Blog Archives

Working from Home

1. The early bird catches the worm when you work from home

Increasing your metabolism at the start of the day will not only make you think more clearly but improve your circulation and tissue flexibility to help stop working from home being a pain in the back! Get up at your usual time, resist the temptation to catch a few more zzz’s. Make your bed, brush your teeth, get into your gym kit and how about heading out for exercise bright and early?

2. Dress up, show up

Lounging in your snug Pj’s might sound like the easier option, but a little sprucing up and getting dressed in your usual work clothes will help you mentally relocate-also you never know you may be summoned on an urgent Zoom call!

3. Home working desk jockey kit

Ensure that you’re sitting at a proper desk and chair. Most offices have been happy to send teams the right tools such as office chairs and desks to help minimise the impact and risks associated with the use of inadequate equipment.

4. Task master blaster!

I love ticking off a list. Sometimes I make lists containing a few things I’ve already done, just for the sheer delight of ticking the item off the list, I know… weirdo, but I’ll almost certain that I’m not the only one! Try Trello, Microsoft to- do. The added structure, the small victorious feeling you get when you tick off that task, will, if you’re anything like me, make you feel like a little Champ!

5. Food is medicine when you work from home

How about using the time gained from not commuting to prepare yourself a healthier than normal fresh lunch? Not only will it help you feel better, but your waistline will be grateful too!

6. Take a breather

Every 20- 30min, stand up, walk around- go to the watercooler-ie kitchen sink, break away area- i.e living room to boost your circulation and avoid static positions. If you’d like a free copy of our general desk exercise routine, please email us: info@vitality-physio.co.uk and we’ll send one out to you.

7. Body, Soul, Spirit

This unprecedented season has caused much worry, and the uncertainty of the future can be overwhelming at times. Home working can free up a bit more time and gives us the freedom to manage stress better. Prayer, meditation or mindfulness interrupt the negative power of stress. Headspace and Calm have great solutions, or if you’re struggling to cope or need more help, the Samaritans are there 24/7.

8. Get Connected

Yes indeed, this is a time of social distancing, but we humans are communal animals. How about a Skype lunch date or call to that person you’ve been meaning to catch up with in ages? Casual conversations with colleagues, deep musing with a friend or reminiscing with family might be exactly the little boost you (or they) may need during the day. So, work from home but stay connected!

Despite closing our clinics, we are still operating our Physiotherapy services. We know that your treatment to alleviate pain, weakness and continue your post and pre surgical care is paramount to your physical and mental wellness and therefore we are staying open for online appointments only.

Physiotherapy video consultations are evidence based and have proven to be clinically effective to treat musculoskeletal conditions. During your consultation, your Physio will be able to establish a diagnosis and offer you treatment through exercise as well as manual therapy and self-mobilisation techniques, offer technical expertise, advice and guidance on your condition, your exercise regime or training plan.

Book online here: https://www.vitality-physio.co.uk/book-an-appointment-online/

Drop us an email: info@vitality-physio.co.uk if you have any questions or concerns.

Finally, may you find peace in the chaos, joy on tough days and the wisdom to keep mobile and active!

Janine

Top 5 Summer injuries and how to prevent them

1. Gardening injuries

We kicked off June with a very balmy Jubilee weekend and it’s been a brilliant summer so far! If you enjoy a chilled glass of rosé, weekend BBQs, and a spot of gardening too, you’ve found good company!

Gardening injuries, however, are quite common, so here are some handy hints to help you get the most of your long summer days. Extended pruning time, using inappropriate tools, and heavy lifting with poor technique are often the biggest culprits!

Try the following to keep your love for gardening alive:

Warm up before you weed-up! Try taking a brisk walk to get your heart rate up, prior to starting your gardening session.
Sit on a stool or kneel on foam pads to help prevent knee and back pain when planting or weeding.
Long handle tools will reduce the work and prevent you from overstretching.
Impose a 20-minute limit (to make a cuppa of course) to take a short break especially if you’re a gardening novice!

Don’t spoil a perfect day in the garden with a pesky injury! If you have any questions about an injury or wondered whether we can help, book a free 15min call to chat about how we could help you.

