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

So I’m sitting here at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada just preparing myself for one of the most physically challenging events that I undertake about a dozen times a year or so.

Flying.

My travel schedule is typically full of courses and seminars but this time I’m off to sunny Alberta, Canada for a family visits and a wedding.

Five days of Rocky mountains, prairies and family fun time.

The problem is Alberta is a significant distance from Toronto. It’s true. Canada is an expansive piece of landmass.

Which is why I fly.

Therein lies my issue (some of my friends may say that this is just one many that afflict me!)

I hate flying. I really do.

My thoughts exactly

If you’ve been following anything on my blog, you’ll realize that I’m not a big fan of sitting. And flying, especially long distances, typically entails hours upon hours of just that (the same could be said of trains and automobiles as well!).

In fact, I would say that the simple act of sitting is, or has been, one of the fundamental reasons why people have consulted me for physical therapy to relieve their varying and incessant aches and pains, most notably low back pain.

I could go on all the other issues that arise, but I’ll save that for another time.

Let me guess…at this point you’re probably rolling your eyes in disdain at me with my sitting equals doom and gloom decrees.

Well, let me clarify this a bit.

Sitting isn’t so bad in itself.

The problem is that we tend to sit for LONG periods of time.

Without moving. In set positions like the famous slouch. Especially in airplanes with their cramped seats and long delays.

And that, my friends, is the reason I hate flying.

Think of it this way.

How often do you really get a chance to stand up and move around on an airplane? Do you really stretch your legs? How comfortable can you really get? And those tiny bathrooms…don’t even get me started on those.

I’ll be the first to admit…I’m a chronic fidgeter.

And it’s pretty damn hard to fidget when you’re strapped to what could essentially be considered a flying “profit-maximizing” seat.

Now imagine taking a flight that lasts 8-10 hours (thankfully, most of my flights are 5 hours or less). Now imagine doing that 5 or 6 days a week.

What kind of chronic stress and trauma do you think is placed on your body? On your bones, joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles? Or even on your mental state?

For those of you out there who work in offices, sit at desks or drive for long periods…this is what you do to your body. Everyday.

You take that daily airplane ride, without the airplane.

Think about that for a few minutes and ask yourself about the power of your posture.

Yours in fidgeting.

Dev Chengkalath

Well, it’s been over a month since I’ve last posted on this blog.

And if it weren’t for my friend Rumu in Calgary, it would have probably been even longer. Thanks for the kick in the pants.

I realize I was getting  fairly sporadic with my posting.

I had all the excuses.

And I could come up with a million more excuses.

All of them would be fairly valid.

I’ve been working 12 hour days at the clinic doing physical therapy, I’ve been out of town for continuing education courses and seminars, and I’ve been putting out a slew of professional fires. But in reality, if I actually look at the reasons for my absence they’re pretty weak…

Now, you’re probably wondering what the hell this has to do with motivation to move.

So here it is: how often have you created, crafted and customized an excuse not to move?

We’re all guilty of it.

Too tired. Too busy. Too (fill in the blank here).

In our mind it’s pretty easy to create justification for not only our actions, but our inactions as well.

I told myself that I was too tired, that I’d worked long hours, that I’d write tomorrow, or the day after. Somehow, I still found time in the past month to watch a few movies (I don’t watch TV, but I do have a DVD player) or just veg out. In that time, I could have pumped out a few blog posts or written a few articles.

In reality, it comes down to my poor planning and preparation. I knew my hours at work would be increasing. I knew I would have those courses and seminars. I didn’t plan ahead and for that I am at least a month behind on my blogging.

There was, however, one area where I did take a few steps in preparation.

My training.

I knew that with my increased work and education load that it would be easy to push this fairly important aspect of my life to the back-burner (or even off the radar!).

Then serendipity struck.

At the same time that these changes were taking place, about 9 weeks ago, I came across a forum post on Precision Nutrition.

In this post, a gauntlet had been dropped, a challenge had been set forth. It was a 16 week body transformation challenge where the only prize on the line was EGO. No cash. No prizes. Nothing more than self-actualization.

Putting my name down and being accountable, even to an essentially faceless group of people on an internet community, has kept me on task at the gym. That an those half-naked pics.

My goals were lofty but not body composition related.

I figured if I chose performance targets my body would change during that journey.

In the 16 weeks I am to complete a triple body weight squat, a triple body weight dead lift, a double body weight chin up and a double body weight bench press.

I hit one of the four already. Because I had to.

I am getting close on the second. But that still leaves two more that need work in the next 7 weeks.

So here’s my challenge to you.

Find your motivation to move.

And let everyone know about it.

That social accountability will go a long way in keeping your on track towards your movement goals.

I know it worked for me.

Yours in movement.

Dev Chengkalath

It’s been a while since I’ve done any blogging and for that I apologize.

