Light sleep actually occurs in two stages: NREM stages 1 and 2 sleep.
Think of NREM stage 1 as “falling asleep.” During this time, your muscles relax, your heart begins to slow down, and your body temperature dips. Your brain waves slow down moving from a regular, rhythmic pattern to one with less frequent, less regular waves. Stage 1 sleep usually only lasts a few minutes.
NREM stage 2 sleep makes up the bulk of your NREM sleep. During this stage of sleep your muscles relax and may jerk. Your respiration and heart rate slow down. And your body temperature drops.
REM SLEEP
Associated with dreaming and memory, REM sleep plays an important role in re-energising your body. REM sleep makes up 5-50% of your total sleep and is regulated by your circadian rhythm. Typically you get more REM sleep in the second half of your sleep.
DEEP SLEEP
Deep sleep is the most restorative part of your sleep cycle. Deep sleep includes your normal sleep and your naps. Deep sleep can make up anywhere from 0-35% of your total sleep. On average the adult range is 15-20% which makes up 1-1.5 hours of deep sleep a night. This usually decreases with age. When you’re in deep sleep your blood pressure decreases, heart and breathing rates are steady and your muscles relax. During deep sleep, your muscles repair and grow which is why you often get more after a hard workout. Your immune system refreshes and your brain flushed out toxins. Normally deep sleep occurs mostly in the early stages of the night so try to get a consistent bedtime routine to help this occur to its best potential.
More on how to improve these cycles of sleep next week.
Injuries can disrupt our lives, but chiropractic care offers a vital role in the recovery process. This blog post highlights the significance of chiropractic care in rehabilitating injuries, helping individuals regain strength, mobility, and overall well-being.
Diagnosis and functional screening: Chiropractic care considers both the area injured and the driving factors for pain. Chiropractors promote comprehensive healing by identifying and treating underlying dysfunctions, reducing the risk of recurring problems and chronic pain.
Effective Pain Management: Chiropractors relieve pain through manual adjustments and soft tissue therapies. Chiropractic care provides natural pain relief, addressing the root causes of discomfort.
Restoring Mobility and Function: Chiropractic adjustments and therapeutic exercises restore proper movement and function to injured areas. By targeting joint restrictions and soft tissue injuries chiropractors facilitate healing, enhance range of motion, and restore normal function.
Preventing Complications: Chiropractic care helps prevent secondary complications associated with injuries. By correcting imbalances, strengthening weak muscles, and improving biomechanics, chiropractors address underlying issues, minimising the risk of future problems.
Personalized Treatment: Chiropractors create customized treatment plans based on individual assessments, considering the specific injury, medical history, and goals. This tailored approach ensures patients receive appropriate care, maximizing their chances of successful recovery.
Chiropractic care is essential in injury rehabilitation, offering a diagnosis for your pain, what is driving the pain functionally, effective pain management, restoration of mobility and function, prevention of complications, and personalized treatment plans.
Contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
Achilles pain is an incredibly common complaint for runners, but with the right treatment and rehabilitation strategies, you can get back on the track in no time.
The Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the body and can be prone to injury due to overuse, tightness, and inflammation. When the Achilles tendon becomes overly strained, it can lead to pain in the heel and calf area, which can make running and exercising difficult.
Fortunately, there are a number of treatments that can help reduce the pain and discomfort associated with Achilles pain. Active Release Techniques (ART) and chiropractic care are two of the most effective methods for treating Achilles tendonitis and other related conditions.
Active Release Techniques involve using a series of targeted soft tissue manipulations to reduce tension, improve range of motion, and help restore the body’s natural balance. During treatment, a practitioner applies a specific pressure and movement to the affected area to break down scar tissue and encourage blood flow. This helps to reduce inflammation and reduce pain.
Chiropractic care is another effective treatment for Achilles tendonitis and other running-related issues. Chiropractors use manual adjustments and other treatments to improve joint mobility and reduce muscle tension. This can help reduce pain and discomfort and improve range of motion.
