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 put extra stress on your back.
Being tight! For example tight hamstrings can reduce your movement so will pull on your pelvis and rotate your spine into a more rounded position.
Weak core muscles.
If you are riding on bumpy ground. This increases jarring and compression to the spine while you cycle and can cause your back to get aggravated.
Length of cycling done weekly. Cyclists who ride an average of 160 km or more per week are significantly more likely to report back pain than those who rode less km per week.
It is not just your lower back that can be affected, sometimes your neck and upper back can be achy or painful. Especially if you extend your neck for long periods causing irritation in your neck
You can also hurt your neck and upper back by bending your neck too far upwards. This will increase the strain in your neck and you could also hurt it going over unexpected bumps.
But overall we would recommend 3 main things to do:
Check your bike fit.
See if you are cycling at around 90 RPM as a low cadence puts more strain on your back so may need to be increased.
Strengthen your core and back muscles. Your core can protect your back if you cycle often or for long periods so is a key area to work on.
If you suffer from back pain when cycling and would like a full functional assessment or to see where you can strengthen up your body feel free to contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
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 this but rather will cause you to be tired and also not have prepared the right areas in order to perform.
A good start in general is some mobility work for certain areas that are weak. A common area is the Thoracic spine and below are 2 links for exercises to prepare your Thoracic spine for working out.
Cat Camel: Aim for 15-20 slow and controlled reps making sure you are getting the movement through your upper back.
Reachbacks: Aim for 1-2 sets of 10 reps on each side depending on how you are feeling on the day of your workout.
Then as well as this you can do some assistance exercises before you workout for example a patient pull down or dumbbell row prior to deadlifting will help set the correct muscles for when you start the exercise.
Overall, having an intense stretching and mobility work can actually increase the risk of injuries when done before lifting. This is because you can create changes that can reduce the force you can create in your lift and therefore making it less able to resist force from an external load such as a barbell. So the risk of injury increases.
So if you have a pain or find out more contact the clinic today on 0578678904, direct message us on Facebook or book now.
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Spine & Sport, Portlaoise, Laois
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.
You can’t eat enough turmeric from spicy food to get all the varied benefits of curcumin. So a small supplement from your local health food shop can help this.
Magnesium
We’ve known for a while that magnesium deficiency is linked to depression, anxiety, and inflammation.
An increase in Magnesium for your diet will help to control your internal body reactions which regulate your mood. If these are under control then it can correlate to less depressive episodes and dampen the feeling of anxiety.
If you have any questions then please contact the clinic today on 0578678904, direct message us on Facebook or book now.
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Spine & Sport, Portlaoise, Laois
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 elbow and its close companion in Golfers Elbow, which is where the same pain affects the inside of the elbow where the tendons of our forearm connect to the bone in our elbow.
In clinic we first work out where your pain is coming from and secondly what is driving that pain in the first place.
Then we use 3 stages to have an effect on your injury.
Firstly we want to lower the pain you are in. This is done by desensitising your tissue to cause relief to the area and improve the function in your arm so you can get back to doing the activities you want to do.
Secondly we want to create a long term change to the injured tissue by taking the tissue to the full range of motion it can have and build conditioning in it. This means you can do more things with your elbow at a higher intensity without increasing your pain.
Finally it is important to then prevent the cause of the pain. This means we can continually move the muscle to the end range of movement without causing pain.
The cause of Tennis Elbow is primiarily an issue with the small space in your elbow that then has swelling develop. So decreasing pain involves reducing the tension in that area so your tissues can move freely in it.
In the clinic we use a variety of techniques for this including: Active Release Techniques, Chiropractic Manipulation, Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Massage, Dry Needling, Laser Therapy and Soft tissue massage.
Other tissues that affect tennis elbow include the forearm, rotator cuff, and scapula, so we include these in the treatment of tennis elbow.
If you would like a full functional assessment and find out what is causing your elbow pain, 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
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 we look at breathing? We have to think about muscle functions rather than just actions to get the full benefit during your breath at the gym rather than just training the action of the following muscles.
Muscles of Inhalation
– Diaphram
– External Intercostals
Accessory Muscles of Inhalation
– Sternocleidomastoid
– Scalenes
– Pec Minor
A key thing to note is accessory muscles of inspiration are located around your neck and shoulder blade. This is why if we are breathing badly from the start and not using our diaphragm and abdominal muscles it is common to have neck and shoulder pain.
Muscles of Exhalation
Exhaling is a much more passive movement. But there are muscles that help assist it, this becomes more so the case when you are at full exhalation or forced exhalation.
Muscles of Exhalation
– Internal Intercostals
Accessory Muscles of Exhalation
– External Obliques
– Internal Obliques
– Rectus Abdominus
– Transerve Abdominus
– Quadratus Lumborum
These muscles are located around your lumbar spine.
How to help?
Below is an exercise to practice breathing in with a slight (10%) core contraction to help improve your breathing cycle.
If you are struggling with the exercise above, below is an exercise to practice breathing in through your stomach, you should feel your belly push up against your thighs.
