Why does prolonged sitting lead to back pain?

Why is this pain happening in the first place? During prolonged sitting, your pelvis tucks under, and your back rounds. This leaves you in a slumped position. And our bodies really don’t like to be stagnant. (P.S. Check out my post about work-from-home postures that keep you pain-free!)

So if you catch yourself slumped over the computer or phone, do yourself a favor and take yourself out of the position! Best case scenario you’re able to do some of these exercises at the moment, but if your workplace doesn’t support that (goodbye, quarantine!) you’ll now have the tools to come home and practice these exercises.

Roll out your mat and let’s get started!

Follow along with the video or read more below!

1. Prone press-ups

Come to lie down on your belly. Place your hands underneath the shoulders and be sure to pull the shoulders back and away from the ears. Begin to engage the arms, using them to assist the movement, and extend all the way from the upper back and between the shoulder blades. Continue to extend as you push yourself up. As soon as you feel the lower back starting to work you’re going to come right back down.

This movement isn’t about simply pressing up (it should feel different than a push up.) You want to keep your hip bones pressing down into the floor and you’re going to engage the entire back in this press up. Think about the energy exchange being 50% arms, 50% back. You’re also going to be engaging the glutes just a bit here. Keep the motion slow and controlled!

What we’re accomplishing with this movement is extending the back in an opposite direction from where we are when we’re sitting in that slumped over – or even just stagnant – position.

Do about 10 of these.

2. Prone W’s

This is a great one to keep the upper body and upper back mobile for extension. Remember: when we’re hunched over in positions we’re losing mobility!

Take your gaze straight down to the mat. This time you’re going to keep the tops of your feet pressing into the ground. Extend the arms forward. Lift the arms up, keeping them straight as possible, and then pull the arms back by engaging the shoulder blades. Think about the shoulder blades pulling away from the ears.

Elongate the neck. Pinching behind the armpits. Pulling the energy back and down. Your chest will just slightly peel off the floor. Then, to release, extend the arms forward and come back down to the mat. Take these movements nice and slow. Really try to get your thumbs behind the ears!

Do about 10 of these Prone W’s.

3. Rotations

When we’re rounded and slouched not only do we lose extension but what’s coupled with extension? Rotation. So it’s necessary to work some rotational movements into this exercise series.

Come onto all fours in a table top position. If you have some wrist issues you can always fold up your mat and then place the palm on the fold so you don’t have as much extension on the wrist.

From here, press down through your anchored hand and breathe in as you lift the opposite arm up and reach open to the side. Extend and open through the chest. Then you’re going to exhale as you twist, bringing the lifted arm down and underneath and through the midline of the body- accessing a nice rotation. Inhale as you open back up, pressing through the anchored hand for stability, and repeat this sequence about 5 times on each side.

What’s really nice about this movement is that it’s both active and passive. It’s activated as you reach and twist and passive as you relax at the end of the twist while you stretch. Make sure you remember to keep breathing and connect your breath to movement for optimal rotation and extension.

4. Standing hamstring stretch

Come to stand for this hamstring stretch. Usually when we’re sitting in a slouched position our hip bones are scooping underneath us. So now we’re going to take the hip bones and align them in the opposite direction. Plus, we’re going to get a nice hamstring stretch in. Hamstrings tend to be chronically tight for most people so it’s a good one to get in whenever you can!

From standing, think about driving the hip bones down into the thighs as you push your glutes back. If you bring your gaze up slightly that’ll even bring more extension through the back. Keep the knees slightly bent but not locked. Don’t think that you’re bending into a squat, either. Just a slight bend here. The more that you think of pushing the hip bones into the thighs and pulling that glute back, the greater that stretch is going to feel.

Do as many of these as feels good to you and feel free to hang out in the stretch as long as you like!

5. Glute activation

The last thing we’re going to get into with this series is glute activation. After sitting on them for a prolonged amount of time it’s a really good idea to get some movement and engagement going in the glutes.

From our standing position we’re going to step one foot back into a small lunge. From this position, think about squeezing the glutes and tucking the tailbone under as much as possible. Lift into the spine and squeeze the heck out of those glutes! Reach your active arm up (this is the arm on the same side as the foot which is stepping back) and find as much extension as possible, then twist towards that active side body. Then take that lifted arm and lean towards the opposite direction. And breeeathe into that entire stretched side body.

Take about 3 to 5 breaths and then release. Do the same action one more time and then switch sides. Just think: tuck the tailbone, squeeze the glutes, find length in the stretch, and breathe.

Exercises to reduce back pain from sitting: The results

After following this activation exercise sequence you should be feeling so much more open and expansive within the entire body! The upper back is open and the tension should be lifted from the lower back after having opened up the hip flexors and hamstrings. Say goodbye to your back pain from prolonged sitting during the workday!

If you love what you’re learning and want to find more accessible routines to continue your mobility journey, check out The Optimal Body membership!

The Optimal Body is a month-to-month program that will take your mobility, flexibility, strength, and stamina to a whole new level.

Check out what others are saying about The Optimal Body and join the community. We can’t wait to get moving with you!

I also offer an amazing FREE mobility challenge!

You’ll receive 25-minute guided mobility videos, HIIT workouts, recipes, and more for 7 days. This is a great way to get started prioritizing your body, mobility, and health — and it’s free!

The post 5 Exercises to Reduce Back Pain from Prolonged Sitting! appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

1.) Technology and

2.) The way we spend our time in the world.

Think about how we sit forward at our desks or look down at our phones: not only does our neck come forward but our upper back stops moving…Then we get into the gym and try to lift all of these heavy things!

In general, we want to be able to have extension and rotation in our upper back. Without reasonable extension and rotation, our shoulder blades get really tight which leads to other issues in the body like pain in the shoulders, neck pain, tension, tightness, and of course, back pain.

We don’t always realize how all of these pain points are related and you might be surprised to learn that where you have the pain doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the part of the body you need to focus on. I guarantee if you start to open up the upper back and open up the ribcage you’re going to start feeling different in your whole body!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you purchase something through the link. However I only recommend products and services I use and LOVE and think you’ll love too!!

Test your mobility

First things first: I recommend you test your mobility in your thoracic back area to find out exactly where your range of motion currently is.

(I also recommend my full-body mobility test!)

To get started, sit on the floor (or on the bed, couch, etc.) and make sure your knees are higher than the hips. Doing this helps to lock out the low back so we can only move from the upper back.

Raise your arms and attempt to rotate. Twist as far as possible in one direction and see how far you go. Use your line of vision to get an idea of how mobile you are from one side to the other. It’s absolutely normal to have one range of motion be greater than the other. If you’re feeling like “oh my gosh, I can’t twist at all!” — don’t worry. That’s what we’re going to work on.

Use a prop to enhance the mind-body connection

I use something called Rock Floss from a company, Rock Tape. I love this product because it’s sticky, so it’s going to stay in place wherever I put it. You can also use a TheraBand. If you don’t have a TheraBand you can use a sweater or scarf – find something that can be wrapped around your ribcage, right underneath the sternum. The objective here is to be able to keenly feel the low rib cage.

