sinks in, and your hips tilt forward. And your abs are tight in the front. Again, this causes spinal pain and popped discs. The chiropractor won't tell you! 

                                  Normal        Kyphosis     Military stance        Lordosis      Lordosis

HIP AND KNEE PAIN 

• A weak walking gait, like with your feet can cause hip and knee pain. Especially when you run! If your feet turn in, which may cause grinding on the inside of your knees, and a MCL tear. Or your feet turn out, and will cause grinding on the lateral part of the knees and/or tear the LCL. Your knees won't be lined up with the rest of your body. Your body is like a kinetic chain with the muscle-tendon unit, bone-ligament unit, and the stress goes up the legs and through the spine from your feet.  All that causes an increased Q-angle. Nothing's lined up. 
• When your inner thighs are tight, and outter glutes are weak, your knees will buckle inward (knock-kneed). So again, when nothing's lined up, your back will hurt, or your hips/knees. The fact that your knees buckle in, is why you have knee pain! 
• If your knees supinate out, or move outward when you walk, when you run and when you sit down or whatever, that will cause the hip or knee pain.  
• Think of a leverage system, when your gluteus maximus is tight, it makes it harder on the hip flexors in the front of the thighs or other muscles to work, those tight muscles need stretched in order to complete a movement like hip flexion.. Think of trying to flex your elbow when your triceps are tight.. 

Treatments for back pain and hip/knee pain (lower cross syndrome)

Keep in mind for everything you do, there's 33.5 lb of pressure per sq inch, put on your body and neck. So if you lean forward or back, etc. 4 in, then take 33.5 lb x 4 in = 134 lb of pressure on your body. No wonder people have pain!

Stretch your calves and strengthen the shin muscles to help your feet be straighter. Stretch your inner thighs, or in your case, you may have to strengthen your inner-thighs if your knees are supinating outward. Strengthen your buttocks too, to prevent back pain and do lat pulldowns or use toning bands to strengthen the lat muscles of the back. Do bridges, sing your pelvis into the floor or ground. You can do 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps or do isometric holds of 30 sec to 1 min, per set. 

Upper body and neck pain

If your rhomboids and trapezium muscles are weak, and your upper trapezius muscles are tight along with the SCM & other neck flexor muscles, your shoulders will elevate when you lift things. SO your neck muscles and your upper traps will get tight and hurt. So you need to strengthen the back muscles and stretch the neck as it says down below.  Your head could be shifted to the left or right, or rotated. So one group of muscles are tight while the other are lengthened/weakened. One example is the semispinalis muscle originates from the transverse process to spinous process, in the head, it just inserts to the occiput. Therefore, it causes a contra lateral rotation.. So if you can't turn your head to the left, the right semispinalis is tight. If you can't slant your head down to the left, the splenius capitus muscle is one of the muscles that are tight. Depends what side of the neck, so think of the muscles. 

Treatment for neck pain and upper back pain (upper cross syndrome)

Stretch the chest and front of the shoulders. And do rows with dumbbells or toning bands or a cable machine. You can use a fitness ball and lie on it and/or sit on the ball and do your rows and lat pulldowns, etc. You got to train your posterior shoulders and back muscles (rhomboids and middle and lower traps). Stretch your neck muscles by turning your head to one side and the other, and aim it downward and at an angle to stretch the muscles on the left side or the right, which ever ones are tighter.

There are certain muscles to be stretched, while other muscles are worked. If I was training you, I would evaluate you and design a specific regimen for you. I can't tell you everything in here as it's too difficult... 

Wild cold Alaskan Salmon oil capsules help with any joint pain or inflammation in the body. Also look for Arnica pills at the Vitamin Shoppe, GNC or any of your local market stores, Organic stores. There are different kinds to look for. These are strong & will take away the symptoms muscle pain, stiffness & joint pain. Arnica is of the plant, in the Sunflower family.

Experiencing an injury in whichever joint: Elbow, ankle, knee, etc, What to do if you can't afford a doctor

   How many of you have experienced some kind of injury in any part of your body? Well I have, and it has been my ankle mostly with a severe ankle sprain. I have had Itband tendinitis in each of my legs too from running but they healed around the same time as a sprain would typically heal, that is if you kept up with it. A muscle strain or tear is way different than a sprain in your joints. Itband tendinitis is one kind of muscle strain and it happens to be in your legs, on the side. It's a long band that extends from your hip down to your knee and hooks. A strain or a joint sprain is either acute, moderate or sever....1st degree, 2nd degree or 3rd degree.

   Now in terms of a broken joint, such as an ankle or elbow, you'll know if it's broken or not if you'll just realize what your abilities are, how much pain you are in and how much inflammation you may have in that area. An acute break can involve just some pain and instability, a moderate break can involve more pain, instability and some inflammation and a sever break involves lots and lots of pain, no instability what so ever and a ton of inflammation in the area. Lots of pain everyday. The key is to ice, ice and ice to get the blood to slow down so you can see what's going on with the joint so you can make a judgment. You don't need to get an X-ray right away, just don't move the hurt joint at all!! And get the inflammation down first to determine things.Once you have gotten the blood flow to slow down and the area to shrink, then you can feel around the area with your fingers for like holes or pointy spots where a bone could be broken or pierced through your skin. If there's a hole, that means maybe it's an avulsion fracture where the muscle tendon pulls real hard and pulls a chunk of bone with it. Closed bone fractures are when the bone breaks inside the skin and open bone fractures are wen the bone breaks through the skin. A compression fracture happens when two bones collide or compress each other. If you're unsure and it's very painful, I would try to get an X-ray as cheap as you can!
Now a sprain can almost feel the same way. You get the acute, moderate or sever symptoms. Whether you can function a little bit not at all and how much inflammation you have. You do the same thing - just ice, ice and ice, and elevate your foot if it's your foot, if not then still... just let your affected area turn to normal almost again and massage it/exercise it. As long as you keep working it and stretching it, letting it recover in a healthy way it will get strong again, and nothing should happen for a while or ever again, if you pay attention!

I have sprained my right ankle in soccer when I was in middle school. It happened during indoor soccer. Year s later in 2006 during a cross country meet I rolled the same ankle on a root and sprained it. Just after 2 weeks and some treatment I was back to running and I ended up going to Ohio's state tournament for my high school. Then 5 years later again I was running in a park through a hilly trail, I was running and hit a root once again. I messed up my ankle bad. I sprained 2 ligaments severely. Without any X-rays or huge treatments, I healed it myself and rehabbed just because I'm a specialist and I've studied these things. By the second week I was walking and partially running on it. By the 3rd week it was flexible again.