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Do you regularly shoulder-check when you drive? If not, is the reason you don’t that it hurts, or that you can’t?

I was biking home from work the other day along a not-too-busy street, and I wanted to turn left onto another not-too-busy street. So as usual, I shoulder-checked before making my turn, and was surprised to find I couldn’t turn my head as far as I normally can, and even more surprised to feel a jab of pain at the end of the range.

Taking a hand off the handlebars to allow me to twist my upper back and look further was out of the question because I was slowly cranking up a steep hill, and I needed to pull the handlebars with both my hands.

When slowly biking up a steep hill, the last thing one wants to do is stop completely and put a foot down, as it is tough to get going again.

So while I kept cranking I listened, and not hearing anything coming, I started my turn, only to slam on my brakes as a surprisingly quiet car zoomed passed me.

SHEESH! Okay, my bad. I know, I know. I did a stupid thing, took a chance and got lucky. Sorry mommy, I won’t do it again.

Shoulder-checking is something we all need to be able to do, especially if we drive, bike, ski, skate, snowboard, race, play team sports etc. Many sports like golf, tennis, and baseball require being competent at twisting. And not being able to shoulder-check can actually be dangerous - I can attest to that!

Our neck should be able to twist 60 to 80 degrees, and our thoracic (rib) spine should be able to twist about 30 degrees, so that gives us between 90 and 110 degrees of available rotation. 90 to 110 degrees!!!

So if we keep our ribs still, we should be able to turn our head until our chin is almost lined up with our shoulders, and if we twist the ribs too, we should be able to see something pretty much directly behind us, thanks to our peripheral vision.

The lumbar spine is not meant to twist, and twisting the low back while rounding it can cause injuries, so if you are twisting, make sure you have an arch in your back!

So, how well can you twist? Can you twist the same amount to each side?

If we have pain with twisting, it is worth seeing a manual therapist - a chiro, physical therapist, massage therapist etc. to address the cause our pain.

If we do not have pain, then to improve our range of motion we need to do a variety of twist stretches and mobility exercises, both from the top down and from bottom up.

Make a goal of improving your ability to rotate, and work at it each day. No equipment is needed, and you can do it in your pajamas, so as Nike says, “Just Do It!” If you need help, find a competent corrective exercise specialist or trainer. If you are in Vancouver, come see us!

Please do keep the comments coming on my blog.

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Related tips
6 movements we should be able to do, Part 2
How many ways can you get up off the floor?
10 positions we should all find relaxing
Squatting and the knees

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Lots of recent news on the genetically modified food front. First the good news. Whole Foods Grocer will require all GMO food to be labeled by 2018, and will encourage food companies to switch to non-gmo ingredients. Consumers demanded it, and Whole Foods listened. This could be a game-changer. Should other grocers follow suit, GMO labeling will expected everywhere. As usual, governments bow to companies, but consumers are the ones that truly have the power.

Now the bad news. The US government just passed the “Monsanto Protection Act” which as Food Democracy Now put it, ” …strips judges of their constitutional mandate to protect consumer and farmer rights and the environment, while opening up the floodgates for the planting of new untested genetically engineered crops, while opening up the floodgates for the planting of new untested genetically engineered crops, endangering farmers, citizens and the environment.”

Genetically Modified Organisms are NOT produced by cross-pollinating two wheat varieties in order to create a type of wheat that is hardier, nor by breeding two kinds of horses in order to encourage off-spring with certain desired traits such as speed or hauling ability.

Cross-breeding or hybridization also happens naturally without human help, as the wind and insects carry pollen, and well, animals will be animals. But dogs and cats cannot interbreed, corn cannot hybridize with rice, and fish can’t produce offspring with sunflowers.

Genetically modified, genetically engineered or transgenic organisms are creations made in the lab, where genetic material from one plant or animal is inserted into a totally different species in order to "improve" the species in some way, and to give the company the ability to patent and control the new life-form.

Patenting genes is a huge business which prevents farmers from saving seed to plant the following year. Instead they must buy new seed each year putting them at greater financial risk should their crop fail.

Monsanto goes after farmers for patent infringement if their fields are accidentally contaminated with GMO plants. Percy Schmeiser is a Canadian canola farmer who was sued by Monsanto because the wind blew some Round-Up Ready GM canola onto his non-gmo field of canola. He fought Monsanto all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada, where the Court ruled that he did not owe Monsanto anything.

The benefits of the genetic modifications are questionable. For example, GE soybeans were altered with the genes of brazil nuts in order to improve the taste of the soybeans.  The idea sounded good until those with nut allergies unknowingly ate them. (Nut allergies can be fatal).

Most of the genetic modifications are designed for pest control with toxic results.  Round-Up Ready Canola for
example, is modified to withstand Round-Up Ready insecticide, which pretty much kills anything but the GMO crop, rendering the soil infertile.  This modification encourages more pesticide use, particularly as the pests adapt and become more and more resistant to the insecticide.

Corn is modified so that every cell in the plant contains BT toxin. The leaves, the stems and yes, the kernels that we eat.  The BT toxin is meant to destroy the guts of the bugs that eat them. But those bugs have become resistant to this modification as well.

So instead of solving the pest problem, these genetic modifications have created resistant "super bugs", rendering the modifications useless.

Monsanto said BT toxin would be destroyed in the guts of humans, but research now shows that that is not true. BT toxin has been found in the placenta blood of pregnant women.

Rats that have been fed GM food for their entire lives suffer huge cancerous tumors.

GMO agriculture tends to promote monocrops, which decreases biodiversity, which in turn impacts food security.

Monsanto also created a “terminator gene” in 1998, which would stop a crop from producing viable seed. If this technology gets to market it will ensure the farmers need to re-buy each year.

