We highly recommend you see your physician to get properly diagnosed. Sciatica can be a serious disabling condition and you don’t want to be misdiagnosed. If you are diagnosed with sciatica, go to our Sciatica program . We have a program devoted entirely to sciatica. However, we do provide two seated self-tests you can perform. That way you can be armed with knowledge when you meet your health care provider. Test One (Herniated or Bulging Disc) Seated straight leg raise for a herniated disc. In a seated position lift your right leg with the knee straight. With the leg in the air bend your right foot toward you while simultaneously flexing your neck. If you have a herniated disc, you often will feel increased pain or symptoms down the leg with this test. Repeat with left leg. Test Two (Herniated or Bulging Disc) Sit in a chair without any arms. Grab the underside of the chair with both arms and pull up. Slouch forward and extend your neck back. Note pain in your back and leg(s). Now flex your neck forward (while still slouched and pulling up on the underside). If you have more pain flexing the neck forward it is likely caused by a herniated or bulging disc. Check out the full Back Pain Relief Program series of videos along with downloadable guide sheets here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/back-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeALuM1muR8&t=256s Mike: If you're struggling with chronic low back pain, then this is for you. Brad: So we're going to show you three different options to exercise that's going to help manage and get this pain where you want it, and that is gone. And it's going to depend on your back pain, and what kind of symptoms you have. Mike: And then we'll be discussing the importance of heat use with back pain. Now the first exercise or stretch we're going to show is for someone that has too much arch. So if you look at Sam's low back here, it is arching too much. We're going to show you a simple test to see if this is your problem. Brad: And then we're going to follow up with a stretch to help get this pain to go away. Mike: So all these exercises and tests we got are from Rick Olderman , a physical therapist we work with often, and they can be found in his back pain program. Brad: So the test is simple. You simply lie on your back with your legs straight out. You can use a pillow if you want. And you're going to lie there for about a minute and assess how your back feels. If the longer you lie there, your back is irritated or a little uncomfortable, take note of that. Then after a minute, bring both knees up with your feet on the table or the bed. You can do this on the floor as well. And if that relieves the back pain, and it feels better lying with your knees up, then your legs down, then this next exercise will benefit you and your back pain. So, are you ready Mike? Mike: I'm ready. Brad: Okay. Now this stretch that Mike is going to demonstrate, you may kind of wonder why he's doing this stretch the way it is, and what oftentimes is the problem is tight hip flexors. Now the hip flexors actually connect obviously the hip area, to the low back, right where my fingers are spanning. Brad: Now when those muscles get tight, that actually pulls the lower back into that extreme arch, causing that pain. So if we can stretch those muscles out, and get them to relax, that takes the pressure off the lower back, the arch is more normalized, pain is reduced, and you have success. Ready, Mike? Mike: So in order to do this stretch, you're going to need to sit on a firm surface, maybe a countertop or table if you have a strong one. If you can't get up there, you can use the bed, but just don't slide off the edge if you have a soft edge. Now what I'm going to do is lie on my back, and bring both knees up to my chest. The closer my butt is to the edge, the more stretch I'm going to feel, the less stretch I'm going to feel if I'm up on the table more. So what you're going to do is lower one leg down, and I'm going to bend my knee, try to get a 90-degree bend. If you're tight kind of like me, you probably can't bend as far. And then make sure to bring the opposite knee up to your chest. You'll see here once I pull it up, you could see my hip flexor tightness here. Try to hold this for 30 seconds. Relax, and breathe throughout. Brad: Wait, wait, wait, Mike. Let's, let's just, I want to just interject a little information. So we're working on the left hip flexor. It's deep muscle being stretched. Now pull your knee towards your chest on the right side. Watch this knee rise. This knee is rising as a result of a tight hip flexor. Brad: So keep note of that. You can do both sides, and you'll compare one to the other. When you flex the knee, you're stretching another muscle that also can be responsible for that tight, or that arched back. That's called the rectus femoris. Two different muscles. You will feel them stretch when you do this. Mike: It's also important to keep your legs straight in line. Don't let it fall out to the side. Brad: Good point. Mike: After 30 seconds, switch and go to the other side. You may notice one side is tighter than the other. You can do two to three sets of 32-second holds. Maybe do an extra set on the tighter side. Brad: Good. Now, if by chance any of these create sharp pain, it's not for you. There may be some other components involved, but these should feel good while you're doing them as well as afterward. Do not get too aggressive the first time you do it. Alright, now this next stretch, will address people with stenosis, lumbar spinal stenosis, or spondylolisthesis. That's a mouthful. Now, both of these, extension of the back, if you stand up and maybe you're washing windows overhead, or doing anything overhead, your back will consistently hurt. This stretch will make it feel better quickly. It's all in the back. I should know. I have spondylolisthesis as well as stenosis, and I'm grateful for these stretches. Okay, now another typical symptom, or way to relieve this, let's say you're walking or standing for any length of time, your back is painful, and when you simply sit down, the pain goes down very quickly, that's another good sign the stretch is going to be helpful. You do it either on the floor with carpet is more comfortable, you can do it on the bed, and that works as well. I like the floor better, but some people are unable to do that. We'll show you two options. Mike: So in Rick's books and programs, it's called "Rocking on All Fours." You may know it as a prayer stretch, or the child's pose in yoga. So what I'm going to do is be on all fours like this. Personally, I like to bring my feet together when I do this. I'm going to sit on my butt towards my heel, and I'm going to keep my arms in the same place they were when I started. If you don't feel much of a stretch, you could certainly crawl your fingers forward. You're going to hold this for three to four breaths, 30 seconds, whatever feels good for you. And then you're going to come back up. Mike: Now say you have one side that's more problematic than the other. Like say you have back pain on one side, you can certainly stretch and reach over. So if I had pain on the left side of my back, this can help open up that area more if you have stenosis. Brad: Good. Alright, now, if you do not feel comfortable getting on your knees, maybe you have a knee replacement or whatever it may be, we'll show you how to do it in the seated position. Alright, same stretch, seated position. If you have a chair with rollers on it, or wheels that roll nicely, you take that chair up to a countertop or a table, hands on the table, and you're going to push the chair slowly out. And right now I'm stretching very much almost identical to the, in the low back as Mike was doing. There we go. And I can tell you, this feels very good. I'm going to hang out for a little bit. Brad: If I want to stretch the right side more, my right hand goes over the top of my left, and I can clearly feel the right side of my lower back stretch more. You're going to hold it for two or three breaths. Come back up. Do this while you relax. Repeat it a few times in a row. Brad: If you do not have wheels on your chair, the option is, that it's hard to move a chair without wheels. So you're going to keep it stationary. Simply take a towel, put it on top of the tabletop or the cover top, hands on the towel, and we're going to move our hands versus the chair and slide forward. Same thing. We get the same stretch and hold it. Come back up again, hand over, or hand over this way. Do that if it feels better, then that's how it works. Simple as that. Mike, any things I missed? Mike: No, let's go on to the next stretch. Brad: That's right, the next one. Mike: So the next stretch we're going to show is if you have one-sided back pain, or possibly even a herniated disc. We're going to say I'm having one-sided back pain on my left side here. What I'm going to do is go up to a door frame. Brad's going to show an alternative option if you can't reach up high. You could also use a pull-up bar if you happen to have one at home or at the gym. So I'm going to face the palm away from my body, grasp the top of the door frame, and then I'm going to slowly lean into the side going into the doorframe itself. This will help open up the lateral aspect of your vertebrae, decompressing that pinched nerve you may be having. You can hold this for 30 seconds and then come out. Brad: That's right. Now I want to emphasize, that we're giving three options. You're going to try all three. You may not use all three, may you only use one or two of them. They must have good results, and make your back feel better while you're doing it, as well as after. For example, I do not do the hip flexor stretch, the first one. I use the second two because they really make my back feel better. I do not use the door frame like that. I actually take the Booyah Stik . You don't need a Booyah Stik. Anything like a sturdy broom handle piece of doweling will do. And this is exactly how I do it. I put it on the stool, and I stretch. Hold on tight. And look at my side, wrinkled clothing. As I lean in, you can see how the clothing pulls. Your muscles and tissue on that side do the same thing. And I feel it inside my abdominal area, stretching those muscles. And you can do both sides. I do this for maintenance. Even when my back is not bothering me, so I have a good flexible back, and things are in check. Brad: So now we go out to go on to the next part of the video, which involves heat, how should you do it, and what's the best form of heat with those back muscles, et cetera? Mike, anything I missed? Mike: I'm ready for a nap. Brad: Okay, the next thing we want to talk about is positioning your body to relieve the pain. It's a very important part of low back pain problems. And the first thing we're gonna talk about is when you're lying down on your back, oftentimes, more times than not, if you put two pillows, sometimes three pillows underneath your legs in this area so the knees elevate and it flexes the hip slightly, it takes the pressure off the low back, giving very quick relief. This is something I've worked with many patients as well as myself, and it works very well. Brad: There is an option to this, if this works well, there is a leg wedge. And both Bob and I, and Mike have used this with many patients, and you put it under the knees, and typically, almost always, they put a big smile on their face and boy does that feel good. You don't need it. Pillows do work quite well. It works a little bit better in my opinion. Brad: Now let's look at the seated position. So if you're sitting in a chair, particularly if you have a soft recliner or cushion chair that is rounded. That can really raise havoc on your back if you sit there for a long period of time watching a movie, reading a book, whatever. Simply put a pillow the long way and put that behind your back, and it'll feel good. Brad: Now if you have a firm upright chair, that works very well. Also, sometimes depending, on if you've got an old chair that's really sunk in there, you may have to double it up just to fill in that big hole from the wear and tear on that chair. You need to find an option that feels very good, and it'll make your back relax. Then you know you have the