Many athletes sing the benefits of the pain-alleviating, recovery-enhancing benefits of regular sports massage therapy sessions. We now know that there’s a scientific basis behind these claims.  Research teams from the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing and McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario discovered that massage reduces inflammation and promotes the growth of new mitochondria in skeletal muscle.  The research study appeared February 1^st, 2012 online edition of Science Translational Medicine.

What Are Mitochondria?

As the power center of your cells, as well as the sites of cellular respiration, the mitochondria convert energy into usable forms, and help your cells obtain and use oxygen. Depending on the type of cell, the number of mitochondria varies from a few to several thousand. Exercise increases your number of mitochondria, which in turn increases your energy level.

Mitochondria and Exercise

The ability of your muscles to extract oxygen is in direct proportion to the amount of mitochondria that live within each cell. Since oxygen improves performance, it stands to reason that any therapeutic method that increases mitochondria production also enhances exercise and athletic performance.

Mitochondria and Massage

The Ontario research paper featured a genetic analysis of muscle biopsies taken from the quadriceps of eleven young males after they had exercised to exhaustion on a stationary bicycle. The researchers chose one of each athlete’s legs for sports massage treatment. They took the biopsies were taken from both legs before the workout, immediately after 10 minutes of sports massage therapy and after a 2.5 hour recovery period.

Results

High-intensity exercise creates tiny tears in your muscle fibers, which in turn lead to the immune reaction known as inflammation. Buck Institute faculty Simon Melov, PhD performed the genetic analysis of the tissue samples, and reported the massage therapy minimized the number of cytokines, which play a critical role in inflammation in the muscle cells,  whilst stimulating the production of new mitochondria.

Better Than Drugs

Melov also commented that the relaxation and pain alleviation associated with massage therapy make work on the same principles as pain-relieving anti-inflammatory drugs. This comes as good news for athletes who live on aspirins and other NSAIDs, which often have negative side effects.

Whether you are an athlete, or simply like to train like one, the faster your recovery, the sooner you can get back in the game. Massage, by minimising inflammation and creating more mighty mitochondria hasten recovery time and improve s performance.

Call 9444 8729 to make a booking today – look after yourself!

What Is a Frozen Shoulder?

What is commonly referred to as a frozen shoulder is actually called  “adhesive capsulitis.”

• Adhesive means sticky
• The capsule is the soft tissue envelope that encircles your shoulder joint and connects to your scapula, humerus, and the head of your biceps
• “Itis” is an inflammation
• Adhesive Capsulitis is therefore a sticky inflamed shoulder capsule.

Sticky and stiff implies extreme movement restrictions, coupled with a significant amount of pain. As the tissue of the capsule thickens over time, adhesions form and minimize synovial fluid, with further restricts the shoulder’s movements.

The Mystery of Adhesive Capsulitis

Adhesive Capsulitis usually afflicts people over the age of 40, particularly women. The exact mechanism is unknown,  but it might result from another shoulder injury, or from chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and cardiovascular disease.

The Three Stages of Adhesive Capsulitis

• The Freezing Phase: In phase one,  you will start to develop mild pain and stiffness in your shoulder joint. This stage might last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
• The Frozen Phase: In phase two,  the stiffness and immobility persists,   but the pain begins to subside. This stage might continue fora few months to almost a year.
• The Thawing Phase: In phase three three, your full range of motion gradually returns to the shoulder joint. This stage of rehabilitation might continue for a few months.

With proper rehabilitation, those suffering from frozen shoulder will be fully recovered within four to six months.  Severe cases have lasted for up to three years, but these are extremely rare.

Can Pilates Help a Frozen Shoulder?

Despite its similarity to rotator cuff and other shoulder injuries, adhesive capsulitis has a completely different rehabilitation process. During the early stages of treatment, you will only perform passive movements, under the manipulations of your physiotherapist. Expect to have your shoulder elevated, and rotated internally and externally. Although you might not be able to perform Pilates exercises for your shoulder, strengthening your other muscle groups, especially your core, will prevent the referred pain and postural distortion that often accompanies a frozen shoulder.

Since adhesive capsulitis is often associated with postural and upper body muscle imbalances, your Clinical Pilates practitioner can prevent your shoulder from freezing by teaching you how to balance your muscle groups.

Massage Therapy in Perth

The results of several studies indicate a direct correlation between chronic back and neck pain and the ability to concentrate, and often experience memory failure. In particular, a 2010 study, published in the “Journal of Neuroscience and Behavioural Psychology” found that individuals suffering from with chronic spinal pain have frequent concentration and memory problems.

Pain in the Back, Pain in the Brain

The research team divided 64 patients lower back pain into two age groups: 30 to 50 years and 51 to 60 years.  All of the subjects underwent neurological, neuro-orthopedic, clinical-pathopsychological, and neuropsychological investigation. The researchers reported that concentration was impeded in 17.3 percent of patients, and memory problems were present in 20.2 percent of patients.