Many farmers initially believed that they would benefit from higher crop yields by switching to GMO crops, but found that any marginal benefit they may have gained was wiped out by the fact that instead of being allowed to save seed from the previous crop, they were forced to re-buy GMO seed each year.

Monsanto, the major player in GE foods, also created a “terminator gene” in 1998, which would stop a crop from producing viable seed. If this technology gets to market it will ensure the farmers need to re-buy each year.

As you have probably observed, crops tend to be grown outside, with access to wind and insects. I find it frightening to think that this "terminator gene" may naturally hybridize with non-GMO crops. We don’t really know what might happen, but it seems at least possible that we may accidentally destroy our food supply if this gene were to get out of control.

Genetically Engineered food is a huge experiment in which we are the unknowing guinea pigs. Of course those involved will say it is safe - they have a vested interest. But the bottom line is we simply don’t know how safe it is for us or the planet.

The most commonly modified foods are canola, corn, soy and cottonseed.  If you want to avoid genetically modified food, read labels and avoid any products that contain these ingredients, or choose organic.

GMO food is a complex topic encompassing many important ethical issues. For more information, see the movie The Future of Food, and to look up GMO issues in your part of the world, go to www.gmcontamination.org to research by country, crop and year known GMO incidents caused by contamination, illegal release, or negative agricultural side-effect.

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A guest tip on natural pest control - an important topic that never would have occurred to me to write about. I hope you like it.

Coexisting with nature is a wonderful thing, but it doesn’t mean you have to allow critters to take over your home. Pest infestations can impact your family in a number of undesirable ways, creating an environment that’s unhealthy and, in many cases, downright intolerable. Fortunately, you don’t need to saturate your home with chemicals in order to keep pests at bay. By practicing natural pest control, you can encourage would-be intruders to live somewhere else while keeping your home, health, family, pets and the earth safe.

Negative Effects of Pest Infestations on Your Health

Stress: When you know your home is infested with rodents or insects, it’s hard to stop thinking about them. Your skin might crawl at the thought of bed bugs walking on you as you sleep, or you may start to feel phantom ants crawling across your arms. It’s normal to experience stress when your home is infested, and some homeowners still feel anxiety even after a pest control company has taken care of the problem. When you practice natural pest control, which focuses on prevention, you’ll find peace of mind in knowing you’re doing all you can to keep pests out.

Diseases: Rodents are notorious carriers of diseases such as the bubonic plague, Hanta virus, salmonellosis, tularemia, rat bite fever and leptospirosis. The scary thing is that a rodent doesn’t need to bite or touch you to pass on an illness. Simply being exposed to its droppings or nesting site can make you fall ill with, for example, the Hanta virus. Some of the diseases rodents carry present like the flu, making them initially difficult to properly diagnose until the illnesses are in their advanced stages.

Discomfort: What do mosquitoes, fleas and bed bugs have in common? Their bites make you feel itchy. While most insect bites are more annoying than harmful, scratching itchy spots can lead to a secondary infection.

Asthma triggers: Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in children and adults, and up to 60 percent of asthma sufferers are allergic to cockroaches. Merely touching a roach’s exoskeleton, which the bug can shed, can trigger an asthma attack. Using chemicals like toxic baits, fumigators or sprays to get rid of pests can trigger asthma symptoms and possibly make them worse than usual.

Toxic bites: Most spiders are harmless and meek, but there are a handful that can do major harm if they bite you. These include the recluse varieties, hobo, black widow, brown widow and red widow spiders.

Pest Prevention Tactics

The best way to practice natural pest control is by employing simple prevention techniques. These natural methods, when used regularly, can help you keep infestations at bay better than any toxic repellents. For example:

• Don’t leave food out in the open.
• Store pantry items in lidded glass or thick plastic containers.
• Eliminate sources of standing water in and around your home.
• Seal holes and cracks along the exterior of your home.
• Use lids on your trash cans.
• Keep your landscape mowed, pruned, weeded and manicured.
• Clean your house regularly and keep it tidy.
• Keep wood piles high, dry and away from your house.
• Inspect your luggage for signs of bed bugs after traveling.
• Inspect guest rooms for signs of bed bugs after you’ve had overnight visitors.
• Plant insect-repelling plants and flowers around the exterior of your home, including mint, pennyroyal, petunias, tansy, rosemary, geraniums, marigolds, citronella and wormwood.

Home Infestations: What to Do

Pest infestations can happen in even the cleanest homes. The trick is quickly taking care of the problem by calling a green pest control company that practices Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM involves using knowledge of pest biology (with a bit of common sense thrown in) control pests. For example, technicians will identify the pests, get rid of their nesting sites, make it harder for the pests to access your home and use other natural pest control techniques to give you a healthy, critter-free environment. Green pest control companies use natural techniques whenever possible – in large part because they’re more effective both immediately and in the long term – and will choose the least-toxic treatments available when an application is necessary.

If you have a pest infestation, or think you have one, call a natural pest control company to schedule an inspection and learn personalized tips for keeping your home pest-free.

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This post was contributed by Eden Advanced Pest Technologies, the leading integrated pest management company in Western Washington and Oregon and serves both residential and commercial customers.

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Part 3 in this series of movements I think we should all be able to do. Part 1 and Part 2 are here. So, what is your assessment? Can you do them all? Let me know in the comment section.

Sit up from a reclined position

How do you get out of bed? Do you sit up in bed then swing your legs over the side and stand up? Can you sit up without using your hands to help?

This is also a basic movement that we should all have the strength to do, but I find many are not able to do this. If one is lying on the floor I think one should be able to sit up, then push oneself onto one's feet into a squat position and stand up.

