Category: Back (Page 1 of 2)

7 Things Not To Do When Experiencing Lower Back Pain

6th December 2018 / Robert Manning

1. Don’t just sit or lie down, it may seem like that’s the best thing for it however it wreaks havoc down the line. Keep moving around to the best of your ability as it will keep your muscles strong and keep you mobile.

2. On the other hand don’t work through the pain. You may think this contradicts my first point… however if it REALLY hurts, don’t do it, do the movements that are manageable.

3. Don't do exercises such as shoulder presses, other overhead movements and even weighted squats, add an increase of stress to the spine and shouldn’t be done when you have back pain.

4. Don’t slouch! If you slouch, spend a lot of time sat down at a desk or in the car practice. Sitting up straight and even standing up straight! Really easy, open your shoulders and chest up.

5. Toe touches – these place a great stress on your disks on ligaments in your back and potentially can worsen your pain.

6. Don't Jog or run! Both just like toe touches put and increase in stress and strain on your lower back, potentially increasing pain.

7. While it is great to try to manage the pain yourself, the earlier you start treatment, the better your chances are of making a smooth recovery and quickly returning to normal function.

This is due to whilst being in pain you change how you move which means muscles, joints and tendons start performing differently leading to worse pain.

What To Do Next?

Now you know what not to do, next click the link down below to learn 7 great exercises for lower back pain!

These Exercise will guide you step by step how to become back pain free!

Download the 7 Exercises Now!

About Fully Fit Therapy

Rob Manning

Owner Of Fully Fit Therapy

Robert Manning graduated from the University of Gloucestershire with BSc Hons in Sports Therapy. Having had placements with the GB Youth Ice Hockey team, with Cirencester FC for pre-season fitness, Newport Gwent Dragons and the All Golds Rugby team.

Since graduating Rob set up Fully Fit Therapy with the Number one aim of helping people become more mobile and pain free!

Shred Snow, Not Your Body!

13th January 2018 / Robert Manning

Are you planning or have already booked a trip to the slopes? If so, are you prepared? I am not referring to your purchase of the latest ‘look’ to cruise the slopes in style or working out the best Apres ski spots. I am referring to yourself!

Your body, is it prepared and ready to take on the physical demands of skiing or snowboarding to return home without a cast and or crutches? Alpine skiing and snowboarding are classified as very extreme sports due to the involvement of high speeds and an increased propensity for participants to jump and perform acrobatic maneuvers (as seen on TV think The Jump on channel 4).

There are risks involved when participating in snow sports. Alpine skiing and snowboarding take place in environments where medical care may not be readily available on site. Because of these challenges, greater emphasis needs to be placed on skill, preparation, and safety strategies/equipment to prevent serious injury.

I would hope the only time you ride in the chopper is for a scenic flip or heli-ski and not a rescue off the mountain to the local hospital! Before travelling triple check your medical insurance includes extreme sports, as if not you better get an upgrade to it!

In both skiing and snowboarding, the leading cause of death and catastrophic injury is traumatic brain injury (TBI). Head injuries and concussions account for 25 to 30% of injuries, with one of the most high profile cases in recent years being none other than Michael Schumacher springing to mind. Musculoskeletal injuries are far more common, albeit less serious.

When skiing you are at greater risk of sustaining an injury to your lower limb; most commonly knee injuries like tearing the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or sprains and tears to the collateral ligaments of the knee. Snowboarders on the other hand sustain most injuries to their upper limb; frequently sprains or fractures to the hand and wrist or shoulder dislocations.

Thankfully however it’s not all doom and gloom. Wearing a helmet and being physically prepared for your trip can significantly reduce your risk of injury. There are also many benefits to a skiing holiday, not only is it fun and being outdoors enjoying the beauty of your natural surroundings is good for your soul and mental outlook. But undoubtedly the physical exertion is great exercise for your musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. These tips can help make your winter wonderland wicked rather than weary and wounded!