You don’t want it to be so tight that you can’t breathe! We’re using this as feedback; if I have something touching my body then my brain knows where the bodily focus goes. If I’m just saying “expand from the rib cage” but without actual feedback, my brain might not know what it’s supposed to be doing.

This increased feedback will allow your brain to start understanding your physical cues quicker and easier. This is true mind-body connection.

Banded diaphragmatic breathing

You can come to lie down on your back or stay sitting. It’s important to release shoulder tension here, so if you practice seated then it might get a little uncomfortable. If you have to practice in a seated position I’d suggest sitting against the wall or another object. You want to be super relaxed here!

We’re going to breathe into our rib cage, but place the focus on expanding from the sides of where the band is wrapped. When people think of diaphragmatic breathing, they may just think of “belly breathing” but it’s crucial that you’re expanding the rib cage with your breath in order to really activate the diaphragm.

As you do this, you want to resist the urge to lift your shoulders. Really focus on the breath expanding the rib cage and allowing the belly to naturally drop.

Test that out a few times and when you’re ready close your eyes and focus on 10 really slow breaths.

Inhale for three seconds. Exhale for six seconds.

Inhale through the nose and then purse your lips as you exhale through the mouth. The pursed lips help to guide the rib cage to contract. This exercise is going to help retrain the body into optimal breathing for tension release.

If you’re not feeling the sides of your ribs contract then place your hands on the side of your rib cage and add a little more feedback. This little bit of pressure is additionally encouraging the mind-body connection. I like to gently squeeze the sides and then take a breath into it – it just helps to show oh this is where I breathe into my side body.

Banded open book exercise for thoracic mobility

Lie down on your side and drop your back leg, bent, across the median line of your body. Lock your knee down on the floor, or place a pillow underneath the knee if that’s not comfortable for you. Your bottom arm is going to hold the leg down while the top arm reaches across and out.

Now, we’re going to breathe in and focus on expanding from the rib cage. Feel where the band is. As you exhale you’re going to open up the chest by rotating that extended arm up and over. Now you should be lying flat on your back, arm extended, chest open. And on the expansion think about using that breath to expand the ribcage. Then, breathe in and return to the starting position. You’re going to do this about 10 times. After 10 reps, rotate to the other side and do the same exercise.

As you do this practice, keep focusing on the band. Remember: this is where you’re re-training the body to do this dynamic breathing naturally on its own. Because once I can get good, dynamic breath going naturally then I can actually start to move from the thoracic spine, or upper back area, so much better. Because what attaches to the upper spine? The rib cage.

So if you have a really stiff rib cage then of course it’s going to be really hard to actually get movement through the spine. This is the first step. That’s why we start intentionally breathing into the rib cage so we can loosen that area and release the spine.

Semi-seated cat-cow

We’re not going to go into a full cat-cow. Instead of going onto your hands and knees go ahead and sit back on your heels with your hands out in front of you. Inhale as you roll the shoulders back, breathe into the band, and then exhale and round the shoulders and feel the band compress as you exhale.

Doing cat-cow in a semi-seated position helps drive more attention to the upper back. If it hurts your knees to sit in that position you can sit on a low chair or a bench, then reach your hands over and onto a couch or bed. This will allow you to still access that rounded position and just focus on the upper back.

Second thoracic mobility assessment

Now, take off your band and retest. Because how do you know what’s working if you’re not reevaluating?

Do the mobility test again (at the top of this post!). Hopefully, you’ll notice that your range of motion has increased. Good work! That’s simply from the act of intentionally breathing and the activation of the rib cage. By using that resistance band I’m showing my body what’s possible when I release restriction and open up.

Keep it loose

I hope this breathing sequence has helped you loosen up and discover the greater mobility in the thoracic spine! The body is connected in so many unexpected ways.

Want to discover how to access even more mobility?

Try my free mobility challenge!

The post Improve Thoracic Mobility with Simple Breathing Exercises appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

The Optimal Body is a monthly program that helps you to free your body. Every month, you get new muscle activations, HIIT workouts, core stability workouts, mobility flows, mindset tools, and recipes. It’s an all-in-one way to get back in touch with your body, stay moving, and feel healthy.

In this post, I wanted to share some of the amazing feedback we’ve gotten from our Optimal Body members. These are all real Optimal Body reviews.

By far, the most common feedback we get is people are grateful for learning more about their bodies. This has helped them become more aware and mindful as they move through their everyday lives and workouts alike.

Without further ado, here are The Optimal Body reviews:

The Optimal Body monthly membership program has…

Relieved pain

“The Optimal Body has honestly changed my life. I was SO scared to move my body with over a year of major SI joint issues and back pain. In 5 months I’ve advanced through the weeks in the calendar. I can now do the circuit workouts and I’m not scared anymore. No more SI belt, and I actually did a workout with my husband yesterday which we haven’t done together in almost 2 years. You guys are amazing.” – Victoria J.

“I’ve seen some amazing changes, especially around my hips, knees, and hamstrings. Shoulders too. I had left knee surgery twice and always had constant pain on the inside of my left knee for years that would not go away even with therapy. It is now gone! Poof, completely vanished!!! I’m ecstatic because I can do squats and no more pain after. I tested it out last week and was waiting for it to pop up but nada! Whoop whoop! A pain in my right hip bone – gone too! Hamstrings are not screaming or cramping up as when I started. And this just two months into the Optimal Body.”

“I truly thank you! I have battled SI issued for 10 years now! So pardon my enthusiasm! Just one of those where have you been all my life moments.” – Chris

“Thank you so much for your program. I was literally considering surgery and ‘Western medicine’ to heal my neck and shoulder pain that I have battled for decades, and overnight after using your mobility flow ONCE I was completely relieved. And I have done EVERYTHING under the sun prior to your program and done it all in. Your program was a godsend. I cannot even exaggerate the amount of happiness it has brought me.” – Michelle S.

Helped to heal and prevent injury

“I really enjoy the workouts and The Optimal Body has helped me massively as I’ve been dealing with back pain and a shoulder injury. Finally I’m becoming more aware of what is going on in my body and really seeing improvements.” – Annabelle

“As someone who suffers from a chipped bone in my lower back and surgery won’t help, I have back pain every day. I also have tight hips. Doing the spine and hip mobility has been helping so much!! Thank you for the program!” – Esther G.

“I love your work and all that I’ve learned, first through the Move to Improve 2021 Challenge and now through The Optimal Body program that I’m doing with you two. I love how the exercises feel so safe and effective, and how I’m learning to tune into my body more and more. I’ve had some major injuries, first in a snow skiing accident in 1991 and then when I rolled my truck 5 times in 2015. I got to experience the mobility flow exercises for Month 2 for the first time this morning. First I watched all the videos and then eagerly did all of them purposefully and mindfully in one sitting! It was phenomenal for me! I think this mobility flow is really going to address the restrictions in my thoracic and cervical spine at a much deeper level than any other work or therapy I’ve ever done (and I’ve done MANY workout programs and had lots of PT and chiro care parentheses so THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!” – Diane P.

Helped people at all ages and stages of life

“I joined the program yesterday after doing the challenge. I am 8 months postpartum and have been so lost with starting to exercise again…I had a few sessions with a pelvic floor PT to resolve some of those, um, ‘issues’ but now I’m wanting to start moving my body again in a safe way and feel like I am starting from scratch with very little overall strength (especially core). I have been loving the challenge videos because it feels so good to move again in a healthy way without overdoing it. Excited to dive in!!” – Shonda H.