That said, there are many reasons why this movement might be unsafe for some people. Anyone diagnosed with osteoporosis should avoid flexing the spine, and anyone with a disk problem would do well to avoid it also. Anyone with a back problem should check with their physio or doctor to be certain this movement is safe.

Also I have noticed in my practice that many people's bellies "tent" up along the center line as they attempt an abdominal curl. Any ab curl, crunch, or sit up would be a bad idea if this is happening. There should be no abdominal bulging along the center line of the belly while doing any activity.

This abdominal bulging is an indication of a rectus diastasis, or a splitting of the fascia down the midline of the abdominal wall. Doing anything that creates that bulging is might make the split worse, potentially requiring surgery.

Most people should be able to work on this movement, but use common sense. If you are not sure, consult a doctor.

Walk 2 blocks carrying 2 bags of groceries that weigh at least 10% of your body-weight in each hand (I don't figure you need a video for this one.)

For most people, this is probably adequate for comfortable living, but depending upon what one enjoys doing, one may need to be able to carry heavier amounts.

Children are the perfect graduated weight-training program! They grow and get heavier, and they squirm, which can make carrying difficult.

Carrying heavy things for a few minutes from one place to another (from the store to the car, or from the car to the door) is something we often need to be able to do, so if you are injury-free, practice walking while carrying something heavy frequently enough that you remain strong enough to do it.

There you have it! Six movements that you should be able to do. Can you do them?? If not, get some help! If you live in Vancouver, contact us by replying to this email. We will figure out what level you are at, and build you up from there.

If you don't live in Vancouver, buy the Anti-Aging Exercise Solution DVD. The movements are not identical but should improve your flexibility and strength, and there are 3 levels to choose from depending on your ability.

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Related tips
6 movements you should be able to do (Part 1)
6 movements you should be able to do (Part 2)
How many ways can you get up off the floor?
10 positions we should all find relaxing
Squatting and the knees

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Here are a couple more movements that should be no problem at all if we have adequate flexibility and strength. If you have difficulty with either of these - you simply cannot do them or you have pain, perhaps these can be goals for your fitness/movement program, and as you improve, marvel how they make life’s activities easier. If you missed Part 1 of “6 movements we should all be able to easily do”, click here.

Watch the videos, but please use your common sense with respect to trying the movements. Hire someone to help you learn to do these movements properly as technique is key to avoiding injury. A planned progression can be created to help you regain your ability if you know you cannot do them. And these movements may not be appropriate for everyone.

Kneel to stand

This movement should be easy if you can do the tripod split squat, but involves more balance due to the transfer of weight to the forward leg. This movement involves moving forward as well as up, so it is easiest to imagine a trajectory of about 45 degree angle as you get up.

One starts with one knee and toes on the ground, the other foot forward and on the ground. Bring the pelvis forward so your body-weight is over the forward foot, then push down through the floor with the forward leg, and push the body forward with the back toes to stand up. The work should be felt in the buttocks and upper hamstrings of the front leg.

It can be helpful to have a walking pole, or even pretend to use a walking pole in the opposite hand to the forward leg. As energy is exerted by the forward leg to stand up, the opposite arm is pushing down and back through the pole (or imaginary one).

Getting up from the ground in this manner is one of those basic movements that everyone should always be able to do easily with both legs. This movement would also ensure the ability to step up onto a high step or rock, or step over a small fence.

The movement can be made easier by putting a step or small platform under the back knee, and can be made harder by putting a step or small platform under the front foot.

Lift something that weighs at least 20% of your bodyweight out of the trunk of your car

Twenty percent of your bodyweight is an approximation - the amount of weight that you need to be able to lift depends on your needs.

What do you need to be strong enough to lift, to make your life easy? Do you lift big bags of dog food, kitty litter, cases of wine, or a cooler of food out of the trunk of your car? How much do these items weigh? Is it a struggle, or can you manage these lifts easily?

If you travel frequently, consider how much your suitcase weighs, as you need to be able to lift it off the conveyor belt without injuring yourself. The conveyor belt adds a rotational force to the lift as well, making this activity risky if you are not strong enough.

Lifting technique is important to preventing injury, and taking advantage of your body weight to help with the lift can make the lift far easier. Practicing deadlifts in the gym can help teach you the technique.

First bring the object as close to you as possible. The key to this movement is keeping the spine neutral, arms sucked into their sockets. Reach the buttocks back to the point one feels a slight stretch in the back of the legs, then grasp the object, keeping it close to the body.

Anchor the heels to the floor, feeling the connection up the back-leg line to the sit-bones of the pelvis, and use that line-of-pull like a guy-line on the top of a tent pole, to pull the wheel of the pelvis around until you are upright.

There is no efforting by the low back to lift the object. Although the spinal muscles will be active, the effort comes from the back of the legs. By reaching back into the back-leg line in order to counteract the weight of the object being lifted, the body almost acts like a teeter-totter. Get enough body-weight behind, and the object is lifted quite easily.

Knees are slightly bent, shins remain vertical, and the butt reaches back to the point of slight stretch. Spine remains neutral, arms stay sucked into the arm sockets, and as the pelvis-wheel rolls around to upright, it also moves forward to take its place under the ribs again.

It feels like a strange contradiction. Even though the weight is heavy and effort is required to lift it, when the mechanics are right there is an ease about the movement. There is effort, but the movement flows and just feels right.

Remember that training movements is far more important and useful for good function than training muscles. Getting stronger by getting good at these different movement patterns will translate into more ability to do what you want day-to-day.

If you are in the Vancouver area and want us to assess your movement patterns, descend the movements to the point you can do them correctly, and then build them back up from there, please contact us by replying to this email. If you are not in the Vancouver area, consider purchasing the Anti-Aging Exercise Solution DVD. It covers some of these movements and variations on others, and is a great place to start.

