United Health Kent

Cycling is a great form of exercise and can be a fun and practical way of getting around. However, as with any sports there are issues that can arise. Here are some tips on how to avoid common problems.

The Basics

Cycling requires some muscles to work on holding the body in the optimal position, whilst others are used to generate the power. If you can utilise the correct muscles for stabilisation, power and torque development, you will not only significantly reduce the risk of injury, but also enhance your cycling performance.

Set up

External factors such as seat height, saddle width and handle bar orientation are crucial to bike set up. However leg length, ankle range of motion, spinal flexibility and control, muscle strength and control in the glutes and the core muscles are crucial in achieving the correct individualised bike set up. This is where some folks go wrong, the bike set up for an athlete might not be so tolerable for a novice cyclist. The bike AND the cyclist need to be appropriately prepared.

Putting It To The Test

Weaknesses around the lower back, pelvis and hips are usually the major problems contributing to the onset of cycling injuries. The good news is there are various exercises that can address these issues. If you would like to have an assessment with us call us today to see how we can help you keep injury free when cycling.

Shin splints are a general term used to describe pain at the front of the shin associated with exercise. There are a number of causes of shin pain but this article focuses on the muscle at the front of shin, tibialis anterior. N.B there are other causes of shin pain and if you have any concerns about your symptoms you should seek advice from your GP or Chartered Physiotherapist.

Tibialis anterior shin splints are common in runners and long distance walkers.

This muscle has two roles to play when running or walking. Firstly it lowers the foot to the ground. Secondly it bends the ankle up to allow the foot to clear the ground.

What Causes Shin Splints?

• Increasing your training too quickly which does not allow the muscle to adapt to the increased demands.
• Tight calf muscles are a common cause of shin pain. Tight calf muscles alter the range of movement that the ankle can move through on every stride and can add extra stress to the anterior tibial muscle.
• Over pronation, which is also associated with tight calf muscles, can overstretch the anterior tibialis as the foot rolls over.
• Not using the appropriate footwear i.e. trainers that do not support your foot adequately.

So What is the Treatment?

• Specific prescribed exercises including stretches and strengthening.
• Ice can relieve the immediate pain and inflammation.
• Footwear adaption and/or orthotics.
• Phased return to exercise

Low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal problem people get with anything up to 90% of people experiencing back pain at some point in their life.

It is also common among runners, although some runners might except this as part of the course.

Low back pain for runners can arise from:

• Tight hip flexors that fail to allow full hip extension, causing lumbar stress
• Poor core stability, where the lumbar spine and pelvis fail to stay stable as the hip pushes off
• Being too upright in the stride, resulting in compensatory extension from the low back; and/or
• Excessive trunk rotation due to an inefficient arm swing.

These biomechanical issues can be addressed through appropriate exercises and altering running techniques.

Being aware of how you walk can assist with your running technique. The same inefficient habits often occur when walking. Be sure to maintain a light, forward trunk and extend powerfully with your hips behind you, even when walking. Efficient running begins with efficient walking!

Sports Physiotherapy Deal Kent

info@unitedhealthkent.com

Symptoms

The hamstring is the muscle at the back of the leg. It spans from the buttock to below the knee. A strain is a tear to the muscle fibres. The symptoms are usually sudden pain and the person is unable to continue the activity. Sometimes a snap or pop is heard or felt at the time of the injury and the person may not be able to stand or support weight on the injured leg. There will be a tightness, tenderness and inflammation at the back of the thigh. There may also be muscle spasms and bruising over time.

Treatment

The immediate response to hamstring injury is to stop the activity and rest the leg.

Ice should be applied as soon as possible after the injury and should be applied regularly (around 20 minutes every two hours) for the next 48 – 72 hours.

Elevation will also help reduce inflammation, but it is difficult, and usually impractical, to raise the thigh above heart height. Compression is often used for soft tissue injuries, but you must ensure that the compression does not restrict blood flow down the leg.

Any injury where the pain is severe, pain continues for more than a few days, there is tingling or numbness, or you are unable to support your weight should be referred to a doctor.

The rehabilitation for a hamstring strain will depend on the severity of the injury and may include self treatment, anti-inflammatory/pain relief, physiotherapy or surgery (usually only for a full rupture).

