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The next area which causes the body to be pulled forward away from it’s normal [ correct and vertical position ] is the diaphragm [ not that diaphragm ].Whenever the body is pulled forward, the lower back muscles tighten up. This is an automatic response by the brain. The muscles themselves are dumb, however they have nerves leading to them from the brain. These nerves are control nerves. When we are pulled forward, the brain detects this by means of changes in the movement of small hairs in the semi-circular canals in our inner ears [ this was discussed in a previous posting ].

The net result is that anytime we get pulled forward, the brain detects this and sends a signal via nerves to the muscles that run up and down our spines. These muscles are called “erector spinae” muscles. The Greeks knew all about this process of keeping the spine upright, because in English, “erector spinae” means “to keep the spine upright”.

But why would the brain care one way or the other whether the spine is erect ? Because the very delicate spinal cord runs down a “channel” in our spines. The brain interprets anything pulling the spine away from it’s normal position as being a possible danger to the spinal chord. Note that the brain will accept normal motion of bending down to pick something up etc, otherwise we would be unable to move from vertical. Basically, keeping the spine erect is a safety mechanism.

The diaphragm is a muscle that basically separates the top half of the body from the lower half.

http://www.yorkievitz.com/classsite/ana ... phragm.jpg
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-me ... 81E781.jpg


Try This. Lay flat on your back on a hard floor such as the I'M A SCAMMER SPAMMER!!! floor. Relax completely. Take your fingers and dig them in deep under your rib cage. You should be able to “dig in” at least one inch. . If you can’t then you have a tight diaphragm. After doing work on it, I can get mine in about an inch and a half. Why does this matter ?

1. The tight diaphragm pulls you forward, meaning that your lower back muscles will tighten up.

2. You are not breathing at maximum capacity. When you breathe, the lungs should not only move outwards, but also downwards. If the diaphgram is too tight, your lungs will not move downwards enough. Your endurance can be drastically affected. A neuro-muscular massage therapist [ or some good regular massage therapists ] should be able to loosen that up for you. At the clinic I go to, I have seen several world class athletes improve their performance by up to 15% by getting work done on their diaphragms. One of the most famous athletes in the world regularly gets work done on his at the clinic. This is one of the reasons why some little guys can zoom past larger ones one battle marches. There are a bunch of other reasons I’ll cover in later postings. Due to a bunch of physical problems and old injuries , the only thing I can do just now is to swim. Since I’ve had work done on my diaphragm, I can swim underwater one third more than I used to.

Dave

Heavy bergens hurt like fook too!

You’re absolutely right. Take a look at your mates’ posture the next time you are on a tab. Head down, head forward, shoulders rolled forward, weight bending the body forward, compressing the quad muscles and shins as well as the knees. This damage can be reversed however, and I’ll cover that after a few more postings.

Foot and shin pain from military activity, especially from carrying heavy loads can be corrected and I’ll cover more on that later. The next posting will cover the biggest myth [ and the most dangerous one ] that sit-ups are good for your back. I look at old photos of myself carrying the 84mm Charlie G or an 81mm tube and can see myself all bent forward.

Back pain is now the number two reason to visit the doctor. Little kids are getting scoliosis [ bending ] of the spine from wearing backpacks incorrectly and with too much weight. With the exception of serious things like broken backs etc, 90% of all back surgeries are unnecessary . Surgeries for herniated disks etc are nearly always not necessary . There are some very simple methods to prevent back pain and to get rid of existing back pain permanently that I’ll cover in about three or four more postings from now. The theory is so important. That was the only way I was able to diagnose myself three times when all the “experts” had given up on me. When I first spoke to doctors about my back pain they bamboozled me with their language. I didn’t know my ar@# from my elbow as far as the back was concerned and decided that I would have to teach myself.

In a week or so, I’ll put my before and after x-rays on this site, along with those of my wife [They said to her “You have scoliosis – the only “cure” is putting steel rods [ Harrington Rods ] down your spine” Wrong. She’s now 75% better and not a single operation ].

I have put a challenge on a number of websites in the States for any doctor in the world to come on Fox 13 News in Tampa bay [ Kathy Fountain producer ] and talk about what really causes back pain. I’ve had zero takers so far. I don’t know anything about internal medicine, hearts, livers etc, but I’ve taught myself what works and does not work, and the engineering reasons why.

Three times I’ve been told by doctors in the last three years that I wouldn’t walk again and that “I shouldn’t fight what is inevitable”. Firstly when a chiropractor dislocated my sacro-iliac joint, twisted my spine in three places and trapped a bunch of nerves in my neck and pelvis in between pieces of bone. Secondly when we found that the base of my spine had collapsed. The last time was when I had to learn how to walk again after six months in bed and I developed plantar fasciitis [ an inflammation of the soles of the feet ]. It felt like I was walking on broken glass. My feet had contracted into something that looked like claws. They told me it would be impossible for my feet to recover as the muscles had become like iron.

They were wrong.

Through a major change in diet, along with exercise, I see diabetics completely get rid of their disease in a matter of three months or less at a clinic I go to. If I'm in a car accident, I definitely want to see a doctor. However, for things like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, there are natural ways of doing it. Same thing for back pain. When I got out of that bed after six months, my whole system was shot. Blood pressure way up, HDL good cholesterol was low etc. They wanted to put me on a battery of pills. Using natural supplements, I'm now back to normal. A month after my spine was messed up, I realised that I would have to give up the pain medication or my liver and kidneys would shut down. Using natural things like Valerian Root and deep breathing I was able to get through it. It was not pleasant at all, but that's all in the past now. I see so many people with long term back pain who have been on medication for years, and whose livers are terribly messed up.

My eyes have been opened so much to how the body can recover if it is given a little help. Every week I see the broken bodies of young soldiers come into the clinics I go to. Burn victims who have been told "There is nothing more that can be done". Then I see their skin being carefully stretched and the massive reduction in pain that takes place.


Dave