If you’re experiencing Achilles pain, it’s important to seek professional treatment right away. Active Release Techniques and chiropractic care can be effective treatments for reducing pain and inflammation. Additionally, a personalised exercise program can help you to reduce the risk of injury and get back on the track faster.
If you need help with your pains or just want some advice feel free to contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
Laser therapy is a medical treatment that uses focused light to trigger a series of events in the body that leads to an increase in cellular metabolism. This can decrease pain and inflammation so the healing process can take place faster.
Laser therapy is used to treat short and long term conditions as well as post-activity recovery.
Acute Injuries
For injuries that have just occurred it is particularly effective if it is administered as quickly as possible.
Chronic Conditions
With long term conditions, laser therapy is most commonly used to help persistent pain and inflammation.
After Activity
To aid in post-activity recovery the laser is used by 250 pro, college, and Olympic sports teams across the United States and many parts of Europe.
What Does It Feel Like?
Laser therapy treatments is administered directly to skin, as clothing or topical dressings interfere with delivering light to tissues beneath the skin.
Patients will feel a soothing warmth feeling as the therapy is administered.
Patients receiving treatments with higher-power lasers also frequently report a rapid decrease in pain. For someone suffering from chronic pain, this effect can be particularly pronounced.How long do treatments last?
With LightForce lasers, treatments usually 4-7 minutes long, depending on the size of the area being treated.
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
Patients generally see results after 3 to 5 treatments.
If you need help with your tightness, pains or just want some advice feel free to contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
As winters arrives and summer sport starts slow down it can be hard to stay motivated to keep training or exercising regularly. But continuing to do regular exercise over winter can have significant benefits for your health and will get your body prepared for when sport starts up again.
Physical activity and training in the senior population on a consistent basis can have great impacts to someone’s way of life. These benefits include that people have fewer falls with injury, improved muscular strength and endurance, a decreased incidence of coronary artery disease, and a lower risk of cardiovascular related mortality for example heart attacks
There are a number of sports to pick from that can be found locally including running, walking, swimming, golfing, lifting weights, cycling and tennis.
Based on the activity you are training for, the training regimen should be specifically designed to produce both metabolic and physical adaptations aimed to improve health and performance. But in general here are some goals and targets you can aim for to help stay active over winter.
•Train 3-5 days per week
•20 to 60 minutes aerobic activity. For example walking or running.
•Choose an activity that engages the large muscle groups. This can be walking, jogging, running, cycling, rowing, stair climbing.
•Perform resistance training: One set of 10-15 repetitions for major muscle groups, two to three days per week. This will help develop muscle strength and help you perform better at your chosen activity.
•Perform flexibility training: stretch major muscle groups at least four times each for a minimum of two to three days per week
If you need help with planning a physical activity routine or have any pains when exercising feel free to contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
When dealing with back pain a common relief strategy people use is to stretch for the back. In this weeks blog post we are going to discuss why stretching your lower back may not be an effective long term way of dealing with your pain. For a long time it was common for people to prescribe certain stretches for example pulling your knees to your chest while lying on your back as an exercise for people suffering with lower back pain.
Short term the exercise makes sense. If people had trouble standing for long periods of time or if they were in pain lying on their back then they would feel better in a flexed position. Many who complained of feeling stiff and painful in their low back had instant relief of their symptoms after performing a few of these stretches.
However, this relief is only temporary for most people. When you stretch your low back, you are stimulating the stretch receptors deep inside the muscles that give the perception of pain relief and the feeling of less stiffness.
But muscle pain and stiffness you may feel in your back is caused because of a chemical reaction called inflammation. Inflammation occurs from the real injury located deeper in the spine. This can from a bulging disc, facet irritation or other injuries. The underlying injury is what causes the secondary contraction or spasm of the surrounding muscles. This then causes pain.
