Toronto Massage Therapy and Acupuncture Clinic by RMT » Lower Back Pain

Video: Exercise for Low Back Pain, Sciatica & Herniated Disc

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:36:44 +0000

Here is a video for people suffering from lower back pain, sciatica or herniated disc pain. This is a great exercise because it is so gentle and safe. The exercise gently mobilizes the lower back vertebrae and lubricates the joints. It also eases the Lumbar Muscles.

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you.
Do the exercises slowly and gently. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Try to breathe slowly and keep your body relaxed. Do not tense up or hold your breath as this will invite muscle spasm.
You should not feel any pain during the exercises. If you do feel pain, decrease the range of movement by stopping before you get to the point of pain. Continue the exercise within the pain free range.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Do the exercises in a set of 1 minute for a minimum of 3 times a day for best results.

Video: Exercise for Sciatica & Disc Herniation

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:24:02 +0000

Here are some exercises for Disc Herniation or Discogenic Sciatica. The exercises are part of the McKenzie Method. The exercises are an attempt to take pressure off the sciatic nerve by helping to mobilize the disc back into the place.

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you.
Do the exercises slowly and gently. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Try to breathe slowly and keep your body relaxed. Do not tense up or hold your breath as this will invite muscle spasm.
You should not feel any pain during the exercises. If you do feel pain, decrease the range of movement by stopping before you get to the point of pain. Continue the exercise within the pain free range.
Stage one where the instructor is on his elbows is the safest position. Do not attempt the other positions until you can do the previous position safely with absolutely no discomfort for 2 days.
Be very careful about going into the position where you are supported by your hands. Only do this position and the subsequent “side bending” pose when you are no longer in the acute or subacute phases
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Do the exercises in a set of 3 for a minimum of 3 times a day for best results.
Hold the stretch for 15 seconds each time.

Research: Lumbar Disc Herniation and Acupuncture

Ken Shim, RMT — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:00:27 +0000

The August 2007 issue of the Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science, Volume 5, Number 4 had a study by Zhang Bi-meng, Wu Yao-chi and Shao Ping entitled “Treatment of lumbar intervertebral disk herniation with electric acupuncture “.

A total of 200 subjects were studied with 100 subjects in the treatment group receiving electro acupuncture and 100 subjects in the control group receiving oral medicine.

The acupuncture treatment group had an effectiveness rate of 86% while the control group had an effectiveness rate of 75%.

Research: Acupuncture vs Conventional Medicine for Lower Back Pain

Ken Shim, RMT — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:48:27 +0000

This study appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 169 No. 9, May 11, 2009

The study followed 638 adults with chronic mechanicallow back pain who were given one of the following treatments:

individualized acupuncture (acupuncture treatment formula tailored to the patient)
standardized acupuncture (typical acupuncture points for lower back pain)
simulated acupuncture (sham acupuncture using toothpicks on acupuncture points)
conventional medical treatments of medicine and physiotherapy

Ten treatments were provided over 7 weeks by experienced acupuncturists. The results were as follows:

By the 8 week mark, all of the acupuncture groups showed an improvement of 4.4 or 4.5 while the conventional medicine group showed an improvement of only 2.1 points.
By the 8 week mark, the acupuncture groups reported improved symptoms of 1.6 to 1.9 while the conventional medicine group improved symptoms by only 0.7 points.
By the 1 year mark, the acupuncture groups showed clinically meaningful improvements in dysfunction of 59% to 65% vs the conventional medicine group which showed an improvement of 50%
In summary, the acupuncture groups showed a larger improvement, greater reduced symptoms and longer lasting improvements than conventional medicine.
It should also be noted that while the results of sham acupuncture were the same as real acupuncture, sham acupuncture also proved to yield much better results than conventional medicine.

Video: Pilates for Legs

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:52:27 +0000

Here is part 3 of the pilates video: The Glutes Routine.

Strengthening the leg muscles can add strength and stability to your lower back area. You might never guess that your legs could be causing you lower back pain, but as I always say, everything is connected. Most leg muscles originate from the pelvis and any muscle imbalance in the legs can have an effect in shifting, tilting or rotating the pelvis and upsetting the natural balance of the body, thus causing lower back pain.

Pilates is a system of exercises which targets and strengthens core muscles. This video teaches some exercises for toning the legs. It especially works the inner thigh muslces (adductors) and the outer hip muscles (abductors). These 2 muscle groups work together to stabilize your hips in both athletic or non-athletic activity. Like the glutes, dysfunction in the leg muscles is rarely felt in the legs themselves, but rather in the lower back.

