FIFTY SHADES OF BROKEN

I sat down this morning with a long list of possible topics to blog about. So much has come up in the last few weeks that my armoury is rich with stretchy topics. However, it occurred to me that I would spend the next 6 months writing about each and every injury that I have encountered in the month of July alone, and still not be done writing.
Without further ado, I give you the fifty shades version of Stretch for Success. Now, unfortunately, I don't have any juicy or explicit details to divulge. I do, however, have a huge selection of injuries for you.

To begin, I have met 3 martial artists this month, all from different backgrounds (Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Thai Boxing). Lateral flexion of the hip - or to keep it simple, lifting your leg to the side, seems to be a movement that is proving difficult. The issues I found in these clients were as follows.
My first client had very tight hip flexors. This can often result in the glutes not firing as they should and once I tested Paul's ability to pull his ankles apart against resistance, this was confirmed. After just one session, two of my 3 fighters said that their 'lift' felt easier and that the movement was less inhibited by the feeling that something was '...in the way' of the lift. Further stretching of the tissue just above the hip in one of these gents resulted in a much more profound effect on his lateral flexion. He was able to power his leg up quickly and extend his knee in a side kick much faster and with less upper body rotation than before. Again, much to my delight, great result.
Our third martial artist had surprisingly tight adductors - the muscle group that run up the inside of the thighs and allow you to squeeze your knees together. I find these quite difficult to release as the hip does not like to be in an open position to stretch this area. However, we discovered that will a little repetition, just learning to relax his legs resulted in us getting a really good stretch in this area. Through discussion, I also discovered that this gent had an injury about a year previously where another participant in the class had kicked him on the inside of his thigh and it had bruised badly. My client was still unconsciously protecting his bruised leg.

So we move onto upper body. Last week, I treated a typist, student, phone centre staff, mum of 4, personal assistant, hairdresser and a medical secretary. Out of all the individuals I treat with sports injuries, old surgery pains and everything else, these individuals were the most challenging. Working in high stress jobs is so damaging to the body and especially to individuals who work long hours and don't get any exercise. The seven individuals I mentioned all had huge issues with mobility in their upper bodies - through the shoulder, neck, upper back and even in the forearms. While in most people, I saw a significant improvement in mobility after just one session, in others, there will be a lot more work to do. It is especially difficult to get someone who has come from a high stress environment to 'relax' and allow me to stretch them. The results of these sessions can often be less than those where the client is able to relax and switch off. It was very valuable for me to learn this lesson, as from now on, I will time sessions with clients to allow for some wind down time before they come in.

Finally, we get to the runners. I had one runner who really surprised me with fantastically flexible and supple gluts (thats the posh way of saying bum muscles). Usually, runners are badly locked somewhere around the hip area and especially long distance runners who have spent 3 hours out training and then neglect their stretching as they have no time left. Again, with this individual, I surmised that posture while running was the cause of the lower back pain that was being experienced and some really good rotational stretches took care of that. I also send all of my clients home with a few tricks up their sleeves to help prolong the effects of the session and to add to their repetoire of stretches.

And the rest of the runners I saw this month.....well, I'm afraid that they will need a whole new blog all for themselves.
The purpose of this blog is to bring to your attention the different aches and pains that can be treated successfully with FST. I always advise individuals to try FST to see if it will help with aches and discomfort but it is essential for the client to take responsibility for their own well being and to mobilise and stretch frequently. So, out of my selection of broken bodies this month, most people left feeling much better, and some left with a lot of homework!

BALLINCOLLIG CLINIC BACK UP AND RUNNING

Well, after a few months digging in here in Clonakilty, I have decided to relaunch the clinic in Ballincollig. This week, I had an editorial in the Cork Independent and the feedback I have received has been huge. The editorial seems to have hit the nail on the head when it comes to people just not feeling right in their own bodies! We all know what it feels like to pull a muscle, or to injure your shoulder or indeed to wake up after a late night in front of the computer.
Most people feel a bit silly going to their GP or Physio saying, 'Well, I just feel a bit achy when I wake up in the morning and it takes me a while to be able to move comfortably'......this complaint is so much more widespread than we would think. However, as life sees us move away from 'hunter gatherer' type rolls and more towards 'search engines and car engines', we have also become less mobile and less active. That ache between your shoulder blades when you try to lift your baby after a days work, that niggling pain that repeatedly rears its head when you try to run after the dog....these can often be caused by old neglected, tight soft tissue injuries that healed but were never fully 'ironed out'.
Not only can I stretch, lighten, relax and relieve tight muscles, but I will also show you what to do at home so that you can keep them limber.
Clinics continue on an ongoing basis in Clonakilty, and the Ballincollig clinic returns on the 18th of July at the Old Town House at the entrance to Muskerry Estate (where the Osteopathy clinic is by Cronin's Dentist). This clinic now has only 3 appointments left folks -although if these book up soon, I may put on a second day. Hope to stretch you soon ;))

OFF SEASON STRETCHING

Well folks,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the break. It was lovely to be able to get out and train for 20 minutes at a time with no long runs taking up the whole morning! But while we lay off the training, we also lay off the stretching. I am filling my books with people who are saying "I went out fr the first run of the year and my hip/calf/hamstring is killing me....". It's no surprise that last years mild aches are presenting themselves as full blown training stoppers now. And while we make that extre effort to stretch as we restart our training, we really are starting back at square one or two. The beauty about facial stretch therapy is that it is the one element of your training regime that you will see changes in JUST ONE SESSION - for exactly the same as you would pay for a deep tissue massage. Give it a try! Just once! It's the athlete's golden goose!
Chat soon, Fi :))