We can all learn something from Jessica…can you imagine how incredible our lives would be if we started off each day just like Jessica? 
Yours In Health!
Dr. Wendy
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I cringe everytime a patient comes in with a shoulder issue as they are so complex and difficult to treat. The majority of shoulder problems I see are due to computer use. When you are sitting at the computer stop for a moment and see how your body is positioned. Most likely you are hunched forward a bit, shoulders and head forward. Staying in this position for minutes, let alone years, causes the pectorals (chest muscles) to contract, and the upper back muscles to overstretch. I have seen shoulders stuck so far forward that I do not know how structurally they are staying on a persons body. Once the shoulder is misaligned the tendons, muscles and ligaments stop functioning correctly.
My job is to get the shoulder in better alignment and teach my patient how to live in their body better. First they need to take quick breaks during the day to stretch. Clasp your hands behind your back, squeeze your shoulder blades together and stretch your shoulders back. Hold this position for 30 seconds and do it 5-6 times per day. Next you need to WIGGLE, yep wiggle. Roll your shoulders back, both at the same time then alternate them. I have my patients do this for 20 seconds every hour.
The following video shows some basic exercises to strengthen the upper back. A strong upper back counteracts the shoulder forward posture. We did the exercises with kettlebells but you can use any hand weight. If you are weak between the shoulder blades I would start with a light exercise band and work up to weights. The motion comes from between the shoulder blades and not the muscles at the base of the neck. See how Jakes shoulders stay down when he does the exercises.
Yours In Health!
Dr. Wendy
In my almost 20 years of practice I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen patients give up right before a big change was about to happen in their treatment. It breaks my heart when I see this happen. In this world of instant messaging, video on demand, and instant meals it seems like more and more people expect changes in their health and wellness to happen instantaneously. I wish I had a magic wand that I could wave to immediately remove the pain my patients feel…unfortunately no such thing exists.
To make changes we need to change our paradigms. Let’s think of it this way…if it took you 40 years of bad habits to get your body to the state of dis-ease it is in now how long do you think it is going to take to reverse it? A day, a month, a year? Try more like 5 years! I have a friend, Dave Werner (who is also an RKC trainer), who is Navy SEAL veteran who left the Navy with a medical disability. A little more than a year before I met Dave he was walking with a cane and according to those who knew him he looked like an old beaten up man. When I met Dave he looked like an Olympic athlete. I couldn’t believe that this was a man who had once needed a cane to walk. I was so impressed with what Dave had accomplished with his body that I hired him to train me. I remember during one of our training sessions how he told me that his body had suffered 15+ years of some of the most extreme abuse his time as a SEAL had to offer. I told him it was great that he had got his life back. What he said next shocked me…he said that he had at least another 5 years of training and re-hab before he would be where he wanted to be! Dave is someone who is UNSTOPPABLE! We can all learn a lesson from him.
When I was going through my own back pain I did “core exercises” every day for a year and a half! I never missed a day. That’s the message I would like to share with everyone…be unstoppable. Don’t let your pain get the best of you. Keep going even when you think you can’t. Keep going even when you don’t think changes are happening (they are). Before you know it you’ll be like my friend Dave and realize that you no longer need your “cane”. Remember though, just because you’re pain free doesn’t mean that the journey is over. That’s like going to your dentist one time for a cleaning and thinking you never have to go back.
Also, remember to believe. Believe in yourself, believe in what you are doing and trying to accomplish. I saw this video on YouTube of some kids singing one of my favorite 80’s songs, “Don’t Stop Believing!”. Watch this video, be unstoppable, and don’t stop believing!
Yours In Health!
Dr. Wendy
