Our feet play an essential role in how we transfer our body weight when we move, provide vital information to our brains for position awareness and sometimes are even called upon to help out our weak cores. We need to look after them and have them strong enough to meet these many demands. Modern foot wear, orthotics and lack of time walking around bare foot all contribute to weak intrinsic foot muscles and it is these which we need to strengthen.
Try the following movements shown in the video below to see how strong your feet are
1. Foot Crawl
2. Big Toe Up while keeping other 4 down
3. 4 Toes Up keeping big toe down
4. Toe Pianos
5. Toe Spreads
“In order to master it you need to practice it”
Start with doing any weak or difficult movements everyday for 1 minute
If you would like to book an appointment please contact us today for a quick chat to see how we can help!
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic, Portlaoise
Chiropractic & Sports Injuries | Active Release Techniques (ART®)
FRC® is a comprehensive joint training system backed by science and research.
Whether you are experiencing joint/ muscle tightness or not, the FRC® approach will help you achieve increased mobility while also aiding to reduce inflammation and pain.
It utilises various types of exercises for example Controlled Articulated Rotations (CARs) to promote joint health, mobility and control, and Pails and Rails which uses isometric holds to strengthen the target joints.
3 main goals of FRC®
Joint Mobility
Joint Strength
Body Control
What is FRC® used for?
Mobility training
Joint health and maintenance
Joint strength
Rehabilitation
Performance enhancement
The Functional Range Conditioning concepts can be used on clients of all ages and all abilities and has proved to be highly successively with patients of the Lawlor Clinic.
If you would like to book an appointment please contact us today for a quick chat to see how we can help!
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic, Portlaoise
Chiropractic & Sports Injuries | Active Release Techniques (ART®)
Scar tissue can be detrimental to body mechanics if not addressed as soon as possible. It can alter proper movement patterns and generate pain and dysfunction in the body. It can also predispose the area to future injury.
The aim of therapy is to improve tissue texture, flexibility, local blood supply and drainage. Therefore the earlier and more regularly that a scar is treated the better.
Qualities of a Scar
Tough fibrous and non pliable, with reduced circulation and lymph drainage
Reduced local tissue flexibility, resulting in limited joint mobility
Our Approach to Treating Scars
Soft Tissue Release: Gentle hands on massage technique applied around and at the site of the scar to stretch the tissues and promote healing
Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation (IASTM): uses specialised instruments and cream to glide across the scar in a form of cross friction massage to reduce pain and improve pliability of the tissues
Dry Needling: needles are applied around the scar site to encourage an inflammatory healing response
How Effective Can Treatment be?
Below is an example of my own scar healing with the help of treatment following a right clavicle (Collarbone) reconstruction with a surgical plate and pins
If you would like to book an appointment please contact us today.
Yours in Health
Karen Lawlor
The Lawlor Clinic: Portlaoise
Chiropractic | Physiotherapy | Active Release Techniques (ART®)
Antioxidants, herbs and spices are important ingredients in a healthy diet and are very important in helping to treat joint pain and arthritis. Different combinations of these herbs and nutrients are likely to be particularly powerful anti-inflammatories and painkillers, which can improve the progression of arthritis.
Natural anti-inflammatories:
Curcumin (found in turmeric)
Boswellic acid (found in Indian frankincense)
Ashwagandha
Quercetin (found in tea, red onions, apples, citrus fruits)
Ginger
Bromelain (found in pineapple)
Hope extracts
Hydroxytyrosol (found in olives)
Cream-based anti inflammatories:
Arnica
Celadrin
Capsaicin
Bone Builders
The major bone mineral is calcium. 99% of the calcium in our bodies is found in bone. Calcium should be taken in via your diet, but one of the greatest factors in calcium balance is exercise. Studies at NASA discovered losses of calcium in astronauts living in zero gravity conditions. They also demonstrated that weight-bearing exercise (such as walking) can raise calcium levels in the body by 2%, which will help slow down the progression of arthritis.
Without magnesium, calcium is unlikely to be used properly. Vitamin D is also needed to enable calcium to be used properly with the body. Boron is involved in the transportation of calcium around the body. It helps the body to retain calcium and magnesium. These are the main players in arthritis. Other key minerals which help managing arthritis include zinc, copper, manganese, phosphorus, folic acid, vitamins C, K and B6.