Please do keep the comments coming!

If you want to share this article, scroll to the very bottom and click the “share” icon to post on Facebook, Twitter etc.

If you want to subscribe or search for other posts by title or by topic, go to www.wellnesstips.ca.

Related tips
6 movements we should be able to easily do (Part 1)
How many ways can you get up off the floor?
10 positions we should all find relaxing
Squatting and the knees

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These are movements that should be no problem at all if our body is functioning well. If you have difficulty with any one of them - you simply cannot do them or you have pain, there are body dysfunctions that should be addressed.

Our bodies are meant to move, and when movement becomes a problem due to a lack of strength or flexibility, our lives can close down as we find ourselves no longer capable of doing the things we want. Stairs become a problem, getting in and out of cars or chairs difficult, or we have trouble carrying groceries home.

Training movements is far more important and useful for good function than training muscles. One can strengthen the quadriceps on a leg extension machine, but that teaches the brain nothing useful about how to use that strength. Getting stronger by getting good at these different movement patterns will translate into more ability to do what you want day-to-day.

Most often the reasons people have trouble with these movements is they have lost the flexibility to do them. As that flexibility improves, there is more range-of-motion to strengthen.

Please watch the videos, but use your common sense with respect to trying the movements. Hire someone to help you learn to do these movements properly, and create a planned progression to regain your ability if you know you cannot do them.

This is exactly what we do in my business, Wellness Works Integrated Health Services. We assess your movement patterns to figure out where you are having a problem. We descend the movements to the point you can do it correctly, and then build them back up from there.

If you are in the Vancouver area and want help improving your movements, please contact me by replying to this email. If you are not in the Vancouver area, consider purchasing The Anti-Aging Exercise Solution DVD. It covers some of these movements and variations on others, and can be a great place to start.

Instead of making this post super long, I thought I’d break it up into three posts over the next three weeks, so today I’ll cover the first 2 of the 6 movements I think we should all be able to do.

Squat to floor and stand up again

This is a movement that we used to do daily to poop, from the time we were able at about age 1, until the time we died. The invention of the toilet ended that. Many of us are no longer able squat that low due to a lack of flexibility, or we can’t get up from there keeping the trunk parallel to the lower legs (chest higher than the butt) on the ascent.

The usual cheat is to lift the butt up first so the trunk is parallel to the ground instead of the lower legs, and then straighten up. If lifting the butt first is the strategy being used, that indicates a lack of strength in the front of the thigh muscles (quadriceps).

Being able to do this movement correctly ensures adequate slack in the myofascia which would likely reduce the incidence of low back, hip, knee and ankle pain.

One would have adequate strength and range-of-motion to do most day-to-day activities, like climbing stairs, getting out of chairs and even low car seats.

The key to success in this movement is to keep the front of the hips and the front of the ankles soft throughout the range of motion. Simply ensure that your centre of gravity is right over the feet and lower yourself down with ease, bringing the trunk between the knees to ensure that center of gravity is maintained.

If the front of the ankles are firing, your weight is too far back, so bring your knees and body forward until the ankles quieten.

If the ankles are soft, feet relaxed, it is okay if the heels are not firmly on the floor. As you push through the feet to stand up provided the ankles are soft, the myofascia on the bottom of the feet will soften onto the floor as you come up.

Contracting the anterior lower-leg muscles (tibialis anterior) to force the heels down will cause a tug-of-war over the knee cap, as lower leg would then be pulling the knee cap down towards the ankle as the quad is pulling the knee cap up the leg.

The knee cap, being pulled in both directions would end up being scraped over the fold of the knee joint - ouch! So keeping the ankles and feet soft is key.

This movement should be done with a sense of ease. The descent is more an “allowing” than a battle. The ascent is accomplished with a push down through whatever part of the feet are on the floor. It should not feel “effortful”. Good movement is efficient, not difficult.

Start with a height that is manageable (a chair?) and slowly work towards lowering the height over weeks and months of practice, until it is possible to squat fully to the floor.

We find stackable stools work great for this purpose. Every time you succeed in reducing the number of stools for your sit to stand, you have gained that much more flexibility and strength.

In my humble opinion, being able to squat all the way to the floor with no added weight is far more useful in terms of improving function than squatting to the point where the thighs are parallel to the floor with added weight. I know many people that can do half squats with lots of weight, but are not capable of squatting to the floor with just their body weight.

I would not advise squatting with added weight lower than one can keep the back neutral. A flexed (rounded) spine under load is more vulnerable to injury.

Tripod split squat to overhead lift

This movement is particularly useful for lifting items off the floor, as it keeps the back neutral making it less vulnerable to the weight lifted.

This movement requires excellent flexibility in the toes, ankles, knees and hips, as well as adequate strength to get up from the low position while carrying whatever needs to be carried.

It is important to be able to do this movement equally well leading with either leg in order to maintain good muscle balance between the two sides of the body.

Straddle the object to be lifted, and from the squat position above, drop one knee to the floor and sit on the heel of that foot. This position is comfortable and stable as you have created a triangle on the ground with the points being one knee, the toes of the same leg and the other foot.

From here, maintain neutral spine as you grab the object, then holding it close to your trunk, stand straight up again, keeping even weight through both feet.

The common mistake here is to lower the back heel down just when beginning the lift. Stay on the back toes until almost completely upright.

If the weight is kept close to the body on should also be able to lift it over the head and put it on a high shelf.

Next week I’ll discuss two more movements I think we should all be able to do, and that I’ve noticed many people have difficulty with.

