Chevron Island Physio

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Staying Injury Free in the New Year

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HOW CAN I STAY
INJURY FREE?
BY HEEDING A FEW TRAINING DO’S AND DON’TS YOU CAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE YOUR RISK OF SUSTAINING A WORKOUT-RELATED INJURY.

Many new participants to exercise are worried about the risk of injury. However, in real terms the benefits of exercise greatly outweigh any possible risk associated with maintaining an active and
healthy lifestyle. That being said, there are some common injuries that we do see among the exercising population and you will be happy to know that these injuries can often be prevented, simply by following these tips and training strategies.

Common Injury 1: Anterior knee pain
Some physiotherapy and sports medicine clinics spend nearly 50 per cent of their time treating people who suffer from pain in and around the front of their knee. The cause of this pain can be due to conditions such as patellofemoral pain syndrome, patella tendinopathy or iliotibial band friction
syndrome. Avoid anterior knee pain by:Increasing your level of activity gradually. Do not increase volume or intensity of exercise by more than 10 per cent each week.Avoiding excessive incline running. This increases rotational forces around the knee and puts greater strain on the joint. Keeping your knee in line with your second toe (the one next to the big toe) during most lunging and squatting activities. This helps
reduce pressure on the patellofemoral joint. Making sure you have good shoes. The 10-year-old pair of sneakers that you found in the cupboard will probably not provide adequate support during exercise.

Common Injury 2: Shoulder Pain
Many exercising individuals are at risk of shoulder pain when they start a new exercise program; and the risk of pain in this area more then doubles if you have had a shoulder injury in the past. Common problems that affect the shoulders of active people include rotator cuff tendinopathy, impingement syndromes, acromioclavicular joint strain and referred pain from the cervical spine.

Avoid shoulder pain by:
Including some specific strengthening exercises for the small rotator cuff muscles (your physiotherapist or personal trainer can show you some of these). Making sure you can always ‘see your hands’ when doing weight training exercises such as shoulder presses and pulldowns. Making sure you allow rest days for your shoulders (i.e., do NOT do a heavy chest workout on day one, return for a massive back and shoulders session on day two and then swim 5km on day three.) For those smaller shoulder stabilisers you need to allow suitable rest days to recover from intensive training sessions. Ensuring you have adequate body roll, if you are keen on swimming. Always get a swim coach to check your technique before increasing your distances too rapidly.

Common Injury 3:Low Back Pain
While it is true that some exercising people experience low back pain as a result of exercise, most medical research confirms that exercise is actually one of the best preventative measures you can take, to reduce the risk of lower back pain. However, the people who do end up with back pain may be suffering from conditions such as lumbar disc degeneration, facet joint strain, sacroiliac joint dysfunction or simple lumbar muscle strain and spasm.

Avoid lumbar spine pain by:
Ensuring the joints in your spine are stretched and moved through a full range of motion every day. This may involve simple ‘knee to chest’ stretches and ‘ back extensions’ on your tummy.Moving around as much as you can during work hours, and when you arrive at the gym take five to ten minutes every time, to rotate, flex and extend your spine prior to commencing your exercise routine. Getting your trainer or physiotherapist to show you a range of core stability exercises that will strengthen the muscles that control your lower back. This will also minimise your risk of injury.

Low back pain, shoulder pain and anterior knee pain are all common injuries that can
be avoided this summer.

IN SUMMARY
While many people are concerned about the risks involved in exercise, the truth is that typical fitness centre activities such as weight training, group fitness classes and cardiovascular equipment training have a much lower injury risk than the majority
of team and individual sports. In fact, it is thought that the removal of the‘competitive’ aspect is one of the major reasons for this.Take heed of the suggestions made above, make sure that you consult your local physiotherapist or sports physician about any pain or problem before it affects your training program, ask your personal
trainer to check your exercise technique regularly and, above all, get out there and enjoy being physical!

Interestingly, many low back injuries happen between exercises, rather than during the actual lift, so be extra careful when lifting dumbbells from the floor, or while twisting to place weighted plates on machines.

Move more, sit less, every day!

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stand up deskWarning: you should really stand up to read this!

