Recent News

Here is the latest news from the Back In Motion Health Group.

Hit the ground running, efficiently

Published: 22 May 2013 - Blog
We are taught how to swim, ride a bike and practice specific skills for every sport we play, but very few of us learn how to run. It is assumed in many ways that everyone can run, just as everyone can walk. But, are we running efficiently? Are we setting ourselves up for an injury?

There are many facets to a good running technique; here the points that have the greatest influence are outlined.

Foot strike
Each time you hit the ground your foot should land slightly in front of your centre of mass and your body. The further forward you land the more likely you are to land on your heel. Landing further forward means that you will need to generate more force to get your body to the next step on the opposite foot.

Heel striking can lead to injury as a result of the shock and stress of your body weight moving from the heel through the ankle joint into your knees, hips and lower back. Landing on the heel means that you are not using your body’s natural springs, i.e the calf muscle and Achilles tendon, which act to absorb shock and recoil to “spring” you forward for the next step.

To avoid a heel strike, focus on landing on the middle to front of your foot with each step ensuring the knee is slightly bent upon contact. This is made easier if your posture is maintained upright.

Posture
Trunk position has a great influence on pelvic and hip position and therefore whether you land with your heel first.

As a general rule you want an upright posture without excessive lumbar or thoracic curvature. Then from this position you lean slightly forward not from the trunk or the hips but from the ankles.

Control of this position also relates to arm swing. As you swing your arms your body rotates slightly as one arm comes forward and the other back. It is important to minimise this rotation and prevent the arms from crossing the mid-line as this is a waste of energy.

Maintaining good posture requires good core control and stability. This comes from practice when running whilst when you are not fatigued and maintaining focus when we you are fatigued.

Cadence
The rate at which your feet hit the ground greatly affects how much energy you use and therefore how far and fast you can go. The optimal rate has been found to be three steps per second or 180 steps per minute.

It’s likely that your cadence will be lower and the faster you try to run, the lower your cadence will be. This happens because we generally overstride to increase our speed with the intention of generating more force from a bigger step length. But, bigger steps mean lower cadence and therefore lower efficiency.

Cadence becomes most important when running over longer distances in order of controlling pace across the run and to conserve energy and run efficiently. A metronome is a good way to keep your cadence consistent but in the absence of this I recommend “Hey Ya” by Outkast on your iPod. It’s a cracking song and at 180bpm it will keep your cadence in check.

Get out there and run
With these three factors in mind next time you run keep the following in mind:
1. Land on the middle to forefoot, slightly in front of your body with the knee slightly bent
2. Upright posture, leaning forward from the ankles
3. Three steps per second or 180bpm
If you want further information and guidance, physiotherapists are experts in human movement and running. A selection of Back In Motion practices also hold running seminars, stay in touch on Facebook for updates.

Thomas West - Clinical Associate (Physiotherapist), Back In Motion Sydenham
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Overtraining young athletes

Published: 15 May 2013 - Blog

It is important to encourage young people to be physically active. Not only does a sedentary lifestyle in early years track into adulthood, but being physically fit during childhood and adolescence can help in preventing chronic disease later in life. However, in modern society the demands on youthful athletes can be very high. With overlapping school / club / district training programs, when and what type of exercise is too much?

In children, the rate of physical development is influenced by the level of hormone production. During puberty when children have growth spurts, this hormone production leads to quicker bone growth. Research has shown that during these periods of rapid growth, the bone will grow longitudinally faster than it will increase in density. For this reason, the bone will go through a stage of increased skeletal fragility that can lead to an increase in the chance of injury. An increase in chance of injury during this stage has also been linked with a reduction in flexibility and strength imbalances observed during these times.

Due to everyone maturing at different rates, there are no definitive time frames for this stage of development. A rough guide indicates that entry into this stage begins around 10-12 years of age and ends any time from 12-16.

Under any circumstance, it is not recommended to participate in strength and conditioning programs without the guidance of a professional who is trained in this area. It is especially important during these periods of rapid growth to refrain from unsupervised weight training. Participation in any other sporting programs such as football, cricket and netball is fine.

In previous years, the school of thought was that overtraining a developing athlete could damage the body’s growth plates and may in fact stunt growth. Once having gone through their growth spurt, short of training to the point of breaking a bone, it is difficult to cause damage to the growth plate through over training. However other musculoskeletal conditions such as muscle strains, ligament tears and tendinopathies are common conditions experienced as a result of over training throughout mid-late teenage years.

It is common place these days for adolescents to be undergoing multiple training loads between different school, club and team commitments spread over different sports. As the coaches are attempting to train their team to full potential, it is often overlooked that some players may be doing too much. Young players also often feel pressure to perform with each team for fear of being dropped.

The key to ideal training workload is communication. It is important for players and coaches alike to distribute the work load evenly between each team. If each coach is putting a player through a full training work load, the athlete can potentially be doing 2 or 3 times the ideal training amount. Ideally a player should be having an easy day between hard training sessions/games. This could be a complete rest day, or an easy session with a focus on skills. Over training during the week will only cause you to fatigue earlier on match day.

It is also vital that if a player is nursing an injury to communicate with the coaching staff as to not make it worse, as kids will often neglect to do this. Whilst being stoic is a positive attribute, not addressing an injury often leads to ongoing and sometimes permanent injuries. Early intervention and having injuries assessed by your local Back In Motion physio is key.

Simon Lumb – Physiotherapist at Back In Motion Hawthorn

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Aches and pains of swimmers

Published: 08 May 2013 - Blog

As a swimmer, I’m aware of the frustration injuries cause and I think we can help identify causes and prevent many of them.

