Balance - Don’t lose yours!

Do you have trouble keeping your balance, be it in sport or just general day to day movement?  You may be experiencing muscular imbalance.

Muscular imbalance can be a predisposing factor in instability in dynamic and static posture. The consequences can lead to not reaching your optimal performance in executing a skill, or commonly seen today pain or stress in your ankles, knees, hips, spine or shoulders.

We’ve all heard or have even said ourselves “I have one leg shorter than the other” There are two categories this can fall under: Structural (being born this way or having a structural component altered by means of surgical intervention) or Functional (a result of a movement pattern that has been adapted to suit your environment). Many of us due to our lifestyle fall under the second category.

The more important thing here is to understand what is happening within our body mechanically and how it can affect us in the short and long term. I’m not only talking about the above mentioned activities, but in all our day to day motions at work rest and play.

So what (dys)functional factors can lead to muscular imbalance?

1. Under-activation of our core muscle group

2. Prolonged repetitive movement e.g. Typing at your computer

3. A tendency to lean on one leg instead of standing equally on two

4. Infrequent stretching to allow for overall flexibility

5. Improper technique when performing a skill

6. Any type of injury that has lead to prolonged rest or a change in your natural movement

7. Repetitive lifting i.e. shopping, heavy objects at work, using one arm instead of two.

8. Conditioning only the same muscle groups at the gym e.g. only doing push-ups, bicep-curls or bench-press and not doing any exercise for your back. Or only exercising for your upper body and not your lower body. This could be why you experience back pain.

When our body begins to experience imbalance; changes in strength, endurance, power and quality of movement (to name a few) occur.  All of these qualities can affect your ability to simply balance in your sport or day to day movement. Without balance, all of these qualities mean nothing.  Certain muscles may shorten and thicken, causing their opposing muscles to forcefully lengthen in an attempt to counteract the changes happening in your body. As you feel the symptoms kicking in it then becomes a vicious cycle between the two muscle groups until something is done to help it.

One of the key symptoms that may help you recognise muscular imbalance is that you may always be feeling tension or pain in the same muscles. 

Massage therapy can help release these tense and painful areas to help restore balance in your body.  It will address your posture and movement patterns and design an effective treatment for you. If it’s been a while or you’ve never had a massage treatment let me work with you to help improve your ability to balance. Call 02 92 333 800 and ask for Ricky or email me: ricky@backonyourfeet.com.au

Cure two people with one jab!

Giving blood has its positives and negatives, let me explain;

Blood, the liquid of life, it's what circulates through our body and keeps us warm, it's what transports oxygen to our brain so we can function, it's what brings nutrients to our injuries to have them heal; without blood we cannot survive. Without "enough" blood we have restless sleeps, suffer from constipation, feel irritable, age rapidly and have dry dehydrated, have trouble seeing, feel dizzy and light headed, and feel cold when others are warm. 

In Chinese Medicine, many people fall into the category of 'blood deficiency', meaning their body is not producing enough blood and need to consider strengthening their digestive system, especially the spleen. The spleen (from a Chinese Medicine point of view) is responsible for taking the nutrients from the food we consume and transforming it into blood. If we have a bad diet; have an eating disorder; or are continually under stress, the function of the spleen will be challenged and therefore will not do its job in producing enough blood. 

When a 'blood deficient' person gives blood they are in effect compromising and causing more injury to their health by making themselves more blood deficient.  A sure sign of this is, soon after giving blood, the 'blood deficient' person will feel even more tired, lethargic and even dizzy.  Whilst they aren't in need of a blood transfusion, they are not physically in the best condition to be giving away blood.

To look at the other end of the spectrum, if someone who is angry all the time, suffers from headaches, severe pimples, insomnia (of the excess type), has blood clots, pain in the legs from blockages (to name a few symptoms) then giving blood could be provide a win-win situation - cure two people with one jab! The above symptoms are of an 'excess' type nature.  Here, the body is showing pain and heat because the blood is not moving and circulating properly. The liver's job is to have the blood move but if we are stressed all the time then the blood will back up like a traffic jam which causes the above excess symptoms to surface.  When someone cuts themselves the blood loss forces the body to respond by moving the blood to the injured area for healing. When this happens all tension is released and in many cases the dis-ease is will be alleviated.  A classic example is when a woman has period pain due to emotional tension and once the period comes and the blood is released, and all the pain disappears.   There are countless examples of patients with illnesses or severe pain that simply disappears straight after they have had a blood test for their doctor. The drawing of the blood has moved the stagnation!

