Proper Breathing Mechanics

Breathing and oxygen:
In my office I like to keep things as simple as possible for my patients.  Previously, we talked about the proper mechanics of gait or walking.  Today I want to talk about the very simple act of breathing and some key strategies to enhance the amount of oxygen you get to your body.

In today's busy world various factors disrupt the simple act of breathing.  Stress, anxiety, and the mere act of sitting at your computer all day can hinder the act of respiration.  Stress and anxiety may cause one to take shallow rapid breaths with a focus on the contraction of the accessory muscles of respiration which generally include the small muscles in between you ribs called your intercostals that elevate the ribs and the scalene muscles and scm muscles that are positioned from around your clavicle to the mid portion of your neck and base of your skull.  I'll often find these muscles to be really tight in those people with headaches, tight shoulders, and sinus congestion which point to improper breathing as a factor.

Many of us understand the importance of oxygen in our lives.  Like gasoline for a car, oxygen is the fuel of our life.  It is responsible for producing cellular energy and thus the energy to make it through the day. Various enzymatic functions in the body rely on oxygen and therefore aiding in digestion among many other enzymatic processes.  Oxygen is used to help keep the internal environment of the body clean through various oxidation reactions that occur to help rid the body of harmful toxins.  And most importantly, oxygen is one of the brains primary nutrients to function.  The brain uses up 20% of the body's oxygen to function.  Without oxygen we would have a very hard time surviving.  A few strategies to increase your oxygen intake and efficiency:

1) Extending your neck and raising your chest.
2) Diaphragmatic breathing- as seen in video
3) Exercise
4) Getting checked for anemia
5) Making sure your lungs and heart work properly

Try 1-3 to the experience the benefits of proper breathing including reduced stress/anxiety, detoxifying effect, mental clarity, pain relief and even better moods!

-Dr. Pontarelli

Remember your New Year's Resolution?

Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day, everyday, no excuses. You can do all 30 minutes all at once or split them up in 10 minute increments throughout the day. Some ideas:

• Get off the bus or train a few stops early,  park the car farther away to extend your walk, bike to a train stop
• Wake up 15 minutes earlier and exercise as soon as you wake up, go to bed in your work-out outfit
• Walk your dog as much as the dogwalker or get a dog
• Work-out or walk during lunch hour, have sneakers in the car or at work to be prepared
• Create new social habits and/or get exercise buddy, i.e. meet a friend for a walk vs happy hour
• Do things you enjoy, i.e. take a dance class, golf, play tennis
• Invest in a jogging stroller if you have a toddler
• Do jumping jacks during commerical breaks
• Skip the elevator, take the stairs
• Buy a jump rope, try this routine:
  Minute 1: Jump in place to warm up (no rope).
  Minutes 2-4: Jump with a slight bounce between each rope jump.
  Minutes 5-7: Alternate feet (as if you were running in place).
  Minutes 7-9: Slalom jump (keeping feet together, jump a few inches to the right and then to the left as if jumping moguls).
  Minutes 9-10: Jump in place to cool down (no rope).
• Switch out your office chair for a Swiss exercise ball
• Join a charity race, do good, be social, stay active
• Pencil it into the calendar
• Start a garden in the spring, plow your driveway in the winter
• Motivate yourself with a great music playlist or an audiobook
• If you're a numbers person wear a pedometer, aim for 10,000 steps/day
• Explore the city by foot, we live in a great city for that!

Do you know someone that needs to get moving? Make it easy for them and forward them this list!

Exercise: The Best Preventative Medicine

There are many preventative measures one can take for better health including, maintaining a healthy weight, eating your fruits and veggies, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, etc. This video highlights how studies suggest that EXERCISING 30 minutes a day gives you the greatest return on investment, making the biggest difference in your health for your efforts.

For a complete articulation of the role of exercise as preventative medicine watch:

Some highlights include:

“Exercise can reduce the rates of pain and disability for arthritis patients, reduce the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s” 

“...Reduce the progressions of diabetes by 58%"

"....Reduce the risk of hip fracture in post-menopausal women by 41%"

"....Reduce anxiety by 48%"

"....Reduce depression by at least 30%”
"Low fitness is the strongest predictor of death, above obesity, smoking-related disease and high blood pressure.”*

Ways to Work 30 Minutes Into Your Day

*According to [a study led by] Steven Blair, Professor at Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina,

Strengthen & Rehabilitate While You Walk

Establishing proper gait/walking is important to correctly pattern muscle development in your upper & lower extremities, and spine which results in superior coordination, joint support, and flexibility. With each step you take specific muscles should contract and others should relax to propel you forward. When this does not happen your body's supportive mechanisms break down and can lead to joint pain and early degeneration, reduced flexibility, and decreased coordination.

Stride Breakdown & Benefits:

Strengthen core & alignment
As you bring your right leg forward your left arm should advance forward- this should create a slight twist in your spine. This twist engages the small muscles of your spine and your abdominal muscles to create the support and alignment your body requires to move efficiently. This twist is particularly important to help maintain integrity of the spinal structures.
Strengthen & stretch lower extremity
A look at the foot show a that the toes extend slightly to allow for heel strike and glute activation for support of the knee. As the leg follows through the toes grab the floor and then push off which utilizes the gastrocnemius, ham, and glutes. The opposite arm then comes forward as the opposite leg swings through and forward and the process starts all over again.
Watch video for complete demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFl57bKsNGk
Do you know someone that walks to work? Help them maximize their commute and share these tips!

Hip Flexor Stretch- A must for today's lifestyle

Fairly recent advances in technology are creating a shift from an active lifestyle farming- hunting-gathering to sedentary desk jobs and long commutes where it is not uncommon to sit for hours at a time. This shift can cause adaptations to occur in the body including shortened hip flexors.

The hip flexor stretch is important to counter these adaptations and it takes only 2 minutes out of your day to complete. Some affects of shortened hip flexors include lower back pain, hip pain, shortened stride, forward flexion, limitations in hip rotation, knee strain and many others. The stretch is simple and can be performed in various ways, demonstration is "one knee down" version of stretch.

Functions of the hip flexor:
-connect the lumbar spine and pelvis to the lower extremity
-allow hip flexion and external or outward rotation
-allow lumbar flexion & a small amount of lumbar extension
3 Easy Steps:
1) Finding a padded surface for comfort, slowly take a knee and place the other leg in front of your body with a fairly wide (>2 ft) separation between the back of the front foot and the the of the opposite leg.

2) Slowly bring your pelvis or hips forward forward while maintaining un upright posture with your body.  The stretch should be felt on the front side of the rear leg.

3) Hold stretch for at least 30 seconds.  Breath slowly and relax the muscles being stretched.  Do not bounce.  After 30 sec switch to the other side.

Modifications: For those with knee pain this stretch can be performed by lifting the back knee off the ground.

Do you know someone that sits all day at work or in commute? Help them out and share this stretch with them today!