Physical Therapy Exercises For the General Population

The human past has been marked by a very dynamic lifestyle packed with different movement patterns and very little repetitive actions. Therefore, our bodies operate best over a variety of different tasks; and not living sedentary, unchanging lifestyles. Sadly, the demands of most of our daily lives require that we sit in a chair for hours on end, leaning over a desk, repeating the same thing over and over again. This is why we see muscle imbalances.

Here are several helpful actions you can do that will likely apply to you.

• Foam roll the piriformis, iliotibial band, TFL, hamstrings, upper back


• Ball roll the soles of your feet


• Stretch out the hips as much as possible


• Perform strength work for your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back

Foam rolling is performing self-myofascial release which in the end is trying to iron out soft tissue and accumulated scar tissue in the muscle. This is very effective at loosening up specific areas of the muscle. It's easy to target the tighter regions that will be helped most. All you need to do is use a foam tube or PVC pipe. The smaller the radius of the cylinder is, the more powerful (but painful) the therapy is. If you're unable to locate a foam roller, wrap a towel around a large PVC pipe. To start) the foam rolling, lie on the ground with the roller underneath the muscle to be rolled. Put as much weight as you can on the area and begin rolling back and forth with small strokes, eventually working up to large, harder strokes. To see for yourself, just do a YouTube search for "foam roll" + any of the terms in this article.

To ball roll your soles, get a hard ball such as a baseball and place it on the ground. Place the sole of your foot on the ball and put pressure on it as you roll it out. This loosens your body's entire muscle fascia so that even unrelated parts like your upper body loosens up. It's fast, simple and effective. Although, it will be a bit sensitive and will likely be a bit painful the first couple times you try; but keep at it and the pain will subside as will your entire body's tightness.

Sitting all day tightens the hip flexors. It's essential to stretch them vigorously as much as possible. Perform the Samson Stretch. This is done by doing a low lunge position and stretching your arms above yourself.

Strengthen the posterior chain with compound exercises such as the deadlift. Make sure these are performed correctly. Always keep the lower back straight and your stomach clenched. If you're unable to lower yourself to the bar without rounding your lower back, stretch the hamstrings and start deadlifting with the part raised to a comfortable height.

Performing a good overall dynamic stretching/mobility session can also work wonders. It only takes 5-10 minutes and has many advantages. It, among other things, increases joint integrity and lubricates stiff joints; it decreases your likelihood of getting injured; raises body temperature; gets the body ready for exercise (good for warm-ups; and is an excellent mean of becoming more fluid over a variety of actions that correspond with the design of our bodies.