In today’s blog Kevin Hartigan BSc. Physio, MISCP discusses the benefits of stretching and why it is vital to add a solid warm up to your workout.   Included below is a recommended video and a PDF from (Clinical sports medicine Brukner and Khan 2012 for added explanation).

 

Why Bother?

Doing a warm up prior to exercise, training or games can greatly reduce the risk of an injury, prepare you mentally and physically,  while also improving performance and enjoyment levels.

What Are The Key Benefits?

Some of the key benefits of a good warm up include:

• • increasing blood flow to muscles
  • increasing oxygen and energy release in muscles
  • increasing nerve speeds to muscles
  • decreased stiffness of joints & connective tissues
  • increased relaxation and concentration
  • all leading to……….reduced risk of injuries!!!

Components Of A Good Warm

So, how do you complete an effective warm up? A good warm-up up routine should follow the RAMP framework:

• Raise
• Activate and Mobilise
• Performance

Phase 1 – Raise

The aim of the ‘raise’ section is to:

• Raise/ Increase Body temperature
• Raise/ Increase Heart rate
• Raise/ Increase Breathing rate
• Raise/ Increase Blood flow to muscles
• Increase Joint flexibility

You can do this in any way you want to, with your goal being to break into a sweat after about 10 minutes. Start slow and gradually build up the intensity. Example exercises are:

• Jogging, cycling, skipping, etc

Phase 2 – Activate and Mobilise

The aim of this phase of the warm-up is to:

• Wake up the major joints used in the sport / activity
• Wake up the key muscle groups

Example activation and mobilisation movements include:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Balance work
• Planks
• Running drills
• Mini band routines

Phase 3 –Performance

The aim of this phase is to ‘prime’ you for the movements /activities involved in your session or sport. This part of the warm up should be focused on exercises which directly mimic your activity or sport, serving two primary objectives:

• Increase the intensity to a comparable level to which you are about to compete in.
• Improve subsequent performance

Therefore, the content of the performance phase depends very much on the sport activity you are preparing for.

So, for some examples:

Example 1:  Technical Rugby Session

• Plyometric exercises
• Short-moderate distance accelerations and sprints and (0-20m)
• Involvement of tackling pads and general contact work
• Game specific reaction drills – decision making, evasion in dynamic environment including contact work

If you want more information “Boksmart” for Rugby is excellent  Click Here

Example 2: From “GAA 15” for Gaelic games : Click Here

Example 3: From “FIFA 11+” for soccer

 

 

References:

Jeffreys, I. (2007). Warm-up revisited: The ramp method of optimizing warm-ups. Professional Strength and Conditioning. (6) 12-18. [PubMed]

Clinical sports medicine Brukner and Khan 2012

https://www.scienceforsport.com/warm-ups/#toggle-id-1

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Our feet support the weight of our body, so problems can lead to foot pain and affect the way we walk, and can even cause knee, hip and back pain. Therefore, it is important to seek help immediately for your foot pain by a chiropodist or podiatrist.

This month, our inhouse Chiropodist and Podiatrist, Sarah Kerrane talks to us about the most common causes of big toe pain.

Top 3  Causes of Big Toe Pain

Common causes of pain in the big toe are bunions, turf toe and sesamoiditis.

 

 

Bunion

A bunion is a bony growth on the base of the big toe joint. It is usually caused by tight footwear, high heels, flat feet or fallen arches and they can also be inherited from parents/grandparents. Treatment involves:

–       Wider footwear- this gives more space for the sore area so help relieve

–       Orthotics or custom arches- these can lift up your arch and give support to the bunion

–       Gel cushions to offload painful joint

–       Night splint

–       Toe exercises

–       In some cases, surgical removal of the bony growth

 

 Turf Toe

This is pain on the bottom of the big toe joint, where the ligaments of the big toe become sprained. This can occur due to overuse, stubbing the toe, bending the toe excessively, wearing soft shoes and playing on astro turf.

