Snow sports are fun, avoiding back injuries from ice and snow are the key to winter fun. Snow shoveling, slips and falls on the ice and the inevitable tumbles that come from living in a cold weather climate can hurt. Proper technique, good equipment and knowing what to do when you do get hurt can make all the difference. Reading further now will help you keep little back injuries from ice and snow from becoming big problems later.   Good Equipment First, back injuries from ice and the falls that come with it are a big reason patients call me in the spring. Why the spring? They avoid the pro ..read more

  Maintaining winter fitness in a cold climate can be tricky. Unpredictable weather, poor gear selection and un-motivational gray days can tank your winter fitness program. It just takes a few small tricks to keep you motivated and ready for what old man winter can throw at you.  HEALTHY HABITS  Go outside every day. Guess who my #1 winter motivation specialists are? Here is a hint, they aren’t personal trainers.  Have an excited and motivated winter fitness partner!This little sprite makes it well known that a walk is needed every day.  I make sure that I deliver at least six days a week ..read more

    Has it ever seemed to you that your level of stress and pain are connected? A lot of research has been done on the mind body connection. We know that our emotions are controlled by our nervous systems. Our nervous systems also greatly affect and are affected by the health of our spines. Stress and pain are linked in your body. There are lots of natural ways to improve stress, depression and anxiety.   Your mood causes a chemical release that impacts how you perceive your body’s pain levels. If you are anxious, pain becomes worse. If your pain becomes worse, you get more anxious. It’s a vic ..read more

The gardening and yard work season is now full on which is bringing back patients into my office who have hurt themselves out in the yard. There are several tips I can give you to help avoid back pain while gardening.   My first suggestions is to break it up into manageable chunks to avoid hurting your back and causing pain. While I know time is precious, a five hour stretch of weeding is going to put anyone into misery. It isn’t worth it. Weed for an hour, then go on a bike ride or walk and come back to it. That will keep you from causing yourself a lot of pain. Doing smaller bits more freque ..read more