Cycling With An Achy Back?
It is common for cyclists to complain about having a sore or achy back. Commonly this can be easily avoided and is due to people rushing out on their bike or not getting the bike fitted to them correctly. Because bikes are not a one size fits all, you can get fitted for your bike cheaply and easily and it can make a big difference to back pain. But apart from poor bike fit what are some other reasons for people getting back pain cycling? The seat is too high so your knee has a less than 25% bend at the end of the stroke. This will force you to rock your pelvis from side to side to get enough power at bottom of your pedal stroke. The handlebars are too far forward causing you to overstretch which will increase tension in your lower back. Flexing the lower back and causing core abdominal muscles to be in a poor position and so won’t work effectively. This means you won’t be in a stable position when you’re cycling. Using BIG gears. You should aim for a cadence of around 90 RPM. If you are getting lower than this then it will […]
Are You Warming Up Right?
A common question we get in clinic is what to do before warming up and more importantly what not to do. Sometimes people can be doing a warm up that will last as long as their actual workout because it contains a number of different elements to it. These might be an aerobic phase, self-myofascial release, mobility drills, activation drills and movement patterning. Then by the time they workout you are tired and fatigued. But something that is always important and to always be thought of before warming up on your workout days is some days you will need certain exercises and some days others, depending if you wake up stiff or if you are feeling good. Any exercise that does not directly contribute to making your workout better is not worth doing. An overly extensive warm up can actually decrease your effectiveness to workout causing some central fatigue. Central fatigue is not to do with how you are feeling on a certain day, but rather the weakening of your central nervous system to send signals to your muscles. For example a 20 minute cycle before you start deadlifting is not the most effective way to prepare your body for […]
Best Supplements For Mental Health
Many common mental health issues can be exacerbated by nutritional deficiencies. We can perform better athletically with the right supplementation and we can help to improve our mental side with health supplements as well as with a healthy diet. Here are the best supplements to consider. Fish oils Fish oils help with various mental issues from depression to cognitive decline. It is becoming more common for people to be prescribed diets high in fish or fish oil supplements to help them with their issues Although fish oils are not the cure they can certainly help to minimise existing symptoms and perhaps prevent future problems. A recent study also looked at omega-3s and the effects of stress. Stress and the associated inflammation increase are not good for physical or mental health. We can’t stop stress from happening, but fish oil does seem to reduce the negative effects of that stress. Curcumin It has been found that curcumin may help with depression. From both mild to higher levels of depression. Chronic inflammation has been shown to be linked to depression and cause other mental health issues. Curcumin helps keep high levels of inflammation down by stopping free radicals getting out of hand. […]
Tennis Elbow – What To Do
Have you ever had pain in the elbow or forearm? This blog will cover Tennis Elbow. A common problem faced by many during day to day life and people performing at various sports. Tennis Elbow has a bad reputation and one that is commonly feared by people and can affect people to where they do not think anything can be done for it. But this blog is to help show you that you can get through it and to not let it have an effect on your day to day life. Tennis Elbow is pain on the outer side of the elbow named so because tennis players use those muscles often and so commonly develop the condition. The reasons Tennis Elbow worries a lot are many, but mainly of which is the difficulty in treating this very preventable problem. In most cases, treating a muscle that is inflamed and painful is a matter of unloading the tissues. That gets difficult with the elbow because we use our hands all the time. Also, we often think of treating tennis elbow as a musculature issue, when in reality it’s an insertion issue. Meaning that the muscles are inserting onto the bone. Tennis […]
Battle Of Your Breathe
In the clinic, we often get questions about how to avoid injuries and manage low back or neck pain. This blog will cover the functional implications that a faulty breathing mechanism can have on your body. Function vs Action Muscles have both actions and functions. During a movement that muscle can be asked to do either of these and it is often a sliding scale between one and the other. For example. If we choose your Gluteus Medius which is a muscle on the side of your hip that is commonly training by doing clamshells or hip abductions. For these exercises, your Gluteus Medius is being trained for its action. The action is abduction (lifting your leg out to the side) of the hip and external rotation. Because that muscle is not a very common movement you do day to day, let’s think about how the muscle moves when we are walking. The Gluteus Medius has the function of stabilising the lateral hip when you are walking. Meaning you can walk smoothly through your walking. Definitions Function: How muscles behave when we walk and breathe. Action: How muscles behave when we move the origin to insertion. So what happens when […]
What Is Causing Your Knee Pain?
