Exercises for Common Problems

No body is perfect, hopefully if you follow these exercises we can help your body function more perfectly.

TMJ

If you’ve ever noticed your jaw popping or clicking (or getting stuck open or closed), you may have TMJ. You will also notice some ear or jaw pain associated with it. Most of the time, if you’re like me, it’s from clenching your teeth, especially while sleeping. Our favorite exercise for TMJ to instruct patients on is super easy to do, no one will be able to even tell you’re doing it at all. So, first, check and see where your tongue is sitting in your mouth. It should be lightly pressed against the back of the two top front teeth. That’s the exercise (yeah, really). I told you it’d be easy. In fact it’s so easy, that’s actually where the tongue should automatically go when at rest, like we’re talking anatomical position, correct biomechanics stuff (...<3). When you do this, it is virtually impossible to clench your teeth because it inhibits the muscles responsible for closing the jaw. 

The hard part comes into play when we need to train your brain into putting it there. 

So, what we suggest doing is pick a trigger (whatever it is, a text, a phone call, your kids shouting for your attention, etc.), make it something that happens throughout the day pretty regularly and then check and see where your tongue is. From a fellow TMJD patient, this really works. I’ve alleviated my symptoms and my tongue automatically goes behind my top front teeth. 

Neck Pain

Neck pain is the worst. Most of the time it is followed up with a headache, which can range from not that bad to turn-off-all-of-the-lights-and-no-one-talk-to-me-until-I-am-ready bad. Lucky for you, we have some easy ways to help the neck pain you’re already experiencing and may prevent it from happening again. 

First start off sitting, then you will tap yourself on your shoulders with your fingers (right to right/left to left). Relax your shoulders (but keep them where they are) and lower your arms down to your sides. Now you will want to take your neck through all of the ranges of motion. Look up, down, side to side and tilt your head from right to left. 

You want to try to do this throughout your day, so there will be natural triggers to remind you to do your neck stretches (hopefully). We also like to do these when we are taking a shower or just trying to relax. 

Low Back Pain

FACT. Low back pain is one of the most common excuses for people to either not go into work or participate in activities they would like to, but feel that they can’t. 

This one may have to be done at home. First, get on your hands and knees on the ground. You’re then going to drop your bellybutton down toward the ground and look up (think of a cow standing in a field), then bring your bellybutton toward your spine/spine toward the ceiling (like a hissing cat).

If you are experiencing any of the above, we have so many more things left in our back pocket to help you. Give us a call, set up an appointment and then we can go over so much more detail. Our number is (210) 323-2163, give us a call anytime.

Adrenal Fatigue, Trust Me...it’s Not Just Stress

I can say with a lot of confidence, about 80% of Americans are experiencing adrenal fatigue without even looking at the actual statistics. If you’re like the rest of us (you feel tired all the time, a little bit of brain fog, lack motivation and aren’t sure where all of that is coming from), welcome to the club. The thing that sucks about it is it can hit you hard and at the most inconvenient time. So, what can you do about it? There’s a few options to try, the most obvious (and probably the hardest) option is to stress less. But you, like everyone else, have about a million things to do and not enough time in the day to do them...OK, then we have other options. 

I have been advised to schedule out “white space” in my Google Calendar. We all think “Oh, I’ll just take some ‘Me Time’ when I finish X,Y,Z’...yeah, I tell myself that all the time too, and let’s be honest, it never happens. Once I started to do this for myself I was able to do the things I WANTED to do, even organizing the pantry (What? You know you’ve dreamed of a Pinterest Pantry too.); yours could be going to a yoga class, getting a mani/pedi, playing with your kids, eating a really good meal, whatever. Give it a try this week and see if you feel slightly less stressed. 

I also am a proponent of making sure you are supporting your adrenal glands. They’re pretty important but often forgotten - there’s a lot of options to do it too. An obvious one, that we all know and may not actually follow through with, is proper diet. If you feel like you could use additional help, there are supplements that also support these organs. 

It’s best to speak with someone who can go over your health history and advise you on the proper way to take care of yourself before you go jumping into anything crazy. We can help and if we aren’t sure what to do, we always know someone who does, give us a call at (210) 323-2163.