So because of this when you are rehabbing a back injury the majority of people should have their focus on stabilising their core and fixing any faulty movements. This is why increasing the mobility of the surrounding muscles and joints will help fix the cause of the lower back pain rather than just focusing on the symptoms.
If you do suffer from back pain and would like us to have a look at your problem and run through advice to get you out of pain contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
Squatting is one of the most common exercises to perform in the gym but often is done incorrectly. A good place to start is if we look at it as a movement rather than an exercise.
If we can fix the problems in a bodyweight squat you can create a greater capability to carry the load with the barbell.
The importance of the squat:
Squatting is a functional movement. This is because if you look at most sports for example a tennis player waiting for the serve or a goalkeeper at a penalty. The starting stance of the squatting movement is a universal position that carries over into many other movement patterns.
Toe angle:
Different people have different mobility limitations and anatomical differences will impact the width of your stance. The goal is to place your feet in a position that will allow for a full depth squat while still feeling comfortable. Although overall placing your feet at shoulder width apart is a good starting position for most people.
When it comes to the feet for a bodyweight squat it is best to have a near straight foot position with a very slight 5 degree outwards rotation for your feet to be pointing. If you have difficulty performing the movement to full range with this foot position, it may indicate you have certain issues in mobility that need addressing.
In the clinic we can assess you to see where you are not getting the correct movement from and then treat the affected area. This will gain range of motion and mobility so you can perform better when squatting.
A solid foot tripod:
When we create a good arch in our foot, you form what we call a tripod foot. The three points of the tripod is the heel, the base of the 1st toe and the base of the 5th toe. Th goal when squatting should be to maintain the arch of our feet and have our weight distributed evenly.
Creating hip external rotation:
The last thing to think about before starting the descent for the bodyweight squat is to create external rotational with your hips. Creating this movement creates a tightness in our hips that will ensure our knees track with ideal alignment during the entire squat. This will help produce power and speed to your squat.
To create this power at the hips think about squeezing your glutes and driving your knees out. When you do this you will feel the outside muscles of your hips engage.
Point your feet as straightforward as possible. 5 degree toe-out angle.
Maintain three points of contact with your feet in relation to the floor establishing the tripod foot.
Create external rotational forces at the hips by squeezing your glutes while maintaining the tripod foot.
Always remember that the squat is a movement first and an exercise second.
I hope this helps, but if you do suffer from tightness when squatting and would like us to have a look at your problem and run through advice to get you out of pain contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
It is likely that you or someone you know has had low back pain in the past. It is a common problem but often it can be tackled by simply changing how you are moving or changing a couple of key habits in the day. This blog will cover ways to help the office worker and people working lifting boxes and machinery.
If you sit with bad posture during the day then it will put more stress on certain areas of your back.
Some key movement tips:
Don’t bend and round your back when getting out of bed
When brushing your teeth, unloading the dishwasher or other simple movements you want to avoid too much spinal movement. To help try and hinge from the hips. You should feel like you’re gliding your bottom backwards in order to lean forwards. It’s fine to lean one hand on the sink for support.
Try not to be hunched over when putting on shoes and socks, instead put a foot up on a chair to help bring your hips into play like in the point above.
Lifting:
Sometimes fixing your posture can help but often peoples jobs require lifting or moving in the day. For this a proper core brace should be implemented. Not with a physical one you can buy but rather with your abdominal muscles.
But how do you do it? If you create pressure in your abdominal cavity you will help to create extra stability for your back. So as you are about to lift the object off the ground take a breath and brace your core (to brace your core if you were to cough you will feel some muscles contract. Tense these muscles as you lift). Doing both of these things will increase the pressure inside your abdominal cavity against the structures surrounding it so your back will be protected as you lift to help you stay injury free.
I hope this helps, but if you do suffer from back pain and would like us to have a look at your problem and run through advice to get you out of pain contact the clinic today on 0578678904 or book now.
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.
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