2. Neck strains

If catching some rays on your back is a priority this summer, be sure to set a timer or get someone to wake you. Apart from the obvious perils of turning into a lobster and the pain associated with it, getting a stiff neck from lying prone (on your tummy) on the beach will certainly put a damper on your holiday. Reading for long periods on a sun lounger can also cause a crick in the neck, so be sure to do a few neck stretches every so often to keep your neck mobile. Here are some useful neck stretches to try.

Tilt your head to one side and hold for 15-20 sec and then to the other side.
Roll your shoulders forwards 5 times and then backward.

3. Running shin splits

Trying to get beach-fit quickly? Trying to run away those extra pounds? A sudden increase in running thresholds (especially if you’ve never run) is one of the biggest single causes of shin splints. This, together with wearing inappropriate footwear, a higher BMI and flat feet are among the top factors that can result in shin splints. Try switching to swimming or cycling instead and seek physiotherapy advice before hitting the pavement again to avoid this common summer injury.

4. Plantar fasciitis

In warmer weather, we tend you to swap our more supportive shoes for flip-flops, pumps, and sandals. Whilst increasing the airflow helps us feel cooler, our feet have to work a lot harder to help us move. This can cause aching burning feet at the end of the day. The intrinsic foot muscles may have deconditioned over the long winter and therefore be subject to strain and fatigue. If you suffer from burning feet, try doing the following:

Place a bottle of water in the freezer for an hour or so. Place it under your foot to act as an ice roller- trust me, it will absolutely hit the spot to relieve your burning feet!

5. Cycling injuries

Fair weather cyclists the world over can all relate to a “dead pinky” or lower back pain after getting into the saddle. Bike setup is crucial to your cycling comfort and can also contribute to the work of cycling. Your pre-bike fitness however will set you up to ensure you’re recruiting the correct muscles for your pedal power and avoid injury. Weak glutes are sometimes responsible for overworking the lumbar spine or hamstrings. A simple bridge exercise is useful for hip mobility and strength, particularly for cyclists as it replicates the action of the downward force of pedaling and isolates glut muscles.

We hope that these few simple golden nuggets will help keep those summer injuries at bay and that you have a wonderful and long summer!

5 injuries you didn’t think you could get from cycling

1. Runner’s knee

Yes, I said it! You can get runner’s knee from cycling. Contrary to popular belief, this painful problem is not confined to those who hit the pavements in their trainers alone. In fact, there’s a growing number of cyclists that land up on my treatment table that have been plagued with this pesky problem. The problem with cycling (cue “gasp” from our lycra-clad friends) is that the answer may not always be straight forward.

Football season is on: watch that hamstring!

The Premier league season has just started with a couple of big surprises already. The transfer market is heading for a record this year but the number one priority of every club will be to keep their players in shape, whether they are new recruits or existing ones.

Hamstring injuries in particular will be watched very closely by the clubs’ physios. According to Football Association Medical Research Programme, hamstring strains are the most common injury sustained costing an estimated 90 days and 15 matches missed per club per season. [1]

Usain Bolt – a biomechanical perspective on a sprinters’ foot

That’s it, we won’t have the delight of seeing Usain Bolt competing ever again. And despite his disappointing result at the 2017 World Championships here in London he is still the man to beat with an incredible World Record set at 9.58secs. We at Vitality Physiotherapy wish him very well after his injury in the 4x100m.

In his television interview on the BBC a couple of years ago, Usain said that he was less hard working than his younger teammate, Yohan Blake (who incidentally thanked his physiotherapist when he won Silver in the 100m men’s final in 2012). Bolt, however attributes much of his success to his talent!

Do you get a side stitch when you run?

There are more than a million downloads of the couch to 5K running app, running has become one of the most popular sports to kickstart in the summer. For both novice and experienced runners alike, most would have experienced a side stitch (exercise-related transient abdominal pain (ETAP)) at some point.

It is usually experienced just below the ribs, often affecting the right side. It usually results in a complete halt to running!

What are the causes of a side stitch?

