Embracing A Neutral Spine

JAKE BROUGHAM | REMEDIAL BODY BALANCE |  ISLE OF WIGHT | SOFT TISSUE THERAPIST

First off, I’m just putting it out there – this is I M P O R T A N T!!

Important for your body’s health, for injury prevention, to improve performance & to feel great!

Keeping a neutral spine, whether you exercise or not is an invaluable discipline. I hope this blog will give you some understanding of what, how & why a neutral spine is vital for your body, as well as perhaps giving you some motivation & encouragement to take these steps into your daily lives.

Who’s it for?

EVERYONE! Yes this includes Office workers, Manual laborers, Cab drivers, Footballers, Runners, Swimmers, Cyclers, Walkers, Gym goers, Musicians, Dancers, OAP’s – THE LOT & MORE… all of you lovely people!!

So what is a neutral spine position, & how do we achieve this?

Slight bit of anatomy – Your Vertebral column (spine) consists of 24 vertebrae, which are split into three natural curves – 7 Cervical, 12 Thoracic & 5 Lumbar. When all three curves are present and in good alignment, we have reached a natural & neutral position – providing a basis for a strong & stable midline.

Due to many varying factors (most commonly involving sitting for long periods & the constant use of mobile phone’s/tablets), the majority of today’s societies have very poor spinal positions, which has an enormous, detrimental affect. Wonder why nearly 80% (!!!) of the population experience’s back pain?!!

How? Take off your shoes & follow these steps:

1. The starting position is all about squeezing your bum. Have a go… notice your pelvis tilt? Your now activating your powerful glutes & moving your pelvis to a neutral position. Don’t forget your feet positions (as talked about in the last mini blog) – Both feet should be straight & parallel to one another, directly underneath your hips and shoulder width apart. Keep that bum clenched 100%. Boom! Brilliant start!
2. This step involves keeping those bum cheeks squeezed, whilst activating / tightening your abdominal muscles. Take a deep breathe in, tighten your abdominals before slowly exhaling. The key is to perform this smoothly and controlled, using your abdominals to lock in the positions of your pelvis & ribcage.
3. Lastly we want to set the head & shoulders into a neutral position. Looking forward, align your ears with your shoulders – imagine a line going through the centre of your earlobe & through the centre of your shoulder. You may have to slightly tuck your chin to your chest, but this should only be a slight adjustment (unless your head position is particularly forward). Bring your arms out to the side, turn your palms to face the ceiling & slowly bring them back to your side (palms should be facing forward). You will now notice that your shoulders are no longer set to that rounded position. Now you should be still clenching your glutes & abdominals – so tone that down to 20% power & this is your neutral position. Feels strange right? Keep with it, eventually it will feel normal and you will feel great!
4. Another great way of maintaining a neutral position throughout the day is to imagine you have a bucket of water tied to the front of your hips… if you tip your pelvis forwards water will pour out and your back will arch, tip it back and the water will pour behind….  So what your looking for is a steady trickle pouring out.

• KEEP WITH IT – What I mean by keeping with it, is… make it a daily habit. You want to be doing this so often throughout the day, that you eventually are doing it without realizing.

Why should we be doing this? The benefits of a Neutral Position?

Injury Prevention –

By following the steps above and making them a daily habit, eventually you will start to automatically set yourself into a neutral position when your standing, walking and eventually running. This will translate to your work environment, & life in general.

So a neutral position will mean that your body will be maintaining optimal length-tension relationships between agonist & antagonist tissues & sustain optimal alignment of your joints. As a result, you will not be faulty loading and putting excessive stress on to one joint, causing muscular imbalances, altered movement patterns, and overall pain & injury.

Improve Performance –

Another benefit of a neutral position is improved performance – this is because it will provide a primary link to power… By keeping a neutral, upright position you have the opportunity for greater activation of the posterior chain (large muscles of the back, hips, hamstrings & calf’s). This stable neutral position will allow you to gain a hell of a lot more running power. If you don’t have this neutral, stable position, and your running quite hunched over with rounded shoulders, your posterior chain is not going to be activating and working correctly – effectively its turned off. This will reduce the amount of power you can achieve, and you will be vulnerable to a variety of injuries.

Become more durable & efficient –

Neutral spine & feet positions, will give you good, effective pelvic stabilization. Your posterior chain with its great force of power will then be ready and waiting to be activated. Do you get tired/aching muscles after standing up for a little while? That’s because you’re not in a neutral position & predominantly using your phasic muscles, which are mostly fast twitch fibres and fatigue very quickly. The neutral position will effectively use your tonic muscles, allowing you to stand up for longer as they are predominantly made up of slow twitch fibres, meaning they can resist fatigue – allowing you to become more durable and more efficient with more stamina and endurance.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the read, and I have given you some motivation to take this first step towards embracing the benefits of a neutral spine.