If you want to share this article, scroll to the very bottom and click the “share” icon to post on Facebook, Twitter etc.

If you want to subscribe or search for other posts by title or by topic, go to www.wellnesstips.ca.

Related tips
How many ways can you get up off the floor?
10 positions we should all find relaxing
Squatting and the knees

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A forward head can be the root cause of all kinds of problems in the body, including headaches, jaw pain, neck and shoulder pain, and back pain.

It makes good sense that the body works best if all the blocks are stacked up properly. Pelvis right over the legs instead of in front or behind, ribs over the pelvis instead of tilting backwards, and head over the ribs so the ear is lined up over the shoulder. Seems obvious, but most of us don’t seem to live there regularly.

Our professions often mean that we are spending a lot of time sitting at desks looking at computers, which tends to pull our heads forward. We often relax by slumping into a sofa and watching TV, which curves our upper back, also bringing our head forward. Probably for most of us, we spend far more time sitting than standing.

Over time our postural habits “harden”. If we are constantly holding a particular posture and are not moving the body through the opposite range of motion, we will lost the motion we don’t use.

Soon we realize that we are uncomfortable lying on our back in our beds without that pillow, as to get our head to touch the mattress we would need to tip it way back, sticking our chin in the air, which might pull the mouth open making it uncomfortable to breathe. There is a huge gap between our neck and the bed. So we stuff a pillow in there so our face is parallel to the ceiling and we can be more comfortable.

But simple discomfort is not the only issue that a forward head can cause. As Paul Chek states, “For every inch that the head’s center of gravity is shifted forward, the lower cervical spine is subsequently subjected to compressive forces equivalent to a one-time additional weight of the head.”

Most heads weigh between 12 and 20 pounds, so if one's head were 3 inches forward, that would put between 36 and 60 pounds of extra weight on the lower cervical (neck) spine, which is extremely fatiguing to the muscles at the back of the neck.

The pull on the back of the head is also known to cause chronic headaches. These muscles that must deal with this constant load become exhausted, and their blood flow proportionally diminishes as the muscle contraction increases.

This lack of blood flow is often the primary source of muscle pain in the neck region. Releasing trigger points in the posterior neck muscles, especially splenius capitus, and the insertion points of levator scapula, traps, SCM and the occipital muscles can help, but unless one gets enough rest to allow blood-flow to return, the problem can become chronic.

Over time, the pain may migrate lower as more muscles become involved. As certain muscles tighten under the strain, their opposites lengthen and weaken, extending the problem further into the body.

For example, as the shoulder blades are pulled up to try and support the forward head, the muscles that pull the shoulder-blades down weaken.

In order to remain balanced in the standing position, we need to have our weight centered over our feet. So if the head is forward, the ribs tend to tilt back, and the pelvis will often tilt forward leading to problems in the lower back, hips and legs as well.

Because we need to keep our eyes level to the horizon in order to be able to see properly, as our head moves forward, it also tends to tilt backwards on the neck.

The area where the neck and cranium meet is a very busy place, and there should be a space of about 6.5 plus or minus 2.5mm between the base of the skull (occiput) and the 2nd vertebrae (spinous process of C2). When this space is reduced to 4mm or less, the nerves and blood vessels in that space can be mechanically compressed.

When the back of the skull and the top vertebrae (OA joint) get too close together there is potential for compressing the vertebral artery and vein as they exit the transverse foramen of the top vertebrae to make their way into the cranium. Impaired blood flow into and drainage from the brain is never a good thing. (The vertebral artery is the thinner one at the back, threading through the holes in the vertebrae.  This drawing is from Gray's Anatomy.)

This lack of space has been shown to be associated with higher incidence of vertigo (dizziness), possibly due to a compromised vertebral artery. If you notice you always get dizzy when you look up at the ceiling or airplanes in the sky, this is a warning sign that those blood vessels may be quite compromised and doing something to restore a better head position might improve the situation dramatically.

Besides blood vessels there are nerves that are in this tiny space as well. The greater occipital nerve itself can have a diameter as create as 3mm, so that does not leave much wiggle room. The nerve roots that exit from the top two vertebrae would be particularly vulnerable to mechanical forces due to forward-head posture.

Forward-head posture can create significant problems within the head too. Try sticking your head further forward, keeping your face looking straight ahead. Can you feel a stretch in the neck under your jaw? As the head goes forward, the jaw is often pulled back, which may altar one’s bite, leading to TMJ problems.

The hyoid bone in the front of the throat will be pulled up in forward-head posture, which may contribute to snoring and possibly even sleep apnea.

Notice also how as you push your head forward, your tongue drops a bit in your mouth, and as you pull your head back, more of your tongue contacts the roof of your mouth.

If your head is permanently forward and your tongue is lower in your mouth, this may encourage the habit of pushing the tongue against the front teeth with every swallow, eventually protruding those teeth forward impairing the bite.

Okay, I think I'll stop there. I won't go into the impact of forward head on the dura (fascia covering the spinal cord). I’m hoping it is clear that forward-head posture has a significant impact on the whole body, and that doing what is needed to bring the head back into its proper position can greatly improve pain syndromes and body function.

How far forward is your head? You can figure this out with a ruler and a plumb line (a piece of string with a key tied to the end), and a friend. Stand up, and put the ruler lightly in the sternoclavicular notch (the soft gushy V right above your breast bone at the bottom of your neck). Hold the string on the front of your cheek right on the bone, letting the plumb line hang, and have your friend read off the ruler how far forward your head is.

Might be more accurate if your friend does the whole thing, as often reaching your hands up towards your face will alter your normal head position.

Often awareness of body position can help, particularly when seated. Making sure one’s work environment is ergonomically correct is critically important.