“Just using your program half of the week has shown me that I don’t have to ‘feel my age’! Which I now know is a myth. No such thing! THANK YOU Doc Jen and Dom. You have changed everything for me! BTW I don’t need the chiro anymore. Can’t believe how fast improvements are noticed!” – Tamela G.

“You have changed my life! I’m 46 and have been on and off athletic my whole life. Your mobility things help me relieve things and have helped me stay young! It makes me believe there are always solutions to body issues and I do the morning routine daily. I am so grateful.”

Improved workouts

“Definitely run times, distance, and recovery are better since starting the program. Thanks!” – Joe S.

“I purchased your Optimal Body program the other day, and did the first HIIT today. A quick background story: I’ve been a personal trainer for 13 years and have some background as a PTA, so working out is something ingrained in me. OMGosh my upper back is so sore from this first HIIT workout. I was being such a wimp about it and whining to my fiance, but I am so grateful for the work. As much as I know to include the small muscle groups, it is so easy to focus primarily on the larger groups. Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting this program together. I’m super excited for the rest of this month and beyond.” – Danielle N.

“I am on week 2 of the first month and I ALREADY feel stronger! So thank you! I can’t even imagine the transformation my body is going to go through with you!” – Daniela L.

“I did my first Doc Jent Fit Optimal Body workout yesterday and I would definitely recommend it. At-home workouts or bodyweight workouts used to give me a little anxiety because I have SUPER flat feet and knocked knees, so I am extremely conscious of form. I love that she doesn’t just tell you what to do, she does it with you and switches forward-facing and side so you can see her form. It’s quick and effective!” – Brittany S.

And helped people improve their overall health and wellbeing in a holistic way

“I love that your videos are way more than a workout or a stretch… They are educational and also works out our brain with mindset management. A TRUE full-body experience.” – Emily B.

“This is a GREAT program if you are looking to begin a workout routine with an excellent foundation to progress, or just learn to move optimally! Believe it or not, most people move with ‘bad movement manners’ causing strain, pain, and injury. Do yourself the solid favor of getting to know your body, listen and learn how to move better and unhinge those pain patterns – it is THE BEST thing you can do for your body and mind.”

“I purchased your Optimal Body online, and I have seen tremendous progress in everyday actions, whether that’s grabbing something from off the shelf, to picking heavy objects off the floor. Also, I have recognized my energy levels have gone up, and I’m having more clarity in my thoughts. I don’t know if that is a combination of eating healthier and moving but I feel a lot better. And from someone who has never had any interest in doing any type of flows or warmups like this, I have become an advocate for myself and others doing some exercises I’ve seen on the program.” – Trent T.

“I just started doing a couple of weeks of your Optimal Body. It must be having a good effect already. Two of my coworkers spontaneously offered compliments on how I was carrying myself last week. Better posture and just looking stronger. Seems like even just a little of your routine starts setting the body right. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.” – Bill S.

People especially loved…

The cues and easy-to-understand explanations

“Doc Jen Fit is my GO-TO MOBILITY GURU!! I have struggled with some debilitating shoulder impingement for the past few years, so much so that I had to spend about 4 months in physical therapy. Not only was I super bummed to be ‘out of commission’ for a while, but I had no idea how I was going to get back to working out regularly and training the way I was before! Doc Jen breaks down many of the intricate pairings of muscles and joints in the body with such ease and gives you actionable takeaways that are specific enough to cover THE ENTIRE BODY and GET YOU FEELING RIGHT. I implemented one of her standard morning flows from The Optimal Body into my daily practice, and continuously check back in to her page to see what I can do to gain more mobility and stability in and outside of the gym.”

The core workouts

“Thank you for the opportunity to participate and the instruction. There were many points I came away with that brought new insight into how I move with my body, increasing awareness and of course mobility. The core section most in particular. I’m appreciative. Thanks again!” – Charity C.

“The core workout is already making a big difference and I love that you strip it right back to get the internal core strong (something I’ve known I needed to do, but never felt like I was really ‘getting it’. But with your instruction, it is really clear, so thanks! I’m looking into starting the Mobility Method too ;)”

“I want to say what you teach is amazing. I’ve honestly never felt my abs get sore so quick and would’ve never thought it was possible from a 5 MINUTE core mobility session!! It’s insane! I’m loving it and so glad I invested in this!” – Vanessa C.

Breathwork

“I want to thank you because I am learning so much about my body and my mobility is improving daily! The breathing that you offered in month 3 (which used to be month 1) reset my lungs and diaphragm. They weren’t in sync and seemed to be working against each other. So grateful.” – Kim S.

“My back pain has subsided and sleeping without waking up! I’m so motivated to learn more and breathe better. I’m just blown away each time I focus on my breath how much improvement I feel!! This is wonderful.” – Virgie H.

“I woke up with a pain in my left shoulder blade and my pecs. I rolled it out before starting my workout in the morning but it did not really make it go away. It was still bothering me in the afternoon and at that point, I wondered if work stress was contributing. As I was driving my husband to pick up a car from the shop I decided to do some Doc Jen Fit belly breathing. After a couple of minutes, the pain was gone. My only regret is not trying it earlier in the day.” – Dana H.

“I am a trained singer but never did breathwork linked directly to the blueberry cue. Today while I was warming up for church, my brain just went to the blueberry cue ON ITS OWN!! It’s like my voice was generated from deep within. I’ve been to master classes on the breath throughout the years but maybe because none of them were physical therapists they didn’t explain it in the way you did? Well I’m just so THRILLED about what this means for my singing.” – Shelley

The mindset tool

“Your mindset tool has made such a difference. ‘This body I GET to have. Better yet, this body I’m BLESSED to have!'” – Baron C.

“I wanted to thank you for sharing your mindset tool in month 2 for the Optimal Body membership. I am starting up virtual teaching again tomorrow for the rest of the school year and the thought of it is depressing. It’s just not the same as teaching in person. Thank you for the reminder to tell myself I am BLESSED to do things instead o just telling myself I HAVE to do things. Also thank you for helping me take care of my body better. The switch to online teaching has been rough on me, and I’m incredibly grateful for all your mobility flows, HIITs, muscle activations, core…It’s everything I didn’t know I needed.”

Lower body mobility flow

“I am well into my first month The Optimal Body and feeling great! It is hard to pick ‘favorites’, and they all work so well together. However, I have to say that the lower extremity mobility flow unlocked more than just my hips! Transformational! I have long suspected that a large part of the key for me lies in hips/pelvis. Seems I was not wrong. I’m excited to keep moving and delving deeper!” – Lynlee C.

“Loving the content by the way. I’m 3 weeks in and the lower body mobility flow has been amazing for my hip, which I injured a couple of years ago. I’ve been doing the spinal flow every morning and my back feels amazing.” – Samantha F.

Share your Optimal Body experience with us!

Are you an Optimal Body member with some feedback to share? Contact us!

Sign up for The Optimal Body today and become empowered in your body.

The post The Optimal Body Reviews | User Testimonials appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

What is medial epicondylitis?

