By In Touch Physiotherapy Exercise • Injury prevention • Muscles • News • Physiotherapy tips • Running • Short and long-term pain • Sport performance • Sports injuries 0 Comments

Are your calves tightening up from running ?

shutterstock_110888123Do you find your calves always stiffen/tighten with running? Let’s take a look at some potential reasons behind why the calf muscles get stressed.

1) Overload of the muscle due to inadequate muscle strength and power in the lower limbs.

Decreased lower limb strength can lead to the overload of the calf during the push-off phase of running. Our gluteal and quadriceps muscles play an important role in propelling ourselves forward. Without strength and endurance in these muscles, the calf muscle can become the sole driver of propulsion, hence can become fatigued and tired. Consideration also needs to be given to the calf itself in terms of strength and endurance, to handle the load placed upon it in running.

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By In Touch Physiotherapy Exercise • Injury prevention • Physiotherapy tips • Short and long-term pain 0 Comments

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

By In Touch Physiotherapy Exercise • Injury prevention • News • Physiotherapy tips • Short and long-term pain • Sport performance • Sports injuries 0 Comments

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

By In Touch Physiotherapy Exercise • Injury prevention • Physiotherapy tips • Short and long-term pain • Sport performance • Sports injuries • Uncategorized 0 Comments

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.
By In Touch Physiotherapy Exercise • Injury prevention • Knee Injuries • News • Physiotherapy tips • Running • Short and long-term pain • Sports injuries 0 Comments

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

By In Touch Physiotherapy News • Physiotherapy tips • Short and long-term pain 0 Comments

Slipped Disc – Does it really slip?

slipped discSlipped disc, known medically as a prolapsed disc, is a medical condition affecting the spine in which a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of an intervertebral disc allows the soft, central portion to bulge out beyond the damaged outer rings.

Discs are shock absorbers which act as a spacer between each vertebra in the spine. Discs are made up of an inner ring which is a jelly-like substance known as the nucleus, and an outer ring which is a thick and rubbery-like-substance known as the annulus.

Bulges in the annulus and drying of the nucleus are common symptoms of ageing (>30 years). These changes are generally painfree, but may become symptomatic. Annular tears or disc ruptures usually occur with heavy lifting or twisting in a flexed position, or coughing/ sneezing. If the nucleus ruptures this can exert pressure on the spinal cord or exiting nerve roots, and this is called disc herniation, disc protrusion or disc prolapse. This can then cause chemical irritation to the nerve and surrounding tissue or mechanical pressure on the exiting nerves. Both of these nerve irritations can cause subsequent sciatica. Read more