The chair needs to be raised so that one can sit tall on the sit bones, shoulders resting on the ribs, elbows at 90 degrees. The monitor should be in front of the eyes, so the head does not need to be tilted down to view it. The feet should be resting on something that allows the ankles knees and hips to be at 90 degrees.

A good orthopaedic assessment can be helpful in determining the best approach to reducing forward-head posture. Sometimes it can be as simple as getting used to being in a different position - bringing the pelvis back over the legs, which would straighten the ribcage providing a upright platform for the head.

Most people would need a personalized stretching and strengthening program to bring the body back into alignment. For example, tight muscles at the pelvis will definitely impact head position, and which muscles need to be stretched and strengthened is a very individual thing.

In others, the upper back is stuck in too much curve, and the spinal segments would need to be mobilized the spinal and the back extensors would need to be strengthened.

A simple stretch that can be done is to lie on the floor or in the middle of the bed on the back (use a small pillow if you need one), and reach the arms straight out to the side, slowly raising them up towards your head like a snow angel. When you start to feel a stretch, wait until the stretch dissipates. Do this daily. The goal is to have the upper arms resting on floor comfortably next to your ears without feeling any stretch at all.

People with too much upper back roundness would probably also need stretching of the back of the neck and strengthening of the deep front neck muscles (longis colli and longis capitus). These neck muscles are tricky to strengthen without instruction, so seek out a CHEK Practitioner or physical therapist to help you.

If you are in the Vancouver area and would like help with this, please reply to this email. We would be happy to assess you and take you through an exercise program personally designed just for you. We also have gift certificates available if you want to give the gift of good posture and good movement to a friend or loved one.

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The XL Foods meat recall is highlighting the dangers of factory-farmed meat as well as giant processing plants.

Over the last month across Canada at least and probably in parts of the US, the daily news has been filled with the ever-expanding recall list of meat contaminated with E. Coli 0157 from the XL Foods meat-packing plant in Brooks, Alberta. Fifteen people have been sickened thus far.

This is the largest meat recall in Canadian history, affecting about half the meat production in the country. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency suspended XL Foods’ license Sept. 27th, putting 2000 people out of work. (That is one HUGE plant!)

Just as Canadian cattle farmers were recovering from the mad cow disease scare in 2003, they are worried about the impact this E. coli scare may have on their bottom lines.

It is unfortunate that it takes a tragedy to raise awareness in the general population of the real dangers posed by factory farms and giant agribusiness meat-packing plants, but there is a better way to preserve not only the jobs in the cattle industry, but also the health of consumers.

In my opinion there are two main issues that converged to create the E. Coli problem: 1) Factory Farms, and 2) Ridiculously gigantic meat-packing plants.

Factory farms are where most cattle are raised - they are kept inside standing in their own excrement for most of their lives, not seeing the light of day. These animals are not eating their natural diet of grass, but are fed pesticide-laden, probably GMO corn. Feeding corn (even if it were not GMO) to ruminant animals whose bodies are designed to eat grass makes the cattle very sick, raising E. Coli levels to dangerous levels.

Antibiotics are given to the animals in an effort to control illness, which we now know is one of the most important reasons we have antibiotic resistance in humans today.

Pastured cattle do not have high E. coli counts, as grass is the natural diet of a cow. Pastured animals do not need antibiotics, as they don’t tend to get sick.

Research has shown that if cattle ranchers were to stop the grain and replace with grass or hay for as little as 2 weeks prior to slaughter, E. coli counts would drop by 90%. Why is this not done? Because cows fatten up quickly on grain, and feeding hay would reduce the weight of the animal, reducing the price fetched.

This summer I read about a farmer who actually began feeding his cattle gummy worms because the price of grain was so high due to the drought. He found his animals fattened up really well - yes, a diet of gummy bears would definitely be as fattening to cattle as to humans, but also as bad for the health of the cattle as they would to humans. Can you imagine how high those E. Coli counts would be? Eating sick animals is not going to make us healthy.

Even if the cattle are grass-fed, if they are slaughtered in a huge plant alongside all the factory-farmed cattle, there is no way to assure that their meat won’t be contaminated too.

From the stories that have recently come out of the XL Foods plant, it seems that the problems are mirroring what Eric Schlosser wrote about in his book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.

The animals are being slaughtered at such a fast rate that the workers can’t hose down the carcasses fast enough to remove the poop. Therefore it isn’t hard for the poop to get into the meat. Yes, absolutely disgusting.

There are fewer CFIA inspectors on the floor of the plant due to government cut backs, so lapses in food safety are more likely to occur. A company as huge as XL Foods is unlikely to go under if there is a problem, so safety might take a back seat to profit.

The best way to ensure that the animal foods we eat are safe, is to opt out of the big agribusiness food-system completely. Small farms and small slaughter houses have to be much more invested in food safety, because if something happens they are done. Out of business.

It is encouraging how this E. Coli scare has woken many people up. Farms that sell grass-fed beef and bison are finding their businesses have increased dramatically in the last month. Hopefully more farmers will switch their operations to take advantage of a growing trend.

People are getting together with friends and splitting the cost of the meat of a whole cow, or half a cow from a local farmer that raises the animals on grass. This is not only economical for the consumer, but also supports local farmers and local economies, encourages happy, healthy cows that get to spend their life outside doing what cows do best, does not promote antibiotic resistance, is much more environmentally friendly as there are no “poop ponds” that leach into waterways, and is more likely to result in safe, delicious meat.

In my opinion, “organic” is not important when it comes to meat. A cow gets just as sick on “organic” grain. The land the cow grazes on does not need to be certified organic. It is unlikely that a farmer is going to spray the grass. So spend the money on grass-fed / pastured and hormone-free, but don’t bother springing for organic meat.

