Dr. Oz: How to Be Your Own Chiropractor & Back + Neck Exercises

Dr. Oz: How to Be Your Own Chiropractor

Dr. Oz invited two chiropractors to his show to tell us how to be our own chiropractors, husband-and-wife team Dr. Lori Smatt and Dr. Michael Smatt.

Dr. Oz showed some videos on YouTube of people cracking their back, fingers, and neck. Dr. Lori Smatt said that sometimes, when you crack your back, you could be doing more harm than good.

Dr. Oz: Spinal Press

Dr. Oz welcomed Linda from the audience who had some lower back pain. She has this issue every day. At night, she has to position herself perfectly to make sure she has good posture so she won’t have back pain in the morning. She teaches young children, so she’s constantly bending and slouching to get down to their level.

The first exercise was called a Spinal Press. Lay face down on a yoga mat and bring your arms down to your side. Turn your face to one side. Concentrate on releasing the tension from your lower back and your legs. Stay like this for a couple of minutes before you begin.

Then bring your elbows under your shoulders and press yourself up on them. Look straight ahead with your palms down in front of you and think about relaxing the lower spine. Stay in the position for 10 seconds, then move back to the first exercise and repeat 10 times.

Dr. Oz: Stretch and Roll

Then try the Stretch and Roll. Lay flat on your back and bend both of your knees keeping your feet flat on the ground, hip width apart. Bring one knee up slowly toward your chest and then the other, holding with your hands. If you want you can lift your head or leave it down and roll from side to side.

Dr. Oz: Neck Push

The next exercise was called the Neck Push. Another woman from the audience named Ada has a lot of strain in her neck, so this was the perfect exercise for her.

Stand with your hands behind your head and interlace your fingers. Stand up straight. Push your head back into your hands and resist with your hands. Your elbows might come together when you do this.

We now live in a digital age and we’re constantly putting our neck and head forward, causing a lot of neck strain. This exercise attempt to reverse this by bringing the natural curve back into the spine.

Dr. Oz: Happy Hummingbird

The final exercise was called the Happy Hummingbird. Stand straight and bring your arms out to the side with the elbows bent and your hands pointed toward the ceiling. Bring the elbows into a circular movement, slowly. You will feel your shoulder blades coming together. Move from side to side, making slow, round movements. This will relax your back and increase the blood flow.