Is it better to sit up straight or lean back? If you are experiencing lower back pain after sitting, it may have to do with your posture. Sit-Slide-Lean is the mantra that you should repeat every time to avoid back pain after sitting.

Sit down, slide your butt all the way back, then lean back and relax.

This will put you in optimal position without activating your postural muscles, allowing you to sit in a safe position without falling into a flexed our slouched posture. Sitting in this position will decrease compression in your low back and decrease lower back pain from sitting.

Two of the most common mistakes that occur with sitting are:

1. Not sliding all the way back.

Failure to slide all the way back will result in flexion in the lower segments of your low back especially at L4-L5 and L5-S1 (Two of the most common discs to degenerate and cause pain).  Sitting in a flexed position will accelerate degeneration and increase pain.

2. Not leaning back and relaxing.

You may experience lower back pin when leaning forward while sitting. Failure to lean back and relax will cause your postural muscles to contract to maintain your position. Excessive contraction will quickly lead to fatigue and more compression through your spine causing pain.

Make sure you always sit-slide-lean to avoid back pain, but it is also important to get out of your chair every 20 minutes (even if its only for a few seconds) and go for short walks around the office every hour.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice.
Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

Sit-ups have been a staple of many fitness programs. However it has been know for quite sometime in the rehab community that sit-ups place a tremendous amount of stress on your low back. The dangers of sit-ups have finally hit mainstream with the Canadian Armed Forces removing it from their fitness test and now a push for it to be removed from the Navy fitness test. To read more about the dangers of sit-ups and alternative exercises check out this Wall Street Journal article titled, Why You Can Stop Doing Sit-Ups by Rachel Bachman.

Having pain during exercise is a big red flag that should be checked out. Please click the button below to ask any questions you may have or call our office 716-629-3100. The faster you have a diagnosis the faster you can get back to a pain free life and avoid permanent injury.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

If you have back pain or a history of back pain, which sport listed below is the least likely to cause more damage?

• Baseball
• Kendo
• Running
• Soccer
• Swimming

Swimming seems like the obvious answer, since that is usually the go-to sport for people with pain. Surprisingly, a recent research article didn’t find this to be the case (1).

Researchers used MRIs to image the lower backs of 306 well-trained university athletes and compared them to 71 non-athlete university students and found that swimmers and baseball players had the highest amount of low back degeneration (1).

With baseball players, it makes sense because of the forces that are involved with swinging a bat. But how does swimming cause so much degeneration? (The rest of this article is a hypothesis on why an increase in degeneration occurs in swimmers.)

Kicking during swimming is a very large part of propulsion. The main muscle that fires during kicking movements is the psoas major (hip flexor). Looking at the green highlighted portion of the picture below, you can see that it attaches to the side/front of the lumbar spine (lower back) and travels down to attach to the femur (upper leg bone).

Every time you kick your leg, the psoas contracts, pulling on your low back. This causes the muscles in the back of your lumbar spine to contract to counteract the pulling force from the psoas. The end result is stabilization of your low back. This happens everywhere throughout your body. When one muscle contracts, other muscles contract to stabilize the area and prevent motion. In this case, the repetitive contraction to stabilize your spine during kicking causes increased compression on your lower back discs. The end result is increased disk degeneration.

This doesn’t mean swimming is a bad thing, but it is something to take into consideration. If you have back pain or have a history of back pain, then you may want to reconsider the structure of your swimming workouts. Many workouts will include kickboard drills or kicking with fins (fins will increase the strength of the psoas contraction, leading to more disc compression). These drills will greatly increase stress on your low back. If you know you have degeneration in your low back and still want to swim, it may be a good idea to limit kicking or use a pull buoy to avoid any extra kicking stress. In addition, many people will turn to swimming when they have back pain because it is the only physical activity they can do with minimal pain. I would strongly advise against this because it may only prolong the length of time that you are in pain. It is important to note that if you are experiencing pain, then you should be properly evaluated to determine the cause.

Muscle adhesion is the most common source of pain and stiffness and the most underdiagnosed. If you are experiencing pain or stiffness, please click the button below.

1) Hangai M, Kaneoka K, Hinotsu S, et al. Lumbar intervertebral disk degeneration in athletes. Am J Sports Med 2009; 37:149-155.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

Have you ever heard the saying, no pain, no gain?  This saying can be a good thing or a really bad thing.  For example, if a triathlete starts swimming after a long break, it is probably going to be a painful experience for the first few workouts.  It’s hard to get oxygen, your arms are sore, and you are trying your hardest not to let your legs become a 60 pound anchor.  At first you have to push through the pain, and eventually it becomes easier and your body adapts. Pain in this case is a part of becoming better, stronger, and faster.  If that same triathlete has shoulder pain on their right side during swimming, then that’s a different story.  Joint pain is bad pain and indicates that the joint is not working correctly. Adhesion in the rotator cuff muscles will result in shoulder pain and if not corrected will lead to degeneration, tearing, and damage. Bad pain is your body’s way of saying STOP.  If you try to work though the pain and take anti-inflammatory medicine, it will only get worse because you will continue to beat the joint up until something tears.  If you are unsure if your pain is good or bad, contact us today (716-629-3100).

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

The goal of spinal decompression is to take the load off of the discs in your low back or neck. This can help take away neck pain, low back pain, and numbness/tingling in your hands and feet.  At Phipps Soft Tissue and Spine, we treat the adhesion to naturally decompress the spine.  Muscles that crosses a joint will stabilize and compress it.  In the neck and low back there are many muscles that cross these joints.  If you have adhesion in these muscles, they will increased load and pressure on your discs because the joints are not moving correctly.  Breaking down adhesion with special techniques will naturally decompress the spine and provide a healing environment and pain relief.

Dr. Phipps is an expert and diagnosing and treating muscle adhesion and has the skills and knowledge to accurately assess, diagnose and treat your pain.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

If you have already been involved in a car accident, it’s important to be evaluated as soon as possible. Once more serious injuries like fracture, dislocation, or disc herniations are ruled out, it’s important to have your neck and back evaluated by a chiropractor. Early treatment can reduce your chances of experiencing pain later down the road.

Click below to sign up for a consultation with Dr. Phipps.

Now that you understand 5 quick tips to reduce injury during a car accident, what do you do if you look in your rearview mirror and you see another vehicle clearly not planning on stopping? Should you brace for impact, tensing all of your muscles, or should you try to be as relaxed as possible?

Research shows that people who are aware of an impending collision and have time to brace for impact have better long-term outcomes and less injury. So you should always brace for impact. You have a lot of muscles in your neck that can protect the ligaments, discs, and nerves in your neck. If you relax your muscles the ligaments, discs, and nerves will have to take a much larger percentage of the force and can become damaged. It’s much easier for muscles to heal than nerves, discs, or ligaments.

To prepare for a rear-end collision:

1. Brace your head against the headrest. This reduces the distance between your head and the front of your headrest. The closer your head is to the headrest, the better.
2. Always look forward, and NEVER lean forward. If you have your head turned at impact, then this increases your chance of injury.
3. Push your foot on the brake pedal and push your back squarely against the seat back.
4. Tense up like someone is going to punch you in the back with a 4,000-pound car.

If you’ve been in a car accident and need to have your back and neck checked out, schedule a free consultation with Dr. Phipps today.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor