New Year, New You: Top 5 Wellness Resolutions

Another year means another list of New Year's resolutions. How long is your list this year, and how confident are you that by year's end, you'll have stuck with them? To be successful in whatever you resolve to do, it's important to set realistic goals. Here are five achievable wellness resolutions to get you started.

TAKE MORE WALKS.
If you haven't taken a walk for awhile, go for a 15-minute stroll during a work break or after dinner; we bet you'll immediately feel more refreshed and less stressed about the world. The simple act of walking - away from the relative confines of your office or home - allows you to enjoy nature and exercise all at once.

WATCH LESS TV.
We're not suggesting you eliminate TV altogether, particularly if it's news- or education-based, but a few less hours a week of reality TV and late-night B movies wouldn't hurt. Substantial evidence links TV viewing to negative health outcomes, not the least of which is obesity. So turn off the boob tube now and then.

TRY NEW FOODS.
Most adults are fairly locked in to their food preferences, which can be dangerous on several levels: If your preferences aren't healthy ones, you're in trouble; and if you don't mix things up occasionally, you risk getting bored. The solution? Try at least one new food a week, preferably the healthy variety.

MAKE TIME TO PLAY.
Games, that is; games with your kids, your significant other or yourself that keep your mind sharp and take you away from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. Whether it's a board game, a crossword puzzle or even a sport that keeps you on your toes (literally and figuratively), make more time to play.

SPOIL YOURSELF.
Your last New Year's resolution is perhaps the most important one, because you can't be healthy, at least not over the long haul, if you don't spoil yourself occasionally. Schedule a vacation, plan a date night, or just commit to taking an hour or so at least once a week and relaxing all by yourself. You're worth it.

Low Back Injury Rehab Protocols

Low Back Injury

Examples include chronic low back pain, disc herniation, spinal stenosis, etc.

Maintain neutral curve of the low back. The neutral position is designed to reduce stresses on the spine. Learning to maintain the neutral position helps you move safely when you sit, stand, walk or lift.

Stretch the tight muscles. This doesn't only mean the low back. We are also talking about the calves, the hamstrings, the gluteals, and even the mid-back muscles. One of the most overlooked muscles is the hip flexors. However, don't overstretch. Find the muscles that have limited movement and stretch them slowly.

Build Endurance. Remember that endurance exercises are more important than strength or flexibility exercises. The most common exercises to start with are planks, side planks, pelvic bridging and quadruped exercises. Notice I did not mention crunches. The reason is simple: Crunches place more pressure on your back than is reasonably acceptable.

Most exercises are performed for about eight seconds, followed by a rest period. It has been shown that back muscles get tired very quickly. So instead of trying to hold the positions for long periods of time, hold for less time, but build up to doing more repetitions.

Increase strength. Low-back extensions are good; so is progressive weight training while keeping the back in a stable position. Examples include squats, machine pulldowns, chest presses, vibration platform exercises, etc.

Improve proprioception/balance. Good ways to improve balance include standing on one foot with the eyes open and then closed; standing on a rocker or balance board; and performing vibration platform exercises.

Functional exercises. Lifting movements such as squats and lunges are good; so are reaching and twisting movements in a controlled manner. Note: Avoid any forward bending at the spine! Flexion movements are to be avoided at all costs since they put unacceptable stresses on the back.

Rehab the Right Way

With the exception of professional athletes, few people know where to turn after suffering an injury that limits their ability to exercise, perform daily activities - or in worse-case scenarios, even move. The rehabilitation process may seem complicated, but it's actually fairly straightforward (depending on the injury) once you know the basics. Here's a little insight on how to rehab right.

A patient once told me that to really understand their pain and difficulty in getting better, all doctors should experience the same pain so they are more sensitive to what it's really like. Now that I have been undergoing rehab for several months following knee surgery late last year, I can see her point. Rehab is not simply about doing a group of exercises and getting better. It's about knowing what works, what doesn't, what you should avoid, and what you can expect with your rehab. Do you know how to rehab right? Let's review a few of the most important rehab points to remember if you're ever faced (or are currently suffering) an injury, particularly one that causes pain in the low back, the shoulder or the knee - three of the most commonly injured areas of the body.

What Is Rehab?

Without relying too much on medical terminology, rehab essentially involves any sort of exercise or exercises that will help get you back to as normal as possible following an injury. For most people, this usually consists of basic stretching and strengthening exercises. But did you know that it also involves proprioception (balance) training, endurance exercises, and functional training (training that improves activities of daily living that may have been compromised by your injury)? Rehab also requires a step-by-step system that builds on your successes for you to get to the next level.

Successful Rehab: Six Steps to Remember

1. Control the pain naturally. To do this, some say use ice; some say use heat. Just remember one thing: If you are exercising and experience pain and swelling afterward, use ice to take the swelling down. If you feel your muscles are too stiff and painful before you start exercising, use a few minutes of heat to warm up the area. Using ice or heat during rehab is a good way to control pain and discomfort.

