Elbow injuries are a common injury in desk workers and athletes. In people who lift weights they are one of the most common injuries to have.
Although the elbow may appear to be a simple hinge joint that simply has two movements (bending or straightening the elbow), the reality is far from it. The elbow is a more complicated joint than it seems because the movement occurs between three bones and surrounding this are 16 small muscles. These help to not only straighten and bend your elbow but also rotate it as your palm is either up or down.
Although many elbow issues are due to overuse of the muscles causing a repetitive strain injury, it is common for people to cause an injury to one of the several nerves in the arm. This can cause tingling, numbness, a burning sensation and possible weakness in the hand.
A type of exercise that is used to help nerve pain is nerve gliding. This aims to either stretch the nerve or glide the nerve.
Gliding techniques will stretch the nerve and have the aim of increasing the tension and pressure through the nerve. This sometimes makes symptoms worse in people.
Sliding techniques will move the nerve with a lot less tension and pressure and therefore don’t increase symptoms.
The goal is to use these techniques to increase blood circulation, reduce the swelling that is around the nerve and get the nerve back to its natural movement. This will decrease symptoms once these areas are restored.
Make sure you only do a few sliders at a time because overstressing the nerve even with a less aggressive technique will potentially increase your symptoms. It is not always the case that a little bit of something is good so let’s do lots of it in a more is better approach. So do this little and often throughout the day rather than all at once.
If you suffer from any elbow issues or capal tunnel then contact the clinic today on 0578678904, direct message us on Facebook or book now.
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Spine & Sport, Portlaoise, Laois
Triathlon’s shoulder (also known as swimmer’s shoulder) is a term that is used a lot, and not only in the world of athletes. But what does it really mean? What is involved in creating the pain and what can be done to help alleviate it?
What is triathlon’s shoulder?
The medical terminology for triathlon’s shoulder is “impingement syndrome” which is a fancy term to say that there is a narrowing in the space between the acromion (the most top bony part of the shoulder) and the humeral head (connecting the arm to the shoulder). This narrowing causes a “pinch” in the tendons going through that space: usually the rotator cuff (supraspinatus and subscapularis in the picture below) and/ or the biceps.
What causes it?
It occurs more often in athletes and labourers that perform repetitive motions which can in the long term cause this sort of overuse injury. The typical sports include but are not limited to triathlon, swimming, baseball, volleyball, and racket sports. Jobs involving repeated overhead activities such as painters, carpenters, and electricians are also more at risk.
The recommended hand on approach involves the patient, the chiropractor and the coach (if sport-related injury) to combine their efforts together using:
Manual chiropractic adjustments
ART: Active Release Techniques muscle work
Dry needling
Laser IV therapy
Technique evaluation and correction
Proper rehabilitation exercises
Finding the cause of what initiated the pain is very important in order to avoid reproducing the same injury in the future. This does not mean stopping the activity involved with that movement but rather finding a new pattern that will allow to achieve the same goal without putting yourself at risk for injuries. This process works best with everyone working together as a team to get you out of pain and back into doing whatever activity or work you want or need to do.
The following video shows what a normal shoulder full range of motion should look like. Please only perform this exercise to your own tolerance. This is not a treatment.
If you have been experiencing shoulder pain and would like a consultation, contact the clinic on 057 8678904.
Golf chiropractor Shane Lawlor discusses the ‘X-factor’ swing, favoured by players like Rory McIlroy, and the importance of strength and conditioning.
Harder, better, faster, stronger.
Professional golfers are hitting the ball further and swinging the club with more force than ever before.
Advancements in club and ball technology, along with improved strength and conditioning training, have helped players smash driving distance records, forcing designers, particularly in the United States, to lengthen their courses.
Whether the arms race is good for the sport is up for debate. Another important discussion, however, is whether it’s good for the players.
A study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine in February 2019 claimed the modern ‘X-factor’ swing – designed to increase distance – can cause back injuries.
Check out Shane’s XIX Podcast Interview discussing all things Golf Injuries, Rehab & Performance
▫️How he got to work on the PGA & European Tour ▫️Whats it like working with tour pros? ▫️The changes he’s seen in the past 10 years ▫️What it takes to be a tour pro? ▫️What amateurs can do to improve their game?
Shane’s talk from the Irish Strength Institute 2018 Symposium
“Building Better Senior Golfers”
Discussing a number of aspects including ▪️ Common Injuries seen in Senior Golfers ▪️ Assessing & Treating the Senior Golfer ▪️ Rehab Applications including Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization, McGill Method and Functional Range Conditioning ▪️ The Importance of a Warm Up
The foot and ankle are often overlooked in golf when you consider the average round of golf will equate to about 10km of walking depending on how wayward your shots are.
One of the most important components of the foot is the big toe because of the impact it can have on your swing and walking during your round.
The right big toe is needed to load the right knee, quadriceps, and hip during the back swing and is also essential at impact through to follow through.
Signs of Big Toe Dysfunction:
Loss of Posture
Sway in golf swing
Limited follow through
Pain on walking
Hallux Rigidus:
One of the most common conditions we see in the clinic is hallux rigidus, where there is moderate to severe stiffness of the big toe. We use joint mobilisation, active release techniques (ART®) and functional integrated dry needling to improve the mobility of the joint. To help increase the joint range of motion and bring longer term results we give patients exercises based on functional range conditioning (FRC®)
Shane has been selected to speak at the inaugural European Golf & Fitness Symposium which will be held in Lisbon. Portugal this coming April 12th & 13th
This symposium will bring together international experts in the areas golf coaching, biomechanics, physical preparation, injury prevention, treatment and fitness.
Shane is one of Europe’s leading Sports Chiropractors and is an expert in the treatment, screening and rehabilitation of golf injuries. He has travelled extensively with professional golfers on both the European & PGA Tours since 2009 and worked with over 45 different tour pros.
For more information on the European Golf & Fitness Symposium visit the website
Yours in Health
Lawlor Clinic: Spine & Sport, Portlaoise, Laois
Experts in the Assessment, Treatment & Rehab of Golf Injuries
To prepare well for golf takes time and dedication. Our extensive experience with professional golfers on both the European & PGA Tours has shown us that nearly all professional golfers prepare for their round with a individualised warm up program and then hit the range before they play. This has a positive physical and mental impact on their ability to be ready to play and keeps them in a consistent routine.
This is not the case for a majority of the amateurs we see at the clinic, below is a sample 5 minute golf warm up you can do before you play, there are no bands or weights required for the routine. Warming up will help prepare your body to play and help to reduce injuries in the long term.
If you are suffering from a golf related injury including back pain, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis or sciatica then contact us today to book a consultation.
Yours in Health
Lawlor Clinic | Spine & Sport
Experts in the Assessment, Treatment, and Rehab of Golf Injuries
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
Experts in the Assessment, Treatment & Rehab of Golf Injuries