Calcium and magnesium:
Nuts
Seeds
Root vegetables
Dairy
Supplement 300-600mg daily
Vitamin D:
Oily fish (herring, mackerel, pilchards, sardines, tuna)
Eggs
30mins of sunlight daily
Supplement 15mg daily
Boron:
Vegetables
Apples
Pears
Tomatoes
Soya
Prunes
Raisins
Dates
Honey
Supplement 3mg daily
Cartilage Rebuilders
With arthritis, there can be obvious joint degeneration and cartilage depletion. If this is the case, it may be advisable to:
Supplement a cartilage rebuilder (glucosamine, chondroitin) for at least three months
Supplement vitamin C 3-5g daily
The most effective way of tackling arthritis is:
Reduce inflammation
Improve bone strength
Rebuild cartilage
Weight bearing (walking) and non-weight bearing (hydrotherapy) exercises
‘Say No To Arthritis’, by Patrick Holford is an excellent read for those suffering with arthritis. If you are struggling with arthritis, please do not hesitate to get in contact with the Lawlor Clinic on 05786 78904. Our team of medical professionals, including both physiotherapists and chiropractors, are experts in treating arthritis.
As many of you will have read over the past couple of days Rory Mcilroy had to withdraw from this week’s Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the middle east after it was confirmed by MRI that he suffered a stress fracture of one of his ribs.
What is Stress Fracture?
A stress fracture is a small crack in the bone usually caused by overloading and by an increase in activity. They are normally seen in the weight bearing joints of the body including the foot, shin, thigh and hip.
Rory had been doing increased testing with his golf equipment in the off season due to Nike taking themselves out of the golf equipment market. This meant that Rory Mcilroy hit a lot more balls than his standard practice and this is the likely cause of the rib stress fracture as he didn’t have a fall or trauma.
What is the recovery time?
The most likely recovery time for a stress fracture is about 6 weeks which allows the bone to heal. The patient or athlete is usually prescribed full rest to allow the bone to heal. It will be very difficult to hit any balls during the 6 weeks as all golf shots will put load through the rib cage except putting.
Reducing the Pain?
Laser Therapy, Active Release Techniques (ART®) and Kinesiotaping can all help to reduce the pain levels during the recovery process. Load management is key to preventing a reoccurrence of a rib stress fracture.
Your GP will also be able to prescribe painkillers and anti-inflammatories, these will also help with pain reduction.
More about Golf Chiro
Shane is one of Europe’s leading Golf Performance Therapists having worked with over 40 different professional golfers on both the European & PGA Tours over the past 8 years. If your golf club is interested in having Shane do a presentation or talk on Golf Injuries & Injury Prevention or Performance & Fitness. Contact the clinic on 0578678904 or email info@lawlorclinic.ie
If you are suffering from any golf related injuries and would like to book an appointment please contact us today
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Portlaoise
Chiropractic | Physiotherapy | Active Release Techniques (ART®)
It’s safe to say that the majority of us have a scar of some sort,for example surgical related, c-section scars, appendectomy scars or scars from cuts or broken bones.
What is scar tissue?
Scar tissue forms after injury to the normal cells of the body and it is the body’s natural response to repair any tissue damage. Scars can however generate its own issues once it has laid down, the effects of which is something we come across daily in the clinic.
The effect of scars on the body?
Excessive scarring will create tissue tension throughout the fascial system and limit the mobility within the muscles, tendons, ligaments and ultimately the joints. This results in altered postures and movement patterns. When this happens a cascade of compensatory movement starts elsewhere, creating pain and stiffness, such as neck, shoulder and low back pain.
The assessment and treatment of scars is often a neglected area in the management of musculoskeletal pain and is of upmost importance, particularly in the case of an unproblematic longstanding scar which may be preventing the patient from returning to full non painful movement.
Our Approach?
At the clinic we examine and address scars old and new to improve soft tissue function and movement. All with the intention of improving joint mobility and giving the best foundations for developing core stability in our patients. This is especially important for ladies who have had c-section procedures and want to get fit again after childbirth and reduce low back pain.