If you want to search for other posts by title or by topic, go to www.wellnesstips.ca.

If you would like to get clarity on how to eat healthy, take my online nutrition course.

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Understanding the order of importance for our survival that our bodies place on our various body systems can provide a road map for successful resolution of health problems.

Paul Chek has a priority system that he uses and teaches to his students (such as myself) to help us help the people that come to see us seeking treatment for their various aches and pains and health problems.

No matter what the symptom, from low-back pain to digestive troubles to fatigue, the idea is to start examining the patient/client by looking at the system at the top of the hierarchy - breathing, and progressing down until a dysfunction is found, and addressing that dysfunction first.

Breathing is at the top of our body’s priority list for obvious reasons - we can’t survive more than a few minutes if we can’t breathe. So in our body’s innate wisdom, it will sacrifice all other body parts and systems in order to make sure that we can still breathe.

Not being able to breathe through the nose is relatively common, either due to the nasal passage being too small or due to allergies or sickness. The body makes a fair number of compensations in order to accommodate mouth breathing, the most obvious one being to bring the head forward to allow for easier air-flow when mouth breathing.

Forward-head posture greatly increases the forces on the back. For every inch the head is forward, the weight of the head is added to the workload the upper back muscles must carry. Heads weigh between 8 and 12 pounds, so if the head is 2 inches forward, that is 16 to 24 pounds of work those poor back muscles are forced to do, which can lead to upper back strain, shoulder problems, and low back problems.

Because the body will always sacrifice a back in order to breathe, one can’t fix a back by only treating a back, if the person is not breathing correctly.

Hyperventilation will increase the pH of the blood which has chemical consequences in the body, such as making it more difficult for the hemoglobin to release the oxygen to the cells (not good), and it also causes more calcium to enter the the muscles and nerve tissue, making them more excitable than they should be.

Blood that is too alkaline causes the arteries of the brain, heart and body to constrict, increasing blood pressure and reducing blood flow to these tissues. Reduced blood flow results in a huge variety of symptoms, from headaches, to digestive issues, to fatigue, to cold hands and feet, and on and on.

The above are only two examples. There are many ways people breathe incorrectly and many various problems that can manifest in the body because of it. So no matter what the issue, it makes sense to check and correct breathing first. Changing how one breathes is not an easy process, but well worth the time it takes.

If you have breathing issues like hyperventilation, chest breathing, shallow breathing etc., seek a physical therapist or a CHEK Practitioner for help, or try yoga. Structural Integration (a form of massage therapy) can help open up the nasal passages if your nose tends to be blocked.

Paul Chek puts bite and chewing (temporomandibular joint and teeth) second on his totem, because if you can’t eat, you won’t survive long either. He is obviously correct, but I think the body prioritizes circulation higher than eating so I would put circulation 2nd on the priority list. After all, a severed artery or a heart attack are both emergencies that need to be addressed immediately to avoid death. I think of the CPR mantra - ABCs - Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

The circulatory system delivers blood carrying oxygen, nutrition, communications via hormones and peptides to the cells, and returns cellular waste to the liver for recycling or disposal.

Any tissue that for whatever reason is not receiving the blood flow it needs will be unable to function optimally.  The body will alter its posture in order to protect a tethered or partially plugged blood vessel.

Blood vessels should be somewhat mobile - they should slide with the tissue as one reaches an arm up overhead, or as the legs move as we run or walk.  Moving our bodies through full range of motion daily should help keep the mobility in the vessels.

However, if a blood vessel becomes stuck and is no longer able to slide (due to a fall, MVA, not enough exercise etc.) suddenly the body has a problem.  For example, if there is a blood vessel tether in the "leg pit" or groin area, the front of the hip is stretched as we walk.

From the tether on downstream the adhered blood vessel is also being stretched, which would narrow the diameter restricting blood flow.  Suddenly the body will discourage a long stride in order to prevent a serious injury to the vessel.

The body will try to adjust by tightening certain muscles and relaxing others to change the position of the pelvis, leg or foot in order to accommodate the compromised  blood vessel and improve blood flow.

The common adaptation is too much anterior rotation (pelvis-bucket pouring water out the front) to keep adequate slack in the blood vessels going into the leg. 

No matter how much that poor pelvis position might wear out a hip joint or cause facet-joint irritation in the low back, that is the sacrifice the body will make to protect its circulation.

Furthermore, no amount of hip-flexor, quad, and low back stretching will create a permanent change if there is a tethered or compromised blood vessel in the groin area. Muscles, bones and joints are the slaves of the blood.

Maybe hip and knee surgeries could be prevented if blood flow were restored before too much cartilage damage occurred.

If you have spent a lot of time stretching and you are getting no more flexible, perhaps this is the reason.

Look for an osteopath or someone that has done training to release nerves, as the blood vessels usually travel in the same channels as the nerves if you think this might be affecting you.

If you want to search for other posts by title or by topic, go to www.wellnesstips.ca.

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I was asked to write an article on running. Here are some ideas that I think may help runners improve their ability while staying pain free.

Standing Posture
Because posture is the place from which movement begins and ends, having good static posture will greatly enhance running ability, while having poor static posture will be detrimental to running or any other sport for that matter, and may even be the cause of injury.

If our posture is poor and the joints cannot maintain a proper axis of rotation, the joints may suffer wear and tear. Imagine a garden gate that is not hung straight - the hinge on that gate is not properly aligned. It squeaks with use, and if the gate is continually used in its poorly aligned position, the hinge will eventually wear out. Our joints are the same.

If our static posture is good, the muscle balance about every joint in the body will be even, meaning that the joint can maintain its instantaneous axis of rotation throughout the range-of-motion. Good posture is the foundation for great running.