right position and the pillow positioning. Brad: So, the next thing we're going to talk about is the use of heat with your lower back. Mike: Now you can use a couple of different options of heat for heating up your lower back. You can typically take a normal hot pack . This is one you simply put in the microwave, warm it up, and put it on your lower back. Mike: You're going to want something in between your skin and this. So if you have clothes on like a T-shirt or sweatshirt, that should be fine. Otherwise, you can certainly put a towel or pillowcase around this. Now Brad has another option that's going to penetrate a little bit deeper into the muscle tissue, helping you relax that back more, Brad: Right. So if you're going, if you have an electric hot pad, they work very well, they feel good and warm. But a standard electric heating pad only goes about skin deep, a couple of millimeters. If you want to get real deep heat that increases circulation into the muscles and the joints. What you'll need is a Far Infrared heating pad . This is radiant heat. It's been around for a long time. And they'll, this will actually go into the tissues, 2.36 inches according to the studies that they've done with it. It's very deep, and it's really going to help circulation. They work very well. And now when you use a hot pack, whether it's the Far Infrared, the hot pack, or the standard electric, how you position yourself is critical. You need to be very comfortable like in the way we had. So if you lie down with a wedge, and it feels good, or pillows, that's the position you're going to use while you're using a hot pack. Brad: In a seated position, if you have pillows behind your back, and it feels very good, put the same configuration with the pillows, and then the hot pack over the top of it so that you have that positioned properly so the muscles are relaxed, and then the heat goes on top to actually enhance that. And then after you heat up the muscles for a while, you can do the stretches, which can allow the stretches to be more effective. You're more pliable, things feel better, things move better. Okay, Mike, Mike: The hot pack, just a forewarning, will feel a lot warmer when you have your full body weight on it versus just resting upon you. So just keep that in mind before using them. Brad: Right. So one thing about Far Infrared, is they only heat in one direction. In other words, if you put it down with this side up, it's not going to heat. You have to go with them, they call these panels up against the body, and that does heat up in the right direction. So that's just a little forewarning. Mike: So when it comes to Far Infrared, we typically work with the company, Thermotex . They've been trusted and we've used them for many years. Now this is the platinum model, which works nicely because you can use it on many different body parts. Not only low back pain, you can use it on legs, shoulders, and arms. It's very versatile and great for home use. Mike: Now this is the pro model , Brad's trying to get them to rebrand it, "The Big Kahuna." But as you can see, it's more for the professional, someone that maybe has a physical therapy clinic, chiropractors. I mean you can use it at home. I certainly did. Brad: Right. You know the cost is a little higher, but if you want full body heat, the way this works is you can lie on it in a flat position. It also works well sitting in a chair. It has six panels on the bottom, three here, one large one at the low back, and then two other panels up for the upper or mid back. And you can simply sit on it. It does have two different heating options or selections, which that one does not. Gives it a little more flexibility for people. They just came out with this as far as we know. Mike: If you want to check out more videos on back pain, specifically sciatica, you can check out " Only 1 In 5000 Know This About Treating Sciatica ." Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up System Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Grip and Forearm Strengthener   Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Stress Balls   Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/4eWPcIRj798 Brad: If you're having knee pain from sprains, arthritis, or other reasons, particularly this is a problem with people who age, maybe over 55, we're going to help you today. Mike: Now, if you have extremely sharp pain, especially if you had a recent fall, it is important to see a doctor before trying any of this to get an X-ray done. Brad: Right, make sure there's no fracture or something that really needs a different treatment. Otherwise, we're going to help you out and show you some nice options. So we're going to show you five options to help get the knee pain under control and also how to get the knee moving and get you back into the swing of things. The first one is our most exciting news. We do have information from a new therapist we've met in the last year or two. His name is Rick Olderman . He is a master physical therapist. He's written a number of books. We're taking information out of this book to adjust knee pain and we'll talk about that a little bit more. So that's our first one, and we have four other options to help you get along. Mike: So this is the most recent book that Bob Schrupp and Rick Olderman have written. It's called " Top 3 Fix. " They look at the top three exercises to help each problem and if you go to Chapter 18, it is specifically on knee pain, and we're going to go over the first stretch you can find in this book. Brad: That's right, so let's go ahead and show how to do it. Rick Olderman suggests the key exercises assess the tightness of your quadricep muscles from the hip to the knee. If they are tight, that can change the mechanics of the knee, causing pain. I'm not going to get into the details, but how you assess it and stretch it is actually in the same position. Mike's going to show you right now. Mike: So if you can find a firm surface, like maybe a table or countertop, if you have a bed, you can certainly do us on the edge of the bed. Just make sure your buttock does not slide off the end. To begin, we're going to start with a double knee-to-chest position like this. The closer my butt is to the edge of the mat, the more stretch I will feel. So what I'm going to do is stretch this left leg first. I'm going to lower it down and then I'm going to bring my right knee up towards my chest. Now this is where you may notice tightness from one side to the other. When I try to flex my knee or bring my heel towards my buttock, I really feel a pull in this quad region here, even a bit in the hip flexor region. Mike: You may notice one side is tighter than the other. You may notice one leg is way up. In comparison, the other one is down. Focus a little bit more on the tight side. I'm going to hold this for 30 seconds. You can do five to six breaths, whatever you're comfortable doing. Once you do that, reset the neutral position and perform on the other side. Brad: Now I do want to emphasize one thing about this stretch. You'll be much more effective if you're not wearing jeans. Mike: Mine are stretchy. I'm fine. Brad: Oh, if you have stretchy jeans, it's okay. But anyway, something loose on your clothes or shorts does allow the stretch to go easier. Make sure you breathe and relax while you stretch. Again, 30 seconds per side and you'll get a nice stretch. You'll feel better. The next option to successfully manage knee pain, at least initially when it's very tender or painful, is the old hot pack or cold pack . Now different people respond differently. If it's really tender or swollen, I typically say to use a cold pack. Simply take a cold pack. I like the ones that are soft. You put it in the freezer and when it comes out, it's still flexible and you can actually get good surface contact with the knee. Now you don't have to buy one. You can actually make these. We have videos on how to make a cold pack very easily with some rubbing alcohol and water and some Ziplocs. They work excellently. Either way, you take your cold pack out of the freezer, and have some cloth over your skin, like just simply your pants. Don't put a cold pack directly on your skin. You actually can frostbite your skin. Obviously, not a good scenario. Put the cold pack over your knee. You see I wrapped it there. Brad: Now it's really critical that you get in a comfortable position. So Mike is lying here on his back. We put a pillow under the knee and put a slight flex in the knee. Typically that's more comfortable. If you're in a recliner or maybe on a couch long sitting, it's still a good idea to support the knee with a nice pillow for sleeping. If it's really swollen, you could put a cold pack underneath. I've done this many times with patients, and at the same time, one over the top so you get a complete cold app, and typically 15 to 20 minutes is all it's going to need. You're going to feel the pain go away. It's going to feel much better. Now, at the same time, I'm going to say if it's chronic knee pain, particularly arthritis, some people respond very well to heat. So heating packs, this particular hot/cold pack is really nice because you can put it in the microwave. It's made to do that. It gives you the time written right on it, and pull it out of the microwave. You have a nice hot pack. That can be used with the same body position and that's going to be on for, again, 15 to 20 minutes. Brad: Now, electrical heating pads, the ones you plug in. Here's a big one. This is actually the Bob and Brad weighted heating pad . It's made for the back, but you can use it for any part of the body you want. Whatever you have, you go ahead and use it and put that over the knee. This one's nice, it's big for the back, but you can wrap it right around the knee, and then you put it on, and adjust the temperature with your hot pack so it feels comfortable. It should not feel hot. Brad: Now, a big warning with electric hot packs is, if you fall asleep with the hot pack on and it's too hot but you don't really realize it, we've had this happen, particularly if there's not enough insulation or clothing between the knee and the skin, you can actually burn the skin if you have it too hot if you fall asleep and it doesn't have an automatic turnoff. So know your hot pack. Just be aware of that. It doesn't happen very often, but it can. So that's a red flag to be aware of. Now there is another type of hot pack that is a big step ahead of a typical hot pack or heating pad, and that is a far infrared . Now the big difference between this and a regular hot pack is this will put heat and comfort deep into the skin. They've actually measured it and you'll have heating 2.36 inches deep into the body tissue. A typical hot pack will go just a couple of millimeters, or it'll be, in other words, skin deep. So that'll get deep. This is a Thermotex. This is one that we've been using. We do recommend it. They're built very well and they have three panels. It's important that you put it on the right way. It comes with the instructions. If you put it on the backside, it will not heat. You have to have it, they call these panels. There are three panels. They're producing far infrared energy into the skin. Brad: That's an option. They are quite a bit more expensive. It's one of those things you'll probably use maybe if you have arthritis and you may use it on different parts of your body for the long term. Now let's go on to the next option. All right, this next exercise is one of those that if it's going to work, it'll work well, and if it doesn't, nothing's lost with it. It's worth trying, particularly if you're having pain while you're walking consistently. And the IT band, which is a ligament from the knee all the way up to the hip, if that tightens up for whatever reason, that can cause the knee to work improperly in regards to the mechanics, causing pain, and it can be pretty severe. Again, typically with walking, not when you're seated. Mike, do you want to show this simple stretch? Mike: So you can do this on the floor. You're probably not going to want to do it on the bed. So if I'm going to stretch my left leg, I'm going to first start by just crossing my ankle over my knee. Then I'm going to get my foot flat on the mat, bringing my knee across my body like