OVERTRAINING- too much of a good thing??

Feel like you’ve been hit by a bus by all your training??

Are you addicted to the adrenalin kick you get when you train- you may be doing too much……..

Overtraining damages your body- when you exercise beyond your body’s ability to recover you may be left with injuries preventing you from competing in that all important event. It’s common in sports involving repetitive movements such as running- the same repeated traumas stress your soft tissues and joints over and over and problems such as Achilles Tendinitis and Shin Splints can develop. But it doesn’t stop there. Too much training, particularly when you are carrying injury, can make you move differently to avoid your aches and lead to problems extending into your back and spine.

The common warning signs:
- feel washed out, tired, low in energy, irritable
- mild leg soreness, general aches and pains, headaches
- decrease in performance, appetite
- increase in injuries
- you may even have a compulsive urge to train (this can be your addiction to adrenalin!)

The solutions are:
• Plain old fashioned rest or at least a reduction in the number of days that you train
• Increasing fluids and reviewing your diet
• Massage to alleviate general aches and pains.

You need a couple of days off a week- at least one every 3 days of training. Not only will you find that your results improve, your potential for injury decreases significantly. Effective training involves overloading the body enough to improve, followed by time to rest and repair.

If you are not sure whether you are training too much, come to one of our Drop In Clinics in Edinburgh or Glasgow to see if we can help. Or just call us on 0131 556 1116 or 0141 332 6000 for some over the phone help.

2010 Chinese New Year Party Invitation

The
Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre
Head Office: 36 Henderson Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5DN


Theme- Wear a Wig





To bring some sparkle to February, we’re having an after works drinks and nibbles party.


Where: 36 Henderson Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5DN

Date: Tuesday the 16th of February

When: 5.30 - 9pm

So come and raise a glass with us to toast the 2010 Chinese New Year. The theme is ‘Wear a Wig’ so don’t come underdressed!
We look forward to your company to welcome the New Year, in style.
The Physio Centre Team
Numbers are limited, so please RSVP by the 31st of January 2010 on 0131 556 1116

Sleeping Your Pain Away

As many as 2/3rds of people with chronic pain problems suffer from disturbed sleep- this can create a vicious circle of sleep deprivation and worsening pain.

It is when we are in a deep sleep that our bodies are healing and our brains are truly resting. If we wake up regularly through the night we get what is known as “non restorative” sleep. This means we feel tired and painful the next day and over time this leads to anxiety and worsening pain which causes more sleep disturbance. So by improving our sleep even a little, we can reverse this vicious circle, and create a virtuous circle!!

Ten tips for better Sleep

1. Regular exercise! It has been shown that exercising for as little as 20 minutes, 3 times a week can help you sleep better.

2. Get a new mattress & pillow. You spend 1/3 of your life in bed and old mattresses and chunky pillows are not the answer to a good night’s sleep! Memory foam mattresses and pillows can increase your body contact thus support your spine better while you sleep.

3. Don’t nap in the afternoon. It can be tempting to have an hours rest after a busy day, however napping for more than 30 minutes or after 3pm can disturb the quality of your sleep at night.

4. Reduce caffeine and nicotine…..for 4-6 hours before you go to bed.

5. Keep your room cool. The room should be at a temperature whereby you feel you need to be under the covers.

6. Don’t watch TV in bed, or finish off any work things in bed. Let your brain associate going to bed with sleeping.

7. Develop a pre bed ritual. By doing the same things before you go to bed, you prepare your body for going to sleep.

8. Don’t reward your sleeplessness- train your brain to stay asleep. If you wake during the night or just can’t sleep, don’t get up and do something you enjoy; it only encourages your mind to stay awake, like a baby who wakes up and gets warm milk. Do something boring, like the ironing, it helps you to break the habit.

9. Take a bath before bed. Raising your temperature will help to make you sleepy and easier to switch off.

10. Take pain medication, if you are suffering. By controlling your pain you help your body to heal by keeping you in a deeper sleep.

Zzzzzzzz

Listen to your body and avoid injury

Sounds easy. So why do so many people not heed the signs? Too busy, it will get better if I rest for a week…. or two….. or three………………….
Denis McGinley of The Physiotherapy Centre (www.edphysio.com) gives the following advice.

Runners suffer numerous injuries, particularly when you change your regime or up your mileage for the marathon. Here’s what he had to say common conditions including shin splints, hamstring pain, knee problems and lower back pain.

Common Reasons for Pain with Running:

Running on pavements. You have an incredible amount of compression going through the joints of the leg and lower back when you run. Increased stresses lead to problems. Running on grass is a much better option.

A steep increase in your mileage. Any changes you make to your exercise schedule need to be done gradually.

Problems with leg alignment. This is most obvious in people who have flat feet, knock knees or splay feet. When you run, stresses are driven up your leg, increasing the strain through your muscles and joints, especially when you are pounding the pavements. Common problems with this are shin splints, knee pain and back/hamstring pain.

You are wearing the wrong (or worn out) shoes. If you run, your shoes are a vital part of your equipment. They give you control if your feet are flat and may lead to leg mal-alignment if they lack the correct support for you. If in doubt about the suitability of your shoes, contact your local sports shoe store to be assessed or see a podiatrist. It is well worth the effort. Your shoes run out of steam at around 500 miles so be sure to replace them frequently.
You just don’t stop! Twinges and pain particularly during or after running need to be treated. NOW, not later. Your body is telling you that something is wrong so go and see your Physio for advice and treatment.