While the name would typically refer to an inflammation of the inside of the elbow, new research now shows pain in the inner elbow is actually caused more by stress on the tendons than inflammation.

Essentially, overuse of the muscles in the area causes chronic dysregulation of tendon fibers. This contributes to the symptoms of Golfer’s Elbow more than inflammation does. Therefore a more apt name for the issue would be ‘medial epicondylosis’.

But for our purposes today, we will use the names interchangeably to refer to inner elbow pain that may spread to your forearm and wrist.

What causes elbow pain, or Golfer’s Elbow?

You don’t have to be a golfer to have pain in the inner elbow area. You could be overworking the flexor muscles down towards your wrist, or you might have limited range of motion in the wrist and/or shoulder.

This is why overall mobility is so crucial, and how understanding our weaker areas of mobility can inform us. Because if one area of the body isn’t working to its full capacity (like the wrist or the shoulder), then the body might be putting extra pressure in other areas (like the middle joint.)

Whenever you notice pain here, the impulse tends to be to grab the tissue and roughly massage it out. While lightly massaging is a fine action to take for momentary relief, you really want to take long-term action on the tendon that will result in a prolonged state of release and comfort.

So how do we do that? By stretching the tendon before we begin to load, or strengthen, it!

We’ll put the tendon on stretch, which allows us to begin to load the tendon but in a much safer way. Basically, loading means that you’re increasing the integrity of the tendon. What you don’t want to do is load too quickly, because this can lead to degradation and more inflammation.

If you struggle with golfer’s elbow, commit to these two exercises that can bring relief and prepare you for greater mobility!

Wrist extension exercise for golfer’s elbow

Come into sitting on your knees.

Flip your wrists over and place your hands onto the ground – your fingers will be pointing towards your body. You’ll be coming on top of the wrists here, so make sure your hand placement isn’t too far away from your body. You’re going to bring the body back, as much as comfortable for your body and range of motion, and begin to feel a stretch in the forearm.

Note: if you’re feeling any pain in the midline of your elbow, this might cause some irritation. Be gentle.

To further modify, you can do this standing and place your arm behind you with your hand on a table. Your wrist will be facing your body and fingers will be facing away. Then slowly lean in towards the table.

Once you find that sweet spot in the stretch (where you’re feeling the stretch and it feels sustainable to hold) begin to relax into the sensation of release and breathe into the area of discomfort. Think about releasing pressure. Keep the elbows straight.

Practice 30 slow breaths or hold for 2 minutes.

Wrist activation exercise

After practicing extension, we’re going to flip the wrists over and start to activate the wrist flexors.

Here, we’re going to push up using the flexor muscles and with eccentric control (a movement that lengthens a muscle while contracting it) we’re going to lower right into a stretch. As you push up, keep your fingers straight and active. Be careful not to put pressure into the finger joints.

Practice this 5 to 10 times.

Then come back into the first exercise for golfer’s elbow to release tension!

If you found these exercises helpful and are hungry for more mobility tips and exercises, try my free mobility and strength challenge!

Are you up for it? Of course you are! That’s why you’re here, right? To get stronger and gain greater mobility in all aspects of your physical journey.

You’ll receive 7 FREE 25-minute videos from

• Mobility
• Core Strength
• Quick, effective HIIT workouts
• And more!

(FREE) challenge ACCEPTED!

The post The 2 Best Exercises to Recover from Golfer’s Elbow! (Medial Epicondylitis) appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

Something else to consider with piriformis syndrome is its impact on the sciatic nerve. When the piriformis becomes inflamed it can start to push down on the sciatic nerve, which is another reason why I don’t like going straight into piriformis relief exercises because they can just cause further irritation.

Instead, we want to increase the glide and slide of the nerve through piriformis syndrome stretches. Our nerves are just as important to consider when it comes to thinking about our muscles, joints, and myofascial system! I’m going to show you some simple, but effective exercises to start finding relief from piriformis syndrome (or any other nagging pain in the butt).

Active hamstring stretch

Start by lying on your back. Bring your leg up at a 90-degree angle and hold onto the back of the thigh with your arms. Lift your leg straight up with a flexed foot (flexed toward your face) and then point it at the top. Then lower the leg with a flexed foot.

Your hamstring range of motion will determine how high up you’re able to lift your foot. Don’t push yourself here, just stretch into your range.

If this is feeling a little too easy and you’re not feeling a stretch, you can amp it up a bit by starting with the toe pointed. Note: you don’t want to be too aggressive so just be careful!

So start with the toe pointed and then go into flexion as you lift the foot up. This is going to result in a lot more pressure on the nerve because you’re creating more tension. You’ll probably feel this all the way down to the calf. You don’t want to hold this stretch for too long – go right until you feel the stretch and then release the leg back down.

Do around 10 of these active hamstring stretches. This will let you get into the tissue without overdoing it and creating more agitation.

Piriformis syndrome stretch: Hip 90-90 stretch

In this stretch, we’re focusing on hip external range of motion.

Come to sit with one leg in front of you in a 90-degree position and the back leg also at 90 degrees. Everything is in a nice 90-90, and we’re going to focus on the front hip. From here begin to move as if you’re sitting up and extending the tailbone down, or, you can imagine that you’re pushing the knee back towards the hip. Keep a flat back as you come forward and bring the chest down towards the front leg. As soon as you feel the stretch activated in your hip: stop.

Remember that this piriformis syndrome stretch isn’t about bringing your chest all the way to the ground – this actually will pull you out of the stretch. Focus on elongating the tailbone, leveling the hips, and elongating the chest. Once you feel the stretch and stop in the position and encourage relaxation through the body by breathing into your belly and expanding the rib cage.

Hold this for about two minutes.

After two minutes, switch and do the same thing on the opposite side. Hold for another two minutes. Once you’ve evened out both sides you can begin to switch from side to side. Think stretch to push. You’re pushing your leg into the floor and using that momentum to bring you to the other side. This will allow you to start opening up the hip which allows the nerves to glide a bit easier.

There are many reasons you could have developed piriformis syndrome: overuse, trauma, simply sitting, or anything else in-between! That’s why it is so important to make mobility a major focus in your life. If you’re not sure where to start, or if you’re ready to deepen your mobility practice, check out The Mobility Method.

I also offer an amazing FREE mobility challenge!

You’ll receive 10-minute guided mobility videos for 7 days to create your own mobility flow uniquely suited to your body. This is a great way to get started prioritizing your body, mobility, and health — and it’s free!

The post Piriformis Syndrome Stretches for Butt Pain Relief! appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

1. How their foot and ankle are moving.
2. How they’re approaching a squat.

If there’s no weight involved (like barbells on the shoulder or a kettlebell in front of you) it’s okay to go all the way down into a squat with flexion in the lower back. This is great for getting the hips activated in a full range of motion and your ankles and feet in a full range of motion as well.

I’m going to share some exercises that will allow you to do this practice safely every day and see great improvement in your squatting depth and mobility!

All you need is a chair and two towels.

Ankle dorsiflex stretch with a chair for ankle mobility

Something that holds people back – especially if they’re new to squats – is a limited knee range of motion. Sometimes people even have a hard time sitting all the way back with their knees folded under them without running into limited knee flexion.

