Diagnosed with a slipped disc?

Most people have had or know someone that has been told that they have a ‘Slipped Disc’. 

Lots of  health and medical professionals explain to patients that this has happened but actually don’t explain that its just old terminology. That is,  you physically CANNOT slip the disc in your back. The main two reasons for this are:

1. There is a ligament in the front of your spine (anterior longitudinal ligament) that helps to maintain the structural integrity of your spine. 

2. Another ligament is positioned at the back of your spine (posterior longitudinal ligament) that also maintains the structural integrity of your spin, therefor you disc will never actually slip. 

These two ligaments work with each other to support the spine in forward and backward movements, they prevent the disc slipping out of their positions and popping out. 

What actually can happen is that your disc can get inflamed and in more severe cases get a bulge or even rupture. This  can affect the nerve associated with the disc and cause pain - but remember your disc isn’t slipped!

The key is to work out if it is a disc issue and what caused the the disc issue in the first place. 

It could be because some part of your body is trying to do the job that your unstable back is not doing,  creating an imbalance and compensation. 

Treating the site of pain will work initially however having someone take a 'whole body approach’ will in work out your underlying problem. 

Have been told you have a ‘Slipped Disc'? Book online below and we would be more than happy in checking it out.

Is Your Big Toe Getting Too Big For It's Boots?

How the Big Toe May Contribute To YOUR Back Pain

If you have been following our blogs, you know that is not all about treating the site of pain – it is always about look for the underlying cause.

The Role Of Our Toes 

Our foot and toes plays a major part in getting us walking correctly. Your heel hits the ground and transfers your body weight to your pinky toe, your midfoot unlocks and your foot goes flat, extending your big toe to make contact with the ground – and off you go taking you taking a big steps into the world!

Sometimes your big toe doesn’t have a good extension and your body uses the incorrect parts of your body to help get you walking. For example instead of using your big toe extension it uses your knee, pushing it inwards to help your foot make contact with the ground. Your hip then turns inwards – making your back favour one side of your hip, causing muscle shortening, joint restrictions, wear and tear etc.

After months and years of walking like this the end result, you guessed it, is back pain!

Why Your Big Toe Can Get Too Big For It’s Boots?

Lot of things can cause poor extension in your big toe - old injuries, poor footwear, those expensive high heels. Majority of the time its two particular foot muscles that have become weakened and limit big toe extension - The Flexor Digitorum longus (FHL). if the FHL is tight say goodbye to your big toe able to lift off. The other is the Peroneus Longus (your outer calf muscle), this guy is super important in transferring weight from your pinky toe to your big toe when walking. If it is weak, it will have trouble pushing off your big toe causing changes upstream.

If you are having back pain that is not resolving with conservative treatment, stretching, releasing, activating your glutes it might be a good idea to see what your big toe is doing.

Still not sure if this is the problem or how to check? Ask us. We would love to help any way we can. Send us an email on the link below and we will get back to you pronto.

Plagued by plantar fasciitis? Stop releasing your foot...

Are you waking up in the morning and finding your first few steps to be agonizing? Or dread having to get out of your chairdue to the pain in the sole of your foot? If you have some of these signs/symptoms then you may have what clinicians commonly refer to as ‘ Plantar fasciitis’ or pain in the sole of the foot.

Now before you jump on to whatever apparatus you use to release your foot, because you have been told it is tight, were you ever told why it was tight in the first place?

Your body normally takes the path of least resistance and more often if it loses stability in your mid-section (Your core), your brain will put the brakes else where to get support, such as your calves. Due to your calves now being short and tight, your plantar fascia (tendon/tissue under the sole of your feet) consequently gets tight and overworked.

Instead of releasing it, why not look at strengthening it instead. It is opposite to what you have been told, but doing the same thing as everyone is getting you the same results over and over.

Bear in mind, that this does not hold true for everyone as we are all unique and each person will present with a different biomechanical model. The purpose of this post is to have you challenge the status quo and try something different to get different results. As Michallengello once said “To do the same thing over and over and get different results is madness”.

If you think you have plantar fasciitis or a foot problem for that matter, don’t guess, get assessed.

Go from hobbling to jumping by clicking the link below to book online. 

Should I crack my own back?

The reasons for cracking one’s own back are many. Some do it for pain relief, others cause they simply like it. However the question we really must answer is should you really be doing it yourself?

Mobility or an increase in ones movement is an essential aspect in maintaining a healthy functioning body. However, what if the joint that you are moving is already too mobile otherwise known as ‘unstable’? Well, continually ‘cracking that segment will make it more loose.

Imagine a hinge on a door that is a bit wobbly, you go tighten the screws that are already tight but ignore the loose ones. Over time that hinge, like your back will become unstable and come of from the frame. Our bodies on the other hand, will develop wear and tear such joint arthritis, disc degeneration or look for stability further up or down the chain in our bodies.

While it is important to get the ‘right’ joint moving by a qualified health profession, it is also important to work out why the joint was tightening up or compensating in the first place.

Getting a thorugh history and finding a health professional with an appreciation of how the body functions is always crucial.

