• HIS THERAPY PT and PELVIC HEALTH
Visit our Location
42 Saint Mark Rd, Taylors, SC
Give us a Call
(864) 534-1780
Send us a Message
office@histherapy.net
Office Hours
By Appointment Only

Category: Health

His TherapyBlogHealth
By Sabina Kapasi Health, Pain

Hip Pelvic and Lower back Pain Tips! (9 Tips)

Avoid activities/position that strain the joints of the pelvis and lower back: crossing legs, climbing stairs, standing with weight on one leg, cross-trainer machine, stair stepper or stair climber on machines, bicycling, sitting in asymmetrical positions.
Use the best sleeping position: lying on your left side with a pillow support under head and neck and between knees.
Use good lifting techniques: Don’t Bend forward through the waist to pick up anything, but rather squat down (even for a paperclip or pacifier!). Get the weight of the object close to yours body before standing. Don’t hold your breath when lifting items; exhale as you lift. Avoid twisting to reach for or pick up items from any height.
For standing activities, such as washing dishes, cooking, ironing, brushing teeth, changing diapers: Keep a small footstool near common work areas. Keep one foot on the stool while performing the activity; interchange with the other foot every 5 – 10 minutes. In the kitchen or bathroom, open a cabinet door and rest your foot on the cabinet shelf.
Getting in and out of the car. In: Place all items in the passenger or back seat BEFORE getting into the driver’s seat. After opening the Driver’s side door, turn to face away from the seat. Sit down scoot back into the seat (still facing sideways). Now bring one leg at a time into the car.    For getting out of the car: Bring one leg at a time out of the car. Turn your body to face toward the door. Scoot to the edge of the seat before standing. Retrieve items from the passenger seat or back seats AFTER getting out of the car.
Getting in and out of bed. In: Sit on the edge of the bed and scoot back for thighs to be fully supported on bed. While lifting legs up onto bed, lower upper body onto elbow. Once lying on your side, you may further position yourself in side lying or roll onto back.  Out: if lying on back, bend knees and roll onto side without twisting the spine. While lowering legs off edge of bed, push weight of trunk up with the help of your arms (elbows beneath and other hand in front). Once in a seated position, come to standing.
Avoid prolonged positions. If you sit all day at work, take a brief standing or walking break every 15-30 minutes. If you stand all day or during cooking, etc., take a sitting break (preferably with feet propped up) every 15-30 minutes; pump your ankles during this break to improve blood flow and reduce swelling.
Use a cold or ice pack on “flared up” areas for 10 to 20 minutes.
Perform Stabilization exercises 2x in the morning and 2x at night.

By Sabina Kapasi Health, His Thearpy

The Daniel Plan 6 Week Class

Still wanting to start on some healthy new years resolutions? Why not try the Daniel Plan! 
What is the Daniel Plan? 
This is a program, inspired by the Book of Daniel, that helps you adapt to a healthier lifestyle instead of living with short term diets. The Daniel Plan focuses on five main habits and rules to help you stay on track and start living a healthier life. 
Personalize your plan 
Eat right 
Physical and Mental activity 
Fill nutrition gaps with supplements 
Stay motivated 

Does this sound like an interesting and  great way to start off the new year?
Then join Sabina Weaver as she teaches a 6 week class at Brushy Creek Baptist Church! This is a great opportunity to start adapting your lifestyle with one of Greenville’s own. 

If you have any questions about the Daniel Plan or Sabina’s 6 week class please call Brushy Creek Baptist Church at 864-244-5075.

By Sabina Kapasi Health, His Thearpy

We Recommend Spanx

We recommend Spanx because: 
1) It helps to teach you how to maintain a neutral spine position 
2) it can help decrease back pain 
3) it promotes a pelvic brace posture 
4) it can help decrease pelvic pressure and pain
5) it can decrease and prevent disastasis recti post partum 
6) it can improve body mechanics and posture by tactile cues and compression 
7) it can decrease coccyx or pubic pain
8) Spanx are very affordable 

As wonderful as Spanx are to us they are not the only way to prevent the above. You must also strengthen your core and pelvic floor muscles. We are able to help with that. Come to our office for a pelvic floor assessment and we can teach you how to prevent and how to strengthen your core and pelvic floor muscles. 

By Sabina Kapasi Exercise, Health

Strengthen Your Bones Ladies

Bone is living tissue that is constantly changing and adapting.  The good news is that you can improve your bone health at any age.  There is a misconception that osteoporosis is a disease of the elderly when actually healthy bone development starts in our youth.  Girls who have diets high in dairy and who exercise regularly create bones that are denser and are less likely to develop osteoporosis.  Women reach their peak bone mass at about age 21.  After that, there is a slow, steady decline that increases with the loss of estrogen surrounding menopause. 

