The purpose of this blog is to discuss your health and wellness. Everything from nutrition, to manual therapy, to CrossFit to Functional Movement Systems as well as pain and injuries.
Mini-Bio
I was raised in northern Virginia and played every sport they'd let me. I injured my low back/hip while playing baseball at Radford University in Virginia. I was treated by a physical therapist, an orthopedic, a primary care md, and an athletic trainer, but no one made the difference for me until I got chiropractic treatment. That day I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I'm a fitness consultant and sports chiropractor in South Florida and I'm dedicated to helping people maintain the well-oiled machine that their bodies could be. I'm certified as a Functional Rehab specialist, a Titleist Performance Institute golf fitness specialist, an Active Release Technique provider as well as a former personal trainer. To contact me, log onto www.mobility-4life.com or email me at drscotthoar@gmail.com
I'm really trying my best not to become a purely crossfit/weightlifting type blog, but I noticed something yesterday while I was working out that I feel really needs to be touched upon.
During squats, it's very common that people are not able to stay upright with their spine. Aka, from the deep part of the squat, the first thing to go back up is the butt, and then the spine follows. This adds a great deal of stress to the lower back and is one of the reasons that a lot of people choose not to squat (even though it's one of the best exercises there is).
the bar is too high and too far forward
A major contributing factor that I see, regarding people bending over through the spine during squats, is the placement of the bar. Far too often people place the barbell just below the bony part of the neck (the Cervical-thoracic junction for all you nerds out there). This is too far forward (think too close to the tip of the nose). To maintain an erect spine, I recommended holding the bar back further, just above the shoulder blades. That way the center of mass of your body with the weight is shifted further back, away from the nose. You'll be able to sit into your heels better, which keeps the stress off of your knees and low back, and onto the glutes and hips where it should be.
the bar is resting just above the shoulder blade
If you have any questions feel free to email me at drscotthoar@gmail.com or dial my office at 561.997.8898. To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com
When I walk into the local weight room one of the most common mistakes I see are people performing exercises without a neutral spine.
This could lead to lower neck/upper back pain
It's all too common that strength coaches and trainers are recommending looking up while performing activities like squats and deadlifts. They do this in order to keep you from bending forward while lifting, which is bad. But complete neck extension isn't the answer.
To minimize stress on the spine, you always want to be in neutral. This is why during most movements you want to bend at the hips, not the low back. This protects your lower back from injury. However when one extends the neck tremendously during a movement, they are no longer protecting the neck.
I recommend having a neutral neck during lifting. This will protect the commonly injured lower neck/upper back from undue stress.
this is the best pic I could find, I'd prefer his eyes looked a little lower
A great coaching tip for this is to have your gym goer keep their eyes fixed at either the floor about 8 feet in front of them, or fixed on the bottom trim of whatever wall is directly in front of them.
Save those necks!
For any questions/concerns or if you'd like to schedule an appointment please contact me at drscotthoar@gmail.com or phone me at 561.997.8898. To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com
Shoulder surgery is very common these days. Typically it's repairing a torn rotator cuff or an arthroscope for degeneration. Typically after you have surgery, your orthopedic doctor recommends you complete a rehab progression with a physical therapist. I agree with that. But what happens after that? (This approach really applies for surgeries throughout the body, not just the shoulder)
After about 5-6 weeks, broken bones have stabilized. After about 2 months, most soft tissues will have stabilized. (Nerves can take much longer but you're dealing with a neurosurgeon at this point so that's a different conversation). What do I mean by 'stabilized'? I mean you should be free to put weight on the area, to start exercising the area and so on. Normally your physical therapist is in charge of that and will do a fantastic job for you. My advice? Go to physical therapy!!!
But now you've done your course of 3-6 weeks of physical therapy. They're released you from care, but the area just isn't the same. And you wonder what to do? The answer?
A soft tissue chiropractor! I'd highly recommend one that performs Active Release Technique (A.R.T.), Graston Technique, and utilizes corrective exercises and Rehab. Surgery and other serious injuries leave you with scar tissue, which can be viewed as a rubber band (muscles) that suddenly feels like a piece of leather (scar tissue). The techniques described above help to restore the scar tissue to it's normally quality. When the tissue quality normalizes, the alignment of the shoulder (or wherever else in the body) is able to return to normal and you can start using your shoulder again.
In the mean time? Wall Walking is always great for range of motion at home. Here's a video with a pretty lengthy description if you have four minutes:
If you have any questions feel free to call my office in Boca Raton, FL at 561.997.8898 or email me directly at drscotthoar@gmail.com. To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com
