Holidays are just around the corner, a lot of us can feel overwhelmed by the number of things left to do on the famous “to-do list” we give ourselves. How can one get everything done and not be completely overwhelmed by stress or physical exhaustion?
Here are a couple of easy tips to help you through the holiday season:
Sleep: Make sure you get enough sleep before, during and after this holiday season. Sleep is very important, it is the time your body uses to regenerate itself.
Hydration: Make sure to drink plenty of water during your holidays! Especially if your holiday’s meals come or are followed by any alcoholic beverages. Alcohol can very quickly get you dehydrated, so if you know it’s coming, grab an extra cup of water for yourself.
Stretch & Exercises: Staying active during the holidays doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming: a walk after a meal, going on a hike (make sure to bring enough layers with you to stay warm), or even having a little stretching session in the morning and/ or evenings. Any of these can do the trick and help you feel better throughout the holidays.
And Breath: Yes, something as simple as breathing can help you manage your stress. Taking a couple of minutes a day to take some deep breaths in through your nose, letting your belly expand, and breathing out through your mouth letting everything relax. This will help you regenerate yourself and be more present, in a better mood, and overall less stressed.
The BIRTHFIT video below demonstrates how to perform diaphragmatic breathing, an exercise that only takes 2 minutes of your day and could really help you during and even after this holiday season:
Wishing you all the best from the Lawlor Clinic for this holiday season and 2020!
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
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!