this. I'm going to notice my trunk is rotating in this general direction, and you can just hold this stretch. I feel it stretching more in my hip. You might feel it stretching more in your knee. That's where that IT band runs. And you're just going to hold this for 30 seconds. You can either pull like this if that's comfortable or if you have the mobility, you can put your elbow into the crook of your knee there and rotate. Now I'm getting more spine rotation but I'm also stretching that IT band. Brad: Good. So obviously, this is one for someone who's more mobile and maybe a little more flexible and active. But I did want to mention it because it can work very well and it's simple to try. It doesn't take long. If you experience pain with it, do not do it. Or if it's just too aggressive. We'll go to the next one. Now, anytime you have pain around a joint, the muscles around there have a tendency to tighten up to protect that area. It's just a natural tendency that goes along with the body. So you can actually massage the muscles. We can do the quadriceps and you can simply use your hands like I'm demonstrating here. And you know, we're not professional masseuse, we're not trying to teach you professional massaging, but you can get in. You'll feel the muscles tight and if you work them, you find a tight or tender spot, you may want to work over that area for 30 seconds to a minute to get those muscles to relax. When they relax, you have better blood flow, the pain goes better and you have a better range of motion. Brad: So you can work the quadriceps. The hamstrings are oftentimes muscles that tighten up as a result of pain. You can work on those. And there's one spot that Rick Olderman, the therapist that we mentioned earlier, we just learned this in the last couple of years. It's called the popliteus muscle, which is just below the knee in the back and it's a small muscle, but if it tightens up, it actually changes the mechanics of the knee and causes pain. Brad: So we want to get that below-the-knee crease here and it's right in here and we're going to work that and you can massage that. Make sure you do get that one and spend some time there because it may be the answer to your problem, decreasing that pain. Brad: Now, the big problem with massaging like this is your hands get fatigued and your fingers get fatigued, particularly if you have arthritic hands. The option to that is, you know, you may have a massage gun, maybe you don't. Get one from your nephew or uncle or whoever family member. The massage guns that we're going to show here are new on the market in regards to the head. It's a cold and a hot head. It's adjustable, it's amazing, it's electric. You push the button here. So with the massage gun, there are two buttons here. One is for heat, one is for cold. There are two adjustments, low heat, high heat, low cold, and colder. You're going to use that. And one thing about this particular head, and there's other heads that come with this gun, is you do not want to get close to the bone because it will not be effective. It'll hurt and you do not want to do that. So I have this on warm right now and it feels good and so we're going to work around here. Now this would work really well, particularly for the hamstrings, where there's a lot of muscle belly or on the back where we get in that popliteus muscle or on the big muscle belly of the calf. Brad: Okay, the thing that really impressed me with this is when you put it on a cold setting, it feels cold and it doesn't warm up after, you know, using it for a while on your skin, it continues to feel cold. Just the heat or the cold is just like a hot pack or cold pack can relieve the pain. Now Mike's going to show you the other head if you don't have this newer head, and you're going to use another option. Mike: So this is simply a round head. It's more foam and very cushiony. So that way if you do happen to hit some of the bony prominences in your knee joint itself, it's not going to hurt at all. I can go next to it. If I bump it, this doesn't hurt at all. This is the T2 massage gun . Any massage gun you happen to have is fine. But yeah, just kind of massage around the joint, the painful areas. I like this with the popliteus muscle in the back here. Just kind of bend your knee and dig in there. Brad: And there's one other head that comes with all the Bob and Brad massagers is the air-head, and that's actually cushiony. It's even less aggressive than the round head and that can be used as well, particularly when you're getting around those bones. It's very comfortable. Now this next option is probably the easiest option to reduce pain, particularly if the pain is really put on with walking or weight-bearing. All you need to do is decrease the weight bearing through that knee and it's going to help. But this is one that patients really do not want to do, and that's using a cane. Mike: Now, the cane will help take weight off of the painful side. So if you're having pain in your left knee, place it in your right hand. We're not going to do the Dr. House thing where you mimic the same side like this. You're going to actually use the left foot with the right hand when walking. This will help take the pressure off. You don't have to use it all the time, but if you are experiencing pain or have a flare-up, it's important to use it for a while. Brad: That's right, you may only need it for a day or two. And then when the knee gets better, simply put the cane aside. Go to the other exercise or the options, the massage. And it may just be if it's arthritic when it flares up, you use it when it goes away, and hopefully, that's for a period of time you do not need it. Very simple, but people kind of do not like to use it. Don't be shy about it. All right, so work with all these options. I'm sure you're going to find at least one or two of them helpful with your knee pain to help you get back into the groove of things. Now if you're having knee pain, particularly with going up and down steps or with walking, again, Mike, there's some more help for them. Mike: We have a video, " Fast Fix For Knee Pain With Stairs Or Walking! 55 And Older ," and in this one, we do a few more exercises and stretches in this one. So give it a try if these aren't helping. Brad: That's right. Take care. Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up System Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Grip and Forearm Strengthener   Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Stress Balls   Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/_g7bmoHvb40 Mike: As we age, some tasks, like getting out of a chair can become more challenging. Brad: So today, we're going to show you one simple trick that can help you get out of a chair much easier. Mike: Plus, we're going to show you eight additional tips that may help as well if this isn't working for you. Brad: That's right. So getting out of a chair for many people as we age can get more and more difficult. But there's a simple trick that we're going to show you how you can do it much easier. Mike: Now, the main issue often is not getting under your center of gravity when attempting to get out of a chair. If you are going in an upright posture trying to go up, your gravity is backward, which oftentimes wants to throw you back. So Brad, what can they do to counter this? Brad: Well, this is something we've worked with patients over the years, many, many, many times, and it's simply this. I'll give you the procedure that I use, Mike. You can do anything that you have used with patients to make it work better for you. First I'll say, scoot your butt forward a little bit and then take your feet, slide them under the chair a little bit, and lean forward. Brad: We're changing the center of gravity, making everything work around a pivot point, which makes it much easier, needs less leg strength, and balances much better. So again, butt forward, feet under, lean forward, nose over toes. You'll hear that from therapists a lot and all of a sudden it becomes at least half as much energy to get up. Mike, do you have any additions? Mike: That is the best way to get up, the one simple trick we mentioned in the title, but that may not work for everyone. So now we're going to show eight other options depending on what chair you're getting out of. Brad: Eight other options, yes. Nice little tricks you'll want to stick around and see because one of them might be just a big difference for you or a loved one who's having difficulty with this. Number one. Mike: Tip number one is if you can do this, lean forward, but you feel unsteady once you get up, like you're going to tip over forward, what you can do is try to place either a chair or maybe you already use a walker, just put your walker in front of you. That way after you scoot your butt forward, nose over toes, push up, you can grab and hold onto something. We do not recommend trying to pull and push, because oftentimes it's just going to tip back in your lap. So this is just kind of something there to make you feel safe and like you're not going to fall over on your nose. Brad: And if you do feel like you're going to fall over on your nose, but this helps, you probably need a walker anyway, so maybe it's time to make that transition. That can be a big step for a lot of people, but when you are safe and when you feel relaxed getting up, your life is going to feel much better and things go well. Mike: And when you're sitting for a while, if you don't want the walker in front of you, just scoot it to the side, but make sure to bring it back. Too many times I've seen people leave it off to the side here and then they're trying to reach for it once their up and unsteady. Brad: Right, right. Good point, Mike. Now, if getting out of a chair is a problem and you go into a room and there's chairs to pick from, make sure you get the right chair. I do this all the time for my mother. She uses a walker and I pick out a chair that is going to be easy for her to get up. There's a couple things that are important and the biggest one is how high the seat pan or the seat is from the ground. Now if it's low and even one inch lower, it's going to make a big difference on getting out of a chair if you're having problems already. Mike, can you demonstrate? Mike: Another thing to look for is that it actually has armrests because that's going to make it a lot easier. Some people can push up from their legs, and that's okay, but having armrests is going to make it a lot easier. Obviously, you can see this chair I have set lower, it's a computer chair, it's going to be harder to get up versus this type of chair. Obviously if you have bad balance, you probably don't want a chair with wheels. They're less steady, especially when you sit down like this. Brad: Right, so in the case that a chair is too low and then maybe in the person's house, you could simply use a pillow to put under on the chair and even a pillow can make a big difference on that person getting up much easier. What even works better is a firm pad. Something like the Pete's Choice pad , but anything that's a little firmer that'll go one, maybe two inches. Brad: It's amazing how much easier it is to get up when you're elevated just a little bit. If you do not have armrests, it's a problem, particularly if you need them. The best thing you can do is when there's nobody to help, you can put your hands on your thighs, lean forward and kind of use those as the armrests of a chair. It can be very helpful. And yeah, Mike, did we miss anything? Brad: We missed a few of them. Here's another tip, you can also try a staggered arm stand. Some people will use a armrest on one side and then they'll simply use their knee on the other. Sometimes having this different positioning like that can help them stand up. I find it more beneficial if you feel uncomfortable leaning forward because you have that hand in front of you helping as well. Brad: Yeah, and another big red flag is we're using this chair because it's adjustable up and down. But another thing, if the chair does rotate like this one, you know it's going to be a red flag. Don't use a computer chair. So here, we've got the best chair right here. It's solid, it's firm, and it has armrests. Soft, cushy chairs, nice to sit in, but they're very difficult