For further info please like & check out my website & facebook page where you will find further blogs/mini blogs:

Website – www.remedialbodybalance.co.uk

Facebook – www.facebook.com/remedialbodybalance

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome A.K.A Shin Splints

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS)

Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) is an overuse injury, which causes irritation and pain along the bottom two thirds of the tibia. It’s a runner’s worst nightmare and a complete disrupter!

MTSS occurs over a period of time when constant stress is put on the bones and soft tissues of the lower leg. This causes the periosteum (a sheath that surrounds the tibia) to become irritated and inflamed, and can lead to periostitis. If this inflammation of the periosteum continues because of not enough rest, and without any treatment, the injury will deteriorate and eventually cause a stress fracture. Muscles commonly responsible for MTSS are: Tibialis Posterior, Flexor Digitorum Longus & Flexor Hallucis Longus.

The Symptoms?

Typically includes a gradual onset of pain that is most commonly at its worst during or after exercise. It will begin with a dull aching pain that if you simply try to ignore and run through it, will become extremely painful. Pain and tenderness along the entire length of the inner tibia can be found, or even just a small portion in the lower third of the tibia. There also may be mild swelling. If the pain is more focal and sharp, this could indicate a possible stress fracture.

 Main Causes?

TOO MUCH, TOO SOON – MTSS is very often triggered because of a sudden increase in training duration, frequency or intensity. It is so important to keep to the 10% rule… DO NOT increase training/mileage more than 10% a week.

OLD SHOES – Old, worn out shoes can be another contributing factor to MTSS. They may not have a great deal of shock absorbent, and there most probably isn’t enough arch support, meaning that impact is felt in the lower legs. If you are a keen runner then be sure to get your gait analyzed and have an experts advice on which shoes will suit you best.

OVER PRONATION – Flat feet, and ankles that roll inward on impact could cause pressure to be dispersed unequally on the lower legs, causing irritation on the inner side of the tibia.

HARD SURFACES – Exercising on hard surfaces or doing hill training will also put extra stresses on the lower leg. Reduce the amount of training sessions on the hard surfaces, and use the grass or beach to decrease that impact!

FAILURE TO REHAB PREVIOUS SHIN SPLINTS – Returning to training too soon is just going to cause a return of MTSS, it’s so important to make a full recovery before gradually coming back to training.

Treatment & Advice –

1.  Initially follow the RICE protocol – (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) 10-12mins every 2 hours. REST is key, and you will need a lot of it! Depending on the severity it can take up to 6-8 weeks of rest before any type of training is reinstated.
2. Self-Massage/Foam Roller – Releasing off the calf muscles with self-massage, a foam roller or tennis ball will help reduce tension.
3. Lots of calf stretching, holding for 30-40 seconds 3-5 times a day.
4. Thera-band Strengthening as a preventative – it will be beneficial to strengthen the ankle and lower leg muscles, especially the tibialis anterior (muscle at the front of your shin). See image below.
5.  Improve activation and strength of the gluteus maximus, medius, and core – focus on getting your body stronger and more stable to reduce the chance of repetitive stress injuries such as MTSS.

Thanks for reading this post, please do check out my website & facebook page for more info-

www.remedialbodybalance.co.uk & https://www.facebook.com/remedialbodybalance

ICE Baths post exercise…

Whether you have just set a PB on your 10k run, busted out some serious weights in the gym or played in a 90-minute football match, the intensity of your exercise has most probably lead to microtrauma – small tears in the muscle fibers. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is closely linked with microtrauma – giving you that muscle soreness and aching that can occur between 24 and 72 hours after exercise.

Without efficient recovery, these small tears in the muscle fibers will cause an overuse injury that is unplanned and very, very unwelcome!!

Ice baths are here to help! Or should I say cold baths…

Firstly don’t worry… you don’t actually have to get in a bath full of ice, recent studies have shown that the temperature of the water only has to be between 10-15 degrees. This makes it a lot more bearable! A cold bath is a standard procedure for many elite athletes, professional rugby & football players, as it is so important for them to have a quick recovery.

So what’s the science behind it? The Cold bath will constrict your blood vessels which in turn decreases blood flow and metabolic activity. After getting out the bath your body will warm back up, the vessels will expand and open up, increasing blood flow. This will then help to flush away the waste products caused from the cellular breakdown.

So how long are we looking at staying in this cold bath for? 10-15 minutes is the ideal time to feel the benefits, but REMEMBER – The cold can make your muscles tense and stiff, so it’s a good idea to warm up after with a hot shower!