So if you want to give blood please be sure your own honey pot is full first and then by all means give blood to help save the lives of others. If you are blood deficient or have the symptoms that I spoke of earlier then look to have blood strengthening herbs and or acupuncture to build your blood reserves.

Stretching

Do you experience tight or tense muscles? Do you feel that even though you do your exercise at the gym, park, beach or home you still have these tight or tense muscles? 

You may not be devoting enough time to stretching. 

Stretching is as equally important as strengthening - but how much attention do you pay to it?  Most people are aware that they should be stretching but they don't do it enough. There are a few reasons for why this may be:

1. Too tired - before or after work (or during!)

2. Not sure how to do it properly

3. Are afraid of 'pulling or tearing' a muscle from attempting to stretch

4. Not enough time to stretch

5. Don't feel the need to stretch

6. Don't like stretching

7. Not sure why they should stretch

If you can relate to any of the above reasons, you are not alone and you are not in the wrong. These barriers to stretching are realistic and it is important to address these so you can get the most out of your stretching regime as possible. One of the priorities with stretching which can help overcome many of the above barriers is the education about stretching and the steps to take to perform it correctly. Once you are aware of how and why to do it, your insight becomes deeper and you are likely to enjoy it and do it more often.

To help you understand more about stretching, here are the benefits listed below - much more than just ease of movement:

1.Increased Range of motion and flexibility of your muscles

2.Improved posture and posture awareness

3.Improved circulation

4.Maintenance of suppleness of muscle and healthy muscle tone

5.Reduced risk of injury and also reduced risk of falling

6.Relief from anxiety

7.Enhanced recovery

8.Relief from pain

9.Smooth and efficient function and movement

10.Improved breathing and awareness of breath

11.Enhanced relaxation and focus

12.Improved Quality of life

A sound musculoskeletal system will compliment every other system in your body and will also create a deeper awareness of your own body.

In my clinic I cater for your very own stretching session. I do this because I believe that all of the above mentioned benefits can be reached. It is a part of my mission to enhance body awareness, through education and empowerment, that I want to help people better understand this component of health. By using quality and good application, any age can achieve a good state of flexibility.

If you feel you have tight or tense muscles and you want to effectively stretch, give me a call and we can go through it together. The stretching you will learn here is practical and will help you at work, rest or play. 

Please call 02 92 333 800 and ask for Ricky. 

You can also email me at ricky@backonyourfeet.com.au

Cold hands and feet, what to do?

Well, the colder seasons are creeping up now and already we are feeling the coldest temperatures for the year. Well, at least that's what the news is saying. People are starting to layer up with thicker jumpers, thermals and warmer pants. Let's face it, summer is over for now.

So, what else comes with cold weather? runny noses, sore throats, aching muscles and lots of shivers! 

Our bodies are warm blooded, so for the warmer seasons, that's great, but when autumn and winter settle in our bodies need to work harder to keep our body systems regulated. To do this, we need to generate more energy to meet higher demands. One reason it's important to be eating the right foods this time of year! 

One of the more important systems around this time is our immune system and its important role in keeping us on our game. Consequently from the colder weather and winter chills our body functions slowly and takes longer to move things around.  That's right, when you catch a cold, it takes more than one day to get rid of it. For some of my clients... Two weeks can do the job. 

Circulation is important now and blood is rich in nutrient, oxygen and water. Blood is transferred all around the body and our muscles are on high demand for this most important substance. It provides our muscles with the source required to produce the force we need to perform our daily activities. What would we do if we didn't have the energy needed to get up out of bed?