If you would like to book an appointment please contact us today for a quick chat to see how we can help!
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Portlaoise
Chiropractic | Physiotherapy | Active Release Techniques (ART®)
Fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome marked by widespread muscular tenderness and pain. Those with FM commonly experience disturbances in sleep, mood, and cognition, as well as having neural symptoms also.
Fibromyalgia is characterized by 18 tender points (9 pairs) throughout the body. These tender points are located in the hips, neck, chest, elbow and knee.Fibromyalgia sufferers will have at least 11 tender points and will have had symptoms for >3 months.
It is accepted that the treatment of Fibromyalgia is multimodal. Generally, this encompasses relaxation, meditation, exercise, physiotherapy, acupuncture, nutrition, medication and laser therapy.
Exercise:
Resistance training is a great way to build up muscle strength, power, and endurance. Studies have shown that after 16-21 weeks of beginning a resistance training programme, the tenderness and pain levels in female Fibromyalgia sufferers reduced. The training helped to improve overall well-being, physical function, and muscle strength.
After 12 weeks of beginning a flexibility programme, overall muscle and joint pliability and flexibility improved. And, doing 20-30min walks @ approx. 60-70% max heart rate has been shown to improve mood and sleep patterns.
Chartered physiotherapists are fully trained in providing exercise programmes for Fibromyalgia patients.
Acupuncture:
Evidence suggests that acupuncture can provide short term benefits to Fibromyalgia patients, generally up to one month within treatment. The acupuncture needles are placed on the 9 pairs of Fibromyalgia tender points. Its effects have been further enhanced when combined with other modalities, like exercise or laser therapy.
Laser:
Laser has many benefits for those with Fibromyalgia. It is a painless intervention for those with Fibromyalgia. Laser stimulates cell growth, increases cell metabolism, invokes an anti-inflammatory response, promotes oedema reduction, stimulates nerve function, reduces the production of substance P, and stimulates the production of endorphins. Laser is applied to the area of pain and/or the 9 pairs of tender points for 20-30seconds per point.
Laser helps to improve sleep, improve physical function, increase mobility, reduce pain, muscle spasm and fatigue.
Diet:
Nutrition is vital in managing Fibromyalgia. Various studies have connected Fibromyalgia to bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine and a compromised gut function as a result. There are a variety of ways to help cleanse your gut and improve your digestive function. For example: ultrainflamx, omega 3 fish oils, probiotics, turmeric, and vitamin D3 are all very effective in creating a healthy gut. It is also beneficial to either cut out dairy or wheat, depending on which is more sensitive to your gut.
Meditation/Relaxation:
Meditation has been shown to improve mood and sleep patterns in individuals with altered sleep and mood swings. Try to find a quiet room, darkly lit, for 10-15mins twice daily to listen to some relaxing music. Focus on taking deep, slow breaths and try focussing on something that makes you happy. The HeadSpace App is very effective in instructing meditation too.
As you can see, Fibromyalgia must be approached using a variety of different interventions. In our clinic, we have expert medical professionals who have experience in dealing with Fibromyalgia. If you think you suffer with this condition, or know of anyone that does, book an appointment today and let us help you get on the road to managing this condition and getting back to your life!
Dry needling is a minimally invasive procedure in which an acupuncture needle is inserted directly into a muscle (known as a myofascial trigger point – MTrP). An MTrP is a highly localized, hyperirritable spot in a palpable, taut band of skeletal muscle fibers. Essentially an MTrP is a knot within a muscle. 74-85% of patients with pain present with MTrPs in their area of discomfort.
Dry needling an MTrP is most effective when local ‘twitch responses’ are elicited, probably because of rapid depolarization of the involved muscle fibers, which manifests as local twitches. Once the needle hits a tight part of the muscle, the patients’ muscle can twitch. After the muscle has finished twitching, the spontaneous electrical activity subsides and the pain and dysfunction decrease dramatically.
Dry needling breaks up muscle tightness, tension, knots and scar tissue. It helps in reducing muscle spasms, pain and muscle sensitivity. More specifically, dry needling has been proven to be very effective for low back pain. It provides pain relief and functional improvement in those with chronic low back pain and lumbar myofascial pain. Evidence suggests the improvements are further enhanced when the muscle is stretched afterwards. Needling deep into the muscle has been shown to be more effective than superficial needling. Howver, over the areas of the lungs or large blood vessels, superficial dry needling has been shown to be more appropriate and just as effective. Dry needling is a very safe method of treating muscular injuries and pains, and adverse side effects post treatment are very rare.
If you are suffering with muscular pain and tightness, please do not hesitate to contact us on 05786 78904. Our entire team of medical professionals are fully trained in dry needling and highly recommend it to our patients struggling with muscular problems.
Everybody knows how important sleep is. Runners need more sleep than most people. Running sleep deprived can be as dangerous as driving intoxicated! You probably know someone who brags how he only needs five hours of sleep a night and another who insists on eight hours — and it’s true, sleep needs vary.
As an athlete, getting enough sleep is as important as your food and exercise choices. Cheating on sleep makes it hard to concentrate at work, may impair your appetite and causes irritability. A sleep debt can negatively affect your running. The National Sleep Foundation says that “sleep is as essential as diet and exercise. Inadequate sleep can result in fatigue, depression, concentration problems, illness and injury. Sleep helps general protein synthesis, cell growth and division, and tissue repair and growth.”
So, what happens during sleep that is so important?
Water Reabsorption
One of the most important ways sleep can help your running is water reabsorption — especially during the summer months when you sweat more and dehydration is more of a concern. During sleep, the kidney balances water, sodium and other electrolytes. Without enough water the kidneys can’t balance electrolytes properly. Being fully hydrated, the kidneys can balance your body’s electrolytes more effectively so that this balance can be better maintained during running.
“Dehydration leads to muscle pain while running and poor performance,” said Joanne E. Getsy, MD, professor of medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Division, Philadelphia, Pa.
Body Repair
Besides making you feel better, sleep is when your body repairs and regenerates damaged tissue from the day’s workout and builds bone and muscle to be ready for the next workout. Distance runners especially need that sleep/repair time to make sure that muscles recover from training.
Research from Stanford published in SLEEP reported that increased sleeping time can improve athletic performance. In the study, researchers had basketball players maintain their regular sleep schedule of six to nine hours for up to four weeks. After that, they were asked to sleep 10 hours each night for five to seven weeks. Speed improved significantly (16.2 seconds verses 15.5 second for 282-foot sprints); shooting accuracy improved and the players said they felt their practices improved after six weeks of lengthening night-time sleep length.
The study suggests that sleep is important for performance and that reducing an accumulated sleep debt can be beneficial for athletes likely at all levels. Sleep should be a high priority in an athlete’s daily training. Sleep allows the body to engage in the repair process.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
During the deeper stages of sleep HGH is released during slow wave sleep. HGH is a natural hormone produced by the pituitary gland and released into the bloodstream. HGH rebuilds damaged tissue while building stronger muscles. It also helps convert fat to fuel, and keeps our bones strong.
“If you don’t get enough sleep, you produce less HGH and it becomes harder for your body to recover from workouts. Too little sleep also leads to an increase in cortisol, which often comes out during times of stress. An increase in cortisol contributes to slower recovery times,” said Shelby F. Harris, PsyD, CBSN, director, behavioral sleep medicine program, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.
If your workouts are hard, your body may release greater quantities of HGH while you sleep. “If you do a harder interval workout as opposed to an easy run, you might have more HGH hormone secreted if you actually need it,” added Benny Garcia, MS, CSCS, exercise physiologist at Loyola University Chicago/Gottlieb Center of Fitness in Chicago.
Weight Loss
Regular sleep can boost the weight loss benefits of running.
If you don’t get enough sleep, your body’s appetite signalling hormones [leptin and ghrelin] are thrown off. Less sleep leads to more ghrelin [which makes us hungry] and less leptin [which tells us we’re full]. Sleeping a full night regularly helps keep your hunger signals in check and keeps, especially when combined with exercise, your weight down.