to get out of as well. Mike: Now we were able through five solutions there. We still got three more for you. Now if you find yourself stuck in the chair, no armrest kind of low to the ground, an option you can try if you're able is to turn sideways. Sometimes you can use the seat pan then and then the back of the seat as your armrests to help push up. Some people, that makes it easier. Brad: That's right. Now, another solution. Now, this is more of a long-term solution, is actually strengthening those legs so that the thighs and the glutes are stronger so you can get up with less arm assist. That's something that you can find on our YouTube channel and look up senior leg strengthening , you will find nice exercises to get you those results. Mike: Now, one exercise you can do is simply practicing sit to stands. If you really struggle with this, just simply place a pad like we talked about earlier, I grabbed the extra large one here, but it'll make you that much higher up, making it that much easier to stand up when you want to. So that's a simple solution. Don't get one too big like this though. Brad: The other option is using a lift chair. It's actually a recliner that lifts up with a push of the button. The big thing about lift chairs is it'll get you up very nicely. Easy to get out, but don't go up too high. Make sure you have to work to get up, so that you maintain strength in your legs. That's the only precaution with lift chairs. They do work very nice, they're comfortable. My mom has one and I like to sit in it as well. They're very comfortable. Mike: They also do make a lifting-type seat cushion that has hydraulics in it. So when you start standing up, it'll actually help you push up. Some people I've seen use that before if they're more wheelchair bound because it's hard for them to get out of that low surface as well. Brad: Right, and those chairs or lift seats actually can moved from one chair to another and they're not that heavy. They work quite well actually. Mike: Yep. Brad: All right, so I'm hoping this video was helpful and you're going to find some helpful hints in it. We'd also like to show something that we just came out with. It's this book called " Top 3 Fix ." Bob Schrupp and Rick Olderman , Physical Therapists, both of them and outstanding ones, wrote this book and they show three fixes for different parts of the body in regards to pain. Neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, ankle pain, knee pain, et cetera. It goes through and it gives you, not only explanations of how to do the exercises, but videos come along with it. Actually, Mike and I are in the video, so you'll certainly like that as well. Brad: All right, we like to, here at Bob and Brad, inform you of some of our products that we promote because we really like them. Now, massage guns are very popular and this gun actually is one of our most popular guns that we sell and we've actually made it better in a big way. Mike, you wanna talk about it a little more? Mike: So this is the C2 massage gun with heat and ice massage gun attachment. Brad is holding it in his hand right now, so it can be set to feel cold like ice or heat, so it can warm up actually, and it stays constantly warm or cold depending upon the setting. Brad: That's right, the cold setting, which I was surprised, it stays cold after it is on your body for any amount of time. It really works well. It also does come with the typical airhead, the round head, the bullet head, and the little field goal head as well. But this separates it from the rest of our products, as well as many other products out there. Now I do have it right now on the cold setting. It does have 10 millimeters of amplitude. In other words, it reciprocates back and forth 10 millimeters, which is nice and deep. You're going to get in deep and again, I can feel that cold. It is really a nice gun and it's gotten better because of this new head. Mike: And it has 44 pounds of stall force, meaning how hard you have to push it to try to actually get the component to stall out. Brad: Boy, I almost got cramps doing it. Mike: So, don't push that hard normally because I wouldn't want to massage myself that hard. Brad: It is a really nice product. If you're looking for a gun, I would consider it as long as you're looking for these options. Enjoy the day, and Mike? Mike: You forgot to talk about the carrying case, rechargeable features, and the five-speed settings. Brad: Yes, all of our products have a beautiful carrying case. You know, they fit in there nicely and you know, it's just great. Got little four on the back, LED lights, it's pretty. Mike: If you want to check out more videos on leg strengthening specifically for seniors, you can check out our video " 3 Leg Strengthening Exercises Every Senior Should Do ," because that again, will help you stand up easier. Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up System Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Grip and Forearm Strengthener   Hanging Handles​ Hand Grip Strengthener Kit   Stress Balls   Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/Jufby0_0re0 Brad: So when illness strikes you personally or your family members, it really opens your eyes up. For example, I just learned that one of my close family members had two TIAs. In other words, ministrokes. My mother was just in the emergency room with severe headaches. She was assessed specifically for stroke and myself. Recently, in the last two weeks, I went to urgent care with a severe one-sided headache. I wanted to make sure I was not having a stroke, everything going on. I thought we better make a video addressing strokes and some of the facts about it so that you can be comfortable and make sure that you are going to be okay. Mike: Now, strokes are a very serious matter. They can be fatal or even crippling to some people. So we want to address the five signs of a stroke and discuss it more in depth so you know what to look for. Brad: That's right. Mike: But what we all really want to know is what happened to the three of you? Brad: Well, fortunately, my brother had complete recoveries. He's okay. My mother, her headache was not a stroke. And the same with mine. There are some other details we won't get into, but again, luckily we're all fine. Make sure that you're going to be fine as well. This will be very helpful. First, let's define what a stroke is. Now in the medical community, everyone calls it a CVA. That stands for Cerebral Vascular Accident. There are two different types of CVAs. One is hemorrhagic, and that's where the vessel actually bursts. Now this happens in the brain itself, and blood is not allowed to get to the brain, giving it fresh blood, nutrients, oxygen, et cetera. The other type of CVA is ischemic, and that's where the vessel actually gets plugged up, blocking blood flow. And again, the brain does not get the blood flow that it needs, and you get symptoms. Now, typically what happens is it's ischemic and not hemorrhagic. They're more common. Mike, do you want to talk about a TIA? Mike: A TIA is a Transient Ischemic Attack. This is kind of like a ministroke. Typically, these are shorter in duration, and most of the time people make a full recovery from those. Brad: A lot of times people will have ministrokes. They don't even go to the doctor. They recover within a day or so, and they don't even know they had it. But if you do have some of the symptoms we're going to talk about later, make sure you do get to the doctor. We'll cover it in detail. Mike: So if you possibly had one of those five signs, what should you do? Brad: Well, actually, before we get into it, one way people can remember what those symptoms are is there's an acronym, it's known as FAST, F-A-S-T. It's popular, I actually saw it on billboards driving down the interstate. So what does the acronym stand for? Mike: So "F" stands for face, which we talked about the face drooping. Brad: "A" stands for arm and it could be the arm or the leg that's showing some signs of numbness, tingling, or weakness where it's flaccid, or the arm is dangling, or the leg is dragging. Mike: "S" stands for speech. So oftentimes people have speech issues, maybe they cannot talk at all, or they may have slurred speech. Brad: And "T" stands for time. So if you have any of those symptoms, what you'll need to do is get to the emergency room as soon as possible because they actually have a drug now that if it's administered within three to four hours of initial symptoms, it can greatly reduce the risk of your having long-term problems with it, so time is critical. Mike: Now, the good news is, is 80% of CVAs can be preventable. And that is through proper medication use or lifestyle choices. Brad: That's right, so here are some of the risk factors that can really increase the risks of strokes, and you can have some control over it. Luckily, with a little self-discipline in lifestyle changes, as Mike has mentioned. The first one, if you have high blood pressure, it's a big one. It's the big kahuna. You need to get it under control either by exercise, diet, or medications. Medications work quite well, but I know I can control mine so far, luckily with exercise and diet. Mike: Now, the second risk factors are things like diet, cholesterol, and smoking, which can all have an effect on arteriosclerosis in the brain. Brad: So that means the vein or the arteries in the brain are actually getting clogged up by either one of those factors. That's a big no-no, that can be corrected. Mike: The third risk factor is being more sedentary. This is obviously correlational data, but typically people that are more active are typically healthier and have less risk of developing a CVA. Brad: That's right, and history, or if your family has a history of strokes or arteriosclerosis, you really need to watch it. Now if you have a family history, your parents, aunts, uncles have had strokes or CVAs, that puts you more at risk as well. Mike: And the last risk factor is if you're over the age of 65, obviously strokes can happen at younger ages than that, but typically atherosclerosis takes years to build upon. So they're more common with older age. So what are some things you can do to prevent a stroke from happening? And the first one is if you are a smoker to stop smoking, Brad: Right, that's a big one. The next one is avoid salty foods, processed foods, a lot of sugar, everything that goes along with a good health-based diet. Mike: The next tip is alcohol use. So obviously having some alcohol is okay, but overusing it on a consistent basis can increase your risk. Brad: Right, so they're saying one, or two maximum drinks per day. And that's, as you know, recommended in Wisconsin. That's pretty normal. Mike: One to two 12 packs. Brad: I shouldn't joke about it, but the fact is a fact. Let's go on reduce stress. That's a big one. And that's where exercise can be a really big factor. If you can exercise off that stretch, go for a walk, go out in nature, get away from everything. Let your body relax, breathe naturally, whatever it takes for you to relax and feel good. So if you have one or more of the risk factors we just mentioned, I highly recommend you take action and take care of that. Mike: If you want to check out more videos on stroke prevention, check out our video " The #1 Sign You Are About to Have a Stroke in the Next 12 Months + Risk Factors ." Brad: There you go. That's a nice video for more options. Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   EZBack-R Massage with Remote Weighted Heating Pad with Far Infrared Therapy Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Hanging Handles​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

