What would you like to know?

I run every day ~5 miles but do it barefooted on soft surface (water line at beach). I would not do it on concrete regardless how good the shoe support is. It's very important to have a well balanced body as you are putting it through higher stress, running or being a desk warrior. By that I mean symmetric use of the breathing mechanism (rib cage, muscles, etc.), symmetric use of the hips, symmetric gait. Any prior injury, medical intervention or repetitive-use trauma will affect your nervous system's willingness to load a limb, a hip, what have you.

http://www.apa.org/

The best chair for low back support is one that fits you well. I recommend buying a chair that has the most adjustment spots possible so you can adapt it to your body.

The ideal position for your spine is:
1. The seat is low enough so your feet are flat on the ground
2. Knees should be at 90deg
3. Hips should be at 90deg
4. Your back should be flat against the back of the chair
5. If you want a mild back support, use a cushion like the one described below, or a small towel roll
6. Your elbows should be able to rest on the arms without leaning forward or shrugging your shoulders up. The keyboard should be positioned so you can easily type.
7. Your computer screen should be 1-2 inches below eye level. Avoid jutting your chin out or squinting at the screen.

These are starting recommendations, adjust as needed to help you find the most comfortable, sustainable position. Even when you find this ideal position, I generally recommend people standing/walking around every hour for at least a couple of minutes. Even with the best sitting posture, sitting causes compression through the spine.

This is a very good question! First of all, when you say you've had knee pain in the past, what type of knee pain? Is it above the knee, below it, around it? Is there swelling with the pain? From an LMTs standpoint, I'd want to know if it's something that, perhaps, your quads or your lower leg muscles are contributing to. Then, I'd also want to know if there's a doc's diagnosis with this pain.

Will a compress make it worse? Warmth is soothing, it also works to heat up sluggish fluids. If there's inflammation, however, then that could be contraindicated. Without more information to work with, it's difficult to give you a cohesive answer; my apologies for that. If you can answer some of these questions, we might be able to give you a better answer.

Best of luck!

Absolutely! In simple terms, strength requires strength training and getting lean is a product of diet. Strength training can include body weight, yoga, TRX, exercise bands, and/or weight lifting. A diet that promotes leanness is mostly about food nutrient density.

Getting strong and lean while supporting your nutrition and energy needs looks different for everyone. Then combine this with your lifestyle and what your purpose of getting stronger/leaner and then it gets even more variable! I'm happy to consult to give you more individualized advice!

Tai Chi is a great modality to help improve overall mobility, strength and balance. Ideally it is combined with other modalities that can help address the specific components of your hip limitations such as muscle imbalances, joint restrictions, pain, etc. Physical Therapy is a great place to start to get a comprehensive exam and a personalized treatment plan.

It is primarily for energy production but it has many other effects. Why do you want to use it? what are you hoping to achieve?

The research on it is early, but it's thought to curve food cravings. However, its suggested you do acupuncture with a restricted calorie diet and exercise. So it's with a change in diet and lifestyle. It matters how skilled your acupuncturist is as well.

In my practice of health coaching we look into the psychology of eating, lifestyle factors, as well as genetics, which makes for a life lasting weight loss program, not just temporary weight loss :)

I teach a wide variety of mindfulness practices, emphasizing somatic or body awareness. There is a wonderful, informal practice called STOP - 1) Stop what you are doing 2) Take a breath 3) Observe something - a body sensation, a sound, an object in your environment, an emotion or thought - just notice, no need to get rid of it, or judge it 4) Proceed with what you were doing. It's a great practice to "pause and refresh' yourself during the day. I have many such practices recorded at: www.insighttimer.com/choosingmindfulness

How many hours of sleep do you get a night? what is your bedtime routine? How is your sleep?

What have you done in terms of workup thus far?

Hello Mildred! Unprocessed whole plant foods will provide very nutrient dense options for you. Fruits and vegetables can be wonderful grab-and-go items. Veggies such as peppers, carrots, celery, cucumbers, cherry or grape tomatoes, can be pre-chopped and packaged and ready to grab in the morning to take with you. Apples, pears, bananas, oranges and grapes are very convenient grab-and-go fruits. You can also buy or make your own healthy trail mix using dried fruits and a variety of nuts.

There are lots of ways to help reduce pain and recover ASAP. To get the most efficient plan of attack more information is needed, but general suggestions include: walking to tolerance, regular movement, gentle stretching, and ice for the first couple of days and then switch to heat.

Hamstring, and other muscle/tendon, issues can take a long time to heal. The key is providing the appropriate load (usually done via eccentric strengthening) to promote tissue remodeling and increase resiliency of the tissue so you avoid future injury. It is also important to look at the kinetic chain of motion - low back, pelvis, hips, knee, ankle, etc. and what the demands of your activities are. There are many hip joint stretches, mobility exercises, and self joint mobilization strategies that can be done with improve hip mobility. It's important to assess what needs to be improved and make a plan of attack based on your specific movement patterns and needs.

Lots of options! My favorite, easy to do exercise is to walk. Other exercises I suggest include yoga, pilates, Tai Chi, dancing, and hiking. The key is to choose what you like to do and that work well in your schedule so you can develop a habit.

Great question! The short answer is: maybe. The long answer requires a little more information about your back pain: how long has it been going on, what positions/movements increase the pain, location of pain, intensity of pain, etc.

In general, biking could be helpful but is likely not the 100% answer to your back pain. Biking is a low load exercise that can increase cardiovascular health, improve joint mobility, regulate blood glucose levels, and improve muscle/tendon resiliency... all these things can help reduce low back pain. Ideally biking is combined with other things that can help with back pain: physical therapy, core strengthening, hip mobility, stretching, etc.