2. Increase flexibility. Everyone is infatuated with stretching. However, in some cases, it may not be the most important part of your rehab. There are a few things to remember with stretching. Don't try to become the next Olympic gymnast. Overstretching is just as bad as not stretching. Also, it's not just about stretching the areas where you're experiencing problems. It's also about stretching the tight muscles around the area, because the whole area works together. If one muscle stays tight, it will just pull the other ones into getting tight again. Your doctor can help evaluate which muscles are tight and recommend appropriate stretching exercises.

3. Improve endurance. When we think of rehab, most people think of lifting more weights and getting stronger. However, in some cases, your success in rehab has more to do with doing something at less intensity, but improving your ability to do it over and over again.

For example, building up endurance is probably one of the most important goals in the initial stages for those with back pain. Concentrate more on doing a higher repetition of exercises with frequent breaks in between, rather than trying to do one thing for a longer period of time. When we overdo it, we fatigue. When we fatigue, we start doing things the wrong way, ruining all the improvements we've made with our rehab and risking re-injury.

4. Regain balance. Regardless of whether you have ankle, knee, or low back pain, or even headaches, balance training is very important. You can train your body by lifting more, or by stretching until you can wrap your legs behind your head. But what happens when you get off balance and your back goes out? What happens when your knee is strong when you walk straight, but it can't handle a quick change in direction to the side? That's why balance training is just as important as any of the other rehab strategies. The basic balance progression involves doing things on stable surfaces first and then moving to unstable surfaces.

5. Develop strength. This is probably the most popular goal of all rehab programs. However, make sure you build up your strength while always staying within weight ranges that do not elicit pain. The "no pain, no gain" mentality should be abandoned. Also remember to work on balance and flexibility with strength, not just by itself. Most strengthening exercises begin with isometric exercises - an example is pushing your arm against a wall. Isometric exercises should always be performed in angles at which there is no pain. Once you can do the isometric exercises at all angles, then you can progress to using elastic bands, light weights, vibration platforms, and overall weight training.

6. Functional training. Remember, this just means practicing activities you did every day prior to the injury. For workers, this means practicing how to lift, or even how to sit properly if your job is sedentary. For athletes, this means practicing the movements of your sports. All too often, people forget everything they've learned and overdo it in trying to get back to where they used to be. It's a typical response because we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Be patient! Practicing the movements repetitively with lighter loads is more important. Remember, build up endurance with proper form first. Functional exercises are similar to balance exercises in that you need to stress your newly rehabbed body in all directions and all positions; in so doing, you'll be confident that you can go back to your normal activities of daily life and not worry about re-injuring yourself.

Keep in mind that these are just guidelines to increase your knowledge of the various elements involved in successful rehab. Which exercises will work for you will depend on the precise injury and a comprehensive screening process by your doctor. Hopefully, you now understand some of the goals of rehabilitation and can better appreciate the steps necessary to get on the road to recovery. Remember, always consult with your doctor whenever you suffer an injury and before beginning any rehabilitation process.

Active Year Round

How do we stick to an exercise program? Not by adopting the latest exercise craze or program promising to magically give you the results you want. And not by beginning a Spartan workout schedule that keeps you in the gym for hours on end every day. It's only by learning fundamental tools that you can start down the path of consistent exercise. Once you do that, you will be well-prepared to begin a lifelong journey toward better health. But in order to get there, we first need to figure out why we don't always stay consistent.

"I don't have the time," "I'm in too much pain," and "It's not working." These are the three most common excuses people use to avoid exercise. None of these excuses is good enough, not if you understand how important exercise is to improving your health and avoiding chronic disease and other conditions attributable to a sedentary lifestyle. Here are a few easy ways to stick with an exercise team for the long term:

• Break up your workout. You don't need to exercise in a single block of time to see results. Simply take the stairs at work, park farther away from wherever you happen to be going (work, school, the grocery store, etc.), or walk over to a colleague's desk rather than phoning them, etc. Did you know you can potentially burn just as many calories throughout the day doing this as you would from huffing and puffing at the gym for hours?

• Start small. Most people tend to overdo it when they first start an exercise program. We get so motivated that we start going to the gym every day. We try to do more than we can. Guess what happens? We get so sore or so burned out that we actually start hating it. Start off slow and pace yourself. This will always keep you going over the long haul.

• Try new activities. The best way to prevent exercise boredom is to always seek new activities you can do during the year. Some activities that can give you a great workout just as well as conventional exercise include salsa or ballroom dancing, golf, swimming, or even an activity such as sightseeing around town.

• Write down your goals. Did you know one of the best predictors of success is writing things down? It's as simple as spending a minute at the start of each day writing down what you are going to do that day. This type of activity provides reinforcement that you have goals to achieve. Always follow the SMART rules of goal setting. This means each goal should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

No matter what your fitness level, time availability or motivation, taking simple steps to staying active is within your reach. Not only will you be able to do more, but you'll also have better overall health and a better ability to combat the stresses of everyday life. All it requires is a bit of your time in outlining your goals and what you will do to achieve them. Once you do, write down what you're going to do every day - and then do it! Only by committing to exercise on a consistent basis can you hope to follow through on a consistent basis.