Posted on

Best Calf Forward

A foam roller is an invaluable tool, not just for a foot rest while you watch TV but to actually improve the flexibility and function of your muscles. 

Last week we looked at how to use your foam roller to release your quads, hamstrings and adductors, this week we are looking below the knee at the calf muscles. Not just the back at the gastrosoleus group and tibialis posterior muscle but the front as well – the muscles that lift your toes and your foot to the sky. 

This routine takes about a minute per leg to complete and you can even do it while you are watching TV. 

If you don’t have a foam roller, you can purchase them online or via one of our clinics and if you don’t want to buy a foam roller and would prefer to come to use for treatment instead then book on the link to the right and we will be very happy to help. 

Posted on

Thighs of Flexible Steel

A foam roller is an invaluable tool, not just for a foot rest while you watch TV but to actually improve your

Over the next three weeks we will look at how you can put your foam roller to good use and improve the flexibility, tone and recovery rate for the muscles in your legs.

This week we are looking at the thighs – Quads at the front, hamstrings at the back and adductors on the inside from knee to pelvis. This routine takes less than 5 minutes and you can even do it while you are watching TV. In fact, definitely do it in front of the TV because you are likely to get distracted and be on your foam roller for longer, which will only benefit your muscles in the longer term!

If you don’t have a foam roller, you can purchase them online or via one of our clinics and if you don’t want to buy a foam roller and would prefer to come to use for treatment instead then book online using the tab to the right and we will be very happy to help.

Posted on

Hamstring Hamstrung

Hamstrings are often a cause of lower back pain that gets ignored.

The ‘normal’ hamstring stretch is great when your back is feeling fine but it can make pain much worse if your back is already starting to twinge.

This stretch will target your hamstring muscles (at the back of your thigh) and also your adductors (in your inner thigh). The advantage of this stretch is that it doesn’t require your back to flex forwards. In fact, your back must remain in the same neutral position as you have when you stand with good posture in order to be effective.

This stretch will challenge your balance, strengthen the muscles around your pelvis and hips. Lower back pain where instability is an issue will be helped enormously with this stretch, especially if you can perform it at least a few times a week for 30seconds at a time or so. The more the better with this one!

 

Posted on

Left, Right, Side to Side – First Aid for Your Lower Back

Low back pain is the number one reason for days taken off sick in the UK. If you know what to do the first moment your back ‘goes’ then your recovery will be all the faster and you will be out of pain sooner.

Coupled with that this stretch – the infamous KNEE HUG – takes a minute to do.

Perform these before you get out of bed in the morning to reduce a sore and stiff lower back.

Posted on

Splish Splash Splosh

This weekend just gone I was lucky enough to be invited to a super fun wedding after which I decided (thanks hubby!) to take a holiday in France. However, my own enthusiasm on the dance floor (ahem…) led me to waking up with an excruciating pain in my right knee. Diagnostic skills aside I knew I needed to do something about it before I flew home the following weekend so I set to work using the apparatus available to me – a swimming pool. The rain may be falling and the wind whipping across the water but that means I just have no excuse!

Knees can can be a pain, literally, but water can also provide a huge relief whilst also building strength in the muscles that support the joint, namely the quads and hamstrings, but also building stability in the supporting structures above and below – the feet and pelvis.

Main this video I show you how easy it is to relieve some pain and also hopefully reduce inflammation by simply walking in the water in a straigh(ish) line, stepping up onto the steps to climb out, stretching the hamstrings at the back of the thigh and simply kicking to loosen up the whole leg. Easy as splish, splash, splosh.