Treatment involves

–       Rest

–       Ice

–       Compression bandage

–       Elevate the foot

–       Taping the toe to take pressure off the joint

Sesamoiditis

The sesamoids are two small pea-sized bones embedded in the tendon on the bottom of the big toe joint. Sesamoiditis is when the tendons surrounding these bones become injured or inflamed. It occurs from impact like running, jumping or ballet or from flat feet.

Treatment involves

–       Rest

–       Ice

–       Padding/cushions to offload painful area

–       Taping

–       Wide low heeled shoes

–       Orthotics

 

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Rob Hanley, Chartered Physiotherapist at Total Care Physio loves learning from the best in the world. Today,  he reflects on working with some of world’s best runners and triathletes at Iten High Altitude Training Centre in Kenya.

High Altitude Training

As a Kerryman, I’m well versed in mountains but  Iten is a different story altogether. Located in Western Kenya at an altitude of 2400m, it is  well over twice the height of Carrauntoohil before you even lace up the runners.

It an ideal location for a world class training centre. 2400m is in the Goldilocks zone-  an altitude where regular training suddenly become much more difficult and where the body is forced to adapt.

Founded by 4 time world champion Lorna Kiplagat, it has that blend of expertise combined with great facilities, miles and miles of running trails and, almost as importantly, no distractions. Athletes come here to train and train hard. The view from the corridor outside the bedrooms says it all.

Good Technique is Vital

As a runner, I was interested to see what effect the altitude would have on me. I found that exercise was instantly more difficult, but over the days my body did get used to it. I quickly felt fitter and stronger.

As physiotherapist, I was keen to see some of the best runners in the world train. These guys and girls move, at a ferocious rate, but it is the grace and technique that really stood out for  me. A great reminder of just why great technique is so important, both to perform at the highest level and help prevent injury.

The Benefits of High Altitude Training

When we look at the research, studies disagree on how effective high altitude training is yet. Athletes come from all over Africa and Europe come to train at Iten, however,  and the list of world champions  that have passed through it’s doors is a long one: from Lorna herself to more recently David Rudisha and Mo Farrah. The athletes we met certainly had loads of first hand experience of just how beneficial this training can be, but I, for one, was exhausted!

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Chartered Physiotherapist, Rob Hanley, uses both acupuncture and dry needling in his daily practice. Here he takes us through the most common questions he gets on these two types of treatment.

 

20 years ago, dry needling was not a common service offered in Ireland. In recent years, the pool of research behind it has grown considerably and it can be very helpful in treating a whole host of problems. These are the top 5 questions I get asked each day on dry needling.

What is Dry Needling?
The history of dry needling began with the ground breaking work of Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. David Simmons. They discovered that trigger points or “knots” can exist all over the body and can be a crucial factor in many types of pain. They mapped these points and found they pressed on them with their hands, as a stronger technique, placed a very fine needle into the knot, they could release the tension and help relieve pain.

What is a Trigger Point?
A trigger point is a super tender point in a muscle, commonly called a “knot”. This area can become painful and can also send referred pain to other body parts in very predictable patterns. Good examples are trigger points in your neck can cause headaches or points in your back can cause pain in your legs.

Will it Hurt?
Generally, nothing is felt on inserting the needle. It’s just too thin. When the needle touches the trigger point or knot, many people describe it as an ache or cramping sensation but this is good.

Is it Different to Acupuncture?
It’s quite similar. The same, sterile needles are used as in acupuncture. Many of the points we treat are the same too but the technique of how the needle is used differs. Acupuncture tends to be a bit more gentle and there are some treatment points that are unique to acupuncture alone. For this reason, I like to incorporate both techniques.

What Problems Can it Help With?
Dry needling can benefit a whole host of conditions from:

• Muscle tightness
• Muscle pain & spasms
• Tendinitis
• Joint pain
• Low back & neck pain
• Sciatica
• Acute & chronic pain
• Headaches

Our Chartered Physiotherapists are experts in dry needling so we’d love to answer any questions you have. You can contact us by phone, email, or by dropping in to us in clinic.

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