Three years ago I started suffering from low back pain. I did my daily yoga in the evening, my frequent laps at the pool 3-4 times a day, I saw osteopaths, but the pain persisted. For the first time in my life I could not bend forward without the help of my hands on my legs. I thought this was getting serious and decided I was too young to get this stiff. I have always had a pretty flexible body, this could not be the end of it yet!
I needed to better the condition, thus I needed to find the cause. Stress, fatigue, overwork: many reasons like these were suggested to me. But what was the most obvious was that I had radically changed my life, going back to study 6-8 hours a day, glued to my desk, books and computer to get my new degree. And I was not 18 like during my first degree! I finally graduated, and hop!, as by magic, my back pain disappeared. I stopped sitting insanely for those long hours with no interruption and I went back to a more healthy life. Further, I could now offer help to others!, in this and other health issues thanks to that degree.
That the human body was not designed for a sitting position is obvious to everyone: after all, we do not have a number 4 shape. What happens to the body when one sits for long hours is deep.
The body is composed of 206 bones that articulate through many joints that allow us to move and produce very complicated actions, thanks to the coordination of our muscles that insert on these bones. Such body has evolved for a very active life, for movement and not for stillness. If one keeps a position for a long time, muscular tensions appear. So sitting and being static for long hours create contractions and tensions that appear as pain: back, neck, shoulders, buttocks, wrist pain… The lack of movement slows and blocks the flow of blood and body lymph which are necessary for hydrating and nourishing all tissues, including muscles, tendons and ligaments. Keeping a fixed position for a long time creates a progressive lack of oxygen to the tissues, and this repeats the cycle of pain.
A sustained sitting position produces:
- A long-term restriction of the hip joint
- A softening of the abdominal belt, especially at the level of the transverse muscle, and a weakening of the paravertebral muscles that keep our vertebral column erect.
- Modification and limitation of our breathing action.
- Removal of our natural lumbar curve which place the vertebral disks under a huge strain and cause lumbar pain.
- Inhibition of the large gluteus muscles that are not stimulated to extend the hip, their normal action, used in walking, running, etc. Such extension is supplied by the paravertebral muscles which can cause overcharging of the back.
- Creation of a bending of shoulders and head towards the front, weakening the shoulder-blade muscles and shortening the neck and pectoral muscles.
- Change of our center of gravity due to these muscular tensions.
When it is necessary to sit for long hours, it is important to move every 15-20 minutes, to get up, stretch, walk and breath at full capacity. Small, short by frequent pauses allow the circulatory movements and the relaxation of unconscious tensions.
So, set up an alarm system on your computer, and get up. Stretch your arms to the ceiling extending your whole body vertically. Rotate your waist left and right with the help of your arms, by keeping your hips fixed. Take a few long steps. Rotate your legs around the hips. Breath deeply for 5 minutes. And go back to work well oxygenated and with well lubricated joints!
During my last trip to Italy I was introduced to a new technique that I’ve been practicing with success on my family and myself since! I’m talking about the therapeutic use of the Kinesio® Taping and I would like to tell you about my last experience with it, just during my 24 hours of effective flights from Genova to Auckland. Before embarking on my trip I taped myself well with an intricate criss-crossing of thin strips of Kinesio® Tape around my ankles. The results after 1 and a half day of air travel plus air-conditioned, limited-movement allowing airports, my legs were happy, my ankles not swollen, my general physical tiredness extremely reduced compared to all the other hundreds of flights my body has been exposed to in many years of forced globe-trotting.
I strongly recommend this practice, and not only for reducing leg swelling in the air but also for treating injuries, easing muscular contractions, releasing pain, assisting pregnant women with supporting the extra weight of their grown bellies, etc… I will be happy to apply it on you whenever, however and wherever needed!
To explain more about this technique….
Kinesio® Taping is a rehabilitative technique “designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion”. It was invented by the Japanese chiropractor and acupuncturist Kenzo Kase some 25 years ago and is now used in more than 70 countries around the world and continuously improved through research.
It is safe to use at all ages, from pediatric to geriatric, and successfully treats many orthopedic, neuromuscular, neurological and other medical conditions.
The Kinesio® Tape assists and gives support to muscles or prevents over-contractions during sport efforts or, more often, it is used in the acute stage of rehabilitation.
It is specifically applied to the patient based upon their needs after evaluation. It helps relieve pain, inflammation, edema (water retention), improves circulation, joint movement, enhance performance and prevent injury. By improving circulation of both blood and lymph, it assists the body in healing itself and in returning to homeostasis or its natural equilibrium.
This practice alleviates pain by targeting many different receptors in the somatosensory system of the derma (‘receptors’ or sensors of pressure, pain and movement on the skin) and the layers below (muscles and ligaments). The extreme expanding and contracting properties of the Kinesio® Tape provide sensory stimulation to these receptors during movement. Such stimulation activates an inhibitory system that decreases pain.
It also acts by microscopically lifting the skin and affecting it with convolutions that increase interstitial space facilitating lymphatic drainage and allowing for a decrease in inflammation of the affected areas.
It has been proven to have positive physiological effects on the skin, lymphatic and circulatory system, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints and fascia. Fascia are an uninterrupted, 3-D web of tissue that extends throughout the whole body and are responsible for maintaining structural integrity, for providing a major matrix for intracellular communication and maintaining blood flow and many biochemical processes. Fascia extend to all fibers connected tissues, including ligaments, tendons, joint capsules, organ and vessel sheaths, meninges, periosteum and intramuscular fibers. In this way everything in the body is structurally connected.
With the KT one can treat joint pain, carpal tunnel sydrome, bursitis, headaches, lymphedema, muscular tensions etc.
In pregnancy the tape can be used to help muscles sustain the extra load, decreasing tensions and fatigue. Or it can be used to reduce edema and swelling of legs and ankles.
The findings of the clinical evaluation or assessment of each case dictate the direction in which the tape is applied, the cut of the tape (in I shape or Y or X shape or more complex cuts) as well as how much stretch will be utilized. The direction in which the tape is applied can be used to either influence muscle facilitation or inhibition. Muscles are not only responsible for the movements of the body, they also control the circulation of venous and lymph flows and body temperature, etc. The failure of the muscles to function properly induces various kinds of symptoms.
Kinesio® Tex Tape can be worn 24 hours a day for 3 to 5 continuous days and is water resistant (but not in salt water!). It can be applied during any phase of injury as it can be clinically utilized to initially reduce inflammation and progress through all phases of rehabilitation.
http://www.kinesiotaping.co.nz/
http://www.kinesiotaping.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastic_therapeutic_tape
