Let me see you wobble!

by Dr. Doug Lukinuk, DC

The wobble cushion is one of our top selling pieces of wellness lifestyle equipment at PTBO CHIRO. Everyone who sits for any length of time needs one.

Why? Sitting damages and deteriorates the spine. Sitting compromises your health. Humans were not anatomically designed to sit in chairs. We were designed to walk, stand, run short distances to escape danger or chase prey, lie down to sleep or rest, and squat to work or go to the bathroom. There were no chairs until the last few thousand years!

So how do we combat our anatomy that was not designed for sitting in a society where we sit to eat, sit to drive, sit to watch TV, or work on computers. Most of us sit several hours or more per day.

We Wobble!

Wobbling starts with flexion and extension of the entire spine which is making a “C” shape with your entire spine by humping your back like a scared cat and then moving the spine in the opposite direction like the curved back of a cow (which is why these positions are termed cow and cat in yoga). Ten repetitions with slow steady breathing out during cat position and in during cow position. Any wobbling can be done with a slow steady stretch or sped up to be more of an exercise.

Next we wobble to each side again making a “c” shape. This time by tilting to either side while imagining trying to touch your ear to your shoulder and your shoulder to your hip. This laterally stretches the entire spine. Wobbling always stretches all three regions of the spine together. The neck (cervical), the mid back (thoracic), and the low back (lumbar). Again ten times to each side is the minimum requirement.

Lastly we rotate the spine fully both directions. Remember to turn the head and neck as well as the torso fully as if trying to look as far over your shoulder as possible to see someone behind you. Ten times each side and you are done. Your spine will thank you immensely.

Watch our video here:

After you are done your wobbles then you can just move in whatever direction you feel comfortable on your wobble cushion. Gentle pelvic circles or tilts or whatever you feel like…just try and keep moving rather than sitting still.

So why wobble?

Here is a short list of the massive benefits of this simple device and routine:

• Wobbling re-imbibes fluid to your discs
• burns calories
• strengthens your core
• increases your flexibility
• decreases and even potentially reverses degeneration
• fuels your brain
• improves circulation of both blood flow and cerebral spinal fluid
• decreases pain
• improves balance and much more.

Wobbling activates proprioceptors and mechanoreceptors which are very dense nerve endings in the spinal joints. These receptors are one of the reasons that chiropractic adjustments work so well for so many conditions. In the office patients wobble before every adjustment to make sure they are “warmed up” to receive the best life changing adjustment possible.

You can also use your wobble cushion for a variety of exercises for added challenge. But most importantly, any time you sit for more than 15 minutes you should do a full wobble series. The few minutes it takes will make you more productive, less sore, slimmer, and on your way along with your adjustments to the healthiest spine possible.