To address the knee, I start by taking a small towel and place it right inside the knee joint (back of the knee).

This will help open up some space, cause a distraction from feelings of tightness, and release some tension.

At the same time, we’re going to do some ankle mobility exercises. I like to put my foot onto an elevated surface like a chair or a bench. Taking this exercise off the floor really helps, especially if you have a restricted range of motion.

Put your foot up and create a 90-degree angle while bending the knee, and step your opposite foot back as if you’re lunging.

Place your weight forward and onto the ankle. Functional range of motion in the ankle should bring your knee about 4-5 inches forward. If your knee is barely reaching your toes then, well, we have some work to do! Once you find your range of motion, hold that position for about two minutes.

Do this every day! It’s not enough to hold for 30 or 40 seconds because we’re talking about the joint. We also have a thick Achilles tendon that attaches to the calf muscle and it all connects down the foot. All of these areas get really tight, so in order to find true release, we have to hold this pose for a significant amount of time and do so consistently.

We also want to make sure that we aren’t letting the hip pop out to the side when holding this pose.

You want to keep hip-to-knee alignment and then rest into it. Sometimes people like to add some additional weight onto the knee (like a hand weight or kettlebell) to give a bit more pressure. Another great thing you can do is reach down and over the knee to hold onto the chair (or whatever prop you’re using) and pull yourself in just a bit.

Keep it relaxed. You don’t want to feel any pain but you do want to feel the stretch! You may feel a sensation in the front or the back of the ankle. Hold for two minutes. Every day!

Bottom-of-the-foot stretch for foot mobility

For the second exercise, place the two towels on the floor and step on them with one foot. Only the ball of your foot and the heel will make contact with the towels, and this will allow space for the middle of the foot to stretch.

We still want to get a nice range of motion in the middle of the foot. This tends to be a neglected part of mobility but it’s important.

For this exercise, it’s okay for the inside of the knee to come in towards the mid-line. Just make sure you’re unweighted! You’re going to come out from the outside of the body on a diagonal, flexing from the heel, and bring the weight of energy towards the big toe and allow pressure into the bottom of the foot. Then come back to release.

Be mindful here. While it’s okay to explore mobility and different ranges of motion (only without extra weight added!) you shouldn’t feel any knee pain in the exercise. Really focus on the bottom of the foot and imaging it opening and stretching (as you lean in) and then releasing and retracting (as you come back.) You only need about five to ten of these on both sides.

Duck walks to improve ankle mobility

These look a little funny but they’re so good for opening up the feet and ankle!

Come down to the floor as if you’re crouching and place one knee to the ground. The other foot should be completely flat against the floor. Using your ankle you’re going to push your heel off the ground, carry the energy over, and place the opposite knee down. Think of pressure going over the ankle.

If you need to use your hands for support when you’re first starting out, that’s fine. But as you continue to practice really work on getting the foot as flat as possible on the ground and then bring the knee forward.

These are great stretches because not only do they get into your ankle but also into the toes! Because you’re already in a low position it gives the body a greater capacity to reach more depth in the practice.

Squat holds

Last exercise: squat holds! Seriously, you want to do these every day especially if your goal is to gain a greater range of motion.

First, do a little jump. Wherever your feet land that’s where you’re going to take the squat from.

Hold onto the back of the chair. This is going to give you additional support to come all the way down. Remember to bend your knees! I know that sounds fairly obvious- but you want to avoid bending from the waist to get low. (That won’t get you very far!)

Think of the tailbone pointing down and towards the floor as your knees track forward. You want to be able to come all the way down while flat on your feet. Your knees should be aligned over the second or third toe. And once you find that deep squat you’re going to hold it.

This is a great thing to do when you’re watching a show or when you have to bend down for something (you’re already down there, right?) Once you get comfortable you can start to lean forward a bit and bring more stretch into the ankles. Once you find some more range you can test and see how your balance is by letting go of the chair.

For some people, they’ll start to feel a slight burning sensation in the calves. That’s a good thing! It means your ankle and anterior tibialis are working. Eventually, you’ll find yourself able to hold this pose, unsupported, and actually feel very comfortable!

Looking for more mobility tips? Check out my free 7-day mobility challenge!

Mobility is accessible for everybody. You just need to learn the tips and tools that work for you. It’s not that people don’t want to do the work. They just don’t always know where to start! Through this unique mobility challenge, you’ll learn how to set up your own daily flow that I promise heeds rewards.

Are you ready? Take the challenge!

The post Ankle Dorsiflexion Exercises to Improve Deep Squats appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

You might be surprised to learn that it’s actually not about fixing your shoulders. It’s about everything else!

When targeting a rounded posture start thinking about everything that encompasses the upper body. Let’s start with the rib cage.

Diaphragmatic breathing to open up the ribcage

We’re going to focus on accessing and expanding the rib cage with diaphragmatic breathing. Our goal in this exercise is to relax and open the rib cage, encouraging the chest to release tension and tightness.

Lie on your back in a relaxed position. Place your fingertips underneath your rib cage and begin to (gently!) massage. Be mindful as you explore this area of your body. Can you relax the belly? Can you breathe deeply into the sensations? Maybe you’re still working on relaxing enough to wiggle your fingers underneath the rib cage. Just observe here without judgment. You don’t want to wiggle so hard that you feel any pain.

Once you begin feeling more comfortable, see if you can take a deep breath into the rib cage. Imagine expanding into both sides of the body. A lot of people imagine sending their breath only to their stomach but it’s actually the rib cage that we want moving.

When we are able to access this lateral expansion of breath and train the rib cage to move naturally in this way, we decrease the pressure and elevation and release the work from our trapezius muscles, or our upper back muscles.

Rounded shoulders occur when these upper back muscles are lengthened and our pectorals in the front of our chest get really tight, pulling our energy forward, causing our shoulders to round.

Stay in this exercise for at least two minutes – find what feels good for you!

Pectoral stretch to open the front body

This is one of my favorite pec stretches! I show and tell this move to everyone.

Come to standing and find a wall. Your inside leg is going to be forward and your outside leg steps back. Don’t step into a huge lunge. Tuck the tailbone under and squeeze your glute. This holds the low back in place so we can focus on the chest.

Bring your inside arm up and back at a diagonal. Keep the shoulder blade back and imagine driving it in towards the spine. Really focus on this as it’s key to the stretch. Mindfully begin to turn away from the wall – you should be feeling a really good pectoral stretch here right in the front of the chest.

Make sure that you’re not allowing the shoulder to roll forward because then you lose the stretch and release. The focus here is opening the chest. By opening the chest it allows our shoulders to relax and melt down the spine.

For this exercise, I like to place my hand on my belly do five slow breaths at least three times.

If your arm (placed on the wall) begins to fall asleep that’s normal. It just means that you have some increased tension and it’s pressing down on nerves and the arteries that allow blood flow. If this happens just take your arm down, shake it out, and try again.

It’s going to take time for the chest to open!

Active rotations to fix rounded shoulders

Now we want to get the upper back moving in a way that’s not putting tension on the low back or the shoulders.