Why not start your holiday in tip top condition? If you know you have a knee or back niggle visit my self for some hands-on treatments and exercise prescription so you can enjoy your trip without any flare-ups. I can also prescribe strengthening exercises for your knees and quadriceps muscles (thigh muscles); the stronger they are the better they can absorb the impacts of skiing and snowboarding without injury.

Yoga, Pilates and core strengthening will protect your back and improve your balance which again may save you from a tumble and subsequent injury. In addition to this being physically fit will make your skiing better and more enjoyable. Injuries often occur later in the day when fatigue sets in and concentration levels starts to drop. The fitter you are the longer you will be able to stay out on the slopes without increasing your injury risk. Ask your physical therapist for advice on aerobic training leading up to your holiday.

Fortunately, most snow sport injuries can be treated with rest, bracing, pain medication and Sports Therapist. Some more severe fractures and ligament tears may require surgical intervention where recovery periods can vary from 3 to 6 months, and necessitate intensive rehabilitation. So, remember, on returning from your trip, should you have any sprains or strains get treatment early, rather than waiting to see if it will resolve itself. Early treatment and rehabilitation of an injury guarantees better long term outcomes. Chronic pain is a serious condition that can become complex and frustratingly stubborn to manage and overcome.

I’ve put together a guide called “6 Strategies for Avoiding Injury on the Slopes” and it’s accompanied by two leaflets with videos, containing six power exercises for either snowboarding or skiing. To download the leaflet click here

A skiing holiday is great fun, and these risks shouldn’t deter you from going and enjoying your time. Use these tips to get better prepared and stay injury free.

Lastly I hope you enjoy your snow holiday, if you would like more information on exercises to help before you go or to book a session. Just give me a call on 07759689612 or drop me an email at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you

My 3rd Principle Of Lower Back Pain

3rd December 2017 / Robert Manning

3. Increase Stability

The “core” is comprised of several groups of muscles including the

transversus abdominus, multifidus, diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles.

These muscles work together to produce maximum stability in the

abdominal and lumbar (lower) back region, as well as coordinate the movement of the arms, legs, and spine. Engaging these muscles is not something that most people do consciously, therefore it is important to.

An often used analogy is comparing the spine and surrounding muscles to a tent.

The bones of your spine act like a tent pole, however your spine is not rigid, so relies on the support of ligaments and deep muscles, to hold adjacent vertebrae and to stabilise the spine. This is similar to the guy ropes stabilising a tent.

If the muscles that stabilise the spine are weak or poorly controlled, then your spine will tend to collapse, exactly like a tent would if there was nothing holding it up. If a tent had guy ropes that pulled more to one side than the other, then the tent would lean.

If the muscles on one side pull more than the other due to imbalances in strength or flexibility, this will then pull your body into a poor postural alignment.

Where the similarity ends, is that a tent only requires static stability

maintaining a single stationary position. Your body needs to have dynamic stability maintaining optimal alignment of our core and limbs during movement.

You also wouldn’t be able to get the kind of view like the one above if your back/tent wasn't functioning 100%

If you would like help with your own pain not just lower back pain. contact me on here using the messaging tool or give me a ring on 07759689612 to help you get back on your way to become Fully Fit!

Below is what one of my clients has said about how I helped him get Fully Fit!

L. Brymner

Recreational Gym User

I had suffered a bad strain from the gym in my upper back trap area and was very immobile and causing me tension headaches. Rob managed to source the problem and relieve some of the soreness and get me on the road to recovery my back and neck were back too 100% within a couple of days and I was back in the gym, could not recommend rob more if you've got any pains or long lasting injuries I'd highly suggest you see Rob! Lewis

My 2nd Principle Of Lower Back Pain

26th November 2017 / Robert Manning

Restore Hip Mobility

Each joint in your body has a specific job to do in order for efficient movement to take place.

The hips are an area of the body that can quite commonly benefit from increased mobility, due to it being known to get stiff and immobile relatively easy.

