Bates Method – Part 2

Like most people I am interested in body language.  Like most people I noticed awkward social interactions in day to day life.  Until recently I considered that body language is about

• what you are communicating others
• what they are communicating to you

I always viewed body language as a tool people use to help them understand how other people think & feel.  What I never considered is the impact my body language had on me.  The influence my body language hand on my thoughts, feelings and physiology. We all have situations in our life when we would like to feel more optimistic and confident basically more powerful.  Social science has show that powerful leaders have low levels of cortisol (i.e. low levels of the stress hormone) and high levels of testosterone (i.e. high levels of the dominance hormone).  So what if we could use our body language to make ourselves feel more powerful in challenging situations, it turns out we can by adopting the wonder woman pose. By adopting the Wonder Woman pose for 2 minutes, social scientists have proven that it will increase your confidence, assertiveness and help you feel more comfortable in a situation.  This is due to the impact holding this "high power" pose for two minutes has on your body, its reduces your cortisol levels and increases your testosterone levels.  Meaning you are less reactive to stressful situations. So can you apply this in real life.  Last weekend I was on my sports massage course and each weekend we have a written test we need to pass.  For some reason I had misunderstood what the test was on and forgot to review the whole subject.  I discovered this about 30 minutes before the test.  So I was in a highly stressful situation.  So I decided to give this power pose a try and did it during the next 30 minutes while revising.  The science says 2 minutes but I felt I needed all the help I could get.  It turns out that I passed.  While this isn't irrevocable proof, I would recommend people try it. As Amy Cuddy says "our body's change our minds, our minds change our behavior and our behavior changes our outcomes."  For a more detailed understanding of power poses, the science behind them, watch Amy Cuddy's Your body language shapes who you are.  

High blood pressure is known as the silent killer becuase of its the link to heart attacks and strokes. The causes of high blood pressure are: Mental stress: Stress can have a severe impact on blood pressure, especially when it is chronic. It can occur as a result of both socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. Some aspects of sex: In general, high blood pressure is more common among adult men than adult women. However, after the age of 55 years, a woman's relative risk of hypertension increases. A recent study compared the impact of medication and exercise for reducing high systolic blood pressure.  The researchers reviewed 197 exercise randomised control trials and 194 randomised control trials looking at medication. While anti-hypertensive medications achived hight reductions in blood pressure that exercise.  Researches concluded that modest but consistent reductions in systolic blood pressure can be achieved with exercise. Reference

 

Last week I discussed Plantar Fasciitis one of the major causes of heel pain, this week I am going to discuss a grumbling achilles tendon, or to be technically correct, non-insertional Achilles tendinopathy, he other major cause of heel pain.  Although a rupture of the Achilles is well known, it is actually more common to have what is known as a grumbling Achilles. The pain is felt at the back of the heel above where the Achilles tendon joins the bone. It feels stiff and swollen, particularly in the morning and can prevent the sufferer from taking part in sport. Sometimes the pain is lower down where the tendon joins the bone. How can I tell if my heel pain is a grumbling achilles tendon? You may have swelling over or either side of your achilles tendon which runs from your heel to your calf muscles.  The skin over the achilles tendon may be red and/or hot.  If you sit down with your feet on the floor and raise your foot, as you use your achilles tendon you may hear a crackling sensation. What causes a grumbling achilles tendon?

• The tab on your shoe rubbing against your achilles tendon.
• Failing to warm up properly before playing sports.
• Over use of the tendon from intensive training, e.g. running
• Scar tissue from a previous injury.
• High impact on hard surfaces e.g. any sport where you jump or tennis.

What can I do to help myself? If you are in pain then rest and ice your tendon, to ice it wrap ice cubes in a tea-towel and hold against your tendon for 5 - 20 minutes, every 2 hours for 2 -3  days and then 3 times a day. The key to preventing further bouts is to ensure your are wearing appropriate footwear for the sport you are doing, ensure you warm up and cool down properly and always stretch your calf muscles. In addition a deep tissue massage release any tension in the tendon, remove scar tissue and ensure that your calf muscles are flexible.