Fit to Farm: Incorporating this into the day could help with health, mental and physical performance
The word “mindfulness” has been floating around a lot in recent years, but I still come across many individuals who have yet to be introduced to the basics of mindfulness. Being mindful isn’t necessarily an exercise you can do three sets of 10 a day and expect immediate change — but similar to how I […] Read more
Pain between the shoulder blades is a common complaint from farmers
Farmers often come to me complaining of pain and fatigue between the shoulder blades. This is an especially important area for humans as the shoulders are the core of our arms, in a sense. It’s not surprising that they are a common area of complaint, just as the low back is a common area of complaint when our […] Read more
Fit to Farm: Farming includes long hours spent on equipment but pain and discomfort shouldn’t be a normal side-effect
Farming is an industry where scheduling is ruled by the seeds we sow, the animals we raise, and the people we feed. While many would expect that a certain level of fatigue and tension would accompany the busy seasons, there’s more to it than that. Tension that causes discomfort or pain and fatigue are signs […] Read more
Pain is the body’s way of saying something is wrong. Don’t just stifle it
A client messaged me today — a local farmer who had started seeing me as a personal trainer. Routinely complaining about his shoulder pain during sessions, I suggested we focus on rehabbing his pain first, but was met with resistance as he had already “tried more than six therapists and nothing had worked.” I left […] Read more
Fit to Farm: There is no need to think that pain of any kind is a routine part of life
So many people experience headaches that we’ve almost come to normalize them, but they are often very relievable. Remember, pain of any kind, even something as normalized as a headache, is not normal, nor is there any need for it to be a routine part of your life! Here are some things to keep in […] Read more
Fit to Farm: Combined with soft tissue massage these movement practices could help provide some relief
Sciatica is a common complaint, but it is often overdiagnosed. It seems to now be a catch-all for physicians to diagnose sciatica when there is any complaint of pain in the hip and leg, without giving solutions outside of pain masking. Sciatica symptoms include shooting pain or numbness/tingling down the leg stemming from deep in […] Read more
Usually the problem is actually coming from the hips or feet
After seeing an older woman in the clinic a few weeks into her post-knee replacement rehabilitation, her daughter approached me saying she knew she was headed in the same direction as her mom as she was already having knee and hip pain. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do to prevent […] Read more
Many say they are too busy to include new habits into their day for better health
The problem with habits is that they take time and effort — something we don’t naturally drift to. Health is an ongoing series of habits and decisions you make every day, but one of the biggest barriers clients tell me about is not having enough time to include new healthy habits into their life. They […] Read more
Improper breathing can cause stiffness, headaches and decreased energy
The way we breathe dramatically influences our total body function and health. Breathing improperly will not only cause stiffness in the upper back, shoulders, hips, and neck, it can also decrease energy levels. The most common manifestation I see of poor breathing is neck pain and headaches. Many breathe with the muscles in the upper […] Read more
We tend to focus on the number on the scale but that’s only one part of a healthier life
This is a phrase I hear almost daily as a health-care professional in the fitness industry: “My doctor said I needed to lose 20 pounds in three months to get healthier.” Yes, the number on a scale is one indicator of health, but it is just one aspect of how we measure health. Usually, improving your health (blood […] Read more
