Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/329694
70 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j u l y / a u g u s t 2 0 1 4 Seated Spinal Twist Sit tall and grasp an exercise band or pulley around your right shoulder. Brace your feet on the floor and hold your pelvis still as you engage your abdominals and twist your upper body to the right. Repeat until fatigued, then per form the same exercise on the other side. Lawn Mower Pulls Stand with feet shoulder-width apar t and grasp an exercise band or pulley with both hands. Keep your feet planted and hips for ward as you pull up and twist to the opposite side. Repeat until fatigued, then per form the same exercise on the other side. The large muscles of the trunk, including the rectus abdominis and internal and external obliques, are prime movers, generating force to twist and pull the trunk forward. A layered network of smaller, deeper muscles positions and stabilizes the individual vertebrae and larger vertebral regions as forces move through the trunk. I often see trunk exercises performed lying down, which are effective in manipulating gravity for resistance, but may not be directly applicable to our work. Remember the Specifi city Principle: we need to practice twisting motions while sitting and standing so the physical improvement we achieve is relevant to the way we do our job. Sometimes the spine is particularly stiff or it is diffi cult to activate and control individual segments. If this is the case, start twisting exercises lying down or supported so the legs and hips can be fi xed, minimizing compensation. Once mobility, proprioception, and muscle activation in the trunk improve, exercises are progressed to sitting, then standing. Sit tall and grasp an exercise band or pulley around your right shoulder. Brace your feet on the floor and hold your pelvis still as you engage your abdominals and twist your upper body to the right. Repeat until fatigued, but may not be directly applicable to our work. Remember the Specifi city Prone Trunk Rotation Lie prone over an exercise ball and rela x your back and neck, allowing your body to curl around the ball. Raise one arm as you rotate your head and shoulders toward the same side. Keep the front of your hips in firm and even contact with the ball. Return to center and then reach and rotate to the other side. Repeat.