The Fitness Fixer

Fixing Pain and Golf Easier With Real Life Movement Than Isolated Exercises

2008-05-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Jeff is a Silicon Valley executive, and coach of Next Stage. He found that a lifestyle of unhealthy exercise habits can accumulate, until one day of golf becomes "the Camel's Last Straw." Jeff writes: "There is life after back pain – even the kind where you can’t walk, sit, lie down, or sleep. "The weekend before Thanksgiving (2007), I was out golfing, and I made a pretty bad swing at a ball...

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a Happy Mothers Day, for your mother, a mother, yourself, and Mother Earth. Click Healthy Mothers Day for health and fun. Photo by Araleya

Fast Fitness - Easy Handstand for Balance, Upper Body Strength -The Movie

2008-05-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

Here is Friday Fast Fitness - a quick, safer way to try a handstand. Standing on hands has many health and strength benefits and can be easily practiced in this way. My student Dennis, Olympic medalist in wrestling, demonstrates in this short movie. Click the arrow to watch the movie: Stand with your back about a foot in front of a wall, and crouch to put your hands on the floor (avoid...

Replies to Medical Questions

2008-05-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dr. Auerbach of the Wilderness Medicine blog wrote an important post for the many requests we get for personalized medical replies. It was so well said, I echo it here for readers of Fitness Fixer: A fair number of comments from readers of this blog come in the form of clinical questions, in which someone asks for a response to a personal medical question. While I would like to be able to answer...

Fix One Pain, Don't Cause Another

2008-05-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

When you stretch and exercise, especially if you stretch and exercise to improve your health, remember that the purpose is not to recreate unhealthy movement habits. Two similar letters came in recently. Reader Tina wrote: "Thanks so much for your posts on stopping upper back pain. I have stopped my upper back pain. But, when I pull my neck and shoulders back, I get pain in my lower back. ...

Runner Fixes More Pain With Straighter Push-Off

2008-05-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

Last year, reader Ted fixed back pain by learning to use neutral spine during running and daily life. This week he checked in to say the back is still fine, and that he went on to fix other painful sites. Fixing pain and injuries by doing some exercises may temporarily ease symptoms. Instead, you can stop the source of injury by making movement habits healthy while exercising and moving through...

Fast Fitness - How to Feel Change to Neutral Spine

2008-05-02T00:10:00.000-07:00

Here is Friday Fast Fitness - Use a wall to learn neutral spine while standing, to know how to stop a major source lower back pain during standing, walking, and running. Many people learn pelvic tilts lying on their back in physical therapy or fitness classes. What does that do? Little. The purpose of learning the pelvic tilt is to know how to do it during real daily life so that you do not...

Plantar Fasciitis Part I

2008-05-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Raina and several other readers asked about plantar fasciitis. On a house, a fascia is a flat horizontal surface just under the roof. In your body, a fascia is flat fibrous tissue that wraps your muscles and soft structures. You have fascia in several places. One is across the bottom of your feet. "Plantar” means the bottom of your foot that you "plant" on the ground. Your plantar fascia is the...

How Strong Is Your Arm? - Readers Find Out

2008-04-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

Readers have been writing in since the post How Strong Is Your Arm? They wanted me to know that they first thought they were strong because they lifted weights or went to exercise class, then realized for the first time that they thought they can't improve what they say, do, think, or eat, and were not strong as a human being. Reader Dean e-mailed that he had previously thought that stress made...

Fast Fitness - One-Legged Party Trick for Strength, Flexibility, Balance

2008-04-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here is Friday Fast Fitness - have fun while building balance, flexibility, coordination, concentration, and leg strength. Stand on one foot with a can or other small container on the floor in front of youWhile balancing on one leg, bend to lower yourself toward the floorRetrieve something fun from the floor with your mouth - no hands. This is a fun one for kids and adults, for...

Voting Is This Week - Healthline for Webby Award

2008-04-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Healthline has been nominated for Best Health Website for 2008. The "Webby" Awards are called the "Oscars of the Internet." Readers decide winners through on-line voting. Voting is only open until the end of April. Healthline has asked us (the Health Expert columnists) to mention it. Here is what and how: To win the People's Voice Webby, cast your vote for your favorite health site (hopefully...

Thank You Grand Rounds 4.31

2008-04-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Thank you Grand Rounds 4.31 for including my post Feeling Better Than She Ever Has Part I - Fixing Herniated Disk and Reclaiming Active Life among this week's selections for the best medical posts of the week. In a hospital, Grand Rounds is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic. On the web, the weekly Grand Rounds is a collection of the best in online medical writing. Thank you Val...

Junk Food Through Your Skin?

2008-04-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

We live part of each year in Asia. For a few months, I was posting articles for you from various villages. The town shower of one is pictured at right. Imagine what the Internet café was like. On the flights over, our only bag was lost. US transportation security required us to check our sole knapsack, since it had a small gift for friends containing liquid. It never reappeared. We don't need...

