Neck and Back Pain- Exercise, Stretching and Yoga…Cures!!?? November 24, 2017

During a recent conversation with a friend we discussed her headache and neck issues. The focus was on non-medical efforts to relieve her pain and prevent it in the future. The pain always started in or near the neck and her jaw.

We discussed a few stretches and exercises and discussed yoga. I looked for a couple of  articles that would describe moves/poses that can provide comfort to painful neck and head.

The following are some goodbasic moves/poses for the body and specifically the neck.

 

https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-by-benefit/neck-pain

http://www.chopra.com/articles/6-yoga-poses-to-help-relieve-neck-pain#sm.0006ka9hx6zdewe11bg1znqzmnk4t

 

These are a bit more broad brush. Effective for the body and ultimately for the neck.

9 Yoga Poses to Help Relieve Neck and Shoulder Pain

 

 

@martyroddy

 

Some Secondary Goals as I Return to Fitness and Health. May 21, 2017

I realized the other day that I need to expand my set of goals and objectives for my current fitness journey. The obvious and most pressing is strengthening the heart and lungs, the entire cardio-pulmonary system, as a result of my heart failure diagnosis. As that is going forward I need to expand the focus to  total body program .

I need to :

1. increase knee flexibility and suppleness
2. add some speed and even “jump”
3. total body flexibility ( exercises and maybe Yoga)

The following videos address some of my personal concerns with my knees as I start over and get BACK in shape. I find that my knees have been stiff and occasionally sore. As I continue to exercise I will do these moves to help the knees…which will help me continue. I have also joined a gym @Snapfitness and I have used the bike and rower ( @Concept2 ) for knee relieving cardio. Some workouts I combine cardio tools for increased burn and reduced stress on knees.

In the long “run” my body will improve and knees will feel great as I maintain a steady weight loss and fitness program . Lower body weight will stress the knees much less , and since i have already dropped 100+ pounds the knees feel pretty good.

VIDEO: A few exercises to help keep the knees healthy and flexible

VIDEO: Specific exercise for the knees

 

Now I will address the 2nd and 3rd item in more depth later but here are  few related links.

SPEED….

http://pin.it/dnVAW6Y

and

http://pin.it/HdRdjdJ

FLEXIBILITY…

http://pin.it/t2qikKx

and

http://pin.it/4URU54z

More to come- add any questions or suggestions- always love to learn and grow.

 

@martyroddy

Massage, Yoga and other Activities to Help Runners October 29, 2014

I( was having a recent discussion, actually discussions , with different friends about what is the makeup of the best fitness/health program.

Can one live on running alone? do we need to include cross-training, bodywork or other recovery tools?

Running 30-45 minute 4-5 days a week may be the perfect and complete fitness program, but as soon as a few muscles get tight or sore or you start dragging because you have no energy…you need to take a look and an expanded program with some broad based parts .

I included yoga, massage and food ideas in this post But there are so many more ideas.

-Cross Training- bike, swim, row, weight lift…

-sports like tennis, raquetball, golf etc get you moving and stress some other bodyparts

– meditation, hiking, pilates and other popular activites.

Massage has numerous benefits for basic health and some specific uses for athletes.

A.    http://www.worldrunning.com/articles/sports-massage-benefits-for-runners/

B.  http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prevention-recovery/benefits-of-massage-for-runners?cm_mmc=NL-Beginners-_-1617442-_-03052014-_-Benefits-of-Massage-for-Runners

C.   http://running.competitor.com/2013/12/injury-prevention/the-four-best-types-of-massage-for-runners_60280

Yoga is great and can be done at home after a little study or a couple of classes. You can always go to the studio as well, but be careful which studio-and the focus of the instructor.

A.   http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga/poses/yoga-for-runners/?page=6

B.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXTK5sit6c8&feature=related

C.  http://www.yogajournal.com/uncategorized/more-reasons-athtletes-need-yoga/

And of course the idea of food and fuel and diet can be addressed and some thoughts tossed around. Nothing here is a proposal or endorsement- just some recently found writings.

1. http://makehealthiest.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/vegetarian-diet-plan-for-runners/

2. http://www.fitnessrepublic.com/running/top-10-best-foods-for-runners.html

3. http://www.livestrong.com/article/459158-a-diet-for-runners-over-40-years/