Take the same position as the pectoral stretch. Lift up, arm back, squeeze the bum. Now we’re going to reach up and back but this time we’re trying to avoid touching the wall. Rotate your sternum toward the wall as much as possible, rotate the arm all the way back, down, and around.

For this exercise do 5-10 rotations on each side.

Now that the rib cage is expanded, the shoulder blades are in place, and the back is nice and open we can start the exercises. These are going to make a big difference in how the posture actually holds!

T Exercise

Grab a pull-up band or a resistance band. If you don’t already have one you can easily find one on Amazon or you can use my discount code DOCJENFIT to get 20% off at Hope Fitness. I use this band all the time!

We’re going to use the wall for this exercise. Step into the band and place your tailbone, upper back, and shoulders against the wall. Give a slight bend in the knees to release any pressure on the pelvis. To check for proper alignment here, we want the upper back and head against the wall without dropping the crown of the head back. Look straight ahead.

We also want to pay attention to the rib cage that we just warmed up. Is it lifted high towards the chest? If so, we want to focus on lowering the rib cage toward the pelvis. It might be hard at first to keep your head back without the rib cage lifting up, but that’s okay. Just keep practicing.

A good way to begin focusing on this is to take a breath in, expand out, and as you exhale allow the rib cage to lower.

Taking the band with you now, pull the elbows back, and try to open up the chest as you expand the band laterally.

As you do this you want to avoid the elbows coming away from you. Keep the elbows hugged into the side body as much as possible.

Keep the shoulders down, rib cage down, chin tucked, and squeeze your back between your shoulder blades, and then release the band back to its starting position.

Do about 10 of these.

If you feel like the band is too much you can take some resistance off by stepping off the band with one foot.

T Exercise Pt. 2

Bring the arms out in front of you. Keep the shoulders down and relaxed. What we want to avoid here is the shoulders popping up towards the ears and the rib cage popping out.

Keeping the rib cage down, chin tucked, and use your shoulder blades as the driving force to pull the band back. Think about the shoulder blades pulling down and back towards the wall. Then release.

Do another 10 of these!

You might be ready to stop here if your upper back isn’t used to this dynamic motion. That’s okay! Let this be where you start and eventually you’ll be ready to move onto…

Y Exercise

I’d call this exercise a bit more advanced, so if you’re just starting out you may want to try this first without using the band. But if you’re going for it, let’s do it!

Bring the arms out in front of you and, this time, we’re going to lift into a Y shape.

As your arms raise we want to make sure that the rib cage isn’t popping up, that your back isn’t jutting off the wall, and that the shoulders aren’t lifting up towards the ears. This is very important! Make sure your elbows aren’t bending.

You don’t have to touch the wall! You’ll continue this exercise for 10 reps and, again, you don’t need to touch the wall. We’re focusing on opening the upper back and helping it grow to be nice and strong, especially right around the rotators in the back of the shoulder.

When you keep up this practice you’ll notice that you begin to naturally stand up with a better posture without having to force anything.

Do this exercise about 10 times.

Wall Angels to fix rounded shoulders

Remove the band for this one. You can do this exercise against the wall or you can take it sitting on the ground. If you’re sitting on the ground it’s going to make keeping your rib cage down a bit more challenging- so just keep that in mind!

Bring your arms as far back against the wall as you can. If your body is a bit out (away) from the wall, that’s okay, try to get your upper back press against it. If your head isn’t quite reaching that’s fine for right now, too. Keep the chin tucked.

Bring the arms back, elbows bent, and simply slide up the wall and then slide back down.

The goal here is going to be bringing the hands together at the top. It’s going to be tough to keep the shoulders from popping up towards the ears or without bringing the hands off the wall. That’s okay! This is why we practice.

So, keep the upper back against the wall, rib cage down, and keep the chin tucked. Glide your arms up and come back down.

Do 10 of these wall angels.

Wall Angels on the ground

If you’re looking for more of a challenge, come down to the ground. Sit with your knees up (this helps to tuck the tailbone!) and ribcage down. This really helps you put the focus on the upper back.

In conclusion…

With these stretches and exercises, you can fix rounded shoulders and a forward head for good. Practice makes progress! Continue doing these exercises often and you’ll begin to see an improvement in your daily posture. It takes dedication but wow, are the benefits worth it! Enjoy seeing some real changes in the body.

Looking to improve all aspects of your body?

Do you want to…

Squat lower?

Run faster?

Get stronger?

Check out The Optimal Body membership! Unlock incredible mobility tips, techniques, full-length guided videos, and more for less than $30!

Related:

How to reverse rounded shoulders in 5 minutes

How to decrease neck tension at work

The post How to Fix Rounded Shoulders and Forward Head! appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

Elbow pain is often called Tennis Elbow or, more technically, lateral epicondylitis. Despite the name, you don’t actually have to be a tennis player to suffer from the pain of Tennis Elbow.

What is tennis elbow?

The most recent research shows Tennis Elbow, or pain on the outside of the elbow, is the result of overused muscles causing tendon fiber dysregulation as opposed to being an issue of inflammation in the area. (Thus a more appropriate name would actually be lateral epicondylosis.)

Tennis elbow is related to wrist extension. You extend your wrist when you bend your wrist back, fingers pointing up (for contrast, wrist flexion is when you bend your wrist down and your hand down and in).

Limited wrist extension can lead to overworking the extensor muscle and cause that tennis elbow pain.

In order to tap into that tendon and start to load it in a passive and gentle way, we want to begin by stretching and mobilizing the extensors. The following practices activate the extensors in an eccentric manner in order to relieve pressure.

It’s also important to consider the mobility in the wrist. If you’re finding that your wrist has a limited range of mobility, check out my post and video on how to improve your wrist extension.

Wrist extensor exercise 1

Come down onto the ground or mat in a kneeling position. Flip your wrists forward (so the back of your hand is on the ground) and come on top of the wrist. Keep in mind that the wrist is a sensitive part of the body, so you want to approach these exercises gently and slowly!

Keep the elbows straight as you lean back into a sitting posture with your glutes making contact with your heels. If this is a bit too intense stay in a tabletop position. While you’ll feel sensation, focus on finding this with relaxation – you want to avoid any tension (because that’s taking away the whole point of the exercise.)

Relax the fingers, relax the shoulders, and hold this stretch for at least 30 breaths or two minutes. Really focus on breathing into the stretch, relaxing, and releasing.

You can rotate the elbows into pronation and supination (twisting them in and out) and see what feels good. Again, stay mindful. Avoid all tension and pain here.

Wrist extensor exercise 2 for tennis elbow pain relief

After two minutes, turn your hands so that the fingers are facing each other. Using strength from the upper body, elevate the back of the wrist off the ground and come onto the knuckles. Remember: slow and gentle. Then come down slowly as your release eccentrically.

You’ll do 5-10 of these reps. Pay attention to your physical sensations. If it hurts, engage more of your upper body strength.

After you’ve completed those reps, come back into the stretch from the first part of this series. You can also extend your arm in front of you, fingers pointed down, and press your into your opposite hand, creating a stretch. You can also do this gentle exercise during the day to find some release!

The goal is to create tension release on a consistent basis, relieve pressure, relieve the tendon, and gently start to load the tendon so you can start to heal.

Are you looking for more mobility tips? Try my 7-day FREE mobility challenge!