Fast Fitness - Sprain Prevention and Rehab Training

2008-04-18T05:44:00.000-07:00

Here is Fast Friday Fitness - feel how your own muscles work to hold ankle position, so that you can have stable ankles without artificial shoe supports or bracing, which weaken the supporting muscles from disuse: Stand with feet parallel and look in a mirror where you can see your feet, or just look down.Rise to toe and holdKeep body weight over big and second toe with straight ankle position as...

Non-Plastic Non-Aluminum Sports and Fitness Food Carriers

2008-04-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

Readers were excited by the post Green Water which tells some of why the fitness craze of bottled water isn't healthy or necessary. You don't need that much water, and the containers are unhealthy in themselves in many ways. My student Lily found a site for us - KleanKanteen.com with stainless steel containers. This is an alternative to aluminum containers. See what you can do to reduce litter...

Thank You Grand Rounds 4.30

2008-04-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Thank you Grand Rounds 4.30 for including my post Tax Preparation Health among this week's votes for the best medical posts of the week. In a hospital, Grand Rounds is a lecture for doctors about a patient or topic. On the web, the weekly Grand Rounds is a collection of the best in online medical writing. It is a lot of work for the person hosting. Thank you to Womans Health News from a medical...

Feeling Better Than She Ever Has Part II - Fixing Herniated Disk and Reclaiming Active Life

2008-04-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

Barbara lives in a little town of 300 people in Yukon Canada - map at right. Part I of Barbara's story last Wednesday described why it didn't take six weeks to fix Barbara's herniated discs and severe sciatic pain and numbness, but it was six weeks until the "light went on" and she did the things to stop the cause of the injury, so it could stop hurting and start to heal. Here is an insider's...

Fast Fitness - First Morning Stretch

2008-04-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here is Fast Friday Fitness - straighten out first thing in the morning and help your back feel good. Instead of sitting on the bed first thing in the morning, which loads the discs, try this: Before getting out of bed, turn face down propped gently on elbowsHold briefly Get out of bed without sitting. Don't droop your head downward, jut your neck or chin forward, hunch your shoulders, or fold...

Tax Preparation Health

2008-04-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

Taxes are due April 15th. Piles of papers, forms, schedules, receipts. Readers have asked how to be healthier while working at the desk, and how to keep their cool during tax preparation. Several readers asked how to stop neck pain when looking down over deskwork. Reader John M, specifically asked "How do you suggest someone look down (to look at a chart etc at work) without pushing the...

Feeling Better Than She Ever Has Part I - Fixing Herniated Disk and Reclaiming Active Life

2008-04-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Barbara's story came in over several weeks. Barbara thought she was healthy and active, and had done years of yoga. She had years of lower back pain, then a sudden onset of severe pain, leg weakness, and numbness. She couldn't push off effectively with her left foot, or stand on tiptoe. The heel of her left foot was completely numb, as well as the left side of that foot. Barbara lives six hours...

Thank You Grand Rounds 4.29

2008-04-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you Dr. Wes for hosting Grand Rounds 4.29 this week and including my post A Laugh at Sedentary Mindset among his votes for the best medical posts of the week. Dr. Wes called the post, "a funny, yet disquieting, video on the sedentary-mindset of our society."

Health & Fitness Third Edition at Last

2008-04-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited new third edition is now available of the sold out book Health & Fitness in Plain English - How to Be Healthy, Happy, and Fit For The Rest Of Your Life. I have been working on it for years. The third edition has important changes and additions. The new third edition has a front cover photo of three people playing at the beach. Includes: Exercise - Abs, stretching, weights,...

Fast Fitness - Fix Flat Feet, Pronation, and Fallen Arches

2008-04-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Here is Fast Friday Fitness - feel how your own muscles work to hold arch support, so that you can have healthy arches without artificial shoe arch supports or orthotics, which weaken the supporting muscles from disuse: Stand with feet parallel and look in a mirror where you can see your feet, or just look down.Pull outward until your arches rise and restore, and your ankles are straightUse this...

Thank You Grand Rounds, I Think

2008-04-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Thank you Grand Rounds for including my post Gluteal Muscles Myth - Shaking the Dog’s Paw among the best medical posts of the week. Grand Rounds on the web is an electronic collection of notable medical posts hosted by one medical blogger each week. This week, Grand Rounds was started, then successively handed down through five different medical bloggers. It was a merry chase to find all the...

Sinus and Head Colds

2008-04-02T05:34:00.000-07:00

Several readers asked what else they can do for painful head and sinus congestion, because after two+ weeks of medicines and doctor visits, they were no better, or were worse. Common treatments do not work as claimed, including decongestants and sprays, and can cause sinus pain to continue and recur. What Are Sinuses? The sinuses in your head are eight spaces in your skull behind your eyes and...