Regular physical activity has many health benefits and plays an important role in promoting healthy weight. It can help prevent heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, and also improve psychological wellbeing. In February 2014, the Department of Health released updated guidelines concerning Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour. These guidelines are a result of an evidence review process that considers the relationship between physical activity (including the amount, frequency, intensity and type of physical activity) and relevant health outcome indicators (eg disease). It is the first time that these guidelines specifically consider – and give advice on – sedentary (sitting) behaviour. The guidelines are as follows:

Physical activity guidelines
• Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount*
• Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
• Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
• Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.
Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines
• Minimise the amount of time spent in prolonged sitting.
• Break up long periods of sitting as often as possible.

How do I start you ask? The health benefits of physical activity are continuous, beginning with any increment in activity above zero! Run, ride, swim, walk, take the stairs, sit less…. Remember accumulation is the key: 30 minutes can be one thirty minute walk or three ten minute walks!
How can Chevron Island Physio help? Why not combine some of the weekly recommendations via 2 weekly pilates classes* (strength activities 2 days a week & 120 minutes total activity!)
To download the revised guidelines, or for more information on the Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines (2014), visit http://www.health.gov.au/paguidelines

*Becoming more active is safe for most people. However some people should check with their doctor before becoming much more physically active. If you are planning to become more physically active, or are not used to being active or are >65 years old consult your doctor for advice.

Adam Heath
B ExSc, Dip Remedial Massage.

Hypermobility

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hypermobile
On a recent trip to the UK, a friend and senior physiotherapist in London suggested that I was hypermobile. My husband and I had a good laugh at this because my lack of flexibility is often a subject of discussion (and amusement) in our home.
Joint hypermobility means some or all of a person’s joints have an unusually large range of movement.
People with hypermobility are particularly supple and able to move their limbs into positions others find impossible. This can be true of just some joints as in my case I am embarrassed to admit that I have allowed my hamstrings, hip flexors, forearms…and so on to tighten excessively, effectively resolving the trouble of hypermobility at the joints these muscles envelop and put them at risk to alternate damage!
Many people with hypermobile joints do not have any problems or need treatment. However, joint hypermobility can sometimes cause unpleasant symptoms, such as:
• joint pain
• back pain
• dislocated joints – when the joint comes out if its correct position
• soft tissue injuries, such as tenosynovitis (inflammation of the protective sheath around a tendon)
If hypermobility causes these types of symptoms it is often called joint hypermobility syndrome.
Joint hypermobility syndrome can be very difficult to live with because it can cause fatigue (extreme tiredness) and long-term pain. It may also take time to receive the correct diagnosis due to the wide range of symptoms that joint hypermobility syndrome can cause.
Having a hypermobile joint exposes the structures of that joint to increased forces. Joint ligaments and capsule are left over exposed to the pushes and pulls of daily life. Needless to say this makes the joint/area susceptible to injury and pain.
Physiotherapy has always been the mainstay of treatment for the musculoskeletal aspects of joint hypermobility syndrome. As always an integrated physiotherapy programme is essential and the most up-to-date research supports:
-improving spinal posture by developing core stability;
-enhancing joint stability by encouraging joint-stabilising exercises;
-avoiding resting in harmful end-of-range positions/postures;
I was relieved on researching the condition and its treatment that we were right up-to-date with current practices and the combination of physiotherapy assessment, treatment, and clinical Pilates used at Chevron Island Physiotherapy enabled us to recognise and treat such conditions – myself included. Amazing that we were already identifying and rehabilitating hypermobility without realising its specialised diagnosis and the implications of ignoring it. Sometimes a small comment by friends can take you on an interesting journey.
Su Bauman (Physiotherapist)