Conclusion
So to go back to the opening paragraph of this blog. If we are spending more time in a high-stress, inhalation, stress-dominant state in both life and lifting it can lead to dysfunction and therefore pain.
In the clinic we assess both how you’re moving but also how you breathe and if you control your breathing. So if you have pain or just want to see if you can improve this aspect of your life then book yourself in for a full functional assessment. Contact the clinic today on 0578678904, direct message us on Facebook or book now.
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Spine & Sport, Portlaoise, Laois
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 or a biomechanical dysfunction (bad technique when training). Pain normally increases the more you load the knee. So for example, if you are squatting 60kg the pain might be 1/10. But if you increase the weight to 100kg it may increase to a 4/10.
As your knee moves your kneecap/ patella will cause the muscles to tense and surround your knee to stabilise it. But if these muscles are tight then the knee will not move properly and will rub and can cause injury. In the clinic, we assess your squat both in a normal deep squat position and also doing a single leg squat. This allows us to see where you are not moving properly and then work on this with manual therapy techniques and form alternations to help your knee move better and have you perform pain-free again.
Patellar Tendinopathy: If you do sports that involve more explosive movements that are highly repetitive. For example, hurling, rugby and gymnastics. It is common to have patella tendon pain when you do excessive jumping or loading through the knee. It is much more common to get the pain when you are putting force through the knee, for example, jumping. Rather than just running because it is difficult to overload the knee just running on its own.
Mainly the pain is on the patella tendon itself but you can also get pain on the little bump below the knee (called your tibial tuberosity). This is a common place to see swelling too.
In conclusion
Just looking at the knee is rarely enough to fully fix your pain. It can help a great deal to release off tissue and muscle tension around the knee to allow it to move better but the mechanics that have led to the injury in the first place must be fixed in order to stop the pain from coming back.
This is where we can help you in the clinic by both helping your knee move better and lower pain levels but also see where you are moving poorly to help the pain from returning.
If you would like a full functional assessment and find out what is causing your knee pain, 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
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:
Good ankle mobility
Good hip mobility
Pelvic and core stability
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 up and then have their knee cave inwards because of the lack of control they have through their entire lower limb. If you can pass a bodyweight squat with your toes pointing forwards then you can effectively work on jumping to build speed and power.
Toes out
Once you go into the gym and pick up a barbell you are squatting as an exercise rather than a movement. So there is a slight change in the pattern of movement. This means you will turn the feet out to give yourself a better base of support and will not challenge your mobility and balance to as much of a degree as a narrow stance toes forward squat.
When we squat deeper and turn out hips outwards you can get deeper into a squat.
This is why some athletes can squat deeper when they turn their toes out. By externally rotating the hips we can usually achieve a deeper and better-looking squat.
When our hips are turned outwards, the muscles on the inside of your leg which are called the Adductor muscles are lengthened, so in comparison to a narrow stance you will use your Adductors more when you have your feet turned outwards. Your adductors are useful in the standing up part of your squat. So strengthening them and using them more will help for a more efficient and effective way to move the barbell while in the gym.
Normally you should have your feet turned out somewhere between 10-30 degrees. Turning your feet out more can make your Glute and Hamsringmuscles less effective when performing the squat. Not everyone is the same so somewhere that feels comfortable for you will be likely best for producing a powerful and effective squat.
In conclusion:
If you can not perform a good bodyweight squat with your toes facing forwards then there is likely some mobility or stability issues to work on, if you correct these then you will have a more powerful and effective weighted squat in the gym with your toes turned further outwards.
If you would like a full functional assessment and find out what issues are limiting you in the gym, 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
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 recommended by many because of the chances of injury but is more commonly used by dancers.
PNF: This is an acronym for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and describes a combination of passive stretching followed by different types of muscular contractions. If someone gets your muscle into a position, for example a hamstring stretch while you are on your back. Then asks you to contract and then relax while they push the muscle further, this is PNF.
In the past, research showed that performing static stretching before training or a competition could reduce the chances of muscular strain. This is why it is such a popular form of stretching.
But recent research is showing that static stretching can lead to a decrease in strength, speed and power. So this would lessen the athlete’s performance. But it might not be the static stretching that is the problem, rather it is the long duration someone will hold the stretch for.
Stretches for short periods of time (under 30 seconds) cause no harm to muscular performance and cause an increase in mobility, this means you can get into better technical positions when performing your lift or movement. It is when a stretch is held for 45 seconds that there is a decrease in power, speed and strength.
A test to do:
If you struggle with tightness and feel restricted you can test if you are short of what is expected of your muscles.
Place your foot 10 cm from the wall and then bend your knee to try and touch the wall without lifting your heel to do so. If you can touch your knee to the wall you have passed the test and have good ankle mobility. Working on passive stretches of 30-second holds can help to free up your calf and get to pass the test without affecting your performance.
For example, a deep goblet squat can help improve your ankle mobility before training. Hold a kettlebell on your chest and sit down into a deep squat. Hold 4 stretches for 10-30 seconds.