• Rest from the activities that led to the injury, or may aggravate it further.
• Careful stretching of the muscles. This should only be done after the acute inflammation has gone down and when pain permits.
• Strengthen the surrounding muscles. This should be a gradual process that does not put a sudden strain on the hamstring or other muscles. Do be aware that injury can lead to imbalance amongst muscles as your body adjusts to minimise damage or pain e.g. the limping you do to reduce pain in your thigh can put a strain on the muscles and tendons in the knee, hip and calf of the same leg, and in all of the muscles of your other leg, as your body tries to compensate.

We will be able to guide you on the stretching and exercises that can be done to strengthen and aid recovery, without aggravating the injury. We may also use other treatments such as massage and electrotherapy treatments such as ultrasound.

Plantar Fasciitis is a painful condition causing chronic heel pain. In some cases it may also result in arch pain.

Symptoms

The pain usually is felt on the underside of the heel and is often most intense with your first steps when getting out of bed in the morning. Plantar Fasciitis presents with a sharp stabbing pain at the bottom or front of the heel bone. In most cases, heel pain is more severe following periods of inactivity (resting or sleeping) when getting up and then subsides, turning into a dull ache.

What causes it?

Contributing factors are age, weight gain, jobs that require a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces, badly worn shoes with little support and also inactivity.

What are the treatment options?

The most commonly doctor-recommended treatment methods include:

• Ice (applied onto the heel area for about 5 mins) with early symptoms

• Rest or reduced activity (i.e. refrain from sports, running, walking distances, standing for long periods etc)

• A programme of daily exercises from a physiotherapist. A physiotherapist may also use taping and other techniques to relieve the stress off the Plantar Fascia.

• Orthotic insoles, to correct poor foot biomechanics if indicated.

A number of recent studies have shown that the most effective long-term treatment of Plantar Fasciitis is a combination of daily exercises and wearing orthotic insoles. The exercises help make the muscles and tendons in the feet and legs longer and more flexible. In turn this will reduce the tension on the Plantar Fascia.

If you have any queries about Plantar Fasciitis or would like to arrange an assessment just email:

info@unitedhealthkent.com

It would be strange to train the right side of the body and not the left and not many people would train the hamstring muscles in the rear thigh and not think to train the quadriceps muscles in the front of the thigh. However gyms and personal training facilities throughout the country are full of people who have ignored an entire muscle group in their training programmes.

Creating shoulders that are both strong and functional involves finding a balance between training the prime power-producing superficial muscles (pectorals, latissimus dorsi and deltoids) and training the deeper shoulder joint stabilisers – the rotator cuff. A strong rotator cuff provides vital stability for the shoulder and allows the more powerful force producing muscles to functional optimally. Many people either ignore the presence of this muscles group (often because it is not very visible), or simply never challenge the stability of the region through appropriate functional training techniques.

The rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder joint have several important functions:

1. To hold the ball of the joint (the head of the humerus) securely in the socket of the joint (the glenoid fossa).
2. To centralise the humeral head in the socket and provide a stable base for maximum power production.
3. To rotate the humerus (in order to get the best fit into the glenoid fossa).
4. To depress the humeral head – balancing the upward pull of deltoid during elevation of the arm.

External Rotation

The three external rotators of the shoulder (supraspinatus, infraspinatus and teres minor) are responsible for rolling the arm out away from the midline of the body. Common examples of external rotation are; winding the arm out in preparation to throw a ball or to begin a serve in tennis. Training which includes resisted shoulder rolling out movements as part of a functional full body exercise or isolated shoulder region exercise will stimulate the external rotators to function with improved strength and endurance.

Internal Rotation

Similarly the internal rotator of the shoulder (subscapularis) is responsible for rolling the arm in towards the midline of the body (away from an out stretched position). Forceful internal rotation is occurring as you actually throw a ball or hit the ball in the tennis serve. Training which includes resisted shoulder rolling in movements as part of a functional full body exercise or isolated shoulder region exercise will stimulate the internal rotators to function with improved strength and endurance.

For strong, stable and functional shoulders that do not slip, pinch, crunch or just plain hurt, include rotator cuff training every time you train shoulders. Your shoulders will thank you.