They usually get stiff due to having a sedentary lifestyle, and not being used as much as they should.

A common saying of mine is that ‘If you don’t use it you lose it’ and this holds true for your hip mobility and back pain.

If the hip loses its mobility, it will affect the role of the joint complex directly above (the low back), and below (the knee). This will also have an effect on the ankle joint, Thoracic spine and more.

Research has shown that lower back pain can often be attributed to a lack of hip mobility. For this reason, it wouldn’t matter how much strength and stability work you perform on the core. If hip mobility is never addressed, no significant long-term improvement will be made.

If you would like help with your own pain not just lower back pain. contact me on here using the messaging tool or give me a ring on 07759689612 to help you get back on your way to become Fully Fit!

Below is what one of my clients has said about how I helped him get Fully Fit!

Each joint in your body has a speci?c job to do in order for ef?cient movement
to take place.
The hips are an area of the body that can quite commonly bene?t from
increased mobility, due to it being known to get stiff and immobile relatively
easy.
They usually get stiff due to having a sedentary lifestyle, and not being used as
much as they should.
A common saying of mine is that ‘If you don’t use it you lose it’ and this holds
true for your hip mobility and back pain.
If the hip loses its mobility, it will affect the role of the joint complex directly
above (the low back), and below (the knee). This will also have an effect on the
ankle joint, Thoracic spine and more.
Research has shown that lower back pain can often be attributed to a lack of
hip mobility. For this reason, it wouldn’t matter how much strength and stability
work you perform on the core. If hip mobility is never addressed, no signi?cant
long-term improvement will be made.

L. Brymner

Recreational Gym User

My 5 Principles Of Fixing Lower Back Pain

18th November 2017 / Robert Manning

For my next series I am moving on from squatting and how to help you squat better.

I am however still in the same area which is the lower back and one of the most common complaints I see which is lower back pain.

Treating lower back pain is no easy task. This is because there an array of different factors that can contribute to the development of pain in and around the lower back.

There are some treatments that may decrease pain in one person, while that very same treatment may set off the lower back pain in another.

For this reason there is no real definitive guide to treatments for lower back pain.

Rather than going in a straight line of progression, you will have lows and highs before you get back up to full fitness.

My 5 Points

Over the course of the next few blog posts I want to share with you 5 key principles in the treatment of lower back pain.

1. Reduce Pain

2. Restore your Hip Mobility

3. Enhance Stability

4. Normalize Movement Patterns

5. Gradually Progress Back to Activates

Check back tomorrow for my first principle- reduce pain.

If you would like help with your own pain not just lower back pain. contact me on here using the messaging tool or give me a ring on 07759689612 to help you get back on your way to become Fully Fit!

Below is what one of my clients has said about how I helped him get Fully Fit!

L. Brymner

Recreational Gym User

Why Fitbits could be bad for you!

21st May 2017 / Robert Manning

steps

1001 steps, 1002 steps, 1003 steps…. Does this sound like you and your fitness tracker?

Counting up your steps till you reach your magic number of 5k, 10k or more steps in a day

Well studies have found over the past few years it makes us feel unhappier as our fitness trackers turn going for a walk, run or a bike ride etc into a chore.

Don’t get me wrong people who use fitness trackers have been found to walk and run further however they were also found to hate it much more than people who were measured who didn’t use trackers.

At the end of the day, fitness and sport should be fun so get out there and enjoy it!

Below is one of the studies from Duke university business school in America relating to Fitbits and chores

http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/news_events/news-releases/jordan-etkin-tracking/#.WSGERsYjXIV

Remember to sign up for email updates for £5 off and free tips on keeping fully fit!

Part 2- Your Biggest Issue Stopping Your Body From Healing!

7th April 2017 / Robert Manning

Continuing from last week’s post- something else that links in well with stress and can exacerbate the symptoms that stress has on the healing of wounds is a person’s diet, sleep and whether or not they smoke or drink.