If you do not have good ankle mobility you will be unable to get into a good squat position and therefore will hinder your technique.
In the clinic, we work using a variety of techniques to help improve mobility in all areas of the body, including ankles. So working on your muscles and joints to help get into a good position will allow you to perform and move better day to day and during athletic performance.
In conclusion:
Stretching prior to your workout is not a one size fits all. It will come down to you as an individual and what your body responds best to. Also, it will depend on where your weaknesses are. Your tightness can also be down to overall muscle weakness, so it could tighten up to try and stabilise the area.
To help work out what needs to be done to fix your issue and to help get you the best results contact the clinic today on 0578678904, direct message us on Facebook or book now.
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Spine & Sport, Portlaoise, Laois
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. The same applies to your feet. Slowly building your capacity through the foot will help to gradually build your strength and motion in the foot, reducing the chance of injury and discomfort.
Start off at one hour of being barefoot and then gradually increase the time spent each day by 20 minutes to help your transition.
Toe Extensor Stretch
It is common to stretch the plantar fascia. This is based on the idea that the tissues are tight and shortened. But because modern footwear actually lengthens the plantar fascia we should focus on the opposite side of the foot rather than stretching something that is already lengthened.
Start with a stretch to the toe extensors:
Pull one or both feet behind you and position the top of the foot on the ground.
Pull your heel back and towards the ground. This action should allow a good stretch to the top of your foot.
Hold this position for 30 seconds before relaxing. (It is common to get a cramp in the arch of your foot, the more you practice this stretch the better it will get).
Soft Tissue Mobilisation
A common fix for plantar fasciitis is rolling a ball under your foot, this is effective because when deep pressure is put into the plantar fascia, blood flow is stimulated. This can speed up healing and also act as temporary pain relief.
Find a small ball, either a golf ball or a sliotar and roll it slowly on the bottom of your foot. When you come to a painful point, hold this pressure for 20 seconds before moving off the area. Do this for 3-5 minutes and see if your symptoms are less than before.
Strengthening The Foot
Improving the strength of your foot should be a major factor in the rehabilitation of your foot injury. As mentioned earlier, just switching to a barefoot shoe can significantly increase the strength of the muscles in your foot.
But you may need to further foot strength can work on the small muscles of the foot.
The Toe Scrunch:
Place a small towel under your foot.
Slowly grasp the towel with your toes and pull it towards your heel.
Do this for 10 reps of 3 sets.
Moonwalks:
Strengthening the tight foot extensors (which are the muscles on the front of your shin) can also be beneficial to your foot pain. Moonwalks are an effective way to do this.
Do this exercise for 20-30 reps at a time.
Then when you have the ability to create a strong foot position you can progress to maintaining it while loading the foot. For example, squats and single-leg RDL’s without any shoes on will help create foot stability in multiple planes of motion as you will be constantly shifting your weight through the foot and forced to adapt.
If you suffer from foot pain or have any questions 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
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 foot turning this quicksand to a firm surface so you can generate force efficiently and with more power.
For a long time, Plantar Fasciitis was thought to be an inflammation of the plantar fascia and more of a repetitive stress injury. But the true cause of this condition comes down to a problem with blood flow.
When your big toe is pulled inward for example in a narrow shoe or if you have a tight foot, a muscle on the inside bottom of the foot is under tension, this is your Abductor Hallucis. You can test this and see it for yourself. If you pull your big toe inwards and look next to the inside of your heel, you can see the stretching occurring.
This tightening of the muscle leads to pinching of a nearby artery that runs underneath. This restricts blood flow to part of the bottom of your foot.
This leads us to an important point. Poor blood flow limits the body’s ability to recover from stress.
Symptoms:
Most people who are diagnosed with plantar fasciitis have pain on the bottom of their foot (usually near the inside side of the heel) that is especially extremely painful when taking their first few steps in the morning after waking up.
A common description is a knife-like sensation stabbing the bottom of the foot. While these symptoms may get better through the day but are then made worse with loading. For example when you go for a run or stand up for long periods of time.
Mortons Neuroma: A very common condition that causes pain in the foot is Morton’s neuroma. It is a painful enlargement of a small nerve in your foot that runs between your third and fourth toes. But why is the nerve painful in the first place? The answer is often inappropriate footwear and a dysfunctional foot.
The three problem features of shoes contribute to nerve irritation.
Elevated heel: This causes the toes to be in an extended position. This will increase the amount of load on the nerve
Toe spring: Lifting the toes also increases the load on the exposed nerve to an even greater degree.
Narrow toebox: If the toes are pushd together, the nerve can be pinched between the third and fourth toes.
Symptoms:
This extra loading on the nerve and pinching causes symptoms of burning or electrical shock-like pain into the third and fourth toes. It also often gives an uncomfortable sensation in the foot and is often described as a feeling of a pebble in peoples shoes.
Next week we will cover the ways to help manage and fix these issues.
In the meantime, if you suffer from foot pain or have any questions 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
