There are so many advantages that cycling offers;

health - an increase in cardiovascular strength, fat reduction, higher oxygen intake

financial – save money on petrol and parking

psychological – beginning the day with exercise, freeing the mind of any negativity and turning into a positive and focused mindset

Although, along with the positives can come a few side effects if you don’t take care of your body. Injury!

Massage is a key component to maintaining your riding lifestyle, remedial massage and sports massage offers many recovery benefits such as; bio mechanical correction, reduction of muscular stiffness and soreness, joint manipulation,  post inflammation clearance, restored strengthening, illotibial and posterior chain  balance and more…

Some of the most common injuries to be aware of are;

Iliotibial band friction syndrome – pain is usually felt on the outside of the knee when bent and then straightened

Patellofemoral pain syndrome – a direct ache on top of the knee cap

Sciatica – shooting pain that radiates from the buttock, down the hamstring and even the toe

Hamstring strain – a strain felt on the back of the leg

Achilles tendonitis – sharp pain felt on the back of the ankle and sometimes down the heel of the foot

Remember, warming up and cooling down is also an essential part of maintaining a great riding body.

Happy cycling!

Dan

I remember taking off many school days due to the flu, to be honest I enjoyed having a good enough excuse for my parents to allow me another day of school Though, one day my father intervened on my master plan. He recommended I beat the flu through strengthening my immune system, prepare the body to fight against viruses. Apart from telling me to stay sober, say no to drugs and choose my friends wisely, I believe it is the best advice he gave me

Causes of the flu

The common flu is caused by a few viruses, that spread through direct contact. Typically, the virus spreads from an infected person touching objects like door handles which are then touched by another person. The virus infection occurs on mucous membranes of the mouth or eyes, of which symptoms will then develop in the next twelve hours.

Prevention

As mentioned above, the key to preventing the flu virus is by allowing our bodies immune system to battle the symptoms.  Outlined below are a few examples that you can follow to prevent the flu virus from reaching you.

• a healthy and balanced lifestyle of keeping active, eating a healthy diet and sleeping well are essential for the maintenance of a strong immune system
• avoid infected surrounding people
• wash your hands on a regular basis
• avoiding antibiotics will help your body naturally fight the flu
• a regular massage is a great healing tool for the body, a massage stimulates the nervous system, your lymphatic system, blood vessels and reduces overall stress and releases endorphins in the body which stimulate the immune system
• treat tight areas such as the neck to eliminate headaches with self applied trigger point therapy or see me
• avoid excessive usage of heaters and electric blankets to keep warm. Train your body to warm itself
• stress less, stress is known to lower your immunity

Yours in health

Dan

These days, making a fashion statement often proves we are confident and in control. What we may not realise, is we may in-fact neglect our physical self in the process. In this case let’s discuss a woman’s best friend, high-heels.

- High heels draw your bodyweight forward onto the heads of your metatarsal bones. Your toes are continually extended and cannot contact the ground in the way they intend to. Eventually this may lead to corns, a dropped metatarsal arch and even pinching of the nerves between your toes.

- Your ankles continually plantarflex (the foot is pointed downward) and this prevents the heel initially contacting the floor. Your calves will be tight and this can lead to rupture of the Achilles tendon when unexpected strain is put on it, in sports or walking on uneven ground in bare feet. The ankle is in a very unstable position laterally (sideways) as the base of the high heel is often narrow and this can lead to sprained ankles.

- Your knees are slightly flexed, not extending at the point of weight bearing to transmit the body weight directly down through the leg bones (more likelihood of developing osteoarthritis) and not getting the required extension at the hip joint.

- The hip joints do not move through the range of movements needed for walking, so all the strain falls on a small area, which tends to wear out more quickly (osteoarthritis again!)

- The pelvis. High heels tend to exaggerate the position the pelvis is already in-tilted up or down, which in turn increases the lordosis (inward arch) in the lower back or makes the lower back too flat contributing to spasms of the back muscles, back pain and uneven wear on the discs and facet joints of the vertebrae. It is very difficult to find the optimum position for the pelvis in high heels.

- The rest of the spine has to compensate often by rounding the upper back (kyphosis) to rebalance the body and the head often pokes forward to correct the centre of gravity, creating neck pain.

- Your brain will be thoroughly confused. The normal walking pattern is to put alternative heels to the ground first. When your toes touch the ground first, the right and left hemispheres get the wrong messages and this upsets the communication between the two hemispheres.

- Your skeleton cannot support you efficiently so your muscles will struggle to hold you up (often causing pain) let alone being free to allow to you do all the other things you do.

Go out and buy some smart, supple low heeled shoes and give your body a chance to work properly, book yourself a massage to fix your tightened muscles. Your body will thank you for it

Dan

Massage, more than relaxation
Throughout my career, I have observed an increase in demand for professional massage treatments. The Australian public has developed a new understanding of massage therapy over the last 20 years, a professional massage therapist is becoming the first point of contact for most injuries. The perception that massage is only for relaxation purposes is truly a thing of the past, massage is now a viable option for injuries that were previously reliant on physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment.

Why massage is so popular
I usually spot an individual squeezing the tension off their shoulders at least once a day. Massage comes natural to us, it is the initial way our mind and body tells us there is pain. There are three pain patterns that are caused from muscular issues; overuse, disuse and misuse. This also explains why massage is so versatile and effective in treating these issues.