Sleep

Mild moving through to severe sleep disruption is relatively common when someone is stressed.

This sleep disruption on its own without stress has been found to increase wound healing time.

sleep

Diet

Diet can also slow down wound healing time as if you are low on sugar, polyunsaturated fatty acids and protein this can reduce the body’s ability to heal itself as it doesn’t have the right materials.

burger

Alcohol

Bar

Alcohol consumption holds back wound healing as it disrupts your cardiac and immune function, by reducing the amount of collagen that can be layed at a time.

Smoking

smoking

Smoking also doesn’t help at all due to all the toxins and nicotine which is inhaled during a puff.It delays healing due to decreasing the amount of oxygen available to the injured area and it also slows down the speed at which the body’s immune system works.

Remember I offer Sport Massage, Swedish Massage and injury treatment in Newent, Gloucester, Cheltenham, the Forest of Dean and surrounding areas.

Your Biggest Issue Stopping Your Body From Healing!

31st March 2017 / Robert Manning

Our busy and hectic lives

Stress!!

As we all know, stress isn’t great and everyone in the world goes through it at varying points throughout their lives.

Stress can be anything from a GCSE exam through to trying to find a job or just trying to work out where you are going with your life.

Stress can have varying impacts on your body and not least when you are trying to recover from an injury.

Multiple studies have been conducted over the years and have found that stress from various elements can dramatically slow the healing process.

For example carers who were stressed caring for dementia patients were found to take 24% longer (9days!) to heal from a biopsy.

Moving onto exams, dental students also had a biopsy taken, the students who had the biopsy taken during exams took 40% longer to heal than the students who had the same biopsy taken during holiday time.

Lastly in older men and women, when they were stressed, anxious or depressed this caused a longer healing time than the ones who weren’t the above healed at a much quick rate.

Tips to help stress – taken from the NHS website on stress- Link below

1. Look for the positives in life- be grateful for what you have and not you don’t (glass half full)

2. Accept you’ll always have jobs to do, prioritise your work load from most important to least.

3. Have a bit of me time, this is where you take time out just to do something for you, be that a hobby of yours through to a relaxing massage.

These are just a few examples to help reduce stress!

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/reduce-stress.aspx

Christian, L. M., Graham, J. E., Padgett, D. A., Glaser, R., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2007). Stress and wound healing. Neuroimmunomodulation, 13(5-6), 337-346.

The number 1 exercise if you work in an office!

17th March 2017 / Robert Manning

If you work in an office, you spend anything from 6 hours a day through to 10 or more at a desk… being at your desk for such a long period can mean that you sit with the below posture:

Bad posture

Slumped forward, shoulders rounded, look familiar? I’m sure it does, you may even be reading this in the exact same posture!

The number 1 exercise to help this is below- this is stretching you pectoralis minor muscle and this can get very tight when you have the above posture.

Pec minor anatomy

Pec minor stretch

1. put your arm on a door frame or corner of a wall at head height

2. lunge forward until you feel s stretch (the higher up you have your arm the deeper the stretch) Hold this for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times!

This is just the start of helping adjust yourself to an optimum posture. With my sessions we can go through a step by step plan of getting you to the perfect posture at work…Remember only 2 weeks left to get 50% off a sport massage initial assessment or an injury assessment with me. This means only £22.50 for and hour and a half session! 50% off for March

[optinform]

50% off initial assessment for March- Massage and Injury

28th February 2017 / Robert Manning

Grab yourself a bargain this month, as for the whole of March I am halving my initial assessment price from £45 for an hour and a half to just £22.50.

You might just want a relaxing massage, or you may need help with an injury. Whatever your needs I can tailor the session around you!

Sport Massage Sport Therapy

​What To Do Next?

​About Fully Fit Therapy

​3. Increase Stability

​Restore Hip Mobility

​My 5 Points

Recent Posts

Pages

What To Do Next?

About Fully Fit Therapy

3. Increase Stability

Restore Hip Mobility

My 5 Points