core stability
 

has anyone here strengthened their core muscles and noticed big improvements in tos/other nerve pain?

from what ive read, it would at least improve breathing..maybe get the rib to lower a tiny bit. obv it would help with posture. i can have good posture but i can't hold it for very long :cool:

I need to work on my core....:o shouldn't make TOS any worse to do core work - as long as you find a way to not set of any flares.

I did the Egoscue exercises which combine some strengthening with some stretching. Most of the stretches are passive where you let gravity do the work. This helps with relaxation too.

Why don't you give them a try and let us know if it works for you? The books are fairly cheap.

I was able to get many of his books from the library, I just made notes & sketches to remind me of the positions that I liked doing & worked for me.

I have a whole folder of stuff I printed off websites and notes I made long ago (03-04) I think I just had dial up back then...

i jsut typed this long response and lost it.

oh well.

according to the wii fit standing test i took last year, before i even really hurt myself, i have the stability of someone who is 40ish (i am 27)


do you think it helped lowered your ribs at all?

I don't yet have a strong sense of whether my ribs are lowered or raised. They always seem to be in the same place.

I did not get total relief from my symptoms as I still have vascular issues including the edema above the collar bone and lightheadedness. I did get 95% relief of pain my pec minor, shoulder and forearm.

Serratus anterior acts as a rib stabiliser, so you may wanna give that a hit.
go to youtube and type in Serratus anterior wall excersize its got a really good excersize how to strengthen it.

yeah i told someone about the serratus anterior, maybe it was you? that and my lower traps are nonexistent!

the problem i have with any strengthening is my t-spine is really tight so like
it was doing better, but today just sitting..my back is warm. the muscles/nerves/tissue whatever around it are so tight that in the past i felt uneasy all the time and i can't stretch it. that irritates it. strengthening around the area can flare it up too.

if i had it my way i would NEVER SIT at all, have my manual therapist work on my spine and neck, and then mild strengthening.

i guess i dont have edema but sometimes it feels like it. i get really lightheaded too.

thats good to know about pec minor. my pecs are too strong.


i can tell if my ribs are raised when i turn my head from side to side. i used to be able to practically spin my head around, now i can't go as far and sometimes it itches

well i've only been doing this exercise for a week now and i can officially say i believe it is possible for me to breathe through my diaphragm now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjtARqa7Tgk

video is a great explanation of how to breathe better, she only has a few videos but they're all good

That's great! Belly breathing is a core component of natural health. It's also emphasized in Egoscue, Edgelow, yoga and tai chi.

Overall the video was nice, but at the end she mentioned that breathing was done by expanding the rib cage. Unless you are engaged in physical activity (which would include pilates) all your breathing can be done with the belly; there is no reason to engage the ribs, scalenes, etc. during most of your day.

For example, consider the comment "Evaluation of the patient’s respiration demonstrated a faulty breathing pattern, involving over-utilization of the scalene and SCM muscles" at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1769463/

Congrats on making progress.

i'm confused tho, its quite a jump from the ribs to the scm right?

i recently foudn out i have a pigeon chest :mad:

i would think it's okay to use the ribs, my pt makes a big deal about the motion being smooth like a wave

my scm is a mess though, that's why im chin tucking. stretching is aggravating.

she gave me a bunch of new exercises, one is for spine mobilization. you kind of roll the spine from lying down to sitting up, one vertebrae at a time. im very bad at it

Well I said "scalene" which does connect to the first rib. The article said both scalene and scm, and I did read somewhere that "clavicular breathing" is the most shallow form of breathing possible.

Also, consider the statement "Several conditions are marked by, or symptomatic of, shallow breathing. The more common of these symptoms include: various anxiety disorders, asthma, hyperventilation, pneumonia, pulmonary edema, and shock. Anxiety, stress, and panic attacks often accompany shallow breathing." at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallow_breathing

That matches what I've previously read from other sources. Other than physical exertion and occasionally stretching the ribs out, I think you are better with pure belly breathing during the day and during meditation.

yeah my carbon dioixide is always low on my blood tests which i think means im hyperventilating.

the belly breathign is the hardest part for me, breathing out i can do, breathing up through my ribs i can do. but belly alone and/or belly to rib is just hard.

the thing i like about weight lifting, and im by NO means saying i'll ever be able to lift weights, but when you do you kind of know when youre doing it right..if you have a good form, youre sore etc. this pilates stuff i have ZERo clue if im doing any of it right on my own. im not sure. just confused :confused:

Keep at it; it's worth it. You'll get it eventually.

my lowest part of my sternum pops when i breathe through my diaphragm

isnt that where its located sort of, i hope im doing this right.



im having a minor flare tho probably from improper strenghtening :mad:

Core stability and strength: Does anyone have a means to strengthen the core without putting tension on the neck muscles? I'd like to work on my abs and core, but everything I've seen wouldn't be good for the rest of me.

Diaphragmatic breathing is important. IMO you must have joint mobility and flexion of the ribs before you will see a benefit with deep breathing. You can still breathe deep, but your breath won't be utilizing the capacity of your ribs or pulling ribs down which are stuck. I also feel you must use all ribs to breathe completely. Avoiding the upper ribs will not loosen or get them to articulate as they should and will cause further problems. Breathing into your BP can be beneficial and shouldn't be avoided. The breath expands front, back, and to all sides and having capacity in all directions is something most people do not think about.

i can't yawn anymore and i blame my neck/ribs. i had no idea breathing was so...complicated but i do feel like it is one of the main contributing factors to to my tos.

yes core strengthening for me right now is doing the transverse abdominus. my pelvis is very hypermobile, due to weak hip muscles (?) and core strength. if my hips arent in good alignment then i cant breathe at all and my neck'll tense up. i think to really address TOS you need to address the entire trunk, including hips

so far im doing okay with the transverse abdominus exercises but i also go into pt weekly and have my pt check my ribs and neck so i feel its worth the money/risk. by myself i'd probably be too scared to try.

shoulder strengthening i still can't manage at all. im wondering if building up core strength would make shoulder strengthening easier but somehow i dbout it

the crappy thing is my ribs DID lower for two+ weeks thanks to pt and but as soon as i go about my day or risking shoulder exercises, they start creeping up again

wat do u mean shoulder excersizes?

i have to strengthen my shoulders, theyre droopy and unstable