Body and Posture Expert Dr. Liza Egbogah joins CTV Morning Live with details on how your large bag could be contributing to a range of health problems. The wrong bag can lead to neck, shoulder and back pain. What type of bag you carry is just as important if not more important than how heavy your bag is. What the video above.
My postural assessment starts as soon as I come out to the waiting room. And most of the time I observe patients carrying bags that are likely part of the reason they are in to see me. An ergonomic bag is so important - and even better when it’s actually stylish. Watch to learn what can happen if you’re carrying the wrong bag, tips to picking out the right bag and some easy exercises you can do to alleviate bag induced neck, shoulder and upper back pain.
With more time spent sitting and working from home - you may have noticed that your have been feeling a little bit constipated and/or bloated. This can be due to a change in routine, diet, stress and surprisingly the compression of your abdominal area from too much time sitting.
And not only can constipation and bloating feel uncomfortable, it can contribute to back pain and affect the appearance of your skin.
I shared some easy exercises and an abdominal massage routine that you can do to help. Click to watch!
Please note that this was filmed with Skype and so the movements are a mirror image. The video is captioned for your convenience.
Get the equivalent of a 60 minute massage in just 10 minutes with a massage ball. By rolling out key areas where we hold tension, you will not only feel better and de-stressed, you’ll look longer and leaner. This form of therapy promotes lymphatic drainage which means you will let go of excess fluid that you’ve been holding on to and also improve your posture to give you a taller appearance. As an added bonus, self-myofascial release like rolling out using a massage ball is said to temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite.
Pec release
Lying on your stomach, place the lacrosse ball at the front of your shoulder in the nook where it meets the chest. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees and slowly bring your hand [palm facing down] up to the top of your head and then back down to the side. Repeat as many times as necessary to release your pecs.
Tight pectoralis muscles are one of the major culprits when it comes to neck pain, upper back pain and poor posture. This release might feel a bit painful but it will release tension and improve your posture.
Hip flexor release
Lying on your stomach, place the lacrosse ball right under your front hip bone. Flex your knee so that it is at 90 degrees. Do this slowly so that you can feel the release and then slowly lower the leg. Repeat as many times as necessary to release your hip flexors.
Too much time spent sitting causes your psoas muscles to tighten up. Since they attach to the hips and lower back - tight hip flexors can lead to back pain. Keeping these muscles loose and strengthening your core goes a long way in preventing and treating back pain.
Middle back release
Lying on your back, place the ball in between your spine and shoulder blade where it feels a bit meaty. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees and slowly bring your hand [palm facing up] to the top of your head as we did with the pec release and then back down to the side. Repeat as many times as necessary to release your middle back.
With too much time spent hunched over your phone or even if you suffer from anxiety you may find your middle back getting tight. This release will help to loosen up those tight muscles and you may even find yourself breathing better after this release.
Glute release
Lying on your back, bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Place the lacrosse ball in the centre of your glues. With your foot planted on the ground, move the knee in towards midline and then slowly out as far as you can go. Repeat as many times as necessary to release your glutes.
Our glutes are generally quite inactive with the amount of time sitting on them and as a result can suffer from lack and blood flow. This self myofascial release will help improve circulation to your glutes. This is another area that we also hold tension when we’re stressed. By releasing your glutes not only will you feel better physically but maybe emotionally too.
Calf release
Sitting up, place one leg out straight ahead and the other leg bent with the foot flat on the floor. Place the lacrosse ball under the meaty part of your calf that is on the ground. Slowly flex and dorsiflex [bring your toes up and down] feeling the muscles in your calf releasing. You can move the ball around to release spots that feel tight.
Time spent running around in not the best shoes like flip flops and stilettos can lead to very tight calf muscles. The lacrosse ball is the perfect aid to help release these often tight muscles. And since tight calf muscles can lead to knee and foot pain, releasing them can help prevent and ease these complaints.
Foot release
Still sitting with one leg out straight and the other leg bent, place the lacrosse ball under the foot of the bent leg. Slowly roll your foot back and forth over the ball. This should feel a little painful so if it doesn’t you may to put more weight into it.