If we decide to follow all the advice to get fit and active it is exasperating if we then get injuries. That certainly takes away the fun and out the window goes our enthusiasm too! One of the most important factors to understand is the “no pain, no gain” cliché.

There is a very real difference between exercise induced general muscle “stiffness and discomfort” and the “pain” of injury that is usually localised or reproduced with specific positions or movements. Persisting through pain makes injuries worse and more complicated thus prolonging rehabilitation.

Clinically I see many mature swimmers frustrated with neck problems or headaches gradually worsening as they continue training. The underlying causes may not be obvious.

Over the years most people develop a rounding of the thoracic (middle) spine lessening rotation and extension (backward tilt). Gradually the neck needs to push to the end of range to look forward and breathe during free, fly and breastroke. Injuries arise from the repeated strain on tissues and joints. Often pain is latent or minor so swimmers may persist or change technique, inadvertently compounding problems. Kicking with a board or using a pool buoy (which raises the hips) both require increased neck extension; while fins may restrict body roll requiring more rotation. Swimmers should report developing neck pains and headaches early so they can analyse their body position and program. Mixing training routines, identifying aggravating drills and modifying technique may prevent injuries.

As explained, one common feature that develops over time is stooping or rounding of the thoracic spine (kyphosis). Swimmers usually need to work on thoracic stiffness with stretching and exercises

From side on view the body should have a gently curving spine, arched forward at the neck and lower back (lordosis), and backward in the middle. An increase in the rounding of the back leads to problems mentioned earlier.

How do we stop the hunching?

There is a lot we can do in the pool but remember we spend more time out than in.

Swimmers must work on good posture and understand the need to avoid slouching by using lumbar supports and good quality seating. In the pool, simple stretches can be incorporated between brackets which are best to do when the body is warmed up.

To stretch the thoracic spine it’s best to clasp hands behind your neck, and with elbows out, gently rotate, tilt sideways and arch backwards (not forwards). Then for the neck, keeping your head level, stretch backwards allowing the thoracic spine to arch in a “chin tuck”.

A few of these for 5 seconds or so is a start and swimmers should be encouraged to do these regularly during the day to maintain and improve range.

Max Kavanagh – Physiotherapist and Director of Back In Motion Brighton

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SOS Winter Gala

Published: 08 May 2013 - General News

Enjoy this night of nights with your friends, family and colleagues and improve the health of disadvantaged Australians.

Come dressed in your ‘Deco Manhattan’ best for a night of fun, canapés, cocktails, dancing, entertainment to delight and amaze including live music, swing dance spectacular, aerialist and live auction. With 100% of auction proceeds and event profits going to support the SOS Foundation’s initiatives, you will be contributing in a real and significant way to improving the health of people in need.

Held in Melbourne’s incredible Wonderland Spiegeltent, it’s an event not be missed!

So bring your friends and family, adorn your feather boas, swing dresses and classy suits for a night of fun, laughter and significance in the lives of others.

For more information and to purchase tickets online, visit:

www.sosfoundation.org.au

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Maximizing your sports performance with Clinical Pilates

Published: 30 April 2013 - Blog

Whether you’re a weekend warrior, social or elite athlete, striving to improve your sports performance is all part of the fun and challenge that is sport. Athletes often spend hours training in the gym, lifting weights to make their muscles bigger and stronger or hitting the pavement or pool chalking up hundreds of kilometers to improve endurance and muscle conditioning.

However one of the most neglected aspects of sports conditioning is core stability. Most people are aware of core stability but few people actually know what it means or how to do it properly. Core stability isn’t doing sit-ups; these only work the superficial muscles of the spine which do little for your core stability.

Why is core stability important you may ask? Well, your ‘core’ acts like the foundation of a house. It needs to be stable and strong to hold up the rest of the building on top of it, otherwise cracks begin to develop over time. Having a strong core means that your muscles work more efficiently, can generate more power and optimise the way your body moves. Another benefit of a strong core is injury prevention. As your muscles have more support from your ‘core’, less load is placed on them and they are less likely to fatigue and get injured. A perfect example is hamstring strains, as they are often caused by having a weaker core or gluteal muscles which places increased stress on the hamstring which ultimately fails leading to strains or tears.

So how do you address core stability? One of the most effective ways to address core stability is through the use of Clinical Pilates. Pilates is sometimes known as a fad in health, with celebrities and athletes alike constantly endorsing its health benefits. However Pilates isn’t a fad as it is now entrenched in many health professionals armory, with significant scientific studies validating its effectiveness for injury prevention and sports performance.

Clinical Pilates is different from normal Pilates as it is tailored to each individual, their specific body mechanics and injury history. This is unlike traditional Pilates which is generic, non-specific exercises which may or may not work for your body. Clinical Pilates is taken by health professionals such as Physiotherapists who have a understanding of how your body works and can therefore tailor the exercises to address your underlying weaknesses present.

If you have been slugging it out on the training track and been frustrated with your lack of improvement, then don’t forget about the often neglected and misunderstood role of core stability. It may be what’s holding you back from reaching your peak performance and stopping your from reaching your full potential with your sporting pursuits.

Contact your local Back In Motion practice to find out how Clinical Pilates can aid your sports performance - www.backinmotion.com.au/locations

Matt Skehan – Physiotherapist and Director of Back In Motion Aspendale Gardens

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Recent News

Hit the ground running, efficiently

Overtraining young athletes

Aches and pains of swimmers

SOS Winter Gala

Maximizing your sports performance with Clinical Pilates

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