STRETCHING FOR QUALITY OF LIFE

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simply stretch 2
When the word stretching is mentioned most people think back to when they were playing sport, and did a few leg stretches before the game started. Often stretching was done as a haphazard thing with little direction or instruction.
In this article I will explain what stretching is, why it is important, and the different types of stretching techniques.
Stretching is the lengthening of a muscle structure and the movement of a joint structure.
Our muscles are designed to allow us to move through a range of movement e.g. lifting your arm above your head. This is often referred to as flexibility. When flexibility is poor movement puts pressure on our joint structures e.g. a stiff lower back or neck. This often results in restricted movement and pain.
Regular stretching promotes the maintenance of muscle length, minimising restrictions in movement and pressure on joint structures.
Our bodies are designed to be mobile. The demands of modern society has resulted in many people spending an increasing amount of time not moving. Many aspects of our general health rely on us moving.
Bones: One of the main ways our bones stay strong is our muscles pulling on them. Stress: Tense muscles; Not being able to do the physical things we want to; Pressure on necks, backs, knees etc. “Ain’t good stress”
Toxicity: One of the main detox systems of the body is the Lymphatic System. This system cleans toxins and debris from our cells. It relies on muscle contractions to function.
Types of Stretching:
Dynamic: The objective of dynamic stretching is to increase range of movement beyond normal range. Most often used for sports performance e.g. high kicks in martial arts. It is a movement style of stretching where a body part is repeatedly moved in one direction, progressively increasing the range of the movement. Caution should be taken when choosing this style of stretching. Dynamic stretching has a moderate risk of injury.
Resistance: Often referred to as PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching. The objective of resistance stretching is to return a restricted muscle range back to normal range. It can also be used to increase a range of movement beyond normal. Resistance stretching requires the assistance of a trained professional. A muscle is taken to the end of its normal range. Over pressure is then applied to increase that range. This process is repeated a number of times, allowing the muscle to relax in between each repetition.
Static: The objective of static stretching is to maintain range of movement. It can also be used to increase range when it is restricted. A muscle is moved into a stretched position, and then maintained in that position for a minimum of 20 seconds. The aim is to relax the muscle in the stretched position. As the muscle relaxes the range of the stretch can be increased.
In Short
MOVE BETTER, FEEL BETTER

Simon Ayling (Clinical Pilates Instructor/Remedial Massage Therapist)

Simon has produced a stretching manual “Simply Stretch” depicting a 30 minute full body stretching routine. It is available to purchase at Reception in Chevron Island Physio.

Aging and Free Radical Damage in the Skin

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Over the last 15 years I have come to the understanding that most people are unaware of what a free radical actually is. While working as a skin specialist in locations such as the Caribbean and America, I focused on educating clients on what a free radical was and what you need to do to protect your skin against them.

Free radicals are everywhere – they are in the air, our bodies and all materials around us including, cigarette smoke, pollution from cars, air conditioning, heating and harsh weather conditions etc.

But what ARE they? Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons. They try and attach to other electrons in the body and when they cause a lot of damage.

Our bodies have developed enzymes (catalase and dismutase super oxide) along with chemical molecules (Vitamin C & E) to help it neutralize these free radicals. However, when we have over exposure to free radicals – which is inevitable in our environment- we need to do a lot extra work help our bodies and skin out.

Free radicals damage the cell membranes, protein and nucleic acid in the cells. They destroy cell DNA by damaging the membrane. These damaged cells can no longer function properly. The damage to each cell steadily increases negatively affecting the replication of fibroblast, keratinocytes and melanocyte cells and therefore decreasing the number of healthy cells. This causes the tissue to lose its function, slowing cell regeneration, leading to a loss of collagen and elastin production, resulting in wrinkles.

This damage accelerates with age. As we age our oxygen absorption into cells decreases. Oxygen is essential for reproduction and cellular nourishment. By 70 years of age, it has diminished by around 30%. This is even worse for those who smoke, have high stress levels, are sedentary, have poor metabolisms and for those who have poor blood circulation.

Not only do free radicals accelerate aging but they also contribute to acne, black heads, sallow skin, inflammatory skin and poor wound healing.

How can I reduce free radical damage?
To assist oxygen entering our cells, Iron is required. Iron is also responsible for the formation of red blood corpuscles and certain enzymes. Iron requires Vitamin B, Vitamin C, Copper and Magnesium for it to function properly.

Antioxidants work as free radical scavengers and neutralize them before they damage the tissue. Some key antioxidants to fight against destructive free radicals are Vitamin A, C & E, green tea, beta carotene, COQ-10 and grape seed oil. L-Ascorbic Vitamin C and Magnesium Ascorbic Phosphate protect the DNA in the cell so are there for regarded as important ingredients.

Concentration, molecular structure and stability are all key factors in using a product that contains these topical antioxidants. Remember that only 1% of our antioxidants we consume internally will protect our skin so there is definitely the need to apply topically.

To find out more and for your free consultation book today.

Alira De Palma
Paramedically Trained Aesthetician & Trainer with over 15 year’s experience
Chevron Island Physio
Mobile IPL 2U

References:
Barrette – Hill, F. (2004-2011). Advanced Skin Analysis. New Zealand: Virtual Beauty Corp.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing
http://www.skininc.com/search/?cof=FORID%3A11&q=How+does+the+skin+age&cx=015648659220220505676%3Aqhcvuq8a7qo
www.yorhealth.com

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