The plantar fascia acts as the shock absorber in our feet so when this fascia loses its flexibility it can lead to plantar fasciitis and foot pain. Rolling out the feet will help relieve achy feet an prevent foot pain.
We’ve all been there. We wore a really nice pair of shoes, only to regret wearing them the next morning when we can no longer walk because of foot pain. Well, this week’s featured business, dr. Liza shoes, offers comfortable and stylish heels that can be worn ALL day! We were able to speak to the lovely Dr. Liza Egbogah to learn more!
Read the full article here
The techniques are not strictly cosmetic, though they are also extremely beneficial for those experiencing temporomandibular joint pain or other issues caused by unaligned or tight facial muscles. Dr. Liza treats that, too. Her studio, the[fix], is being rebuilt in Queens Quay East in Toronto and is expected to reopen in July, welcoming back clients for various treatments that can invigorate, release pain, and, of course, create facial symmetry.
Read the full article here
When you are standing in line at the store, thinking about all the things you could be doing, why not get your stretches in for the day? Dr Liza Egbogah joins us to give us the best ways to move while standing in line. Let's get Movin' in the Morning!
As a black female doctor it is hard to call ‘Black Lives Matter’ a cause as it should be an inherent belief. But sadly and devastatingly it is not a belief held for anti-black racists. My goal is not only to raise money for BLM but to to also improve public perception of black people in North America. We all have a part to play and this is my small part - hopefully with time becoming a big part ❤️
If you would like to help support this black owned business and BLM please visit dr. Liza shoes.
As a result of isolation measures, the odds Canadians will become more active are lower than ever. These moves will help relieve stress and improve posture.
Most of us have been working from home for a long 6 weeks now and you may be already feeling the aches and pains. I have compiled some helpful info that I’ve discussed over the last few weeks so that you don’t come out of this as a hunchback 😧Let me know if you have any questions or if there are any other topics you would like covered 👩🏽⚕️🧘🏽♀️☀️
https://www.bttoronto.ca/videos/tips-for-good-posture-while-working-from-home/
https://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-you/covid-19/desk-stretches-improve-posture/
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1934678
https://www.everythingzoomer.com/health/2020/04/05/couch-slouch-posture-fixes/
https://blog.fitbit.com/perfect-your-posture/
With poor posture our lungs do not have as much room to expand - making it difficult to breath properly and making us more susceptible to respiratory illness. It can also increase feelings of anxiety and stress which can in turn affect our immune response. Here is a routine to improve your posture, open your lungs, boost immunity and help you relax.
Read MoreWatch to learn why the way you’re sitting may be causing back pain. In this segment I teach you how to sit with the correct posture to prevent and relieve back pain.
I’ve always been a bit of a germaphobe and with a young child, working with patients and frequent travelling its been so important to support my immune system. Given the current state I thought I’d share some of the things I do to help support my immune system. Please note this is just my routine and may not be right for everyone. It’s always best to check with your health practitioner before taking any new supplements.
The most important thing there is probably to relax. Taking the time to breathe, stretch, rest and making time for self-care are especially important during times like this. Avoiding contact with other people and getting a good night’s rest is also key.
If you have difficulty with sleep try some of the routines below for better quality sleep.
Learn about my signature treatment ‘The Face Fix’ which is a transformative and restorative deep face massage. Using a combination of myofascial release techniques and osteopathic facial manipulations this treatment can help reduce puffiness, improve symmetry, minimize wrinkles and signs of aging caused by facial tension. It’s like a natural contouring face lift.
☀️ Do you know how you feel better when the sun is shining and the temperature is perfect? Part of that may be due to how you change your posture to take in the sunshine. You open up more and stand taller which causes your body to produce feel good chemicals called endorphins. ... So imagine if you bring your shoulders back and stand up straight even when it’s not sunny - you’ll probably feel better. ... We got *Sirius* about posture and much more on The Breakdown this afternoon. If you missed it - let me know if you have any posture questions of your own!
