Back in the Race

Top tips to help you back to running in record breaking time.

Our practitioners offer some no nonsense, easy to follow top tips to get you back to performing at your best!

Are you training for or just completed a marathon? At this time of year our practitioner’s report seeing lots of patients complaining of running type injuries.

A little known fact is that if you raise your legs to 90 degrees following a run, the lactic acid will be felt less the following day in your legs. You should ideally rest them up a wall for a good 10 minutes.

Rehydration is very important. Ideally rehydration salts mixed with water but a good quality sports drink should be sufficient.

You don’t need vast amounts. But you do need to recover sodium levels that have been lost through perspiration.

Painful muscle cramp can be caused by dehydration. The best way to deal with it is to rest, sip a sports drink and gently try to stretch the affected muscle.

Relax for the rest of the day. It is going to take 3 days for the inflammation to reduce so maybe take turmeric supplements or even ibuprofen (if appropriate for you) to help.

Heat is not your friend. If you have a sore lower back, knee, shin or Achilles tendon there is more likely inflammation present. If you apply heat to an inflamed area it attracts more blood locally, which in turn increases inflammation.

As heat is applied pain reduces as the inflammatory markers in the blood are reduced/ diluted by the additional blood. Unfortunately this in turn brings more inflammatory markers. You take off the heat and the additional blood reduces but, the extra inflammatory markers remain.

You need ice or something cold on the sore areas. Ideally for 3-5 mins per hour and gentle movement to stop the inflammation from building up. I am not talking about a brisk walk, just a standing up every half hour or so just to mobilise around the back and hips for a couple of minutes.

Injury

There is very little an osteopath can do for the first 72 hours following an injury.

With muscle strains and ligamentous sprains our advice is RICE. That is unless it’s a significant injury. Then you should visit A&E immediately.

If you feel an injury is more than a sprain or strain you should see your GP. If you suspect fracture, dislocation or ligamentous rupture that’s a trip to the hospital.

Rest the injured part

Ice the area regularly. It’s recommended to ice an injury for 20 mins every 2 hours.

Compress the injured area. A compression bandage is ideal.

Elevate the injured area

 

If after 72 hours there is still pain, that’s the time to visit us at Cedar Hall Clinics in Thurrock or Benfleet in Essex. We are highly trained to give you a diagnosis, treatment (if appropriate), advice on management and a prognosis.

With regards to running again, injured or not, I’d recommend taking a little time off. At least to begin with.

Avoid any running at all for a week, maybe two, depending on how you feel. Walking is OK and is a good way to reduce the metabolic waste products from the muscles.

You can contact us on 01375 678877 or 01268 774249 we offer free assessments

http://www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk/

 

Time for an MOT?

As the weather improves (well we can always hope), we perhaps turn our thoughts to a more active lifestyle. The more committed athletic folk in our coummunities have already been pounding the streets & parks as they prepare for the marathon season and to those we send our best wishes & admiration.

We see quite a few dedicated runners & athletes at our clinics throughout the season. Some turn up when injury threatens an upcoming event but most come for regular MOTs throughout the year.  It gives them confidence that they’re still at peak fitness and ready to face the next challenge. But not all patients who return every 3 months or so for an MOT are athletes, far from it. Many are busy office workers, teachers, healthcare staff and manual workers who know when their body is giving them a little hint that help is needed. The odd twinge or low grade ache reminds them that some treatment is needed.

Regular MOT body checks may well nip a bigger pain problem in the bud and save time, effort and hard earned cash!

 

 

Happy & Pain Free 2018

Whatever your body health and fitness goals are for the New Year don’t go hell for leather from day one. A gradual build up of your chosen exercise or fitness regime is the key to success. Our practitioners are happy to help you achieve your goals with pain management & mobility advice – so call or email if you have any queries.

Wishing you all health & happiness for 2018.

 

Feeling Under Par? Osteopathy Can Help Get You Back in the Swing

We treat many golfers at Cedar Hall Clinics for various conditions, but lower back pain (lumbar spine region) is one of the most common ailments and can be a problem for golfers of all ages. Various studies have estimated that roughly a third of all golfers will struggle with lower back pain at some point in their lives.

