Balance exercises:
-
The preamble: when infants learn to walk they
have and underdeveloped sense of balance, to compensate, instinctively
the child uses its toes to firmly grip the ground. As we get older
we are put in restrictive footware which discourages involvement of the
toes. If you don't use it you lose it.
-
In practice: Have him/her work on moving
his toes, then press his/her feet firmly into the ground, while sitting
and standing supported. By standing supported, s/he should use as
little grip as possible, dancers are trained to use only one finger tip,
you can start with the whole hand, but always have the goal to use less
pressure. There are a great number of small muscles in the foot,
the more of them you use the better the bloodflow back to the heart (beats
support hose and elastic stockings). Always wear footware that allows
the toes enough freedom to help by gripping. Once the concept of
gripping with your toes, stand with the feet about a foot apart (approx.
in direct line with the crest of the hipbones).
-
The exercises: Push front of feet and
toes into floor hold a few seconds and relax while exhaling (always breathe),
repeat a few times (depends entirely on you energy level. Repeat
same exercise while pushing only the heel into the groun, then the outsides
of the feet and then the insides only. Once you've got this down
add in dropped shoulders and pulling your spine up through the ceiling
without tilting your head forward or backward (as though someone with pointie
fingernails pushed up under your ears - ballet teachers always have long
fingernails), do not lock your knees. When you get good at this you
will notice improvement in walking, and the exercise is so subtle, you
can do it unnoticed while waiting for a bus or the light to change.
-
Toes are very overlooked in general physio-therapy.
Just wiggling them (aand fingers too) before getting up in the morning
is very helpful. Design your own toe exercises, learn to use the
channel changer with your toes, pick up a pen, pass a squash ball from
one foot to the other. The point is not to learn to do tricks, but
to use your toes, and you can do it sitting down.
-
Most importantly: tensing any
muscle increases its strenghth (you don't need weights), stretching sets
bloodflow
in motion (nourishes cells of all kinds), bending and flexing (touching
your chin to your chest, reaching for your toes, sticking out your tongue)
keeps you from becoming rigid. Go muscle by muscle, awareness is
the best exercise program. Find someone competent to check on posture
(through bad habits, wear and tear), if they cannot explain the mechanics
for the exercise, they are not competent (as in: what is to be achieved
by standing on one leg - when he falls over on two?)
-
I've stuck to this little regimen and have
lost no muscle mass over the last four years, even made some small gains
in my arms (Charles Atlas was really on to something), despite having to
cut down on all my former activities, you can stay fit even if you live
most of your life in a chair/recliner.
All
over conditioning (esp. lower back) for patients and the caregivers who,
lift them
Step 1
-
Try to think of this often: turn your palms
up, it relaxes the shoulder and neck muscles - fabulous stress buster,
anywhere anytime. Improves blood delivery to the brain (works standing,
sitting, lying down.)
Step 2:
-
put one hand on top of the other (left right
doesn't really matter) and press hands together (lower up - upper downward
creating an even tension - now tug your shoulders down a bit and pull yourself
up along the spine starting from just behind the ear (siting standing or
lying down it all works) do not tip the chin up or down (added benefit
to try - stick your tongue out) EXHALE! and relax (if you're really
working it it should feel tense in your armpits and in the spine just below
the shoulders)
-
It is best to do it slowly and deliberately
and repeat as many times as you like but not to the point of exhaustion,
it can give a bit of a head rush, so if you're not sitting at least lean
on something with your calves (couch) or behind.(wall) purpose of
this step is to improve circulation and strengthen neck muscles, which
help support blood vessels going to and from the brain, the exhale speeds
along lymphatic drainage (with improvements in circulation skin colour
and tautness can also improve) - exhaling is critical because expelling
stale air more completely allows for more new air to go in, most people
breathe for the most part in a very shallow way - inhaling does not need
to be emphasized because a vacuum always fills
If something is not clear, ask me to
clarify. If something feels odd or painful tell me and I can adjust
the routine or explain what you're doing incorrectly.
Step 3:
-
palms up in your lap - step 1 now step
2
-
slowly raise your arms keeping pressure between
hands (one up one down) stop when your shoulders start to want to move
up or back (everyone is slightly different)
-
stretch your arms as far forward from here
without moving shoulders (that is the key, the shoulders shouldn't move)
-
keeping the distance between the hands and
chest exactly (no fudgin or cheating) the same - pull elbows (pointy bits
in the middle of your arm) OUTWARD as far as you can - at this point breathe
out at the same time do the pulling out several times - each time EXHALING
(like I said inhaling is automatic due to vacuum effect) - now you're really
oxygenating
-
purpose to tighten the upper back, strengthen
the back in the correct curvature specific to you, learn what that feels
like, walk around (sit around, lie around) holding the posture, whenever
you can, it will become habit eventually - you cannot hope to work on the
lower spine until the upper spine is alligned (this is where a great many
physios do it all wrong)
-
I worked these out for all levels of disability
while I was told I likely had MS, in anticipation of ending up wheelchair
bound, or worse, so I could maintain fitness all the same. So far
so good.
