​So how does our posture affect our walking.  Does it even matter? 
 
Well, the short answer is, “yes”.  It does matter.
 
I talked in the last post about how our walking is ideally generated by our spine and core muscles.  And that while our legs take us further and faster, our spine and core is the generator of efficient and comfortable walking.
 
Our standing posture affects how well our spine and core muscles are able to work together.
 
The connection that our trunk and pelvis is able to make is crucial to our core response and spinal stability. 
 
And the connection they make is affected by their relationship to each other.  Or another way of saying that is their posture!
 
If our trunk and pelvis are not in good alignment, then it’s harder for them to work together.
 
You can think of the top half of your body as a block and the bottom half of your body as a block.  The blocks need to be stacked solidly or the structure isn’t as strong.  

​In the next blog post, I’ll talk about where many of need more mobility in order to achieve an improved posture or starting position for walking and how mobility in our one part of our body greatly affects our ease and efficiency of walking!

​Ever watched a lizard locomote?  Or better yet,  a salamander?

Notice that the legs aren’t really driving the motion?  Where is the movement generated?
If you said spine, you’re right! 
While we’ve come a long way from the lowly salamander, humans also are designed with an innate spinally driven locomotor pattern.  One in which the walking motion is initiated by muscles that attach to the spine (or our core).
In this paradigm our legs are just extensions that carry us further and faster.  It’s not that they’re not important, it’s just that they shouldn’t be getting the party started.
For a lot of us though, we lose touch with this pattern over the years through postural habits, pain, injury, lack of mobility, etc.
When this happens, we don’t move as effectively and sometimes we even end up with symptoms.  Hip pain, knee pain, back pain.  You know the drill!
There are a few key elements necessary to tap into our spinal engine:

1. Posture
2. Mobility
3. Strength and coordination

 
Stay tuned for the next blog post to learn more about these 3 areas specifically with respect to walking…
I’ll get into what posture really means and why it’s important (it’s not just about standing up tall), where you need mobility and how much, and what areas most people need to strengthen!

Hiking is one thing!  One great thing, of course.  But backpacking takes it to a whole other level!  
It's like "this one goes to 11!"
Maybe you're thinking of making the leap from day trips to overnight trips, but you're feeling a bit intimidated by carrying the heavy pack...?
I know this was my experience when I decided to dust of my North Face 30L backpack after oh...about 2o years!
Was I nervous this time around?  You bet.  
So I broke down the areas that I knew I would need to work on if I wanted to have fun filled trip.  One where I felt confident in my body.  One where I wasn't worried if my legs would ache at night and keep me up.  One where I wouldn't regret not having a heating pad for my back, or an ice pack for my knee!  That stuff is hard to come by in the back country!!

So here's what I focused on...

1. Started walking more.  Lots more.
2. Strengthened my butt (it's not as easy as it sounds!)
3. Got my mid back loosened up.
4. Worked on my feet.
5. Practiced carrying stuff.

If you want to read more about the tips, check out the full guide I created here...

Okay,  so it's not much fun!!!   But we're going to talk about it anyway, and I'm going to do it with you!  
Showing you the best way to get the most out this rather unpleasant experience. 
​How to target the stubborn areas.
The ones that get missed.
And often make all the difference.
Let's get to it!!!
We've got trails to blaze and mountains to climb!

Hip pain and tightness is a common complaint I hear from patients.  A lot of us have been advised on foam rolling our ITBand.  That it gets "tight".  In this video, I talk about how to get the most out foam rolling you whole upper leg and how to target some often overlooked areas!

The facebook gnomes just kept showing this pillow to me!  They are sooo tricksy.  As a PT who specializes in helping get good sleep (you can't heal if you don't sleep), I just couldn't resist.  I had to try it out for myself and I wanted one for my patient's to try as well.  
You'll find my review and some tips for use of the pillow below...
A few notes: this is the pillow designed more for shoulder pain than GERD, the elevation is not as high
my take aways(in case you don't feel like watching me get snuggled up in a pillow):  
* it's hot
* it does relieve pressure on your shoulder
* You still probably need another pillow to get yourself positioned just so
* it ain't cheap, but then, neither are you ;)

Even if you're doing core exercises, you may not be ready for specific activities like weedeating!  Weedeating is a diagonal activity and you could be week in the specific directional diagonal that you need.

We are in the thick of gardening and yard care season here in Western North Carolina, so we wanted to take this opportunity to give a series of tips and recommendations for taking care of your garden and lawn without hurting your back or knees!  It's normal to have sore muscles after you've done an increased amount of work outside that your body is not accustomed to doing.  But injuries that result in persistent back or knee pain are different though, and with some care and modification you can be more likely to prevent these kinds of injuries and keep your garden green and lovely!