Some biomechanists suggest that it is caused by the reduced blood supply to the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the main muscle we use to breathe. This theory however has been largely disregarded as a possible reason for pain.
Other medical scientists have proposed that pain was due to the downward pulling of visceral ligaments (ligaments that connect your abdominal organs such as the spleen, liver and stomach). This mechanism couldn’t explain why swimmers could experience stitches because these ligaments are not pulled downwards during a swim.
A more plausible and recent theory is parietal peritoneum irritation. The parietal peritoneum is one of two membranes that lines the abdomen. This membrane has a good nerve supply. The other membrane is called the visceral peritoneum. Between these two layers, is a naturally occurring fluid, which helps to allow the two membranes to slide against each other
When the stomach is full, the two layers can rub against each other and can cause pain.
If we don’t drink enough water, our parched bodies can become dehydrated. This can compromise the amount of fluid lying between the two membranes causing friction. Which in turn can cause that sharp pain in your side!
Eating or drinking just before running causes the stomach to expand and distend. This too can cause a build-up of pressure against the membrane.
Other factors include poor fitness, insufficient warm-up, and abdominal or core muscle weakness

Top Tips to avoid a stitch:

Eat 1.5 to 2 hours before exercising, preferably carbohydrate richer and protein poorer meal.
Before you run, ensure that you have drank enough fluid. The more slowly you do this, the better.
Plan the progression of your running regime- by consulting your Physio, Personal trainer, or Running coach. Progressive gradual increases of no more than 10% of training volume a week are recommended to both keep injury-free and stitch-free.
Include Pilates and other core stability exercises specifically for running as part of your strength and conditioning routine.

Top Tips if you have a stitch:

Lower the intensity of your run. Slowing down to about 50% of your current effort will ease the tension you feel.
Are you breathing through your mouth? Try nasal breathing instead! This will encourage breathing from your diaphragm and have loads of other health benefits too!
Breathe deeply in for 4 sec, hold for 5sec, and breathe out for 7 sec. Breathing control is a powerful tool to stop that stitch in its tracks!
Then, apply firm and gentle pressure on the painful area for a few seconds until the pain dissipates.
Raise your arm above your head and side bend away from the pain.

References

Characteristics and Etiology of Exercise-Related Transient Abdominal Pain,’ Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Volume 32 (2), pp. 432-438, 2000

The Lore of Running, Tim Noakes, Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers Date Published: 1991

Johnson. “Side Stitches: Cause and Cure”. Retrieved 9 September 2011.

Quinn, Elizabeth. “The Side Stitch”. About.com. Retrieved 4 November 2012

Sports Medicine 32(6): 2002. 261-269 The human spleen during physiological stress, Stewart & McKenzie

“Snow” need to worry about a niggly knee this ski season!

Thinking of warming away the winter blues with a bit of Alpine Sun? Concerned about an injury? Fear not, Vitality Physiotherapy is here to help!

The most common injury sustained on the slopes, is an ACL tear. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is located within the knee joint and connects the tibia (leg bone) to the femur (thigh bone). It is an important stabiliser of the knee joint. The ACL is commonly ruptured as a result of quick decelerations, hyper extension or excessive rotation.

Vitality Physio featured in Women’s Fitness Magazine

Lead Physiotherapist, Janine Enoch talks to Amanda Khouv from Women’s Fitness Magazine in the Ultimate Runner’s Guide April 2012.

In this article, Janine recommends a few general principles to avoid running injuries but remember, always consult your GP or Physiotherapist if you suspect that you may have sustained an injury or are at risk of developing one.

Size Matters

It’s a month to Christmas. If you are one of those very organised people, chances are that you’ve started on your Christmas shopping list. You inspire me! I am a scrambler – yes one of those loons trekking down Oxford Street on Christmas Eve searching for at least one dodgy Christmas jumper and the mandatory pair of socks for an unsuspecting, and admittedly unlucky relative.

Shin Splints

Have you got a place for the Virgin London Marathon? Want to challenge Kenya’s Patrick Makau magnificent 2hrs 3min 38sec set at this year’s Berlin marathon, perhaps? Plagued by shin splints, and don’t know how to get rid of them? Well, look no further, Vitality Physiotherapy has the solution for you!

Shin Splints, is a global term often used to describe pain in the leg below the knee. It can occur on the front outer aspect of the leg (anterior shin splints), or on the inside of the leg (medial shin splints). They can affect novice athletes who do too much too soon, or experienced athletes who modify their exercise programme by increasing their mileage or gradient excessively.

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Category: Blog