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
Shoulder pain is a common issue for a lot of people either in day to day life or when they are training. One of the most common conditions is shoulder impingement.
To prevent shoulder impingement it is important to have strength and endurance in a muscle called the Serratus Anterior. In movements such as putting something up on a shelf or exercises such as an overhead press, this muscle activates and makes sure that your shoulder blade moves correctly and that your shoulder joint is stabilised in a correct position.
If your Serratus Anterior is weak or if it gets tired quickly then it can cause unwanted movement in the shoulder joint and lead to an impingement in the shoulder.
So what exercises can we do to strengthen the Serratus Anterior and also stabilise your shoulder?
Half-Kneeling To Overhead Press
A bottoms under kettlebell press is an excellent stability based exercise for the shoulder and this movement carries over to alot of movements you perform in the gym and daily life.
Start with both knees bent with the kettlebell in the front rack position. Then keeping your core engaged drive up and bring your leg in front of you. It is important to keep your core braced doing this and try to keep your ribcage stacked directly over your pelvis. Finally, press the kettlebell overhead and then lower it back down keeping control of the kettlebell throughout the movement.
Holding the kettlebell upside down means the centre of gravity is further away from your hand and therefore means you have to work harder to control the kettlebell as it is in an unbalanced position.
DNS Low Oblique Sit Stage 1
Start on your back with your right hand up in the air holding the kettlebell. This time the kettlebell will not be in a bottoms under position. Then bend your right leg up and keep your left leg straight. Pressurise through your abdomen and keep your core contracted. Bring your left elbow out and drive up through the elbow keeping the kettlebell overhead and your core braced. Keep in control of the kettlebell at all times and control your movement back into the start position.
Final Thoughts
If you are an elite athlete or just enjoy going to the gym then both of these exercises can help you. They both work very well as a warm-up before you do your workouts, or they also work integrated into a workout superset.
If you have shoulder pain and want to get it sorted 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
This blog will cover a common myth of the squat. It is commonly thought by many that the knees should never go over the toes when squatting.
No one is certain where this originated from but it has become a common theme in the fitness industry and medical world.
But, is it really a dangerous thing to do? For Olympic weightlifters to be able to lift the most amount of weight during their clean, they must catch the barbell in a deep squat position. Then in order to remain upright with the bar secured on the chest, the knees of many lifters will move past their toes. So does this mean all weightlifters are placing their knees in harms-way when they get under the barbell?
When you squat poorly, the origin of the movement will commonly be from the ankles first. This means as the ankles move the knees are forced to hinge forwards. This creates a chain reaction of moving your weight onto the balls of the feet. This is called a knees first approach to squatting. Doing this in this way leads to greater shear forces on the knee joint and contributes to increased risk of injury and eventually to pain.
So because of this, it appears the issue is at the knee because that is where the site of pain is. So if you limit the amount of movement the knees have then this solves the problem. However, limiting the knees from moving only addresses the symptoms of the issue rather than the overall problem.
What to do?
Where the issue lies is your balance. This is because the knee is only a hinge joint. It will move due to what it is being dictated by at the hip and ankle. So we should be focusing on the hip and ankle joint when we squat.
During squatting we must have our centre of gravity over the middle of our foot. This is because our body can remain balanced and work effectively in producing speed and power. During a bodyweight squat, our centre of gravity is located around our belly button. When weight training, the barbell now becomes our centre of gravity.
So how do we correct for moving from the ankles first? It is important to sit back or push the hips back so we hinge from the hips in order the get the hips moving first and therefore allow us to descend into a deep squat. Doing so will limit the amount of pre-mature forward movement of the knees. So the centre of gravity will stay over the middle of their foot.
But this only works up until a point. In order to reach full depth in the squat there comes a time when the knees must eventually move forward. To stay balanced while we go deeper into a squat, our knees have to progress forwards of our toes, this will help us stay balanced. This is because to get to the full depth in the squat, the hips must be under the torso. This allows us to remain balanced and keep our chest upright.
The main point is that we should not be concerned when our knees move past our toes, not if.
If you suffer from knee pain and would like an examination and treatment to help relieve your symptoms and improve your movement patterns 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
Currently, people will do anything to compete and perform at their best. When it comes down to game day, it is common for people to try and ignore their pain and then push through it. This goes back to the phrase we have been told from when we were young of ‘No pain, no gain’.
In the world today, no pain, no gain is frequently said and acted upon to cover up pain. We wrap our ankles and wrists before games, wear knee sleeves and take pain killers and use creams to get through training by keeping the pain at a low enough level in order to perform. Although this allows us to compete on a consistent basis but these temporary solutions for dealing with pain during competition and even training sessions have become regular occurrences for people during their routines.
So what can be the effects of pushing through pain?
Pain tells us that there may be injury occurring to the body. The type of pain can vary from sharp, stabbing or throbbing sensation. Pain can be muscular or you could be feeling it in a joint. It often occurs due to overuse, poor technique and inflammation. It is important to note that pain does not improve because of a proper warm-up or mobility work pre-session.
This is because pain is not a soreness. Whereas muscle soreness will almost always improve when you have done a throughout warmup. When your muscles are sore this is a natural part of training. So if you have done a warm-up and your pain improves it is most likely because you are just sore and can continue with training.
There are a few reasons why phishing through pain can be harmful. Firstly as mentioned earlier, pain can be a warning sign of a problem being caused for your body, similar to a check engine light on your dashboard. Although there may be times of pushing through pain to get a performance in, if it becomes part of your training routine it can be detrimental to your body and your progress. Continually ignoring pain is when injuries occur.
Pain also changes the way you move. This is because your body is trying to find a position where it is protected. But this can also affect your movement and therefore directly limit your mobility and diminish your strength. This is especially true for gym-goers when using a barbell. Because trying to push through the pain when you are lifting heavy will limit your development.
So do not ignore the signs with your body when it is in pain. Learn to embrace pain as a chance to fix your body so it can run for a long time safely.
If you suffer from pain and would like an examination and treatment to help relieve your symptoms and improve your movement patterns 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
A lot of people get back pain but continue to either train through it or rest until the pain lessens only to get it again when they continue with the activity they were resting from. So this blog will cover the basics of back pain, the main ways that your training might be affecting it and how to prevent pain.
Your spine is not just a stack of bones piled on top of each other. It is more of a curved tower of small bones called vertebra, where each of these is separated by the bodies equivalent of a pillow, called a disc. The discs in between the vertebra provide support and create a cushioning effect when you are loading your back. Then your vertebra is connected by little joints called Facet joints. The purpose of these is to allow you to bend and twist through movements. All of these structures are held together and supported by different tissues. These are ligaments, muscles, fascia and joint capsules.
So what actually causes back pain when people are training or doing general movements at work or at home?
The simplest answer is that pain is the result of excessive stress or strain on the structures of your back. Pain is more commonly due to an accumulation of microtrauma rather than one actual event. Three main areas that can cause a build-up of microtrauma are:
Poor movement or technique
Excessive loading of the spine during training causing an increase in compression to the spine
Poor training programming or periodisation (not enough rest)
Your body is built to resist a certain amount of force before it fails and gets injured. Athletes who can safely push themselves to the point just before the limit will find a big increase in improving strength and performance. But pushing past this limit is where pain occurs and injuries occur.
In the day when we are moving, bending, twisting and also when we go to workout the spine is most efficient when stacked in a neutral position. Microtrauma occurs when the spine moves out of this neutral spine position.
For example when deadlifting with an excessively rounded back, or having a butt wink when squatting. Also, microtrauma can occur when you load your back excessively. This microtrauma builds up and then gets to the point we mentioned previously where pain occurs.
Often the point of pain at one part during a movement for example coming out of the hole of a squat and feeling a pop in the back or if you were just brushing your teeth in the morning and you felt your back give way. It is likely down to the movements you have done previously that then mean doing a simple thing causes pain in your back. So having proper form and managing your training loads are vital to keeping your back healthy and pain-free.
So if you are suffering from pain and would like treatment for it, or would like an assessment to see where your imbalances and potential injuries may originate from 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 this blog we will cover ways to help your diet and understand what nutritional benefit some foods can play in helping you build a stronger immune system.
