California
The Acusport Health Center in San Diego, CA uses acupuncture to maintain general health and prevent illness as well as to treat things like sports injuries and other ailments, combined with orthopedic rehabilitation.
The company Manduka carries lightweight, foldable mats with good surface grip, as well as an array of other yoga equipment.
The company LifeLineUSA has come up with some incredibly versatile and compact equipment that make it easy to do a thorough workout at home. Their Jungle Gym is an excellent, multifaceted, and affordable piece of equipment, and they have an array of other products that make great additions to whatever else you have.
This ScienceDaily article discusses the benefits of using trekking poles to hike, reducing post- or mid-hike soreness while still allowing your muscles to work in a healthy manner.
Hoopnotica offers an intense cardio workout program using hula hoops that, in addition to being effective non-impact and fat-burning exercise, “strengthens your core and calms your mind.” You can locate a teacher near you.
The New York Times published an article about hula-hooping as a new trend in both exercise and fashion. You can now employ the versatile hoops as luggage, as meditative aides, and – if dancing’s not your thing – in group “hoop jam” sessions.
An article in Golf Magazine reports that golfers who use pushcarts both suffer fewer injuries and burn more energy than golfers who carry their clubs. Without further ado, here’s where you can find these upgraded caddies by several companies, in a number of different models to suit your needs and taste.
Bag Boy Company’s three-wheeler is collapsible and has a few other handy additions like a foot brake and a scorecard holder.
Sun Mountain’s Micro Cart also folds down and has four wheels for added stability, as well as adjustable handle height.
ClicGear models have everything from collapsibility and airless tires to a beverage holder and storage net.
Ogio Syncro offers carts and a great golf bag specifically designed to affix to a pushcart.
California
Sean Cochran offers products and programs for Golf Fitness and Performance Training, designed to help you with golfing technique as well as strength and conditioning programs that will improve your performance and health in the game.
If you’re unable to travel to a convenient clinic location, the website MyRehabExercise provides programs and exercises. Ask your physical therapist to select your exercises here, and you’ll always have access to them on your phone.
California
Matt Callison is a leader in sports medicine acupuncture. In his San Diego practice, he combines traditional Chinese medicine, sports medicine and individualized exercise programs.
The namesake and founder of the Norman Marcus Pain Institute is an author and researcher who specializes in pain medicine models. His book, End Back Pain Forever, provides a good overview of what ails you, and how to get on the road to recovery.
Physical therapist, doctor, and professor Margareta Nordin wrote Basic Biomechanics of the Musculoskeletal System, a book about the biomechanics and treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunction. Very helpful if you want to understand what really causes back pain.
Focal Upright Furniture has a great solution to the standing/sitting desk dilemma: the Locus workstation is a desk you can lean at, which “pairs the comforts of sitting with the health benefits of standing.”
Martin Keen, who designs a terrific line of outdoor footwear, saw a need and filled it. That’s using your delightfully bald noggin, Martin.
Watch the WSJ video about Focal Upright Furniture’s seats and how they strive to promote better posture.
Sports Medicine Acupuncture practitioners use acupuncture specifically to treat sport, orthopedic, and work-related injuries. Here is their directory of certified SMA practitioners.
Check out the McKenzie Institute's website to learn more about the McKenzie Institute and its faculty.
If you decide to pursue the McKenzie method, here is a comprehensive directory of certified McKenzie clinics worldwide. Also, check out the McKenzie Institute’s Find a Clinician page.
The website Perform Better has products, seminars, and “ask-the-expert” videos with professionals that are all focused on functional training, rehabilitation, and sports performance.
Weight training is good exercise for anyone, but the New York Times ran an article detailing how kettlebells can be used as therapy for back and neck pain.
Whether you’re a new or seasoned yogi, here are some tips to preventing injury during your practice.
If you find the right physical medicine and rehabilitation (which you’ll most commonly see abbreviated as PM&R) doc (they are also called “physiatrists”), your back will be in excellent hands. Look for a physiatrist who has done a fellowship in spine medicine. This site lists programs that offer PM&R fellowships, so that’s a first step toward finding a good resource. Physiatrists are MDs and DOs (doctors of osteopathic medicine) who specialize in working with patients with nerve, muscle, bone, and neurological conditions. They are talented diagnosticians, skilled in discerning the source of your problem and also familiar with biomechanics and exercise physiology. If someone claims to be an “interventional physiatrist,” it means that he or she focuses on giving injections. That’s a signal that you are in the wrong place, so look some more.
Click here for the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation’s patient page.
For spine specifics, check here.
The doctor search function is here.
It can be quite difficult to find a PM&R doc who really focuses on the rehabilitation part, rather than the “let’s give some shots and make some money” part. Doctors who work for university hospital systems are not as compelled to perform income-producing procedures as their self-employed brethren. A phone call or email to The Association of Academic Physiatrists on this list should yield someone good.
Dr. Ronald D. Siegel, Michael H. Urdang, and Dr. Douglas R. Johnson have written Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain. The book does a great job of exploring the influence of stress and tension, and offers an escape route.