Have you ever had knee pain that you do not know what is causing it and it keeps coming back? This blog will help you to understand what sort of knee pain you have and what is driving your pain. A lot of people develop knee pain while barbell training or playing sport but do not have a clear understanding of what is causing the pain. The common conditions we will cover today are: Illiotibial band Sydrome Patellofemoral Compression Syndrome Biomechanical Dysfuntion Patellar Tendinopathy Iliotibial Band Syndrome: The IT band is a thick band of fascia that starts at the hips and runs the entire length of your upper leg. The pain usually is on the outside of your knee. The reason for the pain is the compression caused by the thick IT band compressing on the bony part of the outside of your knee. Normally you will not get it from a specific incident but will gradually come on overtime. The pain can start as a dull ache and then progress into a sharp pain. Patellofemoral Compression Syndrome/ Biomechanical Dysfunction: If you have pain on your knee cap or underneath it is most likely down to a compression problem […]
How To Get A Stronger Squat (An Easy Test)
Recently in the clinic, we got asked if you should squat with your toes straight or turned out in the gym. This is a common question people ask themselves and understanding the link between both these squats will help you to produce a stronger squat and avoid injuries. Toes Forward: A squat is one of the main movements you do day to day, but then can also be used as an exercise. In the clinic when we screen patients and assess your squat the aim is to see the quality of your squat as a movement, rather than an exercise. Squatting with your feet pointing forwards is more challenging than with your feet pointing out. To squat to a full depth with your feet pointing forwards you must have three things: Your balance will also play a role in this and if you are more dominant on one side or the other. With your toes pointed outwards it is easier to squat to depth with an upright chest. If you have a poor bodyweight squat and you play sports this will impact movements such as jumping and then landing. A lot of the time knee injuries occur because people jump […]
Which Stretch Is Best?
When you were training for sports in your P.E classes, you were most likely told to hold your hamstring and groin stretches several seconds before starting your training session. This static stretching is very popular and is a common routine in any athletes routine. But more recently if you ask a medical professional or coach about stretching before your workout you will likely get a different answer. So why is some advice to stretch before working out and other advice is to stretch after your workout? We will cover the reasons behind this in today’s blog. To start, there are different kinds of stretching. These are listed below: Static Stretching: This is this most common stretching that people think of. For example, if bend over to touch your toes and hold the position, you are performing static stretching. Passive: This is when someone else moves your body into a stretch and proceeds to hold the tension while you are relaxed. Dynamic: This is a controlled movement into the stiff position. The best way to think about it is performing a deep squat or lunges. Ballistic: This involves using your bodies momentum to bounce in and out of stiffness. It’s not […]
Fixing Plantar Fasciitis And Other Foot Injuries: Part 2
In the previous blog, we talked about what causes Plantar Fasciitis and other foot conditions. This blog will cover how to resolve your foot pain. If you have not checked out part one of this blog series then go to our website to read all about it. A major issue that is a common cause of foot pain is footwear. By changing this we can cause a long term decrease in your symptoms. Firstly finding a shoe that has a very small heel and that has a wide toe box to allow your toes to sufficiently spread out. The less a shoe does to your foot, the better it is for your foot. Then as you walk during the day the muscles in your foot will strengthen. There are lots of brands to choose from when picking a barefoot shoe for example Vivobarefoot, Bearfoot Athletics, Lems, Xero and Feelgrounds. Finding brands that blend foot function with fashion will help your transition. If you do not wear barefoot shoes often then you may not be ready for a complete jump to barefoot shoes. For example, if you could not swim you would not jump in at the deep end straight away. […]
Understanding Plantar Fasciitis And Other Foot Injuries: Part 1
Foot injuries can be frustrating because they affect you constantly in the day. It hurts to run, jump, squat, getting up in the morning and can stop you from doing activities you love. A common condition people are diagnosed with is plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is a thick sheet of connective tissue that lies on the bottom of your feet. It runs from the inner part of your heel and spreads under your foot, attaching to the base of your toes. The function is to act as a shock absorber for the arch of your foot when moving. Imagine the plantar fascia as a rubber band. When you are not standing up the rubber band is relaxed. But as the foot hits the ground when walking or running, it is pulled taut. This is useful for two reasons. Maintains your foot arch. Allows the foot to be more rigid allowing the body to push off the ground propelling itself forward more efficiently. Imagine you are trying to run through quicksand. It is hard to push off and gather speed because you have not got a firm surface to push off. But the plantar fascia creates an effect in the […]