Stress and Your Brain

Stress related disorders, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia and chronic fatigue, will also have a profound effect on your ability to concentrate and remember important details. Ironically and unfortunately, university students and people with important, detail-heavy jobs – people for whom concentration and memory is extremely important – are most likely to experience stress related disorders.  Although doctors are apt to describe drug therapy or psychotherapy for these conditions, massage therapy is safer, healthier, has fewer side effects, lasts longer, and, in the long run, is far less expensive.

How Massage Benefits Your Brain

By minimizing pain and relaxing chronically tense muscle groups, massage therapy can alleviate stress,  rejuvenating your body and enhancing the mental agility of your brain. One of the most important side benefits of minimizing muscular tension through massage is that your formerly tight muscles finally decide to stop constricting their underlying blood vessels. As your circulation improves in the peripheral regions of your brain and central nervous system,  the oxygen and nutrient supply to your brain increases, and your mental functioning improves.

Massage and Immunity

Massage also improve lymph flow and supports the efficient functioning of your lymphatic system, otherwise known as your immune system. Getting a massage on a regular basis improves your overall health, which in turn makes it easier to ward off the infections that interfere with your mental functioning.

Part of the improved immune functioning has to do with the release of the serotonin and dopamine endorphins. These happiness hormones enhance your mood and fight off brain-draining depression and anxiety.

Sleep Well

Your mum always told you to get a good night’s sleep before an exam. Mum knows best. Sleep helps you concentrate, and nothing promotes restful sleep like a therapeutic massage.

If you’ve been having trouble concentrating, our massage therapists can revive your body and restore your brain power. Call 9444 8729 today!

Watch the video for a quick snapshot of what physiotherapy can do for you or family members!

If you believe you would benefit from physiotherapy, call us today and we will help, our phone number is 9444 8729. Ask for a comprehensive initial consultation. Then get back the life you would like to live!

If you believe you are ready to make rapid and lasting life changes forever, all you need to do is call 9444 8729 and ask to be booked in for a Health & Fitness assessment. We will do the rest

Physiotherapy is an evidence-based profession, which means what we do has been proven to work!

Watch the video to find out why you are still at risk of an earlier death, even if you exercise regularly as recommended each week! Take action today!

If you need help with ways to enhance the quality of your life and prevent future problems that can be prevented, then call our physiotherapy team in Perth today on 9444 8729.

iPhysioPerth is looking for an eager and motivated Physio who has passion, commitment and enthusiasm for both their clients and the physiotherapy industry.

Would you like to treat 99% private clients (less paperwork) and work next to the best coffee shops in Perth? We can help!

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This position is approximately 38 hours per week to begin with (depending on availability).

This is an amazing opportunity to work with some of the best in the business, in modern facilities that are unparalleled in service and equipment here in Perth.

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Check out our websites:
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http://loftusphysiorehab.com.au
http://iPilatesPerth.com.au (nearly complete – worth having a look though)

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The Principles

The fundamental elements of the Pilates technique,  including, balance,  pelvic and shoulder stability, core strength, and dynamic flexibility are also essential to horseback riding, and the mental aspects of the method sit in perfect harmony with the equestrian philosophy of body, mind and horse.  Furthermore, the basic principles of Pilates, including centering, concentration, control, precision, breath, and flow, offer a direct transfer of training to the equestrian experience.  A centered rider remains centered in the saddle. Her breathing contributes to relaxation, which in turn relaxes her horse. Precise movements send a clear message to her horse, making him go where she wants him to.

The Equestrian Core

Safe and effective horseback riding depends on your posture in the saddle. Whilst this is relatively easy when the horse is standing still, once he starts to move, maintaining dynamic balance and postural alignment presents a formidable challenge. A riders deeper core musculature, including the internal obliques, transverse abdominal muscle, pelvic floor and multifidus, must cooperate in order to keep her in an upright position – even when her horse is not in the mood to cooperate.

The Wrong Way to Ride

Riders lacking this deep core strength result to inefficient methods, such as gripping their inner thighs and pulling tightly on the reins for balance.  These compensatory measures cause extreme tension. Horses are intuitive creatures. If they sense tension in the rider, they are might try to take advantage of her lack of confidence. Riders with poor posture, also lack awareness of how incorrect weight shifts affects the horse’s gait and direction of movement. Incorrect alignment might inadvertently communicate the wrong message to your horse.

Side-to-Side Symmetry

Daily habits can cause muscle imbalances between one side of the body and the other. This type of postural imbalance interferes with the rider’s side-to-side symmetry. If the muscles on one side of the upper torso are significantly stronger than those of the other, the stronger side will pull the hip and pelvis upward, and cause the rider’s weight to shift to the opposite side.  Imagine how this confuses the poor horse! Fortunately, every Clinical Pilates session begins with a postural assessment, which allows the practitioner to identify and correct asymmetry.