Listed Below are 5 helpful tips to improve your bone health: 
Trunk Lifts – trunk lifts build strength in your back bones by doing reverse sit-ups; lie on your stomach and lift up your trunk. 
Vitamin D3 – a daily dose of Vitamin D3 helps your body absorb calcium.  It is also known as the “sunshine vitamin” because we make it when our skin is exposed to sunlight.  If you live in the Northeast, however, you cannot depend on getting enough daily sun year-round to make sufficient Vitamin D3; So taking the supplement is encouraged. 
  Lift Weights – Pump a little iron in addition to your cardio.  Strength training with high loads and low repetitions can increase bone mineral density in women. 
Increase Your Dairy Intake – Calcium is not produced by our bodies; so we must get it from food or supplements.  Calcium is essential for many bodily functions (including heart rate regulations), so if you don’t have enough in your diet, calcium will be taken from your skeleton.  If you are allergic to dairy, you should talk to your doctor about good calcium supplements. 
Walk More – walking is a weight – bearing activity that increases the bone density in your hips.  Gradually build up to walking at a moderate pace for 30 minutes, five days per week.  Other wight-bearing exercises include tennis, jogging, volleyball, calisthenics, aerobics, stair-climbing, and dance. 
  Remember that what you do today strengthens your bones tomorrow.

By Sabina Kapasi Health

Diaphragmatic Breathing

The diaphragm, a dome like muscle that forms the floor of the rib cage, is the most efficient muscle for breathing and relaxation.  The correct use of diaphragmatic breathing can help to quiet brain activity resulting in the relaxation of all the muscles and organs of the body.  This is accomplished by slow rhythmic breathing concentrated in the diaphragm rather than the chest. 

Learning Diaphragmatic Breathing 
Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your abdomen.

 Exhale completely, breathing out through your mouth.  Allowing your abdomen and chest to fall.

 Inhale deeply.  Breathe in through your nose and mouth while contracting the diaphragm.  It will move downward causing your abdomen to rise.  Keep your shoulders and chest relaxed during this exercise.

 Remember to breathe slowly.  Do not force your breathing. 

By Sabina Kapasi Health, Pelvic Floor, Pelvic Health

Take Care Of Your Pelvic Floor

What Are Pelvic Floor Muscles? 
 Pelvic floor muscles are the collection of skeletal muscles covering the bottom edge of the abdominal cavity.  They run from the pubic bone in the front to the coccyx (tail bone)  in the back and attach to both sides of the pelvis.  They form a “sling” at the base of the pelvic bowl and help to hold up the organs of that area, which include the bladder, uterus and the rectum. 

What Do They Do? 
 Pelvic floor muscles have three main functions:  supportive, sphincteric, and sexual.  Strong pelvic floor muscles help to hold the pelvic organs in place against the pull of gravity.  They also help you maintain control of your bladder and bowels by lifting the urethra and rectum to keep them closed.  Finally, pelvic floor muscles play a role in sexual function by enabling the vagina to be lifted in tighter, thus increasing sensation, during intercourse.  They can become weak or injured in different ways including birthing injuries or neurological dysfunction. 

How Can I Keep Mine Strong? 
You can strengthen pelvic floor muscles by routinely performing some exercises that target them.  You should pull the muscles “up and in,” meaning if you had an object inserted into your vagina you would be pulling it into your body with these contractions.  You can tell if you are using the correct muscles because the sensation of contraction the pelvic floor muscles is the same as when you stop your urine flow (however, this is NOT part of the exercise program, do not routinely stop your urine flow). Perform these contractions, being careful not to 
substitute” with contraction of your abdominal, buttocks, or hip muscles.  Try to contract the muscles as strongly as you can for as long as you can hold the contraction.  Do as many of these “strong holds” as you can.  Another exercise involves contractions of the same muscles, but in quick succession and as many as you can.  A good format to begin with is: 

Strong Hold:                                                         Quick Hold: 
5 repetitions of 10 second holds                     15 repetitions of 1-2 second holds 
   
      Rules to go by 
Water intake should be 8-10  10 oz. glasses per day 
You should void only 6-8 times in a 24 -hour period. 
You should be able to go 2-5 hours between voids. 
You should be able to count 8-10 seconds during the urine stream. 
If you are younger than 65, you should not need to void in the middle of the night
Avoid bladder irritants such as caffeine, alcohol, acidic juices, sodas, and nicotine