As you start to tap into your unique physical mobility, you’ll learn that every ache and pain has a remedy- it’s about figuring out what you need.

Build your own mobility program for pain relief and even more benefits!

The post Top 2 Tennis Elbow Pain Relief Exercises appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

This is super scary for me to talk about. Mainly because it feels like I’m “supposed” to show up online, look perfect, feel good, workout, be fit, mobile, and all the things. At least, this is how I feel like I’m categorized whether or not people are viewing me this way.

Let’s be real. 2020 was a little bit hard. I felt it, too. Don’t get me wrong: I have so much that I am grateful for. But it was hard. Especially the toll of being stuck inside all the time and not getting to see my loved ones or do the things that I used to do every day.

Life has just been stressful lately. I found myself at the biggest I’ve ever been in my body. There – I said it.

I know that people look at me and perceive me as fit. I just want to encourage you not to be in comparison mode right now. We all fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others, but I’m just sitting here today telling you that I’ve also had to do some work around how I’m actively feeling in my body.

During quarantine, I found it hard to go outside as much and I even stopped moving around as often. (Me! The mobility expert!) I’ve taken on a lot of new things that cause me to sit in front of my computer and be on my phone a lot more. I’m just moving less in general.

I wondered what I weighed but decided not to weigh myself. As my friend Kelly LaVeque says,

“Measuring your food in calories is like measuring your worth in weight. It tells us nothing about your composition, nutrient density or health.”

Still, I felt bloated and inflamed and overall not good. Mostly, this feeling reminds me of a mental place that I used to be in. I used to hate my body. I hated myself. I was constantly talking negatively about myself when I was getting ready. It was a regular process of ripping myself apart with negativity.

Then one day my fiance pulled me into his lap and said, “say three things that you love about yourself.” I couldn’t. I just couldn’t do it.

After that, I decided things needed to shift.

I deserve to love myself, hold myself, say nice things about myself, and feel good about myself! Because I want to show up as a bright light for those around me. If I’m talking negatively to myself and not feeling good about who I am, then I have to wonder how I’m showing up for others?

You have to discover what isn’t working in your life and understand why. Why it’s not working and why it matters to you that it starts working.

This post contains an affiliate link, meaning that if you choose to sign up and purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you! I promise to only ever promote products that I stand by myself. 

8 Self-Care Tips to Change Your Life

These are just 8 self-love tips that I’ve brought into my life to spark that shift into reality. I hope that these ideas and actions can inspire you, too!

Before we get into the tips, I want to share that I have taken these day-by-day. It starts off with it being a 30-day focus, and then that grows into 60 days, then 90… you get the picture. Keep your goals within your reach and see how much further that’ll take you!

1. Accountability: Ask for support

It’s okay to ask for support! It’s so much harder to do it alone and you’re probably not alone in how you’re feeling.

I reached out to my girl, Emily Gallagher. We both felt the same way – we weren’t connected to our bodies. This became something we could take on together. She made a spreadsheet with a little checklist, and every day we would check something off.

Two things are being accomplished here: we’re working towards our goals by connecting and supporting each other. Be honest with your support system and they’ll be honest with you. We’d talk about what we’re up to, what we’re doing, and most importantly, how we’re feeling about it all.

I made a calendar and called it my Grateful For My Body calendar with workouts inspired to get me connected again. All of the workouts were pulled from my Optimal Body Group! I was able to share it with my community (and Emily) and invited them along.

2. Daily affirmations: Speak kindly to yourself

It’s okay if, like me, you find you struggle to say three nice things about yourself right now. You can incorporate some daily affirmations to help you get there.

Every day, I look into the mirror and come up with 3-5 committed and loving “I” statements. Here are a few that I use:

• I am strong.
• I am beautiful.
• I am a light.

It’s even less about what you say (though it should always be loving!) and more about looking yourself in the eye and feeling that deep gratitude for yourself. Like how you would feel saying these loving truths to a friend! Why is it that the hardest person to be nice to is yourself??

Commit to this exercise every day – could be just one affirmation even – and speak it to yourself until it feels true.

3. Get outside and walk

Walking around sounds like such a simple thing but work has me stuck inside a lot more. And that’s my choice! But I also choose to step outside and get into nature. Studies show that nature has the ability to heal and nourish us. It’s grounding for our bodies and helps release stress and tension.

4. Self-care tip: Movement!

I’m focusing on movement again! I already told you about my Grateful For My Body calendar, and it’s full of my functional HIIT workouts that I can literally do inside of my house – so no excuses! I’m even going back to the videos I’ve made and blog posts I’ve put out as resources and guides:

Playlist of my HIIT workouts on YouTube

5. Drinking water

It’s super easy for me to get in two cups of coffee a day but not as easy to reach my water intake goals. Relatable?

So I make my water focus really doable. Four giant glasses from my big water cup. To be honest… I’m not sure how many ounces that is? Full disclosure: I’m not great at math. But I know that I can commit to this huge container of water. The goal is to drink an ounce of water for each pound you weigh up to half your weight per day. (So if you weigh 150 pounds, that would ve 75 ounces per day.)

6. Dry brushing

I was so thrilled to discover dry brushing and to find out that it actually works! We did a podcast episode on it if you want the full scoop, but essentially dry brushing helps the body get fluids moving and reduces inflammation. I have clients who do this and say that it makes them feel so much better.

7. Breathwork exercises for connection to self

Breathwork! I use breathwork to connect deeper within myself.

If you’ve never tried it before, or are a bit skeptical, we break it down in another one of our podcast episodes. Breathwork is a great way to get out of our mind and into the body. When we calm the nervous system and reach that parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ mode, we can connect to our true selves and move away from a stress response.

Also, while I don’t do it every day, I always make a point to get to my journal and write out how I’m feeling and what I’m thinking about. Journaling can be a great action to take after doing some breathwork!

Remember: Self-care is about giving yourself what you need. It’s not just about chocolate and bubble baths; there’s a level of self-discipline involved.

8. Dress to feel good (even if that’s in workout clothes!)

This is one of my favorite self-care tips. Even if you’re dressing for comfort, you can still dress in a way that helps you feel good!

I literally am always wearing Fabletics. Not just because it’s super comfy, super high quality, but because it’s super cute, too! Did you know that they offer more than workout pieces as well?

You can check out my favorite pieces at Fabletics.com/DocJenFitYT and receive your first two pairs of leggings for $24 (I’ve also included a few pictures for inspo below!)

But seriously, dress to feel good. How you feel on the outside really does impact how you’re feeling inside. Put on your favorite outfit and try those affirmations!

Why my process works for me (and how it can work for you!)

You’ll notice there’s no strict outline.

I didn’t want to create something that was centered around restriction. I intentionally avoided “no more this” “cut out that” “I can’t have that.” I want you to be conscious of this as well.

Focus on adding positivity rather than taking things out. It is so much more rewarding and celebratory for our body and mind to actually look forward to a grounding, healing, connecting practice rather than living in scarcity of the things we cannot have.

In conclusion… I’m grateful for you!

I hope that these 8 self-care tips have inspired you to shift your life, too. Thank you for being receptive to my vulnerability. It’s scary for me, but I think it’s important that we understand that we all have perceptions of our own bodies and selves.