The “tools” we are referring to are exercises, stretches, positions, and educational tips that should help you in your quest to fix your back pain. Use the tools that you feel are helpful and disregard the rest. How do you know if your back pain is getting better? An important point to underscore is generally the more your back is irritated, the further down the leg the symptoms of pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and/or burning occur. The reverse is also true, as the nerve becomes less irritated the symptoms generally improve in an ascending fashion. That is less pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and/or burning in the foot or lower leg. This can help you gauge whether your self-treatments are helping or not. Is a tool helpful? Three scenarios: 1. You try a tool in the Bob and Brad toolbox and your back starts feeling immediate pain. STOP using the tool! Period. A slight bit of discomfort at the beginning of a stretch or exercise is acceptable, but outright pain is not. 2. You try a tool in the Bob and Brad toolbox and your back feels fine while performing the stretch or exercise, but overall, the pain is worse immediately after. In that case, cease performing the exercise. However, if the pain is only worse the next day you cannot assume it is from the exercise. You might try it again and see if there is a correlation. 3. You try a tool in the Bob and Brad toolbox and your back feels better while performing the exercise (hurts so good), and it remains better after the exercise. You can continue with the tool. 4. You try a tool in the Bob and Brad toolbox and your back feels better only after performing the exercise. You can continue with the tool. DISCLAIMER We insist that you see a physician before starting this video series. Furthermore, this video series is not designed to replace the treatment of a professional: physician, osteopath, physical therapist, orthopedic surgeon, or chiropractor. It may however serve as an adjunct. Do not go against the advice of your healthcare professional. When under the care of a professional make certain that they approve of all that you try. This information is not intended as a substitute for medical treatment. Any information given about back-related conditions, treatments, and products is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this publication. Before starting an exercise program, consult a physician. Check out the full Back Pain Relief Program series of videos along with downloadable guide sheets here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/back-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/CTmQShidfRA Mike: Do you want a short exercise routine that works your entire body in just 30 seconds and it's not boring? Brad: Well, I'll tell you what, I've been thinking about this for quite a while now and experimenting over the years and I've brought it down to the perfect short routine that does exactly what it says. Whole body exercise, works you well and it does exercises for beginners as well as those people who are advanced and actually overachievers. Mike: Overachievers. Brad: All right, now the five benefits of this routine are as follows. Mike: First, you're going to burn some calories, which could lead to some weight loss. Brad: And it also improves your balance. Mike: It also improves your leg and your arm strength. Brad: And promotes good posture, which is important for everyone. Mike: And Brad said, it's not boring, but I'll be the judge of that. Brad: It's not boring. It's a wonderful routine. You'll love it. Let's get going. All right, now Mike is going to demonstrate this whole routine, it's going to last less than 30 seconds. I'm going to talk you through it so you understand it. This is for beginners, we're going to show intermediate and then the advanced. So face the wall about a foot away, maybe a little bit farther. You'll get a feel for it after you start doing it. The first thing you do is bring your feet, bring them at least shoulder width apart. The next thing you're doing is to get in good posture. Stand up tall, head back. There you go. Now you're prepared for the exercise. Hands on the wall. We're just going to use that for balance right now and the first exercise is simply squats. Go ahead, Mike. Show them how to do it. Mike: I feel like I'm under arrest right now, but, okay. So what you're going to do is squat down. Now, Brad told me I should keep my hands in place. This is actually going to stretch my shoulders as well while I'm doing this. Just go down as far as you're comfortable. If you can only do a partial squat, just start there. You're going to do 10 repetitions of this. Brad: Right. If you want to go on time, do it for 10 seconds watching something or having someone tell you when to stop. So obviously you're working the legs, a lot of below the waist, and stretching the arms. Now the next exercise is going to be... Mike: Mountain climbers. Brad: Mountain climbers and it's simply bringing your knees up or marching. Now, the higher you bring your knees, the more challenging it is, it's going to wear you out a little quicker. Mike: Are we supposed to do 10 on each side? Brad: You could do 10 on each side, or again, go for 10 seconds. Mike: If you're more advanced, you can go faster, but for beginners, just go slow. You're just marching. Brad: That's right. Once you get that done, the last one is going to be... Mike: Pushups. Brad: Wall pushups, right? So we're working arms. Mike: So you're going to bring your arms down a little bit. I can't quite get super close to the wall because my mic is going to hit the wall and make loud noises, but just go as close as you can. Do the range. It's going to be easier doing this way because you're not fighting gravity. Brad: Now, if you do this and it seems way too easy, simply stop, we're going to go to the next session, or if it's semi-challenging, you simply repeat that set until you get fatigued, sit down and rest and then you're done. All right, we're going to the intermediate level. Now the next option is actually to use a countertop. Now, our mat is lower than a countertop. We're going to use the chair. You simply need it for balance for the squats. Go ahead, Mike. You're going to do the same thing as against the wall, except for... Mike: You're going to hold onto a countertop. Now I'm not pushing hard with it, I'm just kind of using the chair for balance. Go down to where you feel comfortable with depth. Do 10 repetitions and then go on to exercise number two. Brad: That's right. So let's go to number two. It's going to be with the countertop. Mike: Oh, I'm doing the countertop now. So we're going to do some marching again, or mountain climbers, depending on what you want to call them. Now I'm more at a 45-degree angle. This makes it a bit more challenging than simply against the wall. Brad: That's right and let's go to the next one. Mike: What is the last one again? Pushups! Brad: How easily we forget, you'll remember after doing this for a couple of days. Mike: So now we're going to get a little bit more upper body movement, working the chest. The closer you go, the easier it'll be. The further out you go, the harder it'll be. Brad: And actually, we're going to go to the next more advanced level, and Mike and I are going to have a little competition so you're going to want to stick around. Mike: They're just going to hear a bunch of heavy breathing. Brad: Okay, now we're going to do the more advanced method. It's in the standing position, but remember, they're all identical. The first thing you do, is get your feet shoulder-width apart, then good posture and maintain that while you're doing it. Now we're going to simply start squats. You can hold onto the cupboard or chair while you do your squats. Again, go down as far as you feel comfortable. You don't want to get down and not be able to get up, that's not the goal of this, the goal is to finish it. Again, 10 seconds or 10 reps, whatever works well for you. Brad: Okay, the next thing we're going to do is mount climbers. Now this, we're actually going to get to the floor in that pushup position, I'll show it a profile, and you simply bring a knee up to the chest and alternate right and left. Take your time with this. This is not a race. We are not trying to compete. Well, maybe we will later, Mike, I don't know. Brad: Now, a couple of things you can do to make this less boring is take your knee and kick out to the side. Kick out to the side and it works your hips a little bit differently, works different muscles, it's better for you, your core's working, your arms are working, your legs are working. This is a complete full-body exercise no matter which one you do. Brad: Sometimes I like to do this and just lift one leg up in the air. Brad: We're going longer than the 10 seconds, just so I can show you the variations that you can do and then simply finish out with pushups as you feel comfortable. When I do them, I do like three and that's it and I start all over. Mike is going to do 35, I imagine. Mike: I'm going faster if that's 35. Brad: Wow. You're a youngster. So again, feet shoulder-width apart, shoulders back, hands on the wall. Mike, you know what to do and squats. Mike: Want me to do 10 reps or 10 seconds? What are we doing here, Brad? Brad: Well, we'll go 10 reps so we don't have to use the timer. People can follow along if they like. Enjoy it. Mike: I've never done synchronized exercise, Brad. Brad: The next one, is mountain climbers. Now, again, work things as you can. It's working wonderfully. He's not cheating, is he? Mike: Cheating? Brad: I can't see what's going on. Now standing, you can kick out to the side as well to rotate the hips, and get those hip joints working well. Sometimes even a circle with the knee. Brad: When we go to the next one, pushups, the farther your feet are away from the wall, the more challenging that pushup is going to be. The big thing is to watch out so your head doesn't bump into the wall. We don't need any concussions going on. There we go. Brad: Now, if you're not tired enough, simply start all over. Are you ready, Mike? Get back up. Here we go, starting over. Okay, shoulders back, feet wide, hands here. We're going to do squats. Mike: I'm coughing here. I'm sweating too. Brad: Keep on going, Mike. Mike: Jeans were a bad idea today. Brad: Again, I'm not having too much of a problem here. Mike: Well, that's nice. Brad: Now we're going to stop and we're going to go to the mountain climbers. Knees up, oh, yes. Remember to breathe while you're exercising. A lot of people kind of hold it in and kind of grunt a little bit. That does nothing more than restrict your body from oxygen. Makes you much more easily fatigued. Now we need to go to, what's the next one? Mike: Pushups. Brad: Pushups. Ooo, yes. How are you doing, Mike? Mike: Well, holding a plank into a pushup is more challenging. Brad: See, he is not ripping him off like he was before, the showoff. Okay, one more time. Up we go. Feet one shoulder width apart, shoulders back, hands on the wall, and squats. Mike: I should have brought my water. Brad: I told you not to wear jeans today. Mike: They're stretchy at least. Brad: Okay, and the next one, we're going to go to the mountain climbers. Mike: Are you doing 10 reps? Brad: Well, no, we're trying to just work things in. After a while, you get a feel for it. I'm kicking in like this because that rotates my hip joints. It's good for the acetabulum in the femoral head, if we're going to get technical. And let's go to the pushups. Oh, yeah. So what are you saying, Mike? Are you having fun yet? Mike: No. I'm bored. Brad: All right. All right. Thank you, Mike. Mike did a heck of a job! Mike: Gimme a towel, I'm sweaty. Brad: All right, now, if you've overdone this, the first or second day you did it and you find you've got sore muscles, these massage guns we're going to go over, they are very popular. We've been selling a lot of them. Brad: You don't have to go out and buy one, your muscles are going to get better with some ibuprofen. If you happen to have one or you want one, we're going to show you. I would recommend for people who are seniors, typically, if you're not really muscle bound, which a lot of seniors aren't, the Bob aan Brad Q2 mini massage gun or the Air 2 mini massage gun . The round head and the soft airhead are the two that I would recommend if you're just starting and simply on the sore muscles, massage those muscles. You don't need to do it long, maybe a minute or so on each leg. You can certainly go longer. You can go straight in for an aggressive massage with the round head. You can go sideways to vary the intensity. The airhead that Mike is using is soft. It's actually airhead because it is a soft air cushion. It works very well and you can get close to your joints and it will not hurt it. Brad: So they're nice options. Let's get back with the program. Mike: So if you want to check out more videos on how to strengthen your legs, in particular for seniors, check out our video " 3-MUST DO-Daily Strength Exercises For Seniors ." It's not as extreme as this video. Brad: Yeah, three must do daily strength exercises for seniors. Mike: I need some water. Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   EZBack-R Massage with Remote Weighted Heating Pad with Far Infrared Therapy Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Hanging Handles​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/IZbmERTOyyE Brad: Oh, my elbow hurts! Mike: Many people are surprised by how severe and how long it can take to recover from tennis elbow or golfer's elbow. Brad: That's right. And today we're going to give you three effective self-treatment options that are going to help speed up your recovery and get you back into action, pain-free. Mike: So elbow pain is often caused by shortening and tension in the deep rotator muscles of the forearm. Brad: That's right. And the easy way to test this is simply sit down. You can do it standing, with your elbow at a 90-degree bend, and both of them out in front of you, you're going to compare supination, or palms up, versus pronation, or palms down. So for example, if I turn my palms up, and one hand goes normal, and the other only can get half as far, that's showing I've got tight muscles on the supinators. Brad: If we go the other direction, and one is normal but the other only goes part of the way you know it's tight. We know we need to address the tightness of these muscles, get them stretched out, relaxed, so that you can get back to normal. Mike: So the first stretch we're going to go through is going to help improve your supination, or turning your palm up towards the ceiling. Oftentimes people will struggle with this the most when dealing with golfer's or tennis elbow. In order to do it, oftentimes, you're going to be limited, and you get kind of stuck. Simply take your good hand, place it on the wrist or your palm, and help turn it gently. This should be pain-free. If it causes any sharp pain, do not force it that hard. Just go gentle over time. After doing this, try to work your grip up your forearm more here and help rotate. Notice my thumb is on one side and my palm is on the other. So I'm helping with that rotation component. Hold it here for roughly three breaths and relax. It's important to do this throughout the day. Brad: Right. Now I do want to give credit where credit is due. We did not come up with this treatment. It's actually from a therapist we work with closely. His name is Rick Olderman . He's developed a whole system throughout the body. This is just for his treatment of elbow pain. And a couple of things I do want to point out. When you're grabbing, think about your hand on the bony landmark on the wrist, the thumb is on a bony landmark. We're not rotating skin, but we're trying to rotate the bones, which are connected to the muscle, to get a good appropriate stretch. And when you go up, there's a little more meat. You have more muscle, more mass there. You really need to feel that. And you can actually work those muscles if they're tight and loosen them up. Anything else, Mike? Mike: It's good to do this while resting your forearm. You can either do it on your lap like Brad was showing, or I'm doing it on a table. Sometimes when your arm is up in the air, it could become more tense, and won't want to stretch as much. Nice relaxed position. Brad: All right, the next important muscle group to address in regards to getting muscles loosened up so that you get that range of motion is the brachioradialis and the radialis. And the way you do this is you simply find the tendon of a bicep below the muscle belly. There's that tendon. You're going to take your two fingers and go on one side just at the elbow, just above the elbow joint. And then the thumb goes on the other side. And we're gonna get underneath and to the side of that bicep muscle down by the joint. And that muscle is deep in by the humerus, or the bone that goes to the elbow joint. And you'll typically find, if you've got a tight muscle, it's going to be a little tender. And then you can work on that and say, my thumb finds a tender spot, it's not so tender on the outside, but inside, I'm going to focus on that muscle, work on it for about two to three minutes or so, and then give it a break. You can do it on the outside if that's tight way as well. Mike, any other input? Mike: Again, you want to have your forearm supported with this, and I just feel this digging in here. It's a little tight even though I don't have these issues. Brad: Right. Well, we all have tightness, Mike. All right, before we go on to some ergonomic changes at the workstation, the computer workstation, you're going to find out, typically, Rick has found out that supination is the tightest motion, but it can be pronation. This side's not going down as far. So anyway, you're going to work that stretch. Brad: Make sure you do it and hold for three breaths, three or four repetitions throughout the day, every hour or so. And again, the bicep tendon, every 30 minutes to an hour, you get in there, massage those muscles, get that loosened up. When you're done with it, you can kind of shake it out a little bit, let it breathe, if you will. Now let's get to that ergonomics with the mouse. It's very critical. Mike: So when you're at your workstation, this is a common cause of having elbow pain for most people. They don't have it set up properly. When you're using a mouse, if your mouse is too far away, this is going to put more strain on the elbow joint. You want to have it closer to your body. Mike: Oftentimes, you want to have it supported. I'm not in a computer chair right now, but having the armrest positioned for support, a nice 90-degree bend in my elbow joint would be optimal for feeling good with this. And you also want to not have too much wrist flexion or extension. Obviously, I'm in a fixed position right now, but some people's desks are just taller than their chairs, or vice versa. Or they have a standing desk. If your wrists are flexed all day, you're going to start developing some issues. Brad: Right, so again, that neutral position. Having the elbow flexed to about 90 degrees by the body, and the weight of the arm being supported by the armrest while you're sitting can be very helpful. Mike: Now all the exercises and stretches that we showed in this video can be found in this book written by Bob Schrupp and Rick Olderman. It is called the "Top Three Fix." Brad: That's right, the nice thing about this book, not only does it tell you how to fix elbow pain, it goes into the wrist, the neck, all the parts of the body, all the major joints. It is a complete book for self-help and keeping yourself active, pain-free, and feeling fantastic. Mike: If you want to check out more videos on how to treat tennis elbow pain, check out " Tennis Elbow? Absolute Best Self-Treatment, Exercises, & Stretches ." Brad: But I don't play tennis. Mike: I play pickleball. Does that count? Brad: Yeah, that's good. Mike: Okay. Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   EZBack-R Massage with Remote Weighted Heating Pad with Far Infrared Therapy Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Hanging Handles​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

Shoulder Do's Whenever possible keep your elbows into your sides when lifting or carrying objects. Keep loads as close to your body as possible when lifting or carrying. When using a bag with a carrying strap alternate shoulders frequently or use solely on your nonpainful shoulder. If able to withstand the embarrassment, use a fanny pack. Take frequent breaks from any repetitive activity. When vacuuming or sweeping try moving your entire body and feet along with the vacuum or broom. Do not just move your arms and shoulders. Always practice good posture. Correctly arrange your workstation to reduce stress on your shoulders. Pay close attention to your head, neck, and shoulder posture throughout the day. Alternate arms when you carry a suitcase, a purse, or a briefcase. Shoulder Don’ts Do not place too much weight through your arms when eating, sitting at your desk (workstation), or when lying on your stomach to read. Put your shoulder in an awkward position like reaching into the back seat. Perform Repetitive overhead activities such as painting or pruning a tree. Repetitive activities with the arm level but with your upper back in poor posture. Examples writing on a whiteboard or smart board, painting, or driving a car. Do not partake in forceful pulling. Examples include pulling a weed out of the ground, lifting a suitcase, or pulling on the starter cord for a lawn mower. Wear a bra with the bra strap too far out on the shoulder. This causes increased stress on the shoulder blade, possibly depressing it. Obtain a bra whose straps are closer to the neck. Do not put your body in poor posture while using your arms- including using the computer, eating, or knitting. See video How to Stop Shoulder Pain at a Computer WorkStation Do not sleep in poor positions. See video How to Stop Shoulder Pain in Bed (Sleeping Postures) Do not participate in repetitive overhead sports activities with a sore shoulder. Swimming, tennis, baseball pitching, lifting weights overhead, etc. Do not lift excessively heavy loads. Do not work for more than 15-20 minutes without a rest at a task that is stressful for your shoulders. Do not prop yourself up on your arms while reading or watching T.V. Gradually build up to performing activities involving your shoulders that are new to you. Train to participate. Check out the full Shoulder Pain Relief Program series of videos along with downloadable guide sheets for each video on our website here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/shoulder-pain-relief-program

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/FhQ4dBx2zN0 Brad: All right this is a very important video about chest pain. I personally have been to the emergency room three separate times because I had chest pain. Now I'm going to tell you and Mike, are going to explain how I got chest pain and more importantly, how I got rid of it. Mike: Now, chest pain can obviously be from the heart, which can be a fatal situation. So it is important to go to your doctor and get a proper diagnosis. Brad: Right, now, once you are certain and a doctor has ruled out that your heart is not the problem, then you can come into this video and we're gonna show you the details and how you can fix it without a big effort. Now, I found out on my third visit that the ER doctor said, "Don't worry, there's at least a 50/50 chance "that it's not your heart." And he said, that's from his experience. And I've looked into it and typically that's what you'll find. Oftentimes it's not the heart, and a good relief. Mike: Now there are three common causes of chest pain you can experience, not heart related, and that is GERD, or also known as heartburn for some people, it is also a musculoskeletal issue, or it can be caused by anxiety of sorts. Brad: Right, now, doctors are good at helping you with anxiety or with GERD, in other words, the heartburn with medications. But musculoskeletal, which was what I was diagnosed with, they really didn't have an answer. And I thought, well, I'm a physical therapist. This should be right up my alley. And I did not have an answer myself. So after doing some research on the internet, we found a physical therapist actually from New Zealand, who actually had the same problem, severe chest pain, really interfering with his life. And it was not from his heart, it was musculoskeletal. And he actually found the cause and more importantly, how to fix it. Mike: So we actually interviewed Steve August in the past to talk about this issue very much in-depth and what tools you can use to help fix it. Brad: That's right. So I'm going to give you the long story short on what causes musculoskeletal pain in your chest right here. Now, when I have it on the right side, it's where the ribs connect to my sternum. That's why we have Sam here. How you doing, big guy? Alright, so here is the source of my pain. It's where the ribs connect and they're actually cartilage. And it's cartilage where it connects to the