For marathoners during taper weeks, regularly getting a solid night of sleep may be even more important than the miles you’re running during that time period.
Endurance athletes find that moderate carbo-loading just before an event can enhance athletic performance. However, if you’re not sleeping enough, your body won’t properly store the carbs you’re consuming [leading to less glycogen stores] and the benefits of carbo-loading may be lost. You might even hit the wall sooner than usual because your glycogen stores will be depleted too fast.
Concentration & Mental Toughness
Runners can be analytical — always trying to figure out why one race went so well and why another didn’t. It takes a few hours after you fall asleep to reach deep, quality sleep, usually into the seventh hour — especially in younger athletes. Concentration can be negatively impaired when a runner races with sleep debt.
Enough sleep helps you tune into your body better, improves your concentration and helps you strategize the rest of the race or for the rest of the run. This concentration is also essential for being able to “push” it at the end of a race.
Knowing this, how can you get the best running from your sleep?
Determine your sleep needs and meet it every night, “Monday through Monday.” Establish a regular sleep schedule. Go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every day. If you have a yo-yo sleep-wake schedule, your body never knows when it’s time to shut down. You end up being in a constant state of jet lag without ever leaving home.
Get one long block of continuous sleep at night. Power naps are a last resort if you have to make up lost sleep. Snooze for 10 to 15 minutes — no longer or you might become groggy.
Ensure you are well hydrated, taking in enough water during the day and limiting caffeine, nicotine and alcohol which can reduce sleep quality.
Stop using your mobile phone 1hour before bed – this can help to increase sleep quality.
Try to keep noise levels down and ensure there is no brightness entering your room.
Avoid stressful situations before bed – try reading a book, taking a relaxing bath or practice relaxation techniques, maybe even listen to relaxing music.
Lighten up on evening meals, try not to eat before 8pm. Eating after this can be a recipe for insomnia.
Try to fit your running in early. Exercise helps promote restful sleep if it is done >3hours before bedtime – you will sleep more soundly and faster if you try this.
If you are struggling with sleep days before a race, don’t panic. Research has shown that sleep loss ranging from 16-24 hours does not impair performance during aerobic and anaerobic events. The adrenaline rush of competition appears to override any negative physical consequences of sleep deprivation. Therefore, if you miss several hours of sleep for a night or two before your race, your performance is not likely to be impacted unless you are particularly susceptible to sleep deprivation. Once the sleep loss doesn’t exceed 2 successive nights.
Remember…
“You might be able to get by with one or two lousy nights of sleep, but your best performance is when you’ve had a good night’s sleep,” said James B. Maas, PhD, a psychologist from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and author of Sleep to Win.
Many of you who already attend the clinic may have had one of us use our LiteCure Laser on you. And as you sat there, feeling the warmth coming from that little machine, you were probably wondering, what’s this laser treatment all about?!
What is a Laser?
Firstly we have to start with the basics- what is a laser? According to google, a laser is “a device that generates an intense beam of coherent monochromatic light (or other electromagnetic radiation) by stimulated emission of photons from excited atoms or molecules.”
Lets try to simplify that. LASER is actually and acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. So in other words, through some amazing process of science and physics this light coming out of the machine is a very intense, amplified beam of light.
How can the laser help me feel better?
So we now know that the little machine is sending out a high powered very intense beam of light. That’s great and all, but how does this light actually help decrease pain and help to stimulate healing of the area?
To put it simply, the light from the laser gives energy to the underlying tissues, helping the tissues to increase blood flow to the area and accelerate healing process!
What’s the catch?
A treatment that is painless for the patient, easy for the practitioner, and gets good results; there must be a downside right? Well, no. It is FDA approved, and with thousands of studies performed, there have been no reported side effects of treatment with the laser! It is as good as it sounds!
From acute to chronic conditions, muscle, tendon, ligament, bone, or disc injuries, laser therapy is a quick and easy way to help reduce pain and speed the healing. Treatments with just the laser last from 15-30 minutes and results are typically seen in 4-6 treatments. Contact us today to see if laser treatment is right for you!
Yours in Health,
The Lawlor Clinic Portlaoise
Chiropractic | Physiotherapy | Active Release Techniques (ART®)