To get into the best posture possible, stand up, feet shoulder distance apart, and move your pelvis forward and back until you have found the place where you can feel the weight of your trunk going through the leg bones and out the feet into the floor. The thigh and buttock muscles are relaxed.

Then pick your ribcage up off of your pelvis as best you can, making yourself as tall as possible. Relax your shoulders and arms on your heightened ribcage. You may feel a sensation of decompression in your lumbar spine, and you may be aware of a muscle in your lower abdomen turning on.

Now, lift the base of your skull at the back of your head as high as you can, so that you are as tall as you can be throughout your body. Try to separate your shoulders as far away from each other, so you are also as wide as you can be.

The end result of this effort should be that your pelvis is directly over your legs, your ribcage is directly over your pelvis without tilting forward nor backward, and your shoulders are sitting squarely on the platform of your ribs, and your head is directly over your ribs, with the plane of your face vertical.

Practice this as you go through your day, as you sit, and as you walk. The feeling should be that your legs are floating under you as you walk, not that you are using muscle effort to move your legs.

There is a definite sense of ease. Experiment with how this sense of being as tall as possible creates ease in your running. This will assist in activating your deep stabilizers, which will keep your back and pelvis healthy while you run.

If you want a better understanding of how the deep trunk stabilizers work, and specific exercises to target them, feel free to purchase our exercise DVD - we included a whole section on it, as well as exercises in the work-out geared to help strengthen this area.

Adequate Flexibility
Having good flexibility in the legs and trunk will help you run faster, as you will be able to increase your stride length. Poor flexibility may put you at risk for muscle pulls and tears, particularly in the calves, hamstrings and possibly quads if you are a sprinter.

Tightness in the quads (front of the thigh) and TFL / IT band (side of the upper leg) is often the key reason for knee pain in runners, as the tightness pulls the kneecap out to the side so it is no longer sliding properly in the knee groove.

Furthermore, tightness in the front of the hip area makes it impossible to get adequate hip extension while running, so the glute
max, the main powerhouse muscle needed for running would not be firing adequately. Impossible to run fast without the glutes!

Tightness in the inner thigh will pull the knee into the midline, leading to instability in the hip (gluteus medius weakness), potentially creating hip, knee or ankle pain.

And tight hipflexors, quads, calf, shin, bottom surface of the feet and toes can be a primary cause of Achilles tendon problems as well as plantar fasciatis (pain on the bottom surface of the foot and heel).

To run well, one needs to be able to rotate the trunk and pull with the arms, so anything restricting those motions will lead to overuse of something else further down the chain to compensate for the lack of motion above.

Muscles and fascia might be tight, joints at the spine, ribs and sternum may be restricted, and organs, nerves and blood vessels may be tethered, all of which may compromise motion in the trunk.

Strength
For the performance-minded runner, increasing strength is important to developing power, which is needed for increasing speed.

Increased strength can also be converted to muscle endurance, which will allow you to run faster for a longer period of time. Being strong is helpful in preventing injuries, as long as you are strong without compromising flexibility.

The ability to strengthen up is often limited by tightness in the opposing muscle (as I suggested earlier). Strength-training in a manner that improves flexibility simultaneously is the most efficient way to train.

If you want some ideas on how to do this, some of the exercises in our DVD are designed specifically to increase strength and flexibility at the same time.

Muscle Endurance
Muscle endurance is defined as the number of times one can contract a muscle, as opposed to strength, which is defined as how much force can a muscle generate once. Clearly, muscle endurance is extremely applicable to running.

 Even when looking at a 100 metre sprint, each foot hits the ground 40-50 times. This can hardly be classified as “strength”. Even in the gym when training muscle endurance, the rep range most usually considered is 15-20 repetitions, which is too low, even for sprint training.

It is muscle endurance that is going to get you through your run. It will allow you maintain proper running mechanics throughout the distance and therefore keep you injury free.

Running Technique
Learning proper running technique will make a huge difference to running efficiency as well as to preventing injuries. Developing the essential motor patterns to correct running is well worth the effort, and more time should be spent on this initially than on increasing mileage.

Increasing mileage using poor form will simply engrain bad habits that become harder and harder to change with every kilometer you run. By practicing good technique, you are running smarter, and in the long run, you will run better, longer, faster.

The best way to do this is to run barefoot or in minimalist shoes as they will force you to avoid landing on your heel, improving running mechanics immediately as your bodyweight will be more over your foot as your foot strikes the ground.

If the heel hits first, the foot is landing too far forward of the body, and
the heel acts like a break slowing you down, because the ground reaction forces
going back up your leg are pushing you backwards.

These forces can be up to ten times your bodyweight, and are therefore often responsible for Achilles, ankle, knee, hip and occasionally low back issues.

By pawing back with the leg and landing on the midfoot instead of the heel, the braking effect is minimized, speed is increased, and injuries are reduced.

Take a lesson from a good running coach who has experience with minimalist shoes. If you are a runner with a heel-landing technique, it will take a long time to make the switch.

The first run in minimalist shoes should probably be only about 5 minutes long. Resist the temptation to up the mileage too fast. Going too far too soon will only result in injury and frustration.

Hiking with a pack on uneven terrain in minimalist shoes will help the foot and lower-leg musculature become stronger and more flexible - good training that will maintain cardiovascular fitness while you are trying to learn a new technique and can’t put in lots of running mileage.

Over time as you gradually improve your technique, you will probably find that you are able to run more comfortably, probably faster, and that those lower-leg irritations disappear.

Please do keep the comments coming! If you want to search for other posts by title or by topic, go to www.wellnesstips.ca.

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