Straightening the rider’s posture requires lengthening the muscles of the stronger side and strengthening the muscles on the weaker side. For example, an equestrian who is stronger on his right side should stretch their lower back and both the right and the left leg,  but focus more on the right side. The left leg and left oblique muscles while require strengthening exercises, so that the rider will be able to use his core muscles for support and open his hips, instead of using his leg grip to keep him in the saddle.

If your fitness goals include staying strong in the saddle, Clinical Pilates can make them happen.

Special Offer: Mention ‘Equestrian Pilates‘ to receive your first two Clinical Pilates sessions complimentary (valued $126, nil obligations to further care).

The Formative Years

Bone density, essential for a dancer, continues to builds until she reaches age 25 or 30. Her ability to continue dancing depends on her ability to maintain bone density, and remain injury free. By starting Pilates training  – specially the standing, weight-bearing apparatus exercises – in the teen years, the dancer begins to build up her bone mass at an early age. The more she builds up as a teen, the more she will have as an older, active adult.

Safer Than Weight Training for Teens

Unlike heavy weight training, a controversial subject among teenage athletes, Pilates exercise will not interfere with the dancer’s growth patterns. It will, however, teach her how to correctly achieve turn-out by externally rotating from the hip. The foot work exercises on the reformer will help her develop the muscles needed for pointe work.

The Case For Pilates at an Early Age

Pilates enhances the dancer’s ability to move with proper use of her center, whilst heightening her awareness of her body. The precise movement patterns of the method improve balance, muscular control and efficiency, dynamic posture and alignment and overall coordination and movement quality. Even if the dancer decides not to become a professional, the discipline learned from working in a state of complete concentration and relaxation, whilst coordinating movement and breath will prepare the dancer for success in other endeavors.

Joint Coaching: The Clinical Pilates Practitioner and the Dance Instructor

The controlled pacing of the sessions allows the Pilates instructor to identify the alignment inconsistencies, inefficient movement patterns, technical faults, and muscle weaknesses in dancers that might limit the dancer’s skill and make her prone to injury. In an ideal world, the Clinical Pilates practitioner and the dance instructor would communicate at regular intervals. This interaction is extremely important, because the dance teacher sees the symptoms of the problem, as evidenced by the dancer’s performance, the Pilates instructor has the skills to detect the causes of the problem, and devise a corrective plan of action.

You Are Never Too Young

Joseph Pilates developed his method while his was still an adolescent. During his lifetime, he was the go-to guy for some of the world’s greatest dancers and athletes. If your child sees a dancing career in her crystal ball, have her talk to one of our Clinical Pilates instructors. Simply call 9444 8729 today.

The Physical Demands of Basketball

Basketball demands muscle power and elasticity for jumping, lateral speed and agility to stay in front of their man on defense or drive by him on offense. Meanwhile, control, concentration and precision are necessary for consistency.  Pilates enhances these skills, while preventing the muscle, bone, ligament and tendon injuries common to the sport.

Common Misconceptions

The image of Pilates as a mellow, yoga-like technique leads some people to believe that Pilates exercise is not dynamic enough for the powerful movements used in a basketball game. Whilst this might be true of some of the mat exercises, the apparatus exercises are anything but mellow.

The perception that all of the Pilates exercises are only performed in a supine, prone and side-lying position is also incorrect. Many of the equipment exercises are performed from standing, weight bearing positions.

The Pilates Reformer Foot Work

You can’t jump without the appropriate foot and ankle strength and elasticity. The foot work series on the Pilates reformer makes it happen. This series teaches the basketball player how to articulate through the entire foot, and coordinate the foot and ankle movements with the bending and straightening of the knees.

The Pilates Jump Board

Taking it up a notch, the reformer jump board adds a plyometric element to the footwork series. These exercises teach the proper jump landing mechanisms. The jump initiates with a heel-ball toe sequence, and the landing uses a toe ball heel sequence. By breaking the flat-footed landing habit, the basketball player can jump higher and prevent injuries. The jump board foot work series is particularly beneficial for female basketball players, because it teaches them to bend their knees and engage their hamstrings as they land. Many female athletes tend to land from a jump with locked knee, a habit that results in sidelining injuries.

The Pilates Chair

The Pilates chair facilitates standing, weight-bearing exercises with promote leg strength, balance and lower body alignment. As the Clinical Pilates practitioner watches the basketball player perform the movements, she can identify and correct any faulty movement patterns that might interfere with his skills.  The chair exercises also help the player align, and correctly engage his upper body muscles. This sense of precision helps him make the basket every time.

Want to jump better and higher. Speak to one of our Clinical Pilates experts today – call 9444 8729.