-
work again through steps 1-3 thoughfully,
remembering to exhale at appropriate time.
Step 4 - requires you be stable, sitting,
lying down or standing.
-
sitting - with legs comfortably apart (width
of hipbones recommended) feet completely on the floor, or alternately
against a floor or a board
-
lying down, legs comfortably apart as above,
feet fully resting against any object which if you push down will not give
-
standing, legs as above, weight of body over
the middle of the foot - to steady, if needed
-
- a partner can hold you steady with open
hands supporting the upper arm (no grabbing, just to supply the missing
balance and steadiness) from underneath,
-
without a partner use a wall and a pillow
behind your butt to allow enough space to be upright and not leaning or
flattening the spine (spines are supposed to curve, each one slightly different),
-
or rest your calves (my favourite) against
a couch which is to heavy to give way,
-
or sit astride the arm of an overstuffed couch
(my second favourite on bad days).
-
get in and out of this position until you
have found the best and steadiest position FOR YOU
THIS IS BIG, while pulling up just
a little more under your ears (upward as pressing your head against a glass
ceiling), push down in equal measure through your feet and into the floor
(EXHALE)
Step 5
-
go through all the previous steps
-
now push additional pressure through the oursidees
of the feeet, all the while pulling up and pushing down through the feet
-
repeat to 10 times
-
now repeat and press on the indside of the
feet instead another 10 times, a promise better tone in your lower back
butt and thighs.
Warning -
surge of oxygen and blood if unexpected can really make you a bit woozy
- that's ok, just be aware, though odd sensation, it is all good.
If it feels easy, you're doing it wrong (put more into it)
top of page
Middle
of the back to lower back (girdle) exercise
-
This one is simple
-
sit in a chair, feet up or not makes no difference
-
stretch your arms straight up so arms are
beside your ears
-
lift your head from under your ears (as opposed
to the chin which would have your head tilting back)
-
now as hard as you can exhale and push the
middle of your back into the chair back without losing the stretch in your
arms and neck
-
then collapse for 20 seconds
-
and do the whole thing again, slowly and deliberately,
several times a day.
You can do this lying down in bed also, or
in a wheelchair for that matter.
top of page
Dystonia:
-
which is a matter of muscle spasms - is one
of the most pressing reasons to exercise - during spasm you can also do
damage to the tendons leaving you inflamed and even less able to move.
The way a dancer deals with muscle spasms (as you know dancers don't get
sick days), is to superheat the area with a hot towel (or a flaxseed pillow
which conforms to the area).
-
Once the area is warms gently move, if you
are very immobile have someone gently support (in this case for the neck,
your head), do NOT have the person move the neck for you, it has to come
from you, push into the pain then stop and completely go slack. There
is movement even when you cannot detect it. Done dutifully the dystonia
should not progress and it may even improve (mine has). The heat
is key.
-
My theory is that our lowered body temperature
discourages the muscles from moving full-range and causes the muscle to
tense and lock (spasm), one the spasms are unevenly distributed, twisting
happens. It is work, hard work, but the alternative is to lose range
of movement.
top of page
Heat
-
I try whenever possible to heat the parts
of the body which require the most movement (large muscles) their movement
then sends a higher volume of blood to surrounding muscles.
-
Keeping shoulders very warm, keeps the neck
a bit more flexible, hips and upper legs should also be overly warm.
-
In order to dissipate the heat building up
(since I can't just control it), I rarely cover my feet, lower legs, arms
and head.
-
I also keep a spray bottle with fortified
(rosewater and glycerine and water) nearby.
-
Massage (done very gently, no kneading) also
helps blood flow.
-
I keep some flaxseed pillows in the freezer
(in case of heat crisis) and two minutes in the microwave heats a warm
flaxseed pillow.
-
If my body is very cold I wear high waisted
vinyl dance pants between two layers of sweat pants.
It
is always a bad idea to stretch cold muscles.
top of page
What
to accept and what to fight: nonsense-ations
-
Before I even heard of MSA, PAF, PD+, and
all the other oddball orphan diseases, I was quite aware (dancer's are
very body aware, like athletes), that what I felt (pain stiffness, numbness),
did not mean I was immobile, or hurt I referred to it as my nonsense-ations.
I've learned more and more to question what I feel and look to other means
for verifications (mirrors, cues from others, mood rings). At first
when my arm would go numb and stiff I would avoid using it assuming it
was also weak and incapable.
-
When the Dr. told me I had lost muscle (wasting
2") in my arm, I was devastated. Went home and started re-training
my arm working through the pain and numbness, and although I am clumsy
my arms are once again symmetrical. I cannot feel the ground with
my feet either, but this does not mean I can't walk. I cannot feel
the temperature, but I can see the mottled skin, or feel as though my skin
is too tight when I overheat. I look grey when I am cold red when
I'm hot. I'm on manual override, but it is a lot of work to now consciously
do what others can do without any attention or effort, I think this is
why I am so tired. The mantra remains, use it or lose it.
|