Do your best to curb comparison and try not to judge where you are in your journey. Take the tips that work for you and implement them into your life – it’s not perfect, nothing is. But what’s important is that we continue to come back to ourselves again and again and again.

Are you looking for a community to help you stay active and accountable for your growth?

Consider my Optimal Body Membership! Every month I’ll send you brand new mobility workouts that meet you where you’re at and push you to reach your goals – whether that’s to…

• Stretch deeper
• Squat lower
• Run faster

No matter what you’ll be feeling a lot better.

I feel so confident that you’ll love growing with us that I’ve included a 30-day money-back guarantee. What do you have to lose?

Let’s grow together- sign up today!
Or!
Try my FREE mobility challenge!

The post 8 Self-Care Tips to Love Your Body appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.

Mobility is the overall range of motion a person has within their body, most notably within the joints.

Mobility is incredibly important to one’s health and daily functioning. Increased mobility prevents you from getting injuries. It allows you to squat deeper, run faster, and train harder. Best of all? Great mobility can keep you active for many years to come.

There are so many benefits to increasing your mobility:

• Reduced physical injury through strengthing the joints and increasing body awareness
• Increased strength through muscle activation
• Releasing built-up tension within the body (goodbye, knots!)
• Decreased physical pain and tightness
• Improved posture
• Better understanding of your unique body

Why is mobility important?

Mobility is foundational to physical health and the key to longevity. If you have poor mobility, you are not moving a joint through its full range of motion when active in that joint. This can lead to an uneven distribution of pressure – articular surfaces where your joints connect may wear out faster and your muscles and nervous system may adapt to the poor mobility in the joint, leading to knots and pain.

When we spend too much time in stagnation (like sitting behind a desk for eight hours a day, five days a week) the internal connective tissues become short and tight. This connective tissue is called fascia. Fascia is like the saran wrap for the internal body. It’s a thin and reactive tissue made up mostly of collagen. It encases muscles and other organs and holds the integrity of the body. When it’s not properly mobilized it can leave a person feeling stiff, trigger pain, and even obstruct organs.

When you have optimal mobility within your body this means you’re equipped with a fully functional and active range of motion.

We depend on our mobility literally all the time. When we’re taking a walk, hiking and taking large steps up to tall rocks, doing a HIIT workout, in the garden, or if we take an accidental fall, and reach out to brace ourselves. Mobility serves us always.

Mobility and injury prevention

If you don’t have full mobility in certain joints, you may not be activating the proper muscle systems during movement and other muscles become overworked to compensate. This can lead to pain and injury.

Accidents happen – they’re just a part of life. But severe injury can be avoided when you learn to tap into the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) cues the body is sending. Mobility training prevents the onset of injury by conditioning the joints, keeping the body supple, and offering a routine opportunity to tap in to your body awareness.

Mobility vs. flexibility

There are people (and professionals!) who interchange flexibility and mobility as if they’re synonymous but that’s a bit misleading. Flexibility is the ability to lengthen your muscles. It’s a passive way of getting into your body, like holding a stretch while your body melts into it.

Meanwhile, mobility is the ability of a joint to move actively through its full range of motion.

You do need some measure of flexibility to have good mobility. But you also need stability and strength. Passive, static stretching (e.g. touch your toes) focuses on flexibility while dynamic stretching (e.g. leg swings or arm circles) focuses on mobility.

Flexibility is often seen as a gold standard. We are very impressed by the super bendy people in yoga class with their legs behind their head. But flexibility without strength can do more harm than good.

Constant overstretching without incorporating strength-building can cause the ligaments and joints to stretch without properly preparing tissue fibers. If connective tissue and the fascia are constantly in stretch, they don’t have the opportunity to recoil and regenerate. Imagine taking a rubber band and constantly pulling, pulling, pulling. The band would become long and loose and, equally, at liberty to snap at a minor movement.

Mobility and diaphragmatic breathing

Maybe you’re thinking that mobility is just about the physical support of the active body. It goes even deeper than that!

Mobility encourages and allows the body to find greater relaxation. By expanding your range of motion you create more space for breath.

Have you ever been stressed out and someone tells you to just take a deep breath? Breathing with tension is different than breathing into tension.

Taking a deep breath with tension causes the chest to inflate and the shoulders to shoot up towards the ears. Breathing into tension drops deep into the body, expands the diaphragm, and sends a message to the autonomic nervous system that it can relax. The more relaxation we find, the less tension is in the body. Less tension leads to greater mobility.

Diaphragmatic breathing exercises are common in mobility exercises because nothing in the body works alone. The connection between breath and movement is crucial because oxygen is the force that controls our entire system. Short and shallow breaths activate the sympathetic nervous system which can cause us to feel agitated or anxious. Long, deep, and expansive breaths activate the parasympathetic nervous system which allows the body and mind to chill out.

How to train for mobility

When it comes to training for mobility you should always start wherever you are. No need to compete with anyone else around you, and definitely no need to over-exert yourself (remember: one of the main purposes of mobility is injury prevention!)

If you’re feeling inspired to begin exploring your own mobility system, I’ve put together a Full Body Mobility Plan on Jen Health to help you reach your goals. The Full Body Mobility Plan was built and designed for anyone to increase their range of motion, learn how to prevent injury, and relieve pain. You’ll tap into your body’s unique structure, get a handle on your physical restriction, and enjoy all the benefits of a more mobile body.

I also offer 10 other plans all within this one Jen Health Platform, where I’ll walk you through day to day plans to help you relieve specific aches and pains. Each plan will be filled with muscle activation exercises, functional HIIT or strength workouts, core stability exercises, mobility flows, and individual mobility exercises to support full-body mobility! Basically, it is like having a physical therapist in your back pocket. You can even search anything you need using our explore section!

Of course, I offer plenty of mobility exercises on my website and YouTube channel. Here are a few to help you get started:

Evening bed mobility flow for a restful sleep

4 Easy neck strengthening exercises to increase mobility

Proven breathing and mobility exercises for pain

Common myths about mobility

Want to get a quick pulse on your current mobility status? Check out my mobility test for better squats, faster runs, and a stronger body.

In conclusion… Keep it Movin’!

Mobility is the key to peak physical performance because it’s the functional range and active range that we have within our body. Without strong mobility, the body will begin to break down- whether that be through athletic performance, routine physical exertion, or simply aging. Improving your mobility is one of the most effective ways to have a happy, pain-free body that will sustain you through your entire life.

You want to take care of your body today and think about it in 20, 30, 40+ years from now. Mobility is the key to longevity.

You don’t have to have advanced or extreme fitness goals to want to improve your mobility. Mobility is for everyone! Not just athletes, not just performers, but any person who wants to enjoy longevity and freedom in their body. Don’t let it intimidate you.

I promise the more that you incorporate even small, daily movements you’ll enjoy the benefits and it’ll continue to bring you back to the mat, the gym, or wherever you find mobility.

For more mobility inspiration you can check out my Instagram, @docjenfit (write me!) or tune into The Optimal Body Podcast for tips, tricks, hacks, and interviews.

The post What is Mobility in the Body and Why It Matters appeared first on Doc Jen Fit | Doctor of Physical Therapy.