Stretch Your Pecs To Help Upper Back Pain

As a massage therapist and personal trainer I come across a wide variety of ailments, but the most common, by far, is upper back pain.  There can be many reasons why we experience this pain which include injury, stress and poor posture.  It is natural for us to want to treat the symptom (pain in the upper back), without consideration for what the source of the pain is.

Many times the cause of our upper back pain is, in fact, tight chest muscles!  There is a simple and effective way to combat our upper-back pain which you can do anywhere from home to work.  Here is a link that gives instructions on how to correctly perform this stretch:

http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Double-Arm-Doorway-Stretch

So, next time you feel tension, pain or discomfort in between your shoulder blades take a second for yourself and stretch those pecs!


Allison Voigt, Personal Trainer, Massage Therapist and director of the Fit Stronger program at the Back Resort & Rejuvenation Health Center

Regular Exercise Reduces Anxiety And Stress

Working up a good sweat not only boosts your mood, but new U.S. research finds that it can soothe anxiety and better prep you for a stressful or emotional event or experience.

In a study announced last week, University of Maryland School of Public Health researchers looked at data from 37 healthy young adults.

Findings showed that anxiety levels dipped after both the rest and exercise sessions. But only after the subjects exercised did their anxiety levels stay low during the image viewing. 

"We found that exercise helps to buffer the effects of emotional exposure," study researcher J. Carson Smith, an assistant professor in the university's department of kinesiology, said in a statement. "If you exercise, you'll not only reduce your anxiety, but you'll be better able to maintain that reduced anxiety when confronted with emotional events." 

Source: Exercise Protects Against Stress 

Stress relief is just one of many positive benefits of regular exercise.  Do you have a Movement Plan?  What are your health goals for the future?  Let's make a customized fitness plan together for you that is practical and easy to fit in your schedule as part of our Fit Stronger program.

Back Resort & Rejuvenation Health Center
540 389-2225

Welcome To FitStronger.com

Welcome to our new blog FitStronger.com hosted by the Back Resort & Rejuvenation Health Center.

We are devoted to helping our patients and others get fit and stay fit with movement and exercise for improved overall health.  Stay tuned for timely fitness tips that are practical and effective you can use in everyday life.  Our goal is to help you Stay Stronger For Longer!

Allison Voigt is the director of our Fit Stronger program at the Back Resort.  As a massage therapist and personal trainer and with a masters degree in Exercise Science, Allison is well qualified and will be a contributor to this blog as we share ideas to help us all move more!

With Movement Improvement,

Dr Dan

Dan Davidson D.C. is a chiropractor and director of the Back Resort & Rejuvenation Health Center