Overuse
With approximately 60,000 office staff in the Melbourne CBD alone, it is no wonder we have become more reliant on massage therapy to relieve our aching and stiff muscles. Overuse muscular injuries are extremely common, this is caused by the repetitive nature of our job and lifestyle patterns. Our body never stops functioning. For example, our muscles contract even when we sit and this is why good posture is vital to preventing overuse injuries of our shoulder and neck muscles during our eight hour shift in the office.

Disuse
Disuse is caused by over stimulating a certain muscle group, causing imbalances and requiring immobilisation of muscular and bone structure to correct the issue.

Misuse
Misuse of our muscles is often caused by excessive trauma of a certain muscle or muscle group during activity, misuse is often caused by incorrect technique and motion. Icing is usually quite efficient at alleviating the initial pain, followed by a massage treatment to help the muscle recover to it’s normal resting state.

Hope you enjoyed the article, Dan :)

The body functions on a chain like system when running, the forces and mechanics of each step are transmitted from the leg to the spine. It is this repetitive nature of running that leaves us with the following two key factors as cause of injury ‘Intrinsic and Extrinsic’.

Intrinsic Factors

Intrinsic factors result from the form of an individuals body mechanics. Everyone is uniquely designed, which means there are obvious differences in your own threshold of injury. Some of the most common injuries caused by Intrinsic factors are;

Runners Knee (Illiotibial Band Syndrome)
The IT band is a thick, fibrous band of fascia which runs down the outside of the thigh and inserts just below the knee. If this band becomes tight it can rub against the outside of the knee causing pain and inflammation.

Plantar Fascitis
The plantar fascia runs from the heel, under the soles of the foot and acts to support the arch of the foot. PF is a common overuse injury in runners and walkers.

Shin Splints
Shin splints is a common name for pain at the front of the lower leg, usually to the inside of the protruding Tibia (shin bone).

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Patellofemoral pain is non-descript knee pain which gradually appears. It is often worse when running or walking downhill or downstairs.

Anterior Compartment Syndrome
Pain and swelling during exercise on the front of the lower leg, on the outside of the shin bone.

Achilles Tendinitis
The Achilles tendon attaches the calf muscles Gastrocnemius and Soleus to the heel. This can become inflamed through overuse and biomechanical problems.

Extrinsic Factors

Extrinsic factors are notable issues in our training, nutrition and sportswear. Ask yourself, can I focus on improving the following to aid my recovery?

Running Shoes
Have they worn out? Are they the correct type? Are you wearing racing shoes for slow mileage? Do you pronate and have you stable trainers? If you have rigid foot then you need a pair with good cushioning. All these factors need addressing. To tell if a shoe has worn initially look at its sole, if this is worn out then you definitely need a new pair as the upper body wears first! Do they twist too easily is another sign they may be worn.

Training
Have you been increasing your training too quickly? The rule of thumb is a 10% increase in mileage per week. Are you running on a different surface to usual? Concrete pavements and roads offer very little shock absorption. Are you doing a more hilly route than usual?

Warm-up
A warm-up should ideally consist of a gentle pulse raiser, such as fast walking, cycling or skipping. After 5-10 minutes of this, you should commence your stretches. The most important areas to stretch for runners are the calf, hamstrings, groin, quadriceps and buttocks. Hold your stretches for 20-30 seconds each. More recently, active stretches have been introduced as the warm-up technique of choice. These involve stretching the muscles through movement, rather than holding a static position. For example, walking lunges, heels to bums jogging and cariocas can be used.

Core strength
If the central part of the body is not strong then you will be more susceptible to injuries especially when you become tired at the end of a run.

Nutrition
Basically, you are what you eat! Eat plenty of Carbs and Proteins.

Happy Running guys,
Dan

Which condition is most commonly treated at Core Therapy? As Core Therapy is central to many offices in melbourne, the most common musculoskeletal condition is neck & shoulder tension. Unsurprisingly, poor ergonomics and bad posture are the usual cause. The second most common condition is lower back pain.

When and how often should I get a massage? Scientific studies have suggested that post- exercise massage is the most beneficial, the reason being is that it can speed up our recovery by up to 60%. Generally, we should maintain our body with a massage once a week.

How does massage affect the nervous system? Skilled massage can be applied directly to motor nerve endings, which will help stimulate and encourage the efficient flow of our nervous system. Our musculoskeletal system can impose an impingement (squeeze) of our nerves when the surrounding muscles are excessively contracted, massage therapy can deliver significant relief through effectively treating the surrounding muscles to regulate natural nerve flow.

You can give your feedback or ask your massage therapist more questions in the comments section below.

Dan

First of all, what are trigger points?

The part of a muscle fibre that contracts is a microscopic unit called a ‘sarcomere’. Contraction of your muscles occurs when two parts of the sarcomere join together like interlocked fingers. Millions of sarcomeres have to contract in your muscles to make even the smallest movement.

A trigger point forms when over stimulated sarcomeres are chemically prevented from releasing from their interlocked state.

The defining symptom of a trigger point is ‘referred pain’, which unfortunately is a misleading phenomenon that conventional treatments so often fail to diagnose. Research has shown that trigger points are the primary cause of pain 90% of the time and are at least a part of every symptom.

Trigger point therapy can relieve and even fix conditions such as low back pain, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, frozen shoulder, jaw pain, sciatica, shoulder impingement and more. Symptoms like headaches, migraines, ear aches, sinusitis, nausea, genital pain and numbness in areas like the hands and feet. Even fibromyalgia may have it’s beginnings with myofascial trigger points.

Core Therapy is one of a few clinics in the melbourne cbd that specialises in trigger point therapy Melbourne.

Drop in for a specialist Trigger Point Therapy session with me.

Dan