Relieve Low Back Pain | Reduce Low Back Pain | Canada's Leading Authority in Human Movement | Dev Chengkalath

As you have the power of choice.

Be the change you want to see

I was sent the following clip by my good buddy Shawn D, legal eagle and overall good guy. 

Although it may not have anything to do with physical therapy or relieving low back pain, I think we can all learn some important lessons about the choices we make and how we have the power to choose our future.

So please take the next minute and forty-four seconds to check out this pretty cool video.

Dev Chengkalath

“O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head.”

Thomas Hood, Miss Kilmansegg – Her Dream

 

Truer words were never spoken. 

How many times have you crawled into bed thinking that this was your escape from the wear and tear, the hustle and bustle, the rigours of your never-ending day?

How many times have you risen in the morning only to feel the exact same way you did when you laid your weary head down onto your pillow?

Foggy. Un-refreshed. Exhausted.

How about those times when you’ve gone to bed feeling great, but then wake up the next morning all stiff, sore and achy?

Sleep should be your salvation from pain. Your bed, your sanctuary. 

If you suffer through the night, your mattress may be the problem.

In fact, it could be one of those hidden causes of your low back pain. Or at the very least, it could be exacerbating your current problems. 

As a physical therapist who works at relieving low back pain, I see this all the time. 

why can't everyone sleep like her?

I have clients who come in and tell me about their 10-15 year old mattresses, or that they sleep on the same side all the time, in the same “groove” that they’ve worn in. 

Based on my experiences, this is the one piece of furniture that everyone should invest in.

Think about it. 

When’s the last time you flipped your mattress?

When’s the last time you rotated your mattress?

Heck, when’s the last time you bought a new mattress?

Seriously, think about the number of hours you spend sleeping in your life. 

Shouldn’t those hours be spent in comfort? Shouldn’t those hours be spent actually restoring your body? Shouldn’t those hours be spent sleeping instead of tossing and turning?

If you only do one thing (after fixing your posture), it should be investing in a solid bed. 

To your sleep-full nights.

Dev Chengkalath

 

 

 

In my clinical practice as a physical therapist, I’ve come across some complicated backs. Very complicated. 

Some a few days or weeks young. Some a few months young. Some a few years young. Some with twenty, thirty, forty or more year histories. Those ones, not so young!

The other day, I had a few minutes between clients so I was discussing how to relieve low back pain with a colleague. In those brief moments, we ended up chatting about all the different ways out there to help resolve this fairly significant issue. 

We concluded, after debating back and forth a bit, that with all the advances in science and technology, the best outcomes to relieve low back pain still came down to two things:

Education. And Movement. 

So where am I going with all this?

Well my friends, with both young and old low back pain, the solution is still the same. If you just developed the problem, or if you’ve had it for years, you need to:

Educate Yourself. And Move Correctly. 

So to let you in on one of the most simple, yet effective movement strategies I use to help my clients relieve their low back pain here’s the hip hinge. 

As a throwback to the 1920’s this one is almost a silent film. For those of you needing further clarification, the clip description will elaborate a bit more. As always, feel free to comment or email me with your queries.

To your clean hinging. 

Dev Chengkalath

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

Lance Armstrong

Pain is an interesting phenomena.

No two people will feel it the same way. No two people will have the same experience. No two people will respond to it the same way.

It is as unique to you as your fingerprints are.

In my practice as a human movement specialist and physical therapist at SHAPE Toronto, I am privileged to be given an inside look at how people deal with pain.

At times, this pain is acute with known cause, a fall, a trauma, or a sporting injury perhaps. And oftentimes, this pain is chronic, of “unknown” origin and having outlived the doctor’s pill prescriptions, become an accepted part of my client’s daily life.

which pill?

About 8 out of every 10 clients I see come in with low back pain, have had an episode of low back pain or have decided that they’ll have to live with their low back pain.

THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

You don’t have to suffer for the rest of your life. You don’t have to give up golfing. You don’t have to stop playing with your kids, nieces or nephews. You don’t have to resign yourself to a lifetime of discomfort and disability.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SPEND YOUR BEST YEARS ON YOUR BACK IN BED!

But, it will come down to what you believe.

If you believe you will be in pain forever, you most likely will.

If you believe you won’t be able to relieve your low back pain, you probably won’t.

If you believe you will get better, you will.

If you believe you won’t let this stop you from living the life you want, the life you deserve, it won’t.

Times have changed. Knowledge has improved. The stakes are a lot higher now.

Why is belief so powerful? How can these simple thoughts become such powerfully allies in your quest for that pain free life?

Well, my friends, thoughts by themselves will accomplish nothing.

It’s when these thoughts become actions, behaviours and habits that the magic happens.

Not only for low back pain, but for every aspect of your life.

Send me your comments or experiences with pain.

Let me know what you think.

Believing in you.

Dev Chengkalath

I’ve been in the health and fitness business as a physical therapist and human movement specialist long enough to have learned an important lesson.

Health doesn’t sell.

On one hand, everyone cares about it. But on the other hand, it’s just not sexy enough.

You don’t see major corporations touting health as a major benefit of their products, unless their product is inherently unhealthy and they want you to think otherwise.  

So if health isn’t what everyone is after, what’s the holy grail? What’s everybody looking for?

Jamie Eason

Looking good naked.

Can you deny that?

I know I can’t.

Can you honestly say that with every grueling workout you push through, you don’t think of the benefits to your physique before you think of the benefits to your health?

I know I can’t.

And that is the fallacy of exercising solely for health. 

Keep on moving to look good naked.

Dev Chengkalath.