I have had the most amazing week working with both fitness and stretch clients. I'm not sure if it is because spring is in the air, but the positivity and enthusiasm that I'm coming across is infectious. Instead of coming to me and saying "I need you to fix me", which is what most people really want when they come to see a body work therapist, I am hearing "Can you show me what I need to do to make this issue improve....". I think that spring does that to people, its the "spring cleaning of your body" coming into play.
Well anyway, one of the most interesting cases I saw this week was a lady who has been suffering from pain between her shoulder blades when she tries to do any kind of exercise. Now, my first concern when I heard this was that cardiac pain can sometimes present as back pain, but Marie* assured me that this had been ruled out by a Doctor who told her that she needed physiotherapy for a muscle strain.
Marie also told me that she suffers frequently with tension headaches and always carries paracetamol in her bag. When I assessed her mobility, a number of things struck me -
1. Marie could only turn her head about halfway towards her shoulder on the right and even less on the left.
2. When I asked Marie to drop her chin towards her chest, she was only able to tilt her head forward slightly.
3. Marie's right shoulder was considerable higher than her left - and her left shoulder was sitting much higher than it should have been. She looked like she was carrying more stress in her shoulders than I have seen in a lifetime.
With some warm towels and a cozy blanket, Marie got comfortable and we started with some gentle mobilisation of the shoulder joints. We worked all the way down the spine, ringing out the muscles and soft tissue that travel the length of the back. We finished up the hour session with some gentle mobilisation of the neck coupled with some PNF stretching of the shoulders and despite pushing against pressure when I asked her to, Marie had to be woken up at the end of the session.
Marie found it quite difficult to relax for the first 20 mins of the session as she wasn't quite sure what to expect from the therapy. However, once we finished working on the first side, she was able to wind down and hand her limbs over to me. Marie* said that one of the best parts of the session was having the gentle traction applied all the way from the middle of her shoulder blades all the way up to the base of her skull - she described it as..."... having an unreachable itch scratched".
Marie will need more sessions to improve her range of movement further, but through gentle mobilisation of her shoulders, back and neck, she now has more movement than she did before she came for FST - and that was with mobilisation only along with some PNF for the upper traps.
We will get an update from Marie in the coming weeks as we continue therapy and see if this helps with her tension headaches. Any comments welcome ;)
Wednesday 29 February 2012
Thursday 23 February 2012
STRETCH TO SLEEP
I can't believe that we have hit the end of February already. February has been my busiest month yet for FST and I have had a very satisfying few weeks of therapy delivery. A number of factors have influenced my satisfaction levels.....
1) Word of mouth has provided me with a boost in client numbers - it's always great to hear "John told me about how you helped him with his hip issue....I wonder if you could help me...."
People only spend time talking about a therapy if it has really worked for them - and it has been plain to see over the last few weeks, that Fascial Stretch Therapy has been a welcome addition to the therapies offered in West Cork.
2) I have seen a really wide range of issues over the last month from old injuries, to niggling pains, to individuals who didn't know they had anything up until they got up off the table and felt so much better - one comment was "Oh my God, I havn't been able to do that since I was a teenager....". But you will have to come for a session to find out what 'that' was!
3) I have had a huge amount of positive feedback regarding the therapy. One client, who we will name Marie, told me that she thought that the rounding of her shoulders and her bad 'shape' (referring to the position of her shoulders and upper body posture) was hereditary. After 3 sessions (2 upper body, one lower body) , Marie is standing straighter and taller than she has in her whole life. She is no longer getting pains along her shoulders and she can sleep through the night now as she no longer gets the pains in her arms and shoulders from lying on her side. Marie has been seeing me for six weeks and while I have given her a selection of exercises to do at home, she does find it difficult to find the time to do them.
This is a very common problem, and working in fitness, I hear this every day. This is why group exercise can be so productive. Find a gym that will let you block book your week of classes for a set price - that way, your schedule is planned out for the week and you are more likely to get the work done! Remember that any therapy that you receive - be it FST, deep tissue massage, osteopathy or Active Release Technique, must be followed up with an effort on your behalf to maintain the effects. You must contribute to your own wellness!
One client has returned to me 3 weeks after his first session saying that the tightness in his calves had returned and that once again, he was having to cut down on his marathon training. Bearing in mind that this very fit gent is running in excess of 40 miles per week, I asked him if he had integrated the stretch programme I had given him, into his training week. When he sheepishly said that he hadn't, I did mention that I would be delighted to stretch him twice a week for a nominal fee..... I think he got my point after this. Of course, it would be fantastic for me if nobody took control in the management of their own mobility - but it wouldn't be so fantastic for their finances!
Finally, now that I have started therapy every Monday in the GAA complex in Ahamilla, Clonakilty, I am able to take early morning sessions and late evening sessions and everything in between, so many more will be able to benefit from a fulfilling nights sleep after a relaxing session of FST from me ;)
1) Word of mouth has provided me with a boost in client numbers - it's always great to hear "John told me about how you helped him with his hip issue....I wonder if you could help me...."
People only spend time talking about a therapy if it has really worked for them - and it has been plain to see over the last few weeks, that Fascial Stretch Therapy has been a welcome addition to the therapies offered in West Cork.
2) I have seen a really wide range of issues over the last month from old injuries, to niggling pains, to individuals who didn't know they had anything up until they got up off the table and felt so much better - one comment was "Oh my God, I havn't been able to do that since I was a teenager....". But you will have to come for a session to find out what 'that' was!
3) I have had a huge amount of positive feedback regarding the therapy. One client, who we will name Marie, told me that she thought that the rounding of her shoulders and her bad 'shape' (referring to the position of her shoulders and upper body posture) was hereditary. After 3 sessions (2 upper body, one lower body) , Marie is standing straighter and taller than she has in her whole life. She is no longer getting pains along her shoulders and she can sleep through the night now as she no longer gets the pains in her arms and shoulders from lying on her side. Marie has been seeing me for six weeks and while I have given her a selection of exercises to do at home, she does find it difficult to find the time to do them.
This is a very common problem, and working in fitness, I hear this every day. This is why group exercise can be so productive. Find a gym that will let you block book your week of classes for a set price - that way, your schedule is planned out for the week and you are more likely to get the work done! Remember that any therapy that you receive - be it FST, deep tissue massage, osteopathy or Active Release Technique, must be followed up with an effort on your behalf to maintain the effects. You must contribute to your own wellness!
One client has returned to me 3 weeks after his first session saying that the tightness in his calves had returned and that once again, he was having to cut down on his marathon training. Bearing in mind that this very fit gent is running in excess of 40 miles per week, I asked him if he had integrated the stretch programme I had given him, into his training week. When he sheepishly said that he hadn't, I did mention that I would be delighted to stretch him twice a week for a nominal fee..... I think he got my point after this. Of course, it would be fantastic for me if nobody took control in the management of their own mobility - but it wouldn't be so fantastic for their finances!
Finally, now that I have started therapy every Monday in the GAA complex in Ahamilla, Clonakilty, I am able to take early morning sessions and late evening sessions and everything in between, so many more will be able to benefit from a fulfilling nights sleep after a relaxing session of FST from me ;)
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