 

What causes this pain?

Each individual case is different and the cause of the lower back pain can vary but in our experience a lack of mobility in the ankles, hips, middle back (thoracic spine) and shoulders forces the lower back to work excessively hard. This puts a lot of pressure on the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) – the spot where the spine connects with the pelvis – as many golfers will rely on their lower back to generate the turn and power in their swings. This is particularly true for golfers with weak glute and hip muscles and those that have a poor range of motion in their mid-back region.

Another issue is that golf is a one-sided sport and golfers tend to put more stress on one side of the pelvis than the other. Most golfers also aren’t very good at stretching and warming up prior to teeing off and this can be a significant contributor to back pain after their round.

So what can be done?

• Warm up properly
  Going straight to the first tee from your car or the clubhouse without doing a warm up is one of the surest ways of ending up with lower back pain. Give yourself an extra 15 minutes and start your warm up with some simple stretches on the following areas;
• Shoulder & Torso: Hold a golf club with both hands across the shoulders and gently rotate the torso on both sides
• Hips: In a seating position, pull one knee to the chest and repeat on the other side
• Hamstrings: Starting in a standing position, bend over and try to touch the toes. Having flexibility in your hamstrings is essential if you want to avoid back pain as it will allow more movement in the pelvis and help reduce the stress on the lower back.

Practice smooth swings with good rhythm

With a proper swing you should be using the shoulders, chest, pelvis (hip) and lower back muscles to share the load of the swing. Practicing smooth rhythmic swings helps to develop muscle memory and prepares the muscle groups for the torque (force) and torsion (twisting) that a golf swing produces. Begin with the smaller irons and progress up to the larger woods, as this process will allow the muscles to warm up incrementally.

Use a trolley to carry the golf bag

Golf bags can be heavy and very often you will see golfers carrying them with just one strap on the shoulder. This will create too much pressure on one side of the pelvis. We would always recommend using a golf trolley or buggy, but if you want to carry your bag make sure to use the dual straps to evenly split the weight across the back. This will reduce the chances of developing low back pain from an uneven load.

 

How osteopathy can help

If none of the above tips are making any difference to your pain it may be time to see an osteopath, who are specialists in relieving the pain associated with golfing injuries. Very often the treatment will involve not just treating the area of pain but also focusing on the associated muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments to ensure that they are all functioning optimally. This will help reduce the chances of the same injury recurring while also enhancing the body’s resilience to future injuries.

If you have any concerns over an injury you have picked up playing golf or one that is affecting your game please feel free to give us a call. Or make an appointment for a free assessment to find out what’s going on. We’re always happy to give advice or address any concerns you may have.

Until next time – happy golfing.

www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk

 

 

 

A Marathon Challenge

Top tips to help you back to running in record breaking time.

Our osteopath Lorraine offers some no nonsense, easy to follow top tips to get you back to performing at your best!

Are you training for or just completed a marathon? At this time of year our practitioner’s report seeing lots of patients complaining of running type injuries.

A little known fact is that if you raise your legs to 90 degrees following a run, the lactic acid will be felt less the following day in your legs. You should ideally rest them up a wall for a good 10 minutes.

Rehydration is very important. Ideally rehydration salts mixed with water but a good quality sports drink should be sufficient.

You don’t need vast amounts. But you do need to recover sodium levels that have been lost through perspiration.

Painful muscle cramp can be caused by dehydration. The best way to deal with it is to rest, sip a sports drink and gently try to stretch the affected muscle.

Relax for the rest of the day. It is going to take 3 days for the inflammation to reduce so maybe take turmeric supplements or even ibuprofen (if appropriate for you) to help.

Heat is not your friend. If you have a sore lower back, knee, shin or Achilles tendon there is more likely inflammation present. If you apply heat to an inflamed area it attracts more blood locally, which in turn increases inflammation.

As heat is applied pain reduces as the inflammatory markers in the blood are reduced/ diluted by the additional blood. Unfortunately this in turn brings more inflammatory markers. You take off the heat and the additional blood reduces but, the extra inflammatory markers remain.