Practising these exercises on a regular basis will help to strengthen your leg stability muscles and can give you greater ease standing or walking as well as improved performance in athletics.

You should only try these exercises if you have a very strong core and are relatively athletic already. If you have a weak lower back or abs, you may find these exercises especially difficult or even painful. If you are healthy enough to do these exercises, they can be an important step in improving your health.

Guidelines for performing the exercises:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you. It is especially important to rule out any disc problems before you do this exercise.
Do not do these exercises if you have any kind of acute low back pain or pain due to a herniated disc .
Do the exercises carefully. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Pilates is a very technical exercise. It works very well because of the finely-tuned movements. To get the most of the exercises it is best and safest to go to a pilates class or work with a pilates instructor.
Be very careful with the position of the lower back. It should be in a neutral position for the exercises. It should not be arched or rounded. In some of the exercises, you may feel like you do not have the strength to keep your lower back in a neutral position. You may feel like you cannot stop it from arching or rounding. In this case, do not do that particular exercise as it may do more harm than good. Challenging and potentially dangerous exercises are the seal, the hundred and the hundred prep.
You should feel a bit of a workout when doing these exercises, but you should not feel any pain. If you do feel pain, especially sharp or intense pain, stop immediately.
Do not feel like you have to do all the exercises. Only do the ones that you are most comfortable with when you are starting. Listen to your body.
As you gain strength and confidence over the weeks, you may want to add back the exercises that you had skipped. Only do so when you are sure that you can do the exercise safely.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Try to do the exercises at least twice a week to start off. You can increase the frequency as you build up strength.

Video: Pilates Glutes Routine

Ken Shim, RMT — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:04 +0000

Here is part 2 of the pilates video: The Glutes Routine. Strengthening the hip muscles can add strength and stability to your lower back area.

Pilates is a system of exercises which targets and strengthens core muscles. This video teaches some exercises for toning the glutes. This is the same exercise routine that I used when I was suffering from acute back pain. It helped me tremendously and I hope that it will help you too. Be sure to have a look at part 1 of the video series, which focuses on the abs.

Guidelines for performing the exercises:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you. It is especially important to rule out any disc problems before you do this exercise.
Do not do these exercises if you have any kind of acute low back pain or pain due to a herniated disc .
Do the exercises carefully. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Pilates is a very technical exercise. It works very well because of the finely-tuned movements. To get the most of the exercises it is best and safest to go to a pilates class or work with a pilates instructor.
Be very careful with the position of the lower back. It should be in a neutral position for the exercises. It should not be arched or rounded. In some of the exercises, you may feel like you do not have the strength to keep your lower back in a neutral position. You may feel like you cannot stop it from arching or rounding. In this case, do not do that particular exercise as it may do more harm than good. Challenging and potentially dangerous exercises are the seal, the hundred and the hundred prep.
You should feel a bit of a workout when doing these exercises, but you should not feel any pain. If you do feel pain, especially sharp or intense pain, stop immediately.
Do not feel like you have to do all the exercises. Only do the ones that you are most comfortable with when you are starting. Listen to your body.
As you gain strength and confidence over the weeks, you may want to add back the exercises that you had skipped. Only do so when you are sure that you can do the exercise safely.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Try to do the exercises at least twice a week to start off. You can increase the frequency as you build up strength.

Video: Pilates Abs Routine

Ken Shim, RMT — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:40:15 +0000

Lower back pain, hip, gluteal or leg pain can often be caused by weakness or lack of tone in the core muscles. The core muscles are typically the abs, glutes, lower back and leg muscles. When these muscles are weak the body lacks stability and starts to overcompensate for the weakness by relying on other muscles and changing the natural balance of the body. All this often leads to pain in the lower back.

Pilates is a system of exercises which targets and strengthens core muscles. Even if you have done sit ups or crunches before you may find that this pilates workout will give you a good “burn” and work deeper muscles than you are used to. You may feel like your stomach is tighter and more pulled in compared to before; perfect for the beach. But most importantly, strong abs muscles contribute to a healthier body and a pain free back.

This video teaches some exercises for toning the abs. This is the same exercise routine that I used when I was suffering from acute back pain. It helped me tremendously and I hope that it will help you too.

