5 Simple Stretches to change your routine...Yes it will get you moving too!

We have all been working from home and as we are returning towards offices one thing will not change for some of us is working from your desk. How do you make sure that low back pain or sitting fatigue does not destroy your posture? We have few exercises attached for your review and a reminder. Happy working!!! from home or office...…

1. Seated Piriformis Stretch: The Piriformis muscle (otherwise known as your sitting muscle) often becomes tight due to prolonged sitting. This simple seated exercise will release tension in your glutes and hip flexors and even help relieve any sciatic pain.

· Start by sitting in a chair and cross your leg over your opposite knee.

· While keeping your spine straight, slowly lean your chest forward towards to the ground until you feel a strong yet comfortable stretch.

· Hold this position for about 30 seconds

· Repeat this stretch with your opposite leg.

2. Seated Hamstring Stretch: Constantly sitting for hours at a time could lead to tight hamstrings which can lead to back pain, knee pain, and limit your overall mobility.

· Begin by sitting upright in chair with one leg in front of the other.

· Slowly lean your trunk forward until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg

· Hold for about 30 seconds

· Repeat on the other leg.

3. Seated Lower Back Stretch:

· While keeping your spine straight, slowly lean forward while sitting in your chair and try to reach for your ankles

· Grab on to your ankle, or shin and hold for about 20 seconds.

· Repeat 3 times

4. Seated back stretch:

· While sitting, grab the arm or the seat of your chair with both hands.

· Twist your upper body, using the arms or the seat of the chair

· Hold for 5-10 seconds and turn to the opposite direction

5. Seated Neck Stretch

· Grab on to the bottom of your seat with both hands with your back straight

· Slowly lean your head to the right side of your body and hold while you feel a stretch on the left side of your neck.

· Hold for 10-20 seconds

· Repeat on the opposite side.

Discomfort and soreness is part of life. What is not normal is living with pain. If you are still experiencing that pain, it's time to talk to your physical therapist or primary care physician.

Try to stay away from narcotics, injections and knife happy surgeons as a primary option for your treatment. There are no magic bullets but majority of pain symptoms can be resolved with conservative measures like exercises, manual therapy and pain management.

*My lawyer told me to inform you that this is an informative article not a medical advice.

Zuhair Haque, Exercise Specialist at Rehabon Physical Therapy. Zuhair enjoys basketball and he cannot wait to start the DPT program at North Central College in 2023. Zuhair has an extensive experience for working for multiple physical therapy/rehab organizations.

-- Irfan Ibrahim is an Owner/Physical Therapist at Rehabon Physical Therapy, Downers Grove IL 60515. He enjoys sunshine and rainbows with his three children. Loves hiking, biking and golfing but he has accepted to live with his mediocre skills. Questions??!! Email him: Irfan@rehabon.com follow him on Facebook

In Chronic Pain, Cupping can help.

Historical perspective: Cupping is a historical pain reducing modality. Egypt and China has played a major role in advancing this therapy. The earliest record of cupping in Egypt is a papyrus that dates back to 1,500 BC; cupping in China may extend as far back as 280 AD.

Cupping has been used to treat many health issues including arthritis, back pain, neck pain and migraines. Rehabon Physical Therapy, Downers Grove is now proud to offer cupping as a part of its physical therapy program. Our award-winning staff will employ the latest cupping techniques to help ease your pain condition.

Mechanism: Vasodilation is probably a major component of cupping’s efficacy. Cupping is known to significantly lower total cholesterol, and dilation of blood vessels may play a key role in this. This vasodilation may also stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which relaxes muscles and improves pain symptoms.

If you or your friends and family members are suffering from chronic pain, we can help. www.rehabon.com

Rehabon Physical Therapist & team have the highest level of expertise to treat your physical condition. It is our passion that drives us to create treatment programs that fits your lifestyle. You will come to value us as your personal support team. Our focus is your life goals and your overall health. Let us help you to improve your quality of life.

Rehabon Physical Therapy

1226 Ogden Ave

Downers Grove IL 60515 www.rehabon.com

This exercise can change everything for you....

Walking!! Yes, Good old walking..... by Mike Bocchieri

Why you should be walking:

It’s 2020 and it seems like everyone has “the answer” to getting in shape. Crossfit, F45, Orange Theory, Pilates,Yoga, Keto, Fasting…...Heck, even Strength training has been dubbed as the cure all. While all of the different approaches listed above may have a space in somebody's “health toolbox”, there is a foundational movement that anyone and everyone should execute with confidence;

This movement is ​walking​.

Before anyone can subscribe to a more intense form of exercise, being able to walk properly is essential to basic human movement. It is literally what we have evolved to do.

There are plenty of studies to show the physiological and cognitive ​benefits​ of walking, and those are both benefits to understand. But even more so, it is a form of movement that is easy to access (literally free), and every human is capable of doing it (one size fits all!)

Establishing a consistent walking habit into your daily routine can have all sorts of positive benefits on your health. Getting outside and going for a stroll is a great way to decompress, destress, and soak up some Vitamin D. Can’t make it outside? That’s fine! A treadmill will do the trick. Anything that can get you up on your feet will allow you to reap the benefits of walking. Whether you are just starting out on a healthy path, or you are a fitness fanatic, walking will complement any lifestyle.

If your health is something that you take seriously, or even something that you know you need to improve on, look no further than your own two feet.

Mike Bocchieri is our in house Exercise Specialist.

He believes in continuing to remain knowledgeable on current research and trends to ensure that patients and clients receive beneficial and quality treatment based on their specific needs.