You need ice or something cold on the sore areas. Ideally for 3-5 mins per hour and gentle movement to stop the inflammation from building up. I am not talking about a brisk walk, just a standing up every half hour or so just to mobilise around the back and hips for a couple of minutes.

Injury

There is very little an osteopath can do for the first 72 hours following an injury.

With muscle strains and ligamentous sprains our advice is RICE. That is unless it’s a significant injury. Then you should visit A&E immediately.

If you feel an injury is more than a sprain or strain you should see your GP. If you suspect fracture, dislocation or ligamentous rupture that’s a trip to the hospital.

Rest the injured part

Ice the area regularly. It’s recommended to ice an injury for 20 mins every 2 hours.

Compress the injured area. A compression bandage is ideal.

Elevate the injured area

If after 72 hours there is still pain, that’s the time to visit us at Cedar Hall Clinics in Thurrock or Benfleet in Essex. We are highly trained to give you a diagnosis, treatment (if appropriate), advice on management and a prognosis.

With regards to running again, injured or not, I’d recommend taking a little time off. At least to begin with.

Avoid any running at all for a week, maybe two, depending on how you feel. Walking is OK and is a good way to reduce the metabolic waste products from the muscles.

You can contact us on 01375 678877 or 01268 774249 we offer free assessments

http://www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk/

 

Happy New Year

Wishing all our patients and kind followers a very Happy 2017. Don’t overdo the New Year Resolutions especially rushing off to the gym to get fit. Make sure your body is ready to take on any rigorous exercise! Come for a free assessment.

www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk

 

The Sweet Taste of Success – Khai Style

Success

Is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. So whether that is winning a Gold medal at the Olympics or even getting up early for school, you have succeeded. Now even though these points are not similar there is a common word used to accomplish this and that is WORK.

Yes, you even have to work to get out of bed because we all love to lay in especially if we have been up all night and have to get up early but in order to succeed we MUST work for it. Everyone who is successful has had to work for it, in my case, Athletics, hurdles to be exact.

Racing to Success

I started off as a thrower but transitioned into a runner and that didn’t happen overnight. I had to work to transition my power from my arms to my legs. As we all know Speed+Strength=Power and you have to work hard to accomplish even one of these elements in order to achieve your main goal. This requires a lot of work.

Now when I talk work I’m not talking the bare-minimum, I’m talking 100%, Blood Sweat and Tears, put everything into it, “Train hard, Win easy”. That concept goes for anything in life, even getting out of bed or working your hardest to finish the race first.

Even though it may be a struggle or you feel like giving up, just remember why you started, was it worth investing all that time just to give up? No one can take your success away from you.

Khai Riley Laborde 110m hurdles  Cedar Hall Clinic sponsored athlete.

http://www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk

 

Sports Injuries

Sports Injuries are often the result of overuse and over training, such as runner’s knee or tennis elbow where the athlete pushes his/her body to the limit. Sports injuries can also occur due to under training or poor training practices. Not stretching or having a good warm up regime can also lead to injury as the body is not prepared for the exercise.

So whether you are a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, osteopathy can help with prevention of injury as well as treatment of many common sporting or recreational injuries. Ankle and shoulder injuries are very common in amateur and professional sport. These injuries are often neglected or poorly treated which can lead to recurrence and early degenerative conditions.

Some common sporting injuries are neck & back strain, shoulder, elbow & wrist injuries e.g. tennis/golf elbow, hip, knee, leg & ankle injuries, groin strain, achilles tendonitis, cartilage/ligament strain and more.

http://www.cedarhallclinics.co.uk/treatments_sports.html

 

Cheering A Great Achievement!

There are some days in our life at Cedar Hall Clinic when something really fantastic happens and you just want to shout the good news from the rooftops. Today was one of those days. One of our sponsored athletes HAYLEY MCLEAN, a 400m hurdler, has been selected to represent Team England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. A dream come true for a young woman who has worked incredibly hard to achieve her dreams. Hopefully she is now on the brink of a brilliant athletic career. Good luck Hayley – we’re with you all the way!!