Common muscle imbalance – pec minor dominates lower traps

image011A common muscle imbalance in the body is pec minor dominates or overpowers lower trapezius.

Pec minor is a muscle that sits on the anterior wall of the chest and affects the movement of the scapula (shoulder blade). Tightness in the pec minor will lead to anterior tilting and downward rotation of the scapula and prevent full upward rotation, elevation and posterior tilting of the scapula which is required for full shoulder elevation.

Tightness in pec minor can therefore, contribute to shoulder injuries such as shoulder impingement, rotator cuff pathologies, glenohumeral instability, internal impingement, adhesive capsulitis, to name a few. Read more

Proprioception Training – Is it effective in reducing ankle sprains?

ankle propAnkle sprains are common in change of direction, pivotal or jumping sports. Ankle sprains cause pain, dysfunction, time off sport and often require treatment. Athletes who injure an ankle are prone to re-injure the same ankle and this can lead to to ongoing problems and chronic instability. Proprioception is a neuromuscular process concerned with internal kinaesthetic awareness of body position and movement. Proprioceptive training challenges the ability of the targeted joint to detect and react to afferent input regarding joint position. This training aims to help improve capabilities of this system in order to prevent primary and secondary injury. Read more

Muscle Tears – risk factors

shutterstock_105029660 1Some common factors associated with muscle tears are:

  • Dehydration – it is important to keep hydrated with fluids and electrolytes before, during and after sport activity to prevent muscle cramping and muscle tears.
  • Insufficient warm up – warm up before activity must be dynamic. This aims to warm up the muscle, increase blood flow to the muscle and facilitate neural pathways to muscle to activate the muscle. Should not do static stretching. Warm up should involve dynamic stretching and cardio work. Warm up should last approximately 10 minutes.
  • Fatigue and lack of strength of the muscle – muscles are more likely to tear if not strong enough to handle the tensile load put through the muscle in sport. Need to consider strength and endurance.
  • Lack of pre-season training and sports specific activities – it is important to ensure you adequately prepare for the sport you are playing by making sure training is specific and a good pre-season is done.

Beach running – with the good comes the bad

beach runningNot only does the beach offer a change in scenery, relaxation, and a potential source of motivation for training, it also offers a change in surface that is lower in impact and ground reaction forces. This change in surface can be beneficial for people with bony impact related injuries or for people who train frequently on a hard track and want to mix up their training load with a lighter impact session. Read more

Foam rolling the glutes

Foam roller is a useful tool to use as part of your recovery plan. It uses the principle of deep compression to help roll out adhesions or knots that develop over time. Rolling out these knots that are caused by over activity or under activity, will help to restore original muscle length, which assists in functionality.

Check out this exercise for foam rolling the glutes.

 

Glute Bridge: Exercise for stronger butt muscles

Check out this glute bridging exercise, an effective way to strengthen your butt muscles.

Glutes play an important role in many running and impact sports for speed, power and stability. Strengthening your glutes is key for sport performance and also assists with injury prevention for many lower limb and lower back complaints.