So what happens when circulation to our muscles is reduced? When our muscles are depleted of blood and its important properties their ability to contract and produce a force is limited and at worst inhibited. Consequently our level of strength is reduced and we wouldn't be able to work at the same intensity as before and also for the duration in time.  How much easier is it to warm up for sport in summer or spring compared to Winter?

  

 Your muscles rely on good circulation to grow, repair and function. There are 3 types of muscle tissue in the body:

1. Skeletal muscle - For movement (and several other roles below)

2. Cardiac muscle - found in the heart

3. Smooth muscle - found in the digestive system to move food along.

In the scope of massage, we directly treat the musculoskeletal system. Additionally, we stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and this allows for your body to enhance its ‘self-healing’ process. This is commonly known as the ‘rest and digest’ system. We all know not to run around straight after we eat a meal.

It's important to know that our musculoskeletal system has several functions:

Locomotion, Dynamic and static postural support, Thermoregulation, support of our skeletal structure, assisting in shock absorption, producing force, resisting force, directional change, protection of vital organs, respiration, muscle tone.

The musculoskeletal system, with all of these functions has a vital role in maintaining our well-being. Amongst the postural and movement benefits, the importance in supporting our immune system should always be considered.  Movement, moves things around and that is one (important) way to eliminate unwanted and foreign substances from our body, keeping our system a continuous flow which allows us to grow and adapt to changing environments.

Particularly now, is when I see more muscular tension than I do any other time of the year. Mainly, because of the body’s attempt to keep warmth ‘in’ and coldness ‘out’. You may have also experienced muscular aches and pain when you have caught a cold. This is not uncommon when you are ill. Massage is an ideal way to help prevent and also enhance your body’s ability to deal with these symptoms.

The benefits of massage are beyond improved movement, but also improved immune functioning and more importantly a sound mind. However, amongst healthy movement is a healthy diet and the two complement each other. In my practise to relieve tension I encourage people to eat more green leafy vegetables as they are rich in magnesium - great for relieving muscular tension and assisting in your circulation. For those who aren't keen on vegies, magnesium supplementation is a safe alternative, which is available in my clinic. 

Give yourself the time you need, stay warm and eat well, sleep well, play well and work well. 

If you need a massage (you deserve one) book in to see me at Back on your feet in Sydney cbd . To make an appointment please call (02) 9233-3800. 

Low back pain

Do you experience low back pain but aren’t sure why?  Have you struggled to reach the end of the day at work, or had to push through the final stages of your exercise program because of this pain?

In the scope of massage one of the commonest causes that I come across, for tension or pain felt in the lower back region is due to muscular imbalance, postural dysfunction and/or incorrect movement. This can be accompanied with pain from muscle, neuromuscular and/or joint structures.

Our spine is connected to our hip at the sacrum, making the sacroiliac joint.  To allow for smooth and efficient movement through this joint, muscles responsible for flexion, extension and rotation (all movements in the spine and hips) to any degree need to be balanced in their ability to lengthen and shorten simultaneously.  

To control these movements a group of muscles known as the ‘core’ muscles exist. Their role in preventing injury and allowing for smooth, optimal movement in our trunk and our limbs is vital. 

Underactivity or inhibition of this muscle group can reposition your hips to sit improperly and can lead to any of the symptoms you may be feeling in your low back region, especially if it becomes an on-going change.

The two important core muscles (there are more) that provide the fundamental structure you need to move efficiently, optimally and to help prevent injury and pain are your transverse abdominis muscle (not your six pack) and your pelvic floor muscle group. 

In my clinical experience most people have ‘heard’ about the core, but aren’t exactly sure of how to ‘switch it on’.   

Massage therapy will address your low back pain by assessing your posture to find out the associated muscles linked to your symptoms.  An important consideration in treating your low back pain is your flexibility. If you aren’t a frequent stretcher this can overload your muscles ability to help you carry out your daily activity. By also observing your technique in specific activities you do throughout the week I can give you useful tips on how to improve your movement.

If it’s been a while since you have had massage and you are suffering from low back pain give me a call before it becomes a chronic condition. I may be able to give you some exercises as well.  Please phone 02 92333800 and ask for Ricky.