Muscle imbalances. Many runners overuse their leg muscles and have poor pelvic muscle control particularly if you are sitting for long periods of time during the day. These runners often develop imbalances of the muscles between their pelvis and legs. This can not only lead to injury in the long term, you are less able to develop power when you run. You may have heard the term ‘core control’; this refers to the muscle control around your pelvis and spine. The benefits of improved core control are enormous- not only will your running performance will improve, you will be less likely to injure yourself.

Diagnosis is key
The origin of your problem needs to be treated to prevent recurrence of the injury. Many hamstring (the muscle at the back of your thigh) pains occur as a direct result of lower back problems. A muscle strain gets better within a couple of weeks, so if your hamstring is still painful after a fortnight, your problem may originate in the lower back.

Long distance runners often become stiff in the joints of the middle back and this will shunt stresses into your lower back. Loosening the mid back often both reduces your lower back pain whilst improving flexibility and comfort.
Shin Splints, is a general term to describe pain in the shin which may come from several different origins. For more information on what to do when you have shin splints, visit http://www.edphysio.com/help.php?REF=1.6.3.2 for more information.

There are several reasons for pain here:
 Your shin bone may have a stress fracture.
 The muscles at the front of your shin may be painful and tight, often from repetitive stresses and strain. This is usually as a result of a muscle imbalance of your lower leg that causes the muscles around your shinbone to work harder than they are designed to leading to muscle spasm and pain.
 The tendon between the muscles on the front of your leg and the shinbone may be strained. This is usually in combination with the muscles on the front of your shin working too hard which results in spasm and tug on the tendon.
Again, your Physio can diagnose why you are experiencing pain and help you on the road to recovery.

Remember, the one minute mile will be a far off dream if you are strained or injured and problems usually get worse if you ignore them. So get advice when you first have pain and get back on track quickly.

Basic Essentials for safe sporting performance
 Warm up appropriately, and give yourself time to cool down after sport.
 Maintain good posture and alignment when you exercise
 Get the correct footwear
 Improve your core stability - muscle tone in your pelvis gives you increased power, and significantly helps to reduce the development of injuries

For comprehensive advice, check out the ‘Self Help Painbuster TM‘ section on The Physiotherapy Centre’s web site www.edphysio.com where you will find the next steps you need to take following injury.



The Physiotherapy Centre (Edinburgh & Glasgow) also holds ‘Free Clinics’. Just check out the web site at Edinburgh (http://edphysio.com/drop_in_clinics.php) and Glasgow (http://edphysio.com/glasgow/drop_in_clinics.php) for session times or call 0131 556 1116 for more details. They will be happy to chat you through your problem and give you some personal advice.

Did you know?

That like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue prints are different?

Did you know?

The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.

TMJ and Jaw Pain

It’s very common, painful, can be extremely debilitating and even lead to headache/migraine pain. Yet there are now a range of simple treatments which Specialist Physiotherapists can use to alleviate this problem, enabling your patients to open wide again!

During your Physiotherapy assessment:

We find out the physical reasons for bruxing / clenching and bracing your jaw
We look at:

• Your Jaw/TMJ biomechanics
• Jaw opening
• Sideways jaw movement on opening and closing
• Reasons for jaw clicking (often Disc problems)
• The role of your neck in tightening your jaw muscles (through nerves)
• Posture and its role in jaw pain
• Discussion of life stresses which increase neck and jaw muscle tone

Treatment
Tight muscles in the face and neck are often the main culprits of pain in TMJs/Jaws. When these muscles become stiff, they pull on the joints and can change the direction of movement of the jaw joint. One side of the jaw is usually tighter so the jaw joints (which should move in a hinge fashion) are pulled lopsidedly and strain both sides of the jaw- often pain is felt in one side, at the beginning.

Your Physiotherapist will usually use release techniques on the muscles of the jaw, face and neck- whatever we find is relating to your problem.

The next step is to find out why the muscles have tightened up- the joints of the neck often cause these muscles to spasm so we work on releasing the joints which are stiff and tight. Posture can contribute significantly to the overall problem, particularly if you sit with your chin poking forward, so we help you to tackle this too. Many of the structures we treat can also spark off migraines and headaches so treatment to the jaw, face and neck combat many other problems which relate to Jaw pain.

Acupuncture and advice re heat and relaxation are useful to help prevent increased muscle tone between treatments, and you must stop chewing gum as this will increase the tightness in the muscles we are trying to release.

This is a complex joint and is often dealt with poorly. Treatment for Jaws/TMJs demand a multifaceted approach which often includes Physiotherapists working with Dentists, Psychologists & Counsellors, and the results can be amazing.

TMJ dysfunction is distressing for the patient, so a full explanation of the cause of their pain and what they can do to help their condition is undertaken. Oral habits that contribute to the propagate your pain are discussed to improve the overall outcome.

Dental splints are valuable in improving the TMJ’s position hence reduce stresses in the jaw. This is especially true at night when bruxing may undo the hard work of the therapist and patient during the day.

To find out more about treatment, contact The Edinburgh Physiotherapy Centre on 0131 556 1116 and speak with one of our specialist TMJ physiotherapists.