articles

Stuck in Carpool Line? Put Down the Phone and Workout!

By OrthoCarolina November 28, 2016

 

I spend countless hours waiting for kids, between carpool, waiting at soccer, waiting at gymnastics and more some days I am in a car for hours. I have often joked with trainer friends that they should come run bootcamps at schools for the 30 minutes we are sitting in our cars. Instead of surfing Facebook or playing Candy Crush, there has to be something better for my body! We have the answer! We asked Kristen Alford, PT at OrthoCarolina to give us some exercises we can do in the car while we are waiting for our kids! These simple movements can have big impact!

It seems like eternity until those cars finally start moving!  Is there anything else to do while you are stuck in the carpool line besides thumbing through social media?

Yes! There are some simple exercises that you can do in the car that will help keep some of your key postural muscles engaged.

Unfortunately, due to most of our day to day habits and postures, some of our key postural and core muscles do not get "turned on" as much as they should.  Over time, this can result in mechanical dysfunction, pain and even injury.

First- use this time to take a look at your posture.  Are you sitting with  your hips rounded backward and your shoulders rounded forward?  Take the time to practice sitting with better posture.  Your pelvis should be in a neutral position- not tilted forward or backward.  Shoulders should hang naturally at the sides (they should be right under the ears).  Your head should be positioned over your body, it should not be forward.  

Also take a look at your hips and legs.  We tend to sit with our left leg forward and more weight on our posterior hip.  Try to adjust this by sliding your left thigh back just a bit.


Transverse Abdominis Isometrics:

The Transverse Abdominis is an important muscle in our core that helps stabilize the spine.  You will also notice that when this muscle is engaged, it is harder to sit with poor posture.  First, make sure you are sitting with good posture. Then, concentrate on the lower part of your abdomen.  Breathe in and out and then, without breathing in slowly draw in the abdomen. Your navel should move toward your backbone. Try to hold this contraction for as long as you can, while breathing normally.  

           C:\Users\kalfo\Pictures\IMG_4451.JPG                C:\Users\kalfo\Pictures\IMG_4452.JPG

Chin Tucks:

Chin tucks are a great way to engage the deep cervical muscles that can get weak due to our poor postural habits. To perform a chin tuck, make sure you are sitting in good posture.  Then use the muscles in the back of the neck to pull your chin in. Your head should not tilt forward or backward when doing this exercise.

    C:\Users\kalfo\Pictures\IMG_4456.JPG          C:\Users\kalfo\Pictures\IMG_4457.JPG

Pectoral stretch

Due to our tendency for rounded shoulder posture, our pect muscles can get tight.  This can affect shoulder mechanics and make us more at risk for injury. To stretch the pects, use the passenger seat or the wall on the driver's side of the car to ancor your arm.  Lean forward or rotate until a gentle stretch is front of the shoulder. It will likely be easier to do these one at at time.

C:\Users\kalfo\Pictures\IMG_4459.JPG 

Scap squeeze

While sitting in good posture, squeeze the bottom corners of your shoulder blades together.  Be careful that your shoulders do not elevate. Squeeze down and back.

         C:\Users\kalfo\Pictures\IMG_4465.JPG

Glute squeezes

Just like it sounds. While sitting with good posture, squeeze your bottom. You might notice that your core engages when you do this as well... bonus!







 

Kristen Alford, PT

OrthoCarolina Randolph Sports

Masters of Physical Therapy from UNC Chapel Hill

13 years experience in orthopedic physical therapy

Areas of interest: shoulder, sports, posture, lower extremity

Experienced carpool mom of one kindergartner


Bruce Clark, PTA (model)

OrthoCarolina Randolph Sports

5 years experience in orthopedic physical therapy

Experienced carpool dad of 3 daughters