Take home message.

Stop cracking your back. Find out the real reason why it got stiff in the first place. 

Click the below link to book and online appointment today to get your body sorted. 

3 reasons why you need to stop clenching your jaw

I’m sure you are guilty of this.

You have deadlines to meet, busy work/life schedules and feel like that you have no time on your hands. Your stress levels start to creep up and you begin to clench your jaw. I mean really clench your jaw. Soon enough you may begin to develop headaches, neck pain and that annoying click in your jaw. On the other side of the coin, you notice that you are favouring one side of your body more than the other and 6 months down the track you develop low back pain that has been diagnosed as a disc issue.  

What’s the go? Your jaw (temporamandibular joint TMJ) is one of the most sensory innervated structures in your body. In plain English, it tells your body where it is in space. ‘Where the head goes the body will follow’. With his in mind, if your jaw dysfunction due to over clenching/grinding causes you to stick out your jaw more, it will shift your body forward switching off the chain of muscles in your back. Conversely if you jaw deviates to one side it will make you favour more that side you are deviating to, switching off the other side of your body.

It is not your jaws fault, it just think it is giving you the best chance in stabilising your body. Doing endless amount of  activation for your glutes or ‘core’ will be an absolute waste of time if your jaw is trying to do all the work.

Know where your jaw is positioned.

Think your jaw is the culprit to your body woes?

Book Online below and finally get your body issues sorted. 

3 reasons why Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is not due to your wrist

Do symptoms like pins and needles in your index, middle and part of your ring finger bother you, more so at night? Do you find them coming on whilst sitting at work typing or riding your road bike with your wrists resting on the handlebars?

You may have what is commonly referred to as ‘Carpal tunnel syndrome’ (CTS). Typically the diagnosis is based on the premise that the median nerve that causes the pins and needles gets trapped/restricted in the carpal tunnel. Traditional treatment typically involves splinting/wrist bracing, corticosteroid injections and extreme cases surgery.

However the question begs to be asked, is the problem actually in the wrist? There are three reasons why CTS may not be due to your wrist. If we look at where the median nerves runs through, one can appreciate that it actually can get entrapped in the following areas other than your wrist.

1.     Neck

2.     Armpit

3.     Forearm muscles

 If whatever reason the muscles in that region gets restricted, it can effect how well that nerve can slide causing it to get irritated and inflamed. The end result is your pins and needles.

While it is beneficial to work out the areas that have tightened up, just as importantly you need to know why it happened in the first place. The big players are things like poor posture, dysfunctional breathing patterns and old injuries that were treated correctly.

Active Release Technique (ART) is one of the techniques used at Kinetic Healthcare to effectively treat the soft tissue injuries that lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Neurokineteic Therapy (NKT) is an alternative technique that is utilised to address where the compensations in the body lie.  Stop wasting doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. Book online below to finally sort your  carpal tunnel syndrome.

Poor Breathing Patterns And Your Pain: The Missing Link

Lets start with a little test. Standing upright and take a big breath in, as much as possible, do it with a group of people to see what everyone else is doing. Did you notice peoples shoulders elevating to the ceiling, there neck muscles straining and not much movement in their stomachs?

Dysfunctional breathing patterns are unfortunately more common due to our sedentary sitting lifestyle and other factors as well. Introducing to you the diaphragm.

This dome shaped muscles sits just above your liver and is responsible for breathing. However due to our poor postures, time poor lifestyle and less than optimum stress control mechanisms, our breathing patterns have taken a hit. It is no wonder then why people now-days are suffering from chronic neck, low back and even jaw pain. No amount of stretching, releasing, prodding or poking your painful areas will fix it. 

Diaphragmatic breathing is advantageous as it is more energy efficient, which means that you will feel less tired and more energized. It will also help regulate your nervous system from a sympathetic state (think of fighting off a saber toothed tiger) to a parasympathetic state (laying on a beach getting your tan on). If you have pain this will also help reduce your pain and control it more effectively.  For the athletes reading this, utilising diaphragmatic breathing will improve your performance by up to 30%.

So now you know the importance of diaphragm breathing, the key is implanting it. A simple and effective way is to lay on your back and place a kettlebell(12 – 16 kg) on your belly. Whilst breathing in through your nose, try to lift the kettle with your belly. The weight will act as a cue to your brain to help use your diaphragm more effectively.

If you have had previous long standing injuries that have not resolved with traditional treatments, diaphragmatic retraining and other rehab-focused exercises used at Kinetic Healthcare may be a solution.

Book online below to get your issues sorted. 

Benefits of Remedial Massage

When you fell off the swings as a child and ran into your Mum’s arms, bursting into tears knowing that a big dirty bruise was on its way to the surface, did she ever give you the saying “there there, I’ll rub it better” as she frantically tried to calm you down?

