Anti-pain gymnastics

“Parterre gymnastics,” which are sometimes called “primitive gymnastics,” are becoming more and more popular in Europe and the United States. All the exercises in this type of gymnastics are performed horizontally, either lying, standing or on all fours. Doctors specializing in various fields of medicine recommend these exercises to their patients, restorative medicine centers use them as a means of patient rehabilitation and fitness clubs integrate parterre training in their wellness programs. What is the secret that makes this method of exercise so popular?

Once man stood up on his feet, we were all condemned to diseases of the spine and joints. Once standing in a vertical position, man lost the biomechanical advantages of the uniform distribution of body weight on the joints and the spine. Back pain, displaced intervertebral discs, worn out knee and hip joints – these are the price we pay for walking upright.  ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS helps unload the musculoskeletal system and creates a powerful muscular core that maintains the spine in its vertical position. The gentle nature of this training, done in a horizontal position, allows healthy people as well as patients in less-than-perfect health benefit from the techniques.

A famous Russian vertebrologist, Igor Borschenko, developed this unique combination of ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS for people suffering from diseases of the spine and joints. All of the exercises in this system are performed in horizontal positions that prevent spinal compression and provide relief from musculoskeletal pain, tension and muscles spasms.

ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS CAN AND SHOULD BE DONE BY:

• Adults and children to prevent back and joint pain
• People suffering from:
• spinal osteochondrosis
• herniated intervertebral discs
• arthrosis of joints
• osteoporosis
• vertebrobasilar insufficiency
• vegetative dystonia
• people recovering from serious illnesses

Three Supporting Points for Spine and Joints.

• Relaxation
• Anesthesia
• Training

Do you need to purchase special training equipment for physical activity that can cure and strengthen your spine? Not at all! You just need some free space on the floor! ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS does not require you to spend money on dumbbells, free weights, videos, spandex or other devices or special clothing. The program is conveniently portable because it’s always with you – whether you’re on a vacation or hosting a party in your home. Even your bed is a suitable location for this program, so it’s helpful for even the frailest of patients.

ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS are performed in a horizontal position. During the exercises, your body always has at least three points of support. This means you’re constantly in a stable position and will not fall or get injured. That’s why ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS is safe and appropriate for both children and elderly people who may have frail or fragile bones.

The very first technique you will learn with ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS is the relaxation position. This position gets rid of tension in the musculoskeletal system, which relieves pain, spasms and inflammation in the ligaments of the spine and joints. Along with relaxation, the muscles and ligaments are exercised, so they become stronger. I don’t know of another, more effective way to relax, rest and workout at the same time!

Isometric training regime

The terms “isometric, static, positional gymnastics, saving” accurately describe the features of these gymnastics. This means that for these gymnastics, it is enough to take certain motionless positions. While doing the exercises, muscle ligaments and joint capsules are trained with the help of tension. Since there is no motion, there is no friction between the cartilage surfaces of the joints. Without friction, joint surfaces do not become worn out and rubbed away. Everyone knows the symptoms of osteoarthritis in the joints of the hand: fingers become knotty and the joints swell and become deformed. The same thing happens in the spine when it is constantly under pressure. The vertebral joints become thick, bone spurs appear, and the canal between the bones and discs narrows. As a result, space for the nerve roots is reduced and they become compressed or pinched. This causes pain, lumbago, sciatica and other problems.  The more you load your spine, the stronger and faster the joints expand and the narrower the spinal canal becomes.

An isometric training regime like ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS helps avoid these problems. All of the ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS exercises are performed in a horizontal position, and many of them are performed in isometric mode. The targeted muscles are held in tension for 10 to 20 seconds. After that, they are rested for at least 20 to 60 seconds. During this time, the pulse, respiration and blood pressure are restored. During isometric exercises, the spine is in a horizontal position, but its muscles and ligaments are indirectly strained for exercise. That is how training is accomplished and at the same time, the development of bone spurs (osteophytes) and narrowing of the spinal canal are prevented.  

It is important to pay attention to breathing while doing an isometric exercise. To prevent a significant increase in venous and arterial blood pressure, remember to breathe freely throughout the entire exercise, without taking pauses in your breathing. This is especially important for elderly people.

Anti-pain gymnastics

The exercises are done on a flat surface: the floor, a couch, a bed etc. It is better to cover the surface with a thin carpet or use a special mat for fitness trainings. There is usually enough space for training even in a small room.

Positions of the body for the ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS:

1. Lying on your back position
2. Lying on your stomach position
3. Standing on all fours position

These positions are the basic ones. Start your exercises from lying on your back. Before you start doing the exercises, you should conduct the test to measure the spinal curvature value, as it was explained before (see the Chapter “Relaxation position”).  This test will help you measure the size of the support for your neck and lower back. Considering the measurements, choose the pile of magazines or books to put under your head and neck, and make a towel roller the appropriate thickness put it under your lower back. These will help support your natural individual spinal curvature while performing the exercises to help your spine completely relax.

Start the exercises with your lower body (feet, knee joints, and then up to the joints of the arch of pelvis, pectoral arch and arms) in each of the basic positions. Doing this, you involve the large parts of your body and gradually increase physical load.

During some exercises, the isometric mode of training is used. This means you will strain certain muscles, without movements, while being in a static position. Some exercises combine isometric loading on the abdominal and back muscles with dynamic movements of arms and legs.

I would like to repeat one more time that while doing ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS, your breathing should be even and without pauses.

It is necessary to alternate tension and relaxation, so that the exercises will be effective and useful. It is especially important not to over-exercise when you start the gymnastics. Do exercises every other day. That means that one day you perform exercises and the next day you take a rest. If you feel muscle pain the day after the exercises, that is normal. Your muscles have not previously experienced such loading and now they are adjusting. As the exercises become more advanced, you will feel this pain relieved. In order to benefit from the exercises, it is necessary to exercise at least three times a week.

For trained and young people these gymnastics can seem easy to do. If this is true in your case, you can use ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS as a supplement to your morning exercises or during fitness-training.

If you have decided that ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS will be your only physical loading, then I advise you to add cardiovascular-trainings (cardio-trainings) to it. That is, some type of exercise that serves to work the cardiovascular system. One suggestion, especially for older people is Nordic fitness walking with poles. During this walking, both arms and legs are working – about 90% of the muscles of the whole body! Swimming and jogging can also be wonderful forms of cardio-training. You can alternate trainings: one day cardio-training, the next day ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS.

Many people get confused and don’t know how to choose exercises that fit their needs. ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS is grounded on a “simple-to-complex” basis. In addition, the main focus of this program is to promote maximal relaxation and pain relief. So performing the exercises in a Relaxation position is essential. That means the first part of the exercises in LYING ON YOUR BACK POSITION must be performed. The rest of the exercises in the other basic positions, such as LYING ON YOUR STOMACH POSITION, and STANDING ON ALL FOURS POSITION are considered to be more complicated and can be chosen according to your wishes, your mood, abilities, time, etc.

If you currently suffer from acute spinal pain, for instance, you have an exacerbation of osteochondrosis of spine and back pain, it is sensible for you to only perform the relaxation exercises in lying on your back position. Of course, you should understand that ANTI-PAIN GYMNASTICS does not substitute for medication or a doctor’s advice, but starting these exercises early at the onset of your symptoms and being consistent and reasonable with your exercise regimen can promote pain relief, and that has been proven in many studies. 

Summary

• Isometric position-static gymnastics saves joints and cartilage of the body.
• Excessive load on the joints of the spine causes them to expand and leads to narrowing of the spinal canal, resulting in compression of the nerve roots.
• During isometric exercises you should breathe smoothly and freely.