Excessive sitting will shorten your hip flexors. I have read this sentence many times. What I have never read is a citation to supporting evidence at the end of the sentence. It’s one of those claims that no one ever questions, like you should drink eight glasses of water a day. Let’s see how it stand up to some critical inquiry….
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Does Excessive Sitting Shorten the Hip Flexors?
May 29, 2011 
42 Comments
More Deepities: Does Intention Have Power?
March 27, 2011 7 Comments
In some recent posts I introduced the idea of a deepity, which is a statement that precariously balances between two possible meanings, one true but rather uninteresting, the other earth shatteringly profound but … not really true. Today’s installment is the word “intention”, which is often used as a deepity in the world of manual […]
Continue readingMore Deepities: What is “Energy Work”?
February 28, 2011 43 Comments
In a previous post I introduced the concept of a deepity. Deepity is term coined by Dan Dennett to describe a somewhat ambiguous statement that precariously balances between two possible meanings. One potential meaning is true but trivially obvious, while the other would be earth shatteringly profound if true, but is in fact false. Dennett […]
Continue readingMore Back Pain Myths: MRI Abnormalities
February 10, 2011 10 Comments
I just read a new study that provides yet more evidence that the body can sustain substantial tissue damage that is not accompanied by pain. In the new study, researchers evaluated 44 pain-free adolescent boys involved in rowing. They found that nine rowers (40%) had at least one abnormality detected by MRI in the lumbar […]
Continue readingFive Misconceptions About Posture
October 17, 2010 16 Comments
As a rolfer, I see many people who tell me they are working on their posture. Most of them are already in the process of applying some questionable advice from various gurus or experts. This post summarizes some of the major misconceptions people seem to have about posture. Bad Idea #1: Bad Posture Is A […]
Continue readingMore on Back Pain Myths: Core Strength
August 10, 2010 5 Comments
In a recent post I argued that there exists very little scientific evidence to justify the ubiquitous recommendation that core strengthening is a good way to prevent and/or cure low back pain. In fact, there is significant evidence that core work is no better than general exercise for these purposes. Some recent studies have provided […]
Continue readingSeven Things You Should Know About Pain Science
June 24, 2010 36 Comments
In the previous post I discussed some common back pain myths, such as the ideas that bulging discs, “bad” posture, or lack of core strength are major causes of back pain. As I noted, the evidence just doesn’t support those claims, and this is somewhat surprising and counterintuitive. However, learning some basics of pain science […]
Continue readingBack Pain Myths: Posture, Core Strength, Bulging Discs
June 8, 2010 33 Comments
Problem? It is an article of faith among many mainstream experts that poor posture, lack of core strength, and/or structural abnormalities such as bulging discs are major causes of pain, especially back pain. A further assumption is that by working to correct such imbalances, through stretching or strengthening regimes, or surgery, the imbalances can be […]
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