VS Healthy Habit 5 - Pooh Time

I realize it has been a while since I have mused, but life happens and I am having a great time living and working my “busi ness”. Have you Hurd About Health? Lol. Thanks for coming back or if it’s your first time, welcome!

And so the bodily functions must continue.

Poo time. Luckily this essential task of sitting on the loo and eliminating substances from ~2 days ago never really posed as an event, until. Damaged sciatic nerves due to the back event changed this daily ritual.

So to get totally biomechanical, I will let you know of a healthy option for this daily routine. Think of today’s modern “human”. We sit way too much, sitting IS the new smoking. Low back issues, stress, colitis, IBS and the list goes on concerning our pelvic floor. Primal speaking, humans have been squatting for centuries, way before the “toilet” was invented. The posture of squatting with your legs wide and knees above your hips allow the low back and pelvic muscles to relax, allowing pee, poo and babies to pop out, to put in bluntly. Lol. Oh and this posture in not gender specific.

So there is a gadget called the “poop time” which is 7” high and by using this, your colon is aligned to eliminate with ease. Right? Saved my buttocks, literally.

Every home should have one, not just because you may have low back events, but we need this to remind our body to sit with a slight curve in the low back. Squatting, breathing, relaxing and eliminating are sooooo healthy. Healthy Habits. Pelvic floor physiotherapy.

Stay tuned, for more healthy habit lifestyle tips.

Jo

#colon #healthyhabits #cognitivehealth #biomechanics #lowback #pooshouldnthurt #kinesiology #HurdAboutHealth

Virtual Surgery 4

Now that my back had finally healed its scabs, and I had birthed triplettes, I was left with a very weak and physically smaller body. This past year felt like my inaugural “maternity leave”, the one I had not yet taken in this life. I was lucky to be at a point in my career that I was already into my 3rd year as an entrepreneur working my own consulting business in health and ergonomics - very timely because I had the BEST boss ever! Lol! This new way of working allowed me to work when it came and sloth, heal and live for the rest of the year of 2018. I won the work/live lottery! My health benefits plan was credit and man am I worth it!

Lighter body, how did that happen? Nerve pain was so bad, that eating was not my favourite thing to do. Organic bananas and grapes and small grazing of food lovingly delivered daily from my awesome tribe became my new norm. Months of this and I had lost close to 20 lbs.- what left my body was inflammation, some fat, a lot of muscle and 3 disc bulges (Faith, Hope and Grace).

I had to learn and trust to walk again and redevelop my core strength as the main start. Gone went my old workout habits of going to the gym to listen to grunting bodybuilders in hopes of getting in and out 40 minutes flat. Gone is the gym guilt of not going enough to validate my membership fees. WooHoo!

I have learned a new, efficient functional, safe and fun home strengthening routine that is getting me stronger everyday. I have also learned to stop my old habits of risky back bending and have incorporated new ways to do things, because I am never going back to that state again. Did you know it takes 21 days to change a habit? Life is so much better, because I am living and moving smarter “smrt”. Oh, and I am being kinder to myself.

Still pain free, December 28!

Stay tuned!

#lowback #sitting #driving #MSD #discbulge #health #ergonomics #ONKin #movement #hurdabouthealth #surgery #virtualsurgery

Jo

Virtual Surgery 3

My “virtual surgery” event finally ended in the spring of this year and I can joyfully say I have had zero pain since then!

The theories of disc bulges describe how during the acute phase we feel unbelievable pain through one or both legs for weeks and sometimes months. Virtual surgery involves choosing to not have surgery by a surgeon, choosing to do 20-50 back extension exercises per day everyday and not bending at all costs, until the scab heals. I know, right? WTF. We all know what happens if we cut our finger at the moveable joint, where we like to bend it, if we keep ignoring the healing of the scab and continue to move and ignore it, the wound will just keep opening and the pain (body voice per se) will keep talking. Same analogy with disc anatomy and healing. This virtual surgery choice essentially allows the “dis- ordered” discs to gradually be pushed back into the spine and allowing the scab to heal. Seems so smart and simple…..ah but enter the human and behaviour, including me. Again, this virtual home program must be with close consult of a great practitioner, physiotherapist (PT)and a thoughtful chosen dream team. Lucky Ducky me.

In theory, while we allow the scabs to heal, the disc bulge pressure lessens on the sciatic nerves. This healing starts to slowly alleviate the pain, gradually starting to move from your feet to groin to butt - to low back...then POOF, the pain disappears. Really. It did. Thank the Gods!

This daily practice can take many weeks, mine took just over 2 months. At the end, I felt the worst pain in my low back for 3 days - I guess it has to get much worse before it gets better - and it did. I almost forgot about this last important factoid cause pain does change you in every way. Truth. For those last 3 days, I lost all rational processes and thought I would never get better. I could actually picture myself as clients/patients whom I had treated and assessed who were physically limping with a cane, all joy drained out of their faces. But not this time, not today! On the 3rd day the pain just went away POOF! Textbook theory - done! O M G! Jo Hurd was back.

I can now stand, saunter, urban walk, dance, sit, drive, put on my socks, spit toothpaste in the sink etc. without pain - but in a new mindful gentle way! Lesson learned. I have not had pain since May, knock knock knocking on wood. This grande experiment worked! Phew! The disc bulge “scab” was able to heal, and my controlled experiment concluded that it takes way more than 6 weeks to properly heal this type of life/work disorder. And yes, support, attitude and hope are also a key ingredients.

What were some of the functional and weird survival tips I learned? Stay tuned!

#lowback #sitting #driving #MSD #discbulge #health #ergonomics #ONKin #movement #hurdabouthealth #surgery #virtualsurgery

Jo