Things have been quite hectic with a whole slew of changes and happenings taking place.

So to get back into the swing of things, I’m just going to re-visit a very important component of low back pain rehabilitation.

Without further ado:

Your buttocks plays a vital role in saving your spine.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ll recognize that I’ve always touted gluteal activation and motor control exercises as one of the primary methods to get a handle on your low back pain. In physical therapy, exercise along with education, are our most powerful tools for resolving this and many other issues.

Your buttocks plays a vital role in saving your knees too.

So how do you get your butt back in gear?

There are four major activation movements I use in my physiotherapy practice to build better butts.

These are:

1. The clamshell.

2. Standing hip extensions.

3. The squat or sit-to-stand.

You can check out the above along with other important low back pain relieving movement in the exercise video area of my blog.

Yours in movement.

Dev Chengkalath

In this short video clip, the bridge and a few of its variations are demonstrated. 

This fantastic physical therapy exercise is great for activating and retraining your glutes and hamstrings. Just keep in mind when first starting with the bridge to focus on squeezing the glutes as the primary mover. Basically, try to keep your hamstrings relaxed as you lift your hips up.

For most people, this is one of the toughest parts of this exercise…hamstrings usually kick in too hard and may cramp. 

As well, when executed properly, this movement will teach proper hip extension using a braced core. These are both essential components of preventing, reducing or relieving low back pain.

To your bridging. 

Dev Chengkalath

One of the most common questions I hear in my physical therapy practice is whether or not my client should be doing yoga to help relieve their low back pain. Most of the time these clients had heard of a friend or colleague who had gone and within a few sessions had been able to resolve all their physical ailments and issues while building their bodies, muscles and fitness. 

While I’d love to give a straight-up, cut and dried answer, a “yes” or a “no” if you will, it’s not that simple.

As is common with physical rehabilitation and corrective exercise, there is not one answer that will be applicable to everyone across the board. What is true, however, is that there is no panacea.

When it comes to yoga, there are a few key points you do want to think about:

1. Invest in the services of a qualified instructor: Angela Plaquin was my first clinical supervisor in my first clinical placement during physio school. When I came under her tutelage, I was but a young grasshopper with great ambition, and little practical experience. Not only was she a phenomenal physical therapist, but she was an incredible yogi as well. I had an opportunity to attend one of her yoga classes and I can tell you I was amazed at her attention to detail, her biomechanical acumen and her combined knowledge of injury pathology and human movement. Another good friend of mine, Mina Khan-Lee, would also be the type of instructor I would have no hesitation sending my injured clients. Under her expert guidance, you couldn’t help but improve your situation. She has put in the time and effort to not only improve herself as a yogi, but as a teacher. While yoga instructors with the level of knowledge described above are rare, they are out there. These are the instructors you need to find and invest in, just as they have invested in themselves.            
   

   Mina doing what advanced yogis do.

2. Know your limits: This is pretty self-explanatory. Just because the person beside you is coiled up like a salty-pretzel, doesn’t mean you need to do the same thing. As well, just because the instructor at your local yoga class is telling you to keep bending or twisting or contorting to “release the toxins in your burning joints”, doesn’t mean you have to listen (I actually heard this type of statement at a yoga class a few years back). You are the master of your own body and only you are responsible for listening to what it’s telling you. If your back or knees are screaming in pain when you attempt a certain pose or posture, there’s probably a reason you shouldn’t be doing it. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. Know your limits.                
   

   Beyond most people's limits and not good for your back.

3. Yoga is not necessarily exercise: I have no doubt that this point will raise the ire of some of my yogi friends and colleagues. In my mind, yoga is great for posture, breathing, parasympathetic training and body awareness. However, it is very seldom going to initiate significant physiological changes to be deemed as high intensity exercise. Don’t get me wrong. If you are extremely de-conditioned or unaccustomed to those yoga poses or postures, they will be challenging. But very few people will practice yoga to an extent where high levels of muscular strength or endurance are required. If you look back to the root causes of low back pain (lack of knowledge, motor control issues and de-conditioning) yoga will help with motor control issues (such as posture, muscle imbalances, movement patterns, and mobility issues) but won’t really touch upon the other two issues. So to bring home the key point here, for most people yoga is not necessarily exercise, but may be a great complement to your complete GOYA Therapy program.

Part of a complete GOYA Therapy program

So in the end, under the care and attention of a qualified instructor, yoga may be a great adjunct to your low back rehabilitation program. As with all physical activity, know your limits and play within them. 

Yours in movement.

Dev Chengkalath

P.S. Special thanks to Mina Khan-Lee for letting me use her incredibly awesome yoga photo for my blog. I will admit that I did spend all evening trying to hoist my body into that position. I will also admit that it was a stupendous failure.