My Mum constantly did this whenever I fell over and to be honest, I never thought it felt “better” after she rubbed it! As an adult and Remedial Massage Therapist I understand that the paternal instinct to rub an area of trauma has been a form of innate human behaviour for thousands of years.  As kids we didn’t truly understand how significant it was to have our mother (or respective guardian) rubbing our knee after we fell over. Our elders most likely didn’t know that they were subconsciously trying to accelerate and promote the formation of scar tissue in an attempt to heal our injury. Nor were they aware on a conscious level that they were initiating the release of serotonin (mood altering hormone) from our brain which ultimately aimed at making us feel better.

I daily come in to contact with people who have experienced direct trauma to certain muscle groups. Athletes who lower barbells too quickly onto their thighs from over-head positions often create corks on their quads. They may not realise to what extent they have damaged their quads, however leaving this subtle injury untreated can do more damage than good. Your muscles can essentially stick to each other via the formation of initial scar tissues. This will create anchoring between your muscles, restricting their natural ability to glide against one another properly. If your muscles lose their ability to function independently, they will also lose their ability to work with other muscle groups when performing basic and complex movements.

Massage may or may not be appropriate immediately, but when it is, the benefits can be remarkable. Increasing heat and blood flow through the use of pressure can cause scar tissue to break down between muscle groups. Doing this reduces the anchoring between them thus allowing them to function independently of one another. Massage will also stimulate your nervous system which allows your muscles to activate more freely when they are needed.

If you have had a cork in the past, or have received subtle injuries which you think may be holding you back, I urge you to have it checked by your physical therapist. Your maximal performance depends on it! 

To make a book online with Jamal, our wizard remedial massage therapist click the below link. 

Why Sitting isn't the new Smoking!

Great we got your attention.

There is so much discussion around sitting, in particular relating it to being the ‘new smoking’ issue. More to the point, with the implementation of standing work stations it has been made out that sitting is like the anti-Christ.

We wanted to set the record straight via this blog. Now lets look at cyclists, particularly road cylists (race bikes). We can all agree that there posture are thatsimilar to sitting posture. We can also agree that they are some of the fittest and healthiest people on the planet. What is the difference? There body is in constant movement. There legs are constantly in motion to propel the bike forward, there upper body position constantly changes with change of the slope of the road.

The point is this, there bodies are being challenged to meet the demands given to it. Now lets compare that to sitting posture someone would use at work. It is static. There is no movement what so ever. It is the static postures with no change in movement that are the primary causes in many chronic health conditions, low back and neck disorders and even breathing disorders.

I am not telling you to convert your workstation into a human hamster wheel.  However implementing movement whilst sitting would be a good start. Move your legs whilst sitting, change your posture, get up every twenty minutes and walk around, do some squats.

Whatever it may give your body a stimulus to respond to. Remember every action has a reaction so make sure you give your body the best it deserves.

Concerned that something is not right with your movement or are you suffering from  chronic pain. We may be able to help. Click below to book an online appointment to get yourself sorted.

Stretch or strength? When to do what for your hamstring tightness

Lets face it; we live in an age of a sedentary lifestyle. Everything is made to be easier for us but unfortunately it has the direct opposite effect on our bodies. The change in our biomechanics and our lack of movement causes certain muscles to become tight, for instance our hamstrings. The problem is the majority of people think that just because it is tight it needs to be stretched. What if we told you it may be feeling tight as it thinks that your body is unstable?

Here is a simple test you can do. Standing upright with your feet together, legs straight bend forward and touch your toes. Either you can touch your toes (what we want) or you can’t touch them (Now you need to determine if it is a problem with hip/pelvis mobility or a stability issue).

From here you can work out if both/one of the hips are involved or if it is truly a stability issue. As the test above, modify it by keeping your left leg straight and right leg bent with pressure on the ball of your foot. Bend forward to touch your toes on the left side. Repeat the same process to the other side.

If you went further on one side than the other it means definite hip involvement. If it has no change it could mean that both hips and or back are involved.

Next, you want to challenge your toe touch test in a seated position. Sitting on the floor with your legs straight and feet together, bend forward and touch your toes. Are you able to get further? If so, this signifies the fact that there is an underlying stability issue. The reason is because your body feels safer in a seated position and hence allows our nervous system to work to its full potential. In other words it allows you to take the brakes of your body.

Great. You know now what is going on, what do you do about it. If it is purely a mobility issue, using the foam roller/ mobility ball (download our free mobility guide here) for a few minutes around your hip and pelvic region would be a good start. Opening up the hip capsule would also be great. Seated on the floor, put your leg in a figure 4 position, wrap a band around that same hip and tie it to a pole. Now put tension on it so that your hip feels like it is being stretched out of the socket.

Now for the stability work, you want to have to your upper and lower body talking to each other. Lie onto your stomach and place your left hand behind your neck. Now rotate the left side of your upper body to the ceiling whilst elevating your right leg to the ceiling. Complete a total of four reps and repeat the process on the side.

Remember always look deeper for your underlying problem. Where you think it is it isn’t.

MY OFFER TO YOU

Think you have an underlying mobility or stability issue or have an old injury that just won't go away? Stop guessing, come in for FREE and I will take a look at it

If I can fix it then awesome, if I can't then I will refer you on to someone who can .. either way your issues can be fixed as long as you take ACTION

Book in for a Free 15 minute Assessment with me below