Guidelines for performing the exercises:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you. It is especially important to rule out any disc problems before you do this exercise.
Do not do these exercises if you have any kind of acute low back pain or pain due to a herniated disc .
Do the exercises carefully. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Pilates is a very technical exercise. It works very well because of the finely-tuned movements. To get the most of the exercises it is best and safest to go to a pilates class or work with a pilates instructor.
Be very careful with the position of the lower back. It should be in a neutral position for the exercises. It should not be arched or rounded. In some of the exercises, you may feel like you do not have the strength to keep your lower back in a neutral position. You may feel like you cannot stop it from arching or rounding. In this case, do not do that particular exercise as it may do more harm than good. Challenging and potentially dangerous exercises are the seal, the hundred and the hundred prep.
You should feel a bit of a workout when doing these exercises, but you should not feel any pain. If you do feel pain, especially sharp or intense pain, stop immediately.
Do not feel like you have to do all the exercises. Only do the ones that you are most comfortable with when you are starting. Listen to your body.
As you gain strength and confidence over the weeks, you may want to add back the exercises that you had skipped. Only do so when you are sure that you can do the exercise safely.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Try to do the exercises at least twice a week to start off. You can increase the frequency as you build up strength.

Video: Stretch for piriformis related low back pain or sciatica

Ken Shim, RMT — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:42 +0000

Most of the cases of low back pain I see are related to hip tightness. The gluteal muscles are often a source of dysfunction but less often a source of pain. That means you may rarely feel a pain in your glutes, but you will likely feel a pain in your lower back or legs that stems from the tightness in your glutes and hips. One important gluteal muscle is the piriformis muscle which crosses over the sciatic nerve. Tightness in this muscle can present in lower back pain, hip pain or gluteal pain. In extreme cases of piriformis dysfunction you may feel pain down the back of your leg, cold feet due to poor circulation, tingling or numbness in your toes, feet, or legs. This is referred to as pseudo sciatica or piriformis syndrome.

If you have a tight piriformis muscle, you may find it difficult to cross your legs while seated (masculine, not feminine leg crossing). In yoga class, you may find the pigeon poses especially difficult.

A shortened piriformis muscle can be treated with acupuncture, massage or a series of stretches & exercises. Here is a simple piriformis stretch that I like to recommend because it can easily be performed while sitting (eg. at the workplace).

Guidelines for performing the stretches:

Check with a health care professional before you attempt these exercises to ensure that it is safe for you. It is especially important to rule out any disc problems before you do this exercise.
Do the exercises slowly and gently. Failing to follow the instructions or consult with a health care professional could cause your symptoms to worsen.
Try to breathe slowly and keep your body relaxed. Do not tense up or hold your breath as this will invite muscle spasm.
You should feel a gentle stretching sensation, but you should not feel any pain during the exercises. If you do feel pain, decrease the range of movement by stopping before you get to the point of pain. Continue the exercise within the pain free range.
Pay attention to the position of the lower back. As the instructor explains, the back should be straight, not bent. Bending at the lower back is cheating and does not stretch the piriformis muscle. Also, if you are feeling leg pain or tingling because of true sciatica or sciatica due to a disc problem, you may cause more damage to the disc if you perform this exercise incorrectly.
If you cannot find a comfortable, pain free way to do these exercises, discontinue immediately and seek the advice of a health care professional.
Do the exercises in a set of 3 for a minimum of 3 times a day for best results.
Hold the stretch for 15 seconds each time.

Video: Exercise for Lower Back Pain: The Cat & Dog Stretch

Ken Shim, RMT — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:36 +0000

Here is a video on a great little exercise to help ease lower back pain. It is called the “Cat & Dog Stretch” and it is very useful in helping to mobilize the back vertebrae and take pressure off the spinal joints, discs & nerves. Remember that much pain in the body comes from inactivity, poor circulation and tight muscles. This simple exercise is also an excellent first step in relieving pain from a herniated disc.

To do the exercise, go slowly. You should not feel any pain with the exercise. If you do feel discomfort, decrease the range of movement. If the pain is aggravated with the exercise, discontinue. Try to do 10 repititions 3 times a day (morning, mid day and night) for the best benefit.

(ps. I apologize for the excessive use of spandex in the video. Nevertheless, it is a good, simple explanation of the exercise)

(pss. No, that is not me in the video. It’s some other bald guy on Youtube)

Yoga for Pain Reduction

Ken Shim, RMT — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:48:41 +0000

Since becoming a massage therapist, I have quickly found the limits my body can go before it needs help. The work is tiring and physically demanding and burns out many RMT’s by the 5 year mark. This is why I religiously follow a program of postural awareness, stretching exercises, epsom salt baths, weight training and most important of all: yoga. Yoga has done wonders for helping me maintain my core strength and flexibility and decreasing lower back pain. I plan on writing more on these topics in the near future, but for now I’d like to give props to my yoga teacher, Julia. She can be found on her website: http://www.yoga-vibe.com/