Benefits of a cold bath –

• Constricts blood vessels and aids the flushing away of waste products, like lactic acid.
• Reduces inflammation/swelling and soft tissue breakdown
• Decreases the chance of DOMS – muscle pains & soreness
• Helps promote healing
• Aids overall recovery

Tips –

• Run luke warm water for ½ an inch, get in and then turn on the cold – works a treat!
• Get the Tea or Coffee ready so you have a nice warm drink in the cold bath!
• Food is a good distraction too…! Protein would be ideal, as it will also help recover your muscles.

Isle of Wight Sports Massage – Remedial Body Balance 

Website  – http://www.remedialbodybalance.co.uk

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/remedialbodybalance

Pain in the Piriformis !

Good afternoon, my name is Jake Brougham and I am a sports & remedial massage therapist based on the Isle of Wight. Today i would like to provide you with an insight to the piriformis muscle, piriformis syndrome & sciatica, and how you can remedy this problem. I have treated many clients in the past year who have complained of a deep pain in the lower hip area. which can be very painful especially when sitting, causing tingling or shooting pains down the leg. So what’s the problem? 9 times out of 10 it’s a tight Piriformis muscle!

The Piriformis muscle –

This is a very small muscle that attaches from the anterior surface of the Sacrum to the Great Trochanter of the Femur. The Piriformis outwardly rotates the hip, however as many activities don’t really require this movement with great force, it has an important role of preventing inward rotation, and stabilizing the hip. It does this by eccentrically contracting… which in turn can put more stress on this muscle.

So, What’s going on??

The Piriformis muscle crosses over the sciatic nerve, and in some people the sciatic nerve actually runs straight through the Piriformis! Excessive muscle tension compresses and irritates the sciatic nerve, causing pain that sometimes is very severe, which includes sciatic pain down the leg. Even though this may sound like sciatica, it actually is known as Piriformis syndrome.

Athletes who engage in pure forward movement (Runners, Rowers & Cyclists) are more at risk to Piriformis syndrome as their hip adductors and abductors generally become weak. This combined with weak glutes will put extra stress and tension on the Piriformis muscle. Also runners who over pronate put extra stress on the Piriformis. This is because over pronation can cause the knee to rotate when impacting the floor, subsequently making your little Piriformis muscle work extra hard to prevent excessive knee rotation – this leads to tightening of the Piriformis.

Sitting in the same position for long periods of time will also cause the Piriformis to shorten and become tight. If you are someone who’s work involves sitting down all day, you will undoubtedly know what a tight Piriformis muscle feels like.

Piriformis Syndrome vs. Sciatica… What’s the difference?

The symptoms of both piriformis syndrome and Sciatica are very similar… both cause pain, tingling, burning, and/or numbness down the leg, often all the way to the foot, but the underlying causes of the two conditions are different. Sciatica is generally triggered from a spinal issue; compression or degeneration in the lower lumbar region of the spine. Piriformis Syndrome is not caused from spinal issues; the shortening and excessive tension of the piriformis muscle compresses the sciatic nerve, which in turn causes sciatica symptoms.

Providing a remedy for piriformis/sciatic pain

Stretch – 

This little muscle hardly ever gets stretched; therefore stretching can work miracles. There are 2 stretches below that are awesome for relieving some of that pain!

Tennis ball – The use of a tennis ball is vital in order to relieve tension. Sitting on the floor with the tennis ball underneath you, target and find the area of pain, then carefully put more body weight on the tennis ball until you reach 8/10 on the pain scale (10 being worst possible pain). Hold that position until the pain decreases to 3 or 4. You may find that you need to hold it for 30-40 seconds before the pain starts to decrease. If the pain increases then start over again and find a new position. 5 minutes of this per day will start to relieve tension so the piriformis is less likely to compress the sciatic nerve.

Massage –

A sports and remedial massage treatment can be the best way to alleviate piriformis pain. Trigger points are commonly found in the Piriformis, so the correct use of neuromuscular techniques and soft tissue release will give enormous benefit. Not only reducing the symptoms but treating the causative factors which will prevent further dysfunction in the future!

I hope you have enjoyed this post, please check out my website & facebook page for more info!

Website – http://www.remedialbodybalance.co.uk

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/remedialbodybalance

The Importance of Posture

We all know that eating healthily, exercising, and getting efficient amounts of rest time are proven good, healthy things to do. Posture is way up there with these in terms of good health. It is just as important to be aware of the position of your limbs, as it is to eat that 5 a day, or is it 6, 7 or 8 a day… who knows!!

So, What are the consequences of poor posture? What is good posture? and How can we improve our posture?

Poor Posture –

Today’s environment has a very negative effect on our posture. Our society tends to sit down behind a desk, in front of the TV or a computer for hours on end, more than any other previous generation. This leads to adaptive shortening of certain muscle groups, causing a detrimental effect on our posture.