Listen here: https://player.siriusxm.ca/query/the%20breakdown%20with%20allison%20dore
I’ve always seen stilettos as a symbol for the inequality women face. Women teetering down hallways and streets in their stilettos with their male colleagues easily strolled along beside them was something I always viewed as problematic. These women would show up in my office, their feet disfigured and in chronic pain as they explained they couldn’t give up their stilettos as it was expected at work. Imagine literally having to subject your body to abuse and work in pain while your male colleagues avoid any such tortuous requirements or expectations. This is just one example of the enormous gap amongst genders and one of the main reasons I created dr. Liza shoes. Part of the mission of dr. Liza shoes is to somewhat close the gap by ensuring that women could climb to the top as comfortably as their male colleagues. After all it’s not a fair race when one is running in stilettos and the other is running in sneakers. So I designed heels that feel and function like sneakers and in this small way I’m striving for equality and hoping to bring more joy into the lives of women everywhere.
From time to time I get asked if there is any association between the[clinic] and the[fix]. Since it is the 5 year anniversary of the[fix] I thought I would address this. In 2007 I founded the[clinic] with one of my classmates from Chiropractic school. In 2014 after having my son I decided it would be best to sell my clinic and work there as a Chiropractor as I wanted to focus more on practice and not on managing. Unfortunately I didn’t listen to my intuition [always trust your intuition!!!] and sold my clinic to another Chiropractor who ended up locking me out of the practice I had built and essentially stealing it by not paying me nor the full purchase price.
Since then I have moved on to establish a successful practice. Along the way she has made multiple false allegations and claims against me to whoever she could - involving unaware patients without their consent and against their will. Believing that its always best to move forward in peace I accepted the losses and claims that were clearly false. I truly believe that a persons actions speak for themselves and that the truth will always prevail.
So to answer your question - there is no relationship between the[clinic] and the[fix]. the[clinic] was stolen in 2014 and as a result the[fix] was born in 2015. Happy 5 year anniversary!
Sometimes emotional trauma or stressors can result in physical symptoms because the memory of the trauma is stored in the fascia. Fascia is a connective tissue, primarily collagen that forms a matrix throughout your body and helps to support overall structure, stabilize and to aid in movement. Think about when you burn yourself - by the time you realize that something is too hot - you are already burned. It takes some time for the pain signal to reach the brain and then for your brain to send out a response for you to remove the hot item. In the meantime you have cells [many of them which are in the fascia] in your body that are storing memories faster than your brain.
When you are responding to trauma, sometimes it is so overwhelming that before your brain has even had time to process what is happening - the memory of whats happening can be stored in your cells. But what happens when these memories are stored in your cells - especially in areas like your fascia for years on end without being addressed? Often times it can lead to physical symptoms like headaches, back pain, neck pain, numbness and tingling and overall dysfunction. It can even negatively affect your posture.
This may be the part of reason why treating injuries from car accidents, emotional and physical assaults and childhood trauma can be so complex. Some of it is inevitably stored in the fascia and left to fester - it can lead to physical symptoms later on.
If you have suffered from any kind of emotional trauma, in addition to seeing a psychologist or psychotherapist I recommend seeing a manual therapist. This mind-body approach to healing can allow for more in depth recovery.
Some of the most common areas I find that people store trauma is in their neck, shoulders and hip flexors [psoas muscles]. Try these easy myofascial release techniques that I shared with Global Morning News to help alleviate some of the tension that may be caused by stress or emotional trauma.
I’M POPPING UP IN LONDON, UK ON FRIDAY, FEB 28TH. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHOP THE DR. LIZA SHOES IN PERSON PLEASE EMAIL HI@DRLIZASHOES.COM FOR AN INVITATION.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BOOK THE FACE FIX TREATMENT YOU CAN EMAIL HI@DR-LIZA.COM
Dr. Liza Egbogah is a Myofascial Release expert, Manual Osteopath and Chiropractor in downtown Toronto. She specializes in aesthetic and emotional trauma fascial release and is clinic director of the[fix], downtown Toronto's boutique osteopathy and myofascial release clinic and founder of dr LIZA shoes, designer dress shoes that feel and function like sneakers. Dr. Liza is renowned for her innovative treatment protocols and boasts a long roster of celebrities and business leaders. She is a sought after fascia and posture expert and is a regular media contributor.
