Hi all, Clinic today proved very interesting with one particular client (who we will call Olivia) suffering with bad hip pain coupled with lower back/upper glut pain - in short, a bad pain in the bum. This pain (or rather it was described as a bad ache) had been limiting Olivia's range of movement for the last few days and causing considerable upset in her sporting life. Even though the pain was in the left side, we start with the right to allow Olivia to relax and to experience Fascial Stretch Therapy without fearing the pain in her left side. Olivia was very pleasantly surprised when she stood up half way through the session to see that her right leg felt like it was floating compared to the left leg. After the left leg was done, Olivia's hip pain was completely resolved. She did a forward bend, a squat, flexed her hips (raised her knees) and wiggled in every way she could to reproduce the discomfort that she had been feeling - but thankfully, she seems to have gotten a significant amount of relief from just one session. Olivia will be back next week as a taster of the upper body sequence left her wanting the same release in her shoulders as she had experienced in her lower body. I am really delighted to have been able to help. Keep the emails coming, but feel free to post here too if you like - you may be asking a question that everyone else is thinking- and I have allowed anonymous posting now if you're shy :))
Fiona Bron ;)
Monday, 28 November 2011
Sunday, 27 November 2011
FASCIAL - NOT 'FACIAL'
Hi folks,
I don't know why this has come up so much over the last week, but 3 people have asked me why and how stretching their faces can help with their running. While I have had a good laugh about it, it got me thinking about how little is known about this kind of therapy in this country and what I could do about it. The obvious thing is to start a blog...well here I am. The next thing is to advertise nationally - thats on the way. The most successful way to get a new therapy highlighted in the sports media, is to have a well known athlete endorse the therapy as having worked for them.
So this is the mission for 2012. If you play with a rugby squad who suffer with frequent injury, or you swim,cycle and run with a triathlon club whose injury rates are high - please contact me and I would be delighted to do a free demo in your club to highlight this therapy and show the benefits of a flexible body. The results really are like nothing you have ever seen - heavy, tight legs have been described as 'marshmallow' after a 3 minute stretch. People have thrown their heads back and laughed out loud in surprise after their feet have hit the ground after just 30 mins of a session. Check out www.stretchtowin.com to find out about when and where this phenomenon started.
I don't know why this has come up so much over the last week, but 3 people have asked me why and how stretching their faces can help with their running. While I have had a good laugh about it, it got me thinking about how little is known about this kind of therapy in this country and what I could do about it. The obvious thing is to start a blog...well here I am. The next thing is to advertise nationally - thats on the way. The most successful way to get a new therapy highlighted in the sports media, is to have a well known athlete endorse the therapy as having worked for them.
So this is the mission for 2012. If you play with a rugby squad who suffer with frequent injury, or you swim,cycle and run with a triathlon club whose injury rates are high - please contact me and I would be delighted to do a free demo in your club to highlight this therapy and show the benefits of a flexible body. The results really are like nothing you have ever seen - heavy, tight legs have been described as 'marshmallow' after a 3 minute stretch. People have thrown their heads back and laughed out loud in surprise after their feet have hit the ground after just 30 mins of a session. Check out www.stretchtowin.com to find out about when and where this phenomenon started.
Saturday, 19 November 2011
FASCIAL STRETCHING TO AID RECOVERY
Hi all,
so now that Im over my jet lag from my New York trip - Im ready to share again! It was nice to be able to offer some assistance to a few of the runners doing the New York marathon, who had also done the Dublin marathon the weekend previously. One such runner had experienced bad cramping in his quads during the Dublin marathon and was very stiff and sore on arrival to New York, 2 days before his next long distance run! He had been massaged, used a foam roller, applied heat and cold, and still he was in a lot of pain and discomfort in the fronts of his thighs. As I was on holidays, I was a little unprepared for giving treatments so I had no retaining bands to immobilise limbs - but we managed with a gentle session for about 45 minutes. We started with some gentle hip mobilisation and bent leg stretching, then moved to full leg and finished with quad and hip flexor stretch. 'John' commented that after the session, his legs felt 100% lighter and that the 'painful ache' was all but gone. When I met him before the run the next morning, he told me that he was about 98% on his left and 96% on his right leg - this was an improvement on the previous day where he had to climb down the steps of the bus sideways!!!
'John' passed me at the 25mile mark at 3.48 and finished with a sub 4 hr marathon looking very strong and with no limping which was a big improvement on the previous weekend. As a personal trainer, John was delighted to have found a new therapy that he might be able to share with his clients to aid recovery and improve performance. Hope to have some interesting issues to share after next week's clinics. Again, feel free to leave a message if you want advice on how to stretch you aches and pains away! Fiona Bron ;-)
so now that Im over my jet lag from my New York trip - Im ready to share again! It was nice to be able to offer some assistance to a few of the runners doing the New York marathon, who had also done the Dublin marathon the weekend previously. One such runner had experienced bad cramping in his quads during the Dublin marathon and was very stiff and sore on arrival to New York, 2 days before his next long distance run! He had been massaged, used a foam roller, applied heat and cold, and still he was in a lot of pain and discomfort in the fronts of his thighs. As I was on holidays, I was a little unprepared for giving treatments so I had no retaining bands to immobilise limbs - but we managed with a gentle session for about 45 minutes. We started with some gentle hip mobilisation and bent leg stretching, then moved to full leg and finished with quad and hip flexor stretch. 'John' commented that after the session, his legs felt 100% lighter and that the 'painful ache' was all but gone. When I met him before the run the next morning, he told me that he was about 98% on his left and 96% on his right leg - this was an improvement on the previous day where he had to climb down the steps of the bus sideways!!!
'John' passed me at the 25mile mark at 3.48 and finished with a sub 4 hr marathon looking very strong and with no limping which was a big improvement on the previous weekend. As a personal trainer, John was delighted to have found a new therapy that he might be able to share with his clients to aid recovery and improve performance. Hope to have some interesting issues to share after next week's clinics. Again, feel free to leave a message if you want advice on how to stretch you aches and pains away! Fiona Bron ;-)
Monday, 14 November 2011
DEHYDRATION, CRAMPING & FEEDBACK FROM RUNNERS AT NYC MARATHON
Hello All,
The evenings are getting darker still and outdoor training is significantly hampered by cold wet weather and the unfortunate pains and strains that seem to accompany the cold weather. Having given it some serious thought, I have moved away from thinking that injuries are increased during the cