Oops I did it again?
In clinic we frequently see clients who had an issue with either their neck or shoulder or their lower back that was resolved then a few weeks or months later they are back with the same issue. So why does this happen? First, it depends upon the client, as human body is unique and the issue.
What I want to explain below are some influencing factors:
Posture – Because lots of clients come to us in pain, when they walk out of clinic they are very vigilant about their posture. When they start to feel like the issue has been resolved good posture becomes less of a priority. More importantly bad posture creeps up on us slowly – particularly slumping at you desk when you have a tight deadline!
Over training – One of the most common questions we get asked, is when “will I be able to go to the gym again?” – clients are always very eager to get back training. If you are unable to train for a while, you need to gentle easy yourself back into training. Over training is when the physical trauma from exercising occurs faster than the body can repair the damage.
Overuse – An overuse injury typically stems from: training errors. Training errors can occur when you take on too much physical activity too quickly i.e. when you are training for a marathon you build up your distance and speed too quickly.
Related Posts
Is the way you breathing causing your neck pain? – Part 1
If you have had a treatment with us, we may have talked to you about importance of deep breathing, if you have tension in your neck. Shallow breathing, thoracic breathing, or chest breathing is the drawing of minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using accessory muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm. This means that you over use some of the accessory muscles of breathing, including the scalenes and sternocleidomastoid muscles both of which are located in the side of the neck. The scalenes elevate the 1st rib during inspiration and the sternocleidomastoid raises the sternum. Unfortunately, these accessory muscles aren’t built for routine respiration, and they exhaust and eventually injure themselves which may result in pain and/or a reduced range of movement (i.e. inability to turn your head fully from side to side). People shallow breath when they are nervous, stressed, anxious, or when they concentrate. So simply stopping and taking one deep breath after you send each email, can reduce the over use of your scalenes and sternocleidomastoid.
Hypertension – Introduction
Every year May 17th is dedicated to World Hypertension Day (WHD). The purpose of WHD is to promote public awareness of hypertension. In keeping with the spirit of the day, I am going to blog about Hypertension throughout May.
So what is Hypertension?
It is a stage of great psychological stress which causes abnormally high blood pressure. The graphic to the left, indicates what is considered, low, normal, pre-high blood pressure and high blood pressure.
We all know that if we go to the GP they check our blood pressure, but why is it so important?
Firstly high blood pressure or hypertension is very common, according to the NHS it affects 1 in 4 adults in the UK. Secondly it has no symptoms hence it is often referred to as the silent killer. Thirdly it is the simply most significant risk factor for a range of diseases including:
- heart disease
- congestive heart failure
- stroke
- kidney disease
- dementia
Foam Rolling Guide – Part 1
What is a foam rolling? A foam roller readily available from the likes of TK Maxx is a tool for self massage. Foam rolling is basically a cheap and easy way of keeping your muscles flexible. How do you foam roll? You place the foam roller under the area you’re targeting and use a gentle, flowing backwards and forwards motion to apply pressure to the area. How does it work? You know how if you visit us for a massage, we apply pressure to release the knots in your muscles. You use the same principle with a foam roller except you use your body weight to apply pressure. Are there any downside to foam rolling? While I fully recommend foam rolling it will never replace the precision and experience of a massage therapist. It can be difficult to target small areas with a foam roller so a spikey ball is a better alternative. How often should you foam roll? The simple answer is as much as you can. When exercising a foam roller should be used both before and after exercise for best results. Please try to remember foam rolling isn’t a chore it’s a therapy you will gain benefits from it!