sternum, and there has to be movement there. Brad: Okay? Not too much. And what actually happens, where the pain comes from is from back here where the ribs connect to the vertebra. Okay? We get a closeup here, Mike is pointing to where the joint is, where the rib connects to the vertebra. Brad: Now when you breathe, the ribs expand and they go down. So there has to be motion and that motion needs to come from that joint. Look at this, so when you breathe in, it goes up and when you breathe out, it goes down. Brad: This motion becomes locked up. What happens is the motion has to come from somewhere so you can breathe and it actually comes from the front. There's some arthritis in this area. When you get that moving, it causes pain and you have pain and it's very tender. Now there's a nice way to help determine if you know you don't have heart pain. In my case, what I do is I start to palpate or push in and see if I can find a sore spot. Now, I've had three or four doctors actually do this to me and they would push around and they really, you know, good doctors, but they weren't real good with assessing this particular diagnosis. I found if I would work in there, there'd be a point about the size of a dime and it would be really tender. If I push on it, that would be the hot spot. And that spot would take the pain and would radiate out. Very clear it's not from the heart, it's from that point. So we need to break this up to take the stress off the front where the rib connects to the sternum and relax it and the pain goes away. It's worked out quite well. Let's show you how it works. Mike: So the condition Brad is talking about is called costochondritis. And in order to treat it, you'll need one of two things. Either a softball, if you have one available, and if that happens to work well, you can get a Backpod , which is created to treat this issue. Brad: Right, so Steve August actually got very involved in creating this specifically for this problem. But the good thing about it is there are other conditions you can treat with it too, SI joint, back pain, hip. So it's not just for costochondritis, but this is what I use. I've been using it for years with great success. Now let's show you how to use it. Now the treatment is actually done lying on the floor on your back, I'm going to show you on Mike, the locations along the rib cage in the back where you actually put the pressure. So if you're using the ball or the Backpod, we're going to start out with Mike on the right side. That's where my pain is so I work the right side, but I also work the left side for maintenance because I want to make sure it's clear throughout. So we'll start out lower. We've got the shoulder blade here where the ball is. We're going to go just below that just to the right of the spine. You do not go on the spine, it's that muscle between the spine and the scapula or the shoulder blade. I'll work it here. Then I'll go up and I'll go up and I actually go four locations and I do the same thing, starting low, two, three, four, on the other side as well. Brad: It takes me about two minutes and I'm done. So let's go down to the floor and get the details. Now, if you're using a tennis or a softball, you could try a baseball. Softball is probably better, it's a little bigger. This can be fairly aggressive. So I'm going to show you with the Backpod, but if you have the ball, it's the same thing. You just replace the Backpod with the ball. Now the first time you do it, I would take a towel, fold it up so there's four to six layers, whatever it takes because it's going to be a little uncomfortable on your back, more than likely, unless you're used to something like this, which most people aren't. The towel on there gives you a little comfort. And now I'm going to go down on the left of the spine, just below the shoulder blade. There we go again, I do it on both sides, although the right side is my involved side and you're going to lean back into it. And then you can work forward and backward. And we're mobilizing that joint where the rib connects to the vertebra. Brad: Now what Steve likes to do, he says, emphasize it with taking your arm and going up over the top of your head. You can do both arms at the same time. It's a little more aggressive. To start out with, you may just want to do one arm, extend and arch and go back and do that a few times. Brad: And after I did this for a couple of weeks, I started to actually go back and forth and it helps mobilize that joint and it actually does some good myofascial stretch. I don't know if that does anything for the costochondritis, but it sure feels good on my back. Brad: So after you do that in all the locations and you're done now, you'll get used to it after a while you can take the towel, set it off to the side, and you'll feel the difference. And this is where it really gets into those joints and helps mobilize it and break that arthritic joint up, get it moving. And again, reach overhead and back. And what I typically do, like I mentioned with Mike, is I'll finish with one after a few repetitions and I'm going to slide down about two inches, get the ribs upwards or towards the neck, and do this. I typically go with one arm, you can go with both. Sometimes I'll really get aggressive and you know, I did not like this at first and actually now I look forward to doing it because it just makes everything feels good. I know Bob has done it. It's great for your posture as well. Brad: I'm going up to my third area. Now, I do go all the way up to my upper trap. Doesn't have anything to do with my costochondritis, but boy does it feel good. And get those muscles relaxed, help the posture and I'll work back and forth. Brad: And that really does a nice job and that area. And then I'll do that on both sides. This is that simple. You need to do it daily. And if you got that costochondritis pain, you should feel relief easily within one to two weeks. So boy, it is a real nasty experience when you have that chest pain and you're wondering, is this a heart attack or is this costochondritis? Get rid of it, use the Backpod, and then you don't have to think about it. That's been my experience and I wish you good luck with it. Mike, do you have anything to say? Mike: If you would like to learn more information about costochondritis, you could check out the interview Bob did with Steve a while ago titled, " Costochondritis? Self-Treatment Advice: Worldwide Expert Steve August ." Brad: That's right. I highly recommend watching that whole interview. Steve is just a wonderful man and he's very sincere about what he does. He actually gives these in services to physicians to educate them. He's way out there in regards of the physical therapy world with this topic. Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   EZBack-R Massage with Remote Weighted Heating Pad with Far Infrared Therapy Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Hanging Handles​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in March of 2024. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPFe6m-8WGQ Mike: If you find yourself unable to squat due to limited leg motion or pain, then this is for you. Brad: That's right. Today we're going to take a deep dive in breaking down the mechanics of a squat and showing you a certain method that's going to give you the strength and the ability to do it properly. Alright, so the first thing we need to address is range of motion, particularly in the knees as well as the hips. Brad: If you're going down and your knees are not able to flex without pain or tightness, as well as your hips flexing, that must be addressed. So we're going to talk about how to do it and assess it. Mike: So to check yourself, all you're going to do is take one leg and bring it up as far as you comfortably can. If you're painful and can't lift past 45 degrees, this is going to be a very limiting factor on your squat range of motion. So what you want to do is bring it straight up. Now notice for me personally, I can only flex up so far. I start to get some musculature hitting and I can also feel like I can't push up anymore because the shape of my pelvis and my femur are hitting. But if I simply bring my leg out to the side, look how much more range of motion I have. So when I squat, I want to find a stance that is a little wider out for me and I can probably get more depth. Brad: Another thing to look for with this is not only finding out what works for you like Mike did, make sure you compare one leg to the other and you may find one knee comes up all the way very easily, the other one doesn't so then you're going to focus the stretching on the tight or painful one. Alright, another joint that needs to be assessed for proper adequate range of motion is the ankle. Let's take a look at it. Brad: So when we're standing here, weight bearing and we start to bend forward into the squat, you can see the ankle must, we call that dorsiflexion or go upwards, if you will. If that joint is tight, that can be the sole purpose of being unable to do a squat successfully. So we've got a test that we use against the wall. It's very simple and it's very succinct on how you can test yourself. Mike, let's check it out. Mike: To test to see if you have good ankle mobility, we're going to perform a five inch wall test. So you'll need a wall and to stand five inches away, I have a rule here measured out, ready to go. I'm going to place one foot the toe line there, and I'm going to try to touch my knee to the wall while keeping my heel down. Mike: I have tight ankles, I cannot get all the way there, but I still have somewhat decent mobility when I do a squat. Now if I do the other leg, you may notice a difference too. Mine are both equal, but some people may only be able to get partway with one versus all the way with the other. This is a limitation in your ankle mobility. So we're going to show you a couple stretches that could help with this. Brad: Right and this may be very likely, particularly if you have a history of an ankle injury, serious sprain, something of that nature. So let's show us some stretches on how that can be improved. Mike: So when you're performing the five inch wall test, if you're feeling tightness in the back of the ankle and up the calf, we need to stretch the calves. If you feel tightness or pinching in the front of the ankle, we'll show you a different stretch to do after this. So to stretch the calves, we're just gonna stay at the wall. I'm going to be stretching my left calf here, bringing it back, keep my legs straight, and then I slowly start leaning forward while my heel is still on the floor and I feel a good stretch. Hold this for 15 to 30 seconds, repeat on both sides and notice that my feet are facing straight ahead forward. When you start turning out, you're going to feel a little more stretch in your hip, not as much the calf. So it's important to have good form with this. Brad: Good! So think about relaxing the upper body, breathing relax while you do this, it'll help the stretch. So should we continue on with the, if you feel tightness in the front of the ankle? Mike: I think so. Brad: All right, now if you have that tightness or that pain in the front of the ankle, this may be a good option. Actually, you could do both stretches regardless, and it's going to give benefits or help. So what I like to do on this one is on a firm chair so you have two armrest like this chair to make it safe, you're going to have, you're going to put the foot on, you have to have shoes on. Do not do this with stocking foot or barefoot. Much better with shoes so do it right. Put the four foot here so the ankle has plenty of room. And then I'm going to hold onto the armrest for the chair for stability. And I'm going to just bend the knee. So you actually get knee range of motion and hip with this and the ankle so you get all three in one and use your body weight, relax and breathe, push. And I actually do a little noodling when I'm this with this to help my hip range of motion. So again, this is a multi-unit stretch. Brad: Mike, you have anything else to add on that? You're doing it on the stairs, which I like that as well. Mike: I think you're looking for multi-joint stretch. Brad: Multi-joint, yeah. Mike: So on the stairs, you have a little bit more options of height