pain – Page 3 – Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

Neck Hurts When I Do Ab Exercises

Where does the neck look the happiest to you?

Have you ever felt neck pain when you lift your head off the ground to do an abdominal exercise?

If yes, you’ve come to the right place.

If no, you may be the luckiest person on the planet.

If you have a neck injury (have had whip lash, have a disc-related issue, or slept on it funny, etc.) than you need to relax. That is not pain you want to work through. You may need to reign in the exercises you are doing and only do ab-work with the head down for the time being. You can get a really good abdominal challenge with your head on the floor.

If you don’t have any neck issues, but your neck often or always hurts when you do ab work, there is also no reason you should work through bad pain. But it is worth experimenting to find a place you don’t feel pain. What I’ll call bad pain puts your neck at risk and is a sign that you’re abs aren’t really doing the work. So, why work through […]

Neck Hurts When I Do Ab ExercisesMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:13-04:00

Oh, Costochondritis: Wish You’d Stop Giving Me A Ribbing

Laughter is the best medicine, unless, of course, you have costochondritis.

Months ago I had a cough. Then I developed rib pain. It was so painful I thought I’d cracked a rib. Went to the doc. They took x-rays and said nothing was cracked, so that meant I had costochondritis. That’s inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs, usually caused from a prolonged or hard cough. The doctor suggested I take Aleve. I did that and modified some of my exercises because certain things just hurt too much to do. A month later it was mostly gone when I sneezed and found myself back at square one. (It was not a good day and a pint of ice cream was consumed.)

This round was even worse, for about two days driving hurt, breathing hurt. I was scared to move. I was terrified to sneeze. I couldn’t get comfortable in bed. I went back to the doc sure that I’d done something worse. Nope. It was still just costochondritis. Doctors don’t get up in arms about costochondritis. They act like it’s no big deal. But I make my living moving. And movement is what keeps me sane, so it’s […]

Oh, Costochondritis: Wish You’d Stop Giving Me A RibbingMaggie Downie2019-01-22T12:38:55-05:00

Turkey Trot: A Great Exercise to Reduce Neck Pain

One of my favorite exercises (because I think it feels great) is the Turkey Trot. This is a perfect time of year to do it. To top it off, everyone looks super cool when doing it. Well, maybe not, but it’s good for you.

In our world of TV’s, PC’s books, and cooking at a counter where you have to look down so you don’t chop your fingers off, our heads tend to be forward and down. This exercise is really helpful with giving the back of the neck muscles a little relief while helping to strengthen them and ultimately reduce neck pain. If you are prone to neck pain, try it. It’s simple and it just might provide a little relief. And, it’s one you can do anywhere (your car, the gas pump, the office, while watching TV—the possibilities are endless).

Check out this video to learn more, but here are some tips to remember:

Try not to tuck your chin
Think of moving from your ears
Be gentle. You don’t have to force the motion firmly

Turkey Trot: A Great Exercise to Reduce Neck PainMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:14-04:00

Listen to Your Body and Feel Less Pain

The mind is a powerful tool, but pit the mind and the body against each other and often the body will win in time. When you’re taking a fitness class, going for a run, a walk or doing anything physical, you need to check-in and listen to your body.

Top: Neck Happy/ Middle & Bottom: Neck Sad

If you feel pain, you must pay attention and adjust what you’re doing. I teach Pilates classes every day and I see people working through bad pain. It’s not a muscle being challenged pain. I can see their neck straining or their back straining. I can say “If your neck hurts lower your head,” but sometimes people keep their head up.

It’s not that people are ignoring me (I hope). Sometimes people aren’t checking in and don’t really notice it hurts right away. Other times people are trying to push through. We so believe in the “no pain to gain” mentality that we are at times willing to work through the wrong kind of pain. There is no need to push through neck pain or back pain. […]

Listen to Your Body and Feel Less PainMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:15-04:00

Know Your Pain: Good vs Bad Pain

I often tell my classes that it’s okay to work through good pain (my muscle feels tired and sore doing these squats), but no one should work through bad pain (my join hurts or my tendon feels like there is glass in it when I do that exercise).

The problem is, sometimes the difference between good pain and bad pain is slight or hard to determine. If you are someone who lives with pain, movement might hurt in what seems like a bad way every time you move, but you’ve got to move. If you are an athlete or avid runner, you might push through acceptable pain so often then when you feel actual bad pain you push through it to the point of injury.

So how do you know the difference?

In my role as a Pilates Instructor, I always want people to leave feeling better than when they walked in the studio. I never want people to leave in pain, feeling like they hurt something. That is not the goal of movement. But research has shown that in almost all cases it’s better to move through pain. If you have a surgery, […]

Know Your Pain: Good vs Bad PainMaggie Downie2017-10-25T16:00:36-04:00