So here are some important areas of your diet to focus on and potentially increase:
Vitamin D: Over the past few years, the information around Vitamin D has greatly increased. Vitamin D has been shown to protect against respiratory diseases, flu development, depression and cardiac disease markers. But how can we increase our intake? Sun exposure is the best source of Vitamin D, but you can also find it in salmon, egg yolks, milk and cereals. But as we’re in Ireland it can be useful to supplement your diet with Vitamin D because of the weak strength of the sun and now winter is closing in. So a simple Vitamin D supplement from your local health store can be greatly beneficial to your health.
Protein: Protein can help your body build lean tissue and also help build antibodies. Protein is arguably the most important macronutrient for your immune system. Whether animal or plant-based, aim for the best quality available to you that you can afford. Recommended amounts are different for everyone due to body weight and the amount of activity you are doing.
Zinc: Zinc is very important to the immune system by effectively activating T-Cells. T-cells job is to attack infected cells and will help regulate your immune response. Ways to increase the amount of Zinc in your diet is to eat foods such as scallops and oysters. Also, high-quality whole grains are good food sources for Zinc.
Vitamin C: If you want a great micronutrient for an immune boost, Vitamin C will do that job for you. It’s a powerful antioxidant that can help your body produce lymphocytes and phagocytes. These are vital for your immune system to help protect you against infections. Where can you find Vitamin C? Citrus fruits, broccoli and bell peppers are great for this. But similar to the other Vitamins mentioned above it can be useful to supplement these in your diet as well.
Sleep: Sleep is one of the most important good habits you can develop. This is because it affects everything we do and how our body functions the next day. What do you do with your phone at night? Charge it. Otherwise, you are not going to be using it at its full capacity the next day. It is the same with your body. Give it the recharge it needs. To help increase your sleep try these tips:
Aim to get 7-9 hours of uninterrupted time in bed. Put your phone away before bed as this will help reduce distractions.
Stick to a consistent bedtime so your body gets used to going to bed at a certain time.
Precede bedtime with some deep breathing work to engage the parasympathetic nervous system which is the relaxing part of your nervous system.
These habits and diet tips might be basic, but that does not make it easy. Your day can change without you expecting it and throw a spanner in your new routine. But building good habits can provide you with some flexibility when your day gets out of control. So give these tips a go this week and see how you feel.
If you have any questions and want to improve your health from diet advice to decreasing aches and pains you may have contact the clinic today on 0578678904, direct message us on Facebook or book now.
Yours in Health
The Lawlor Clinic: Spine & Sport, Portlaoise, Laois
Do you sometimes feel a sharp, shooting pain travel down the back of your leg? Or sometimes a dull, ache or tingling and numbness? These symptoms might be down to a condition known as Sciatica. This blog post will help you understand what sciatica is and some ways to help this.
Commonly people attribute any pain in the leg to being Sciatica but this is only when it affects one of the specific nerves that runs directly down the back of your leg called the Sciatic nerve.
Symptoms of Sciatica
Symptoms are radiating pain that travels from the low back, through the buttock, and down the back of the leg. This is normally down one leg rather than two. Sometimes Sciatica can give other symptoms other than just leg pain, this can include:
● Numbness of the buttock, leg, or foot
● Tingling that radiates down the leg
● A burning sensation in the low back, buttock, or leg
● Lower body weakness
So how can we help your pain?
With Sciatica we do a number of tests in the clinic to rule in and out certain conditions and make the best plan of management moving forwards to help.
Methods we use in the clinic to help:
Soft tissue massage
Active release techniques
Chiropractic adjustments
Instrument assisted soft tissue massage
Laser therapy
Home rehabiliation exercises
Most cases of Sciatica are best managed with conservative care but is also important to keep active and moving while avoiding bed rest where possible. This will help with your recovery.
A Useful Exercise
Important exercises to do for Sciatica are nerve gliding exercises. 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. Below is a link to an exercise for the Sciatic nerve. Start with 10 repetitions, gradually increase the stretch on the neck and the leg, don’t force the motion, it will gradually increase with each repetition. If this exercise increases your symptoms, then stop the exercise.
If you suffer from Sciatica and would like an examination and treatment to help relieve your symptoms 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