Poor posture can develop through many different factors, some of which include –

• Injury
• Repetitive movement
• Excessive weight
• Muscular imbalances
• Occupational stress
• Thoughtless sitting habits
• Non supportive/Expired mattress

Consequences?

• Lower Back Pain – approximately 80% of adults have suffered with lower back pain.
• Hyperkyphotic curve – hunch back
• Fatigue
• Shoulder & Neck tension
• Migraines & Headaches

So, What is Good Posture?

Good posture can be defined as the position in which the body maintains optimal length tension relationships between the agonist and antagonist, as well as the optimal alignment of joints. Remember that no one has a perfect posture, but a good posture means that your body’s soft tissues will be correctly aligned, putting much less stress on your vital organs, as well as keeping those persistent painful areas free from discomfort. i.e. lower back, shoulders & neck.

How can we improve our posture?

In the Gym – Use the mirrors for the right reason!! There is always one wannabe Arnold Schwarzenegger checking out his muscles as he performs a bicep curl with the help of his neck extensors and upper back… not good! What he should really be doing is making sure his core is activated, keeping good body alignment throughout the curl – back straight, shoulders and chin retracted. Mirrors are key to keep an eye on your posture, avoiding unnecessary muscular tension and injury.

Workplace/Home – To maintain good posture throughout the day why not set several alarms to remind you of your posture, or ask a family member / work colleague to politely tell you off when they see you slouching.

Regular Breaks – It is so important to take a break, regularly stretching out and taking a walk will help prevent the adaptive shortening of muscles and fascia.

Try yoga – Studies have shown that Yoga can improve posture, as well as increasing body awareness.

Give your body a monthly MOT – At Remedial Body Balance I will assess your posture, find and treat the muscular imbalances and tensions, providing clinical reasoning to why I am treating those particular areas of your body, and what benefits you will gain. Homecare advice will also be given to help you maintain good posture. I also apply Kinesiology tape which has a very positive effect on posture . I will set my clients posture and apply the kinesiology tape in a specific direction and stretch. Once the client starts to slouch and go back into the poor posture, the kinesiology tape provides a snapback feature which will make the client want to set their shoulder back into the set position. Remember if you buy cheap you buy twice!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, please take a look at my facebook and website for more info –

Website – http://www.remedialbodybalance.co.uk

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/remedialbodybalance

Hello & Welcome

I would like to begin my blog by telling you a little bit about Remedial Body Balance; what we do, what you can expect, Who is it for, and the benefits of having a Remedial Body Balance treatment.

What we do –

Remedial Body Balance assesses, treats and manages your injuries, pain and dysfunction within your musculoskeletal system. We use Soft Tissue Therapy, which comprises of postural & movement assessments, sports and remedial massage techniques, facilitated stretching, homecare advice, postural education and kinesiology taping.

What you can expect –

• Consultation – The first treatment will begin with a short consultation. This will include questions regarding previous and current injuries, any medical conditions contraindicating massage, as well as information on your lifesytle.
• Postural Assessment – A Postural Assessment will then take place allowing me to get an idea of your postural alignment, muscular imbalances and areas of tension.
• Movement Assessment – I also use movement assessments, this may include things like performing a squat, which will also give me an indication of potential areas of your body that may need some attention. Specific joint movements, evaluating range of movement, stiffness and strength will also be conducted as necessary.
• Treatment – The treatment will generally involve a selection of advanced soft tissue therapy techniques, treating the areas of your body that will provide you with the maximum benefit, aiming to achieve our treatment goals. These treatments are unique to each individual.

Who is it for & Benefits?

At Remedial Body Balance we treat a wide variety of different people. It may be that you are an office worker or manual labourer, an elite athlete or an amateur sports player; Remedial Body Balance will provide a professional treatment that is personally dedicated to your body. Remedial Body Balance is no patch up and go service. If you paint over mould on a wall, the mould will continue to come back, and to no surprise it will return in a worse state than before. The same is true within the body. Simply only treating the symptomatic complaints, or by pushing through the pain will only lead to further dysfunction. Remedial Body Balance targets the causative factors, addressing muscular imbalances to relieve pain and dysfunction, which will help clients achieve pain free outcomes.

Benefits include:

• Reduces muscular tension • Increases flexibility & circulation • Enhances and shortens recovery time • Helps prevents injury  • Supports fitness & performance • Restores musculoskeletal balance • Aids overall postural education • Reduces the demands that sport & work puts on our body • Promotes relaxation and rest

Please stay in tune for upcoming blog posts for interesting facts, body balance & nutritional guidance, homecare & exercise advice, general updates and exclusive offers!

Website – http://www.remedialbodybalance.co.uk/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/remedialbodybalance