differential. If you want to go high or up, you certainly can try. But if I really want to work on my ankle, I'm probably going to pick the lower step. Try to get that knee to go over the toe, stretch the hip. When I go up to a higher step, I'm still getting a stretch in the front of the ankle, but I'm getting a little bit more hip and hip flexor on this side. This is also a good stretch to do. Brad: Yes, all right, let's go to number three. Mike: So now we're going to progress to strengthening the hip muscles. If you have a lot of knee pain, this will just kind of isolate the hips more. So we're going to do first is hip abduction. Hold onto a rail or a cane or something for support if you need it. If you don't, you don't have to. We will show a progression of this in a second. So first we're just going to do hip abduction, which is kicking out to the side. Notice my pelvis is staying pretty level with this. I'm not leaning over to kick up higher. Keep your foot facing forward the whole time. Go as far as you comfortably can out and then back in. Try to do 10 to 15 repetitions on one side. Make sure and switch, do the other. Mike: Obviously where I'm at, I don't want to kick the stair so I have to turn around. Now to work the back buttock muscle, you're actually going to kick straight backward. Notice I'm keeping a nice upright posture with this. I'm not teetering over like this to get more range of motion. Feel that gluten hamstring kicking in with this exercise. Again, 10 to 15 repetitions. Brad: Alright, if you want more resistance or you need more resistance, and you have some resistance bands , you can use the band. They usually come with an ankle band that's Velcro. Put that around your ankle. Attach the other end around the leg of a chair, a handrail, something that's very strong and sturdy. I'm using the wall anchor and I'm not actually using this. I'm going to just put it around my ankle like this. It's just another option to get resistance, something for balance. And simply good tall posture mechanics are the same as what Mike mentioned. So we'll work it that way. And naturally, you're going to do the other leg and just turn around and do that. Brad:And as far as doing the glutes for hip extension, face the wall. This is nice. You can use a wall for balance, keep a straight leg. And I'm staying up tall and not bending and doing this compensation, which we don't want. You'll feel that glute muscle kick in very well with resistance. It works really good. Make sure you do both legs with this. So Mike, you have another option if they have the little baby loop bands. Mike: Yes, if you happen to have loop bands and not the exercise bands like that, you can certainly use these for the exercise. You just put it on both sides. You're going to stabilize and kick out to the side. Again, hold on to support if needed. It's going to be a lot more challenging, especially to keep your posture when you have resistance. Again, you're going to go sideways 10 to 15 on each side and then you're going to do backward kicking as well. This is working my balance if I don't hold on to anything like this. Brad: There you go. Another multitasking episode. Now if you can put the loop in up by your knees, that'll reduce the resistance or the intensity and it works fairly well too. Mike: Yep. Just makes it a little bit easier. Brad: Yep. There you go. All right. Mike: Now the final exercise we're going to do is actually a squat with just a shallow mini squat. We're going to show an easier version first and get to a little more advanced. Notice, I have a loop band around my legs again. This is going to help keep good placement and engagement in my buttocks and hip muscles. I have a yoga ball against the wall. This will be the easiest if you happen to have one. You don't need it, you can just do it against the wall as long as your wall isn't too sticky and your shirt slides well. So I'm going to step out a little ways away. I'm going to squat down partly. And while I'm doing this, I'm maintaining this band position. So I actually have to push my legs out. So if I'm actually squatting down to show what I'm doing, I'm pushing out like this and then coming back up, keeping those glutes engaged the whole time. Mike: This can help prevent any issues some people may be having with knee cave because some people might squat down and they come back like this and then it goes up. So if you have something to think to push against that can help with this. So just do five to 10 repetitions. Go down as far as you feel safe. Brad: Yeah, and I would mention you can put a chair or a cane to hold onto next to you. Mike: And you can certainly just do this against a wall. I can slide down fairly well and do this. Just do mini squats. Over time when you feel safe, you can try working on your range of motion and your depth like this. Obviously, if you don't feel safe going down here, you don't have to. Brad: That's right. And now the advanced version, if you don't want to be up against the wall or you don't have a ball and you feel relatively stable, you go up and I actually like to have something to at least hold onto and bring your feet out and we're going to do the same thing. Mike mentioned, all the same mechanics with the knee, up tall and we're squatting down and again, go as far as you feel comfortable. Don't go too far so that you can't get back up. Bad situation. And again, five to 10 reps, I'd like to work up to 10 reps. By the eighth and ninth, 10th reps, you know you're feeling some burns, some muscle fatigue and that's going to get you stronger for your squats. Brad: Alright, now if you don't have any problems with range of motion in your hip knees or ankles, you do not have to do those stretches. If it's just strength that you really need, work the strengthening exercises we just showed. Make sure, again, the goal is 10 repetitions, fatigue by the end. But do not do them every day as hard as you can. You need to let your legs have time to rest and relax. Otherwise you get some pretty sore muscles, particularly if you've been sedentary. But there is an answer and there's one thing we do wanna talk about is how you can deal with sore muscles after aggressive workout. Mike: Yes, we have the Bob and Brad Air Compression Leg Massager so there's not actually needing massage in here. It's more of a compressive force. Brad: Alright, so these leg massagers are nothing new. They've been around for a few years and they actually work by applying pressure systematically to help circulation. And we're going to talk about it in a little bit more detail, Mike. Mike: So these massagers start at the feet, work up to the calves, and then into the thighs. It compresses that way so it'll help bring the fluid back up into the trunk where it needs to be going. It can also help release muscle tension, pain, and soreness, promotes blood flow and can effectively eliminate swelling. Brad: Right and adjust these so it's not overly tight. You can adjust the good ones like we have. They actually feel very good. When you're using, it should feel like a real relaxing and enjoyable experience. However, if you have some medical issues, for example, if you have chronic swelling, edema, lymphedema, heart problems, you need to check it out with your doctor to make sure this type of treatment is okay. If you're healthy and you're exercising well without any problems, it should be just fine. There are some precautions so talk to your doctor if you have any conditions and do that before you would use them. Mike: So this foot massager also comes with a handheld remote which can adjust the intensity of the massage, how much inflation you're feeling and it also has a heat feature and a timer feature with a few different mode options as well. And the girth of the calf range is a 19 inch max and up at the thighs, it's 27 inches max. So you can adjust, you know how tight or loose it feels on you, but that's the maximum measurements. Brad: Alright, so good luck with improving your squats. If you follow these instructions, I'm sure you're going to progress. Mike, anything else or other things to watch? Mike: If you want to check out other videos on leg strengthening check out our video " One Life Changing Exercise For Stronger Legs (50+) ." Brad: Oh good. Nice work. Mike: I'm just going to sit in these for a while. Brad: Yeah. Enjoy Mike. Enjoy. Visit us on our other social media platforms : YouTube , Website , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , Pinterest , LinkedIn , TikTok , Wimkin , Mewe , Minds , Vero , SteemIt , Peakd , Rumble ,  Snapchat , Clapper , Threads   Bob and Brad also have a Podcast where we share your favorite episodes as well as interviews with health-related experts. For this week’s Giveaway visit :  https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products Pain Management: C2 Massage Gun (US) C2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Therapy C2 Plus Massage Gun with Heat Fit Glide Q2 Mini Massage Gun (US) Q2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Knee Glide   Eye Massager   EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager White EyeOasis 2 Eye Massager Black EyeOasis 2 Plus Eye Massager with Remote T2 Massage Gun   T2 Pro Massage Gun with Heat and Cold Head Air 2 Massage Gun Foot Massager X6 Massage Gun with Stainless Steel Head X6 Pro Massage with Heat-Cold and Metal Head D5 Pro Massage Gun Leg Massager Holy Cowabunga Cream   Uni Massage Gun D6 Pro Massage Gun Back Massager Posture Pad Lite Foot Massager EZBack Massager   EZBack-R Massage with Remote Weighted Heating Pad with Far Infrared Therapy Weighted Heating Pad Fitness: Resistance Bands​   Pull Up Bands   Wall Anchor​ Hanging Handles​ Stretching: Booyah Stik   Stretch Strap Bob & Brad Amazon Store   and other products Bob and Brad Love Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop ​ Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material on this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.

There are two main issues to consider with shoulder pain and lifting weights or resistance training. The first issue is the exercise itself. Is it generally safe for shoulders? What is the risk/reward in performing the exercise? The second is your technique in doing the exercise. Do you understand how to correctly do the exercise? And just as important is your body able to get into the appropriate position to perform the exercise correctly? 10 guidelines for lifting weights with shoulder pain. 1. Avoid machines for chest presses. A fixed position on a machine may force your shoulders and arms into positions they do not want to go. A bar is better. Dumbbells may be better (allow each arm to move freely of the other.) Exercise bands also work fantastic to keep arms moving freely with less chance of injury. Movements should be slow and controlled. 2. Cut movement short for lowering chest presses to prevent extension of the shoulders. Lowering all the way to the chest increases stress on the shoulders Do half-chest presses until the shoulder pain is gone. 3. Avoid abducting shoulders with bench press which puts shoulders at increased risk for impingement. Use dumbbells instead and put arms at more of a diagonal (closer to the body). Incorrect (elbows out) Correct (elbows in) 4. Avoid shoulder presses. Especially behind the neck. Some shoulder presses are acceptable, but most people have poor form and put their shoulders at risk. 5. Avoid abduction on pushups. Keep arms at a diagonal and closer together. Avoid arms and elbows out Elbows in or at a diagonal. 6. Perform shoulder raises to 90 degrees only. 7. Perform shoulder raises in scaption. Arms slightly away from your side before lifting. The arm is more in line with the “socket” of the shoulder. 8. Shoulder raises with less weight. The shoulder muscles are relatively small with long lever arms to move. 9. Strengthen the posture muscles affecting the shoulders. 10. Outright avoid these exercises when you have shoulder pain: A. Chest Flies B. Behind-the-neck pulldowns C. Upright rows D. Behind-the-neck press-ups E. Bench Dips Check out the full Shoulder Pain Relief Program series of videos along with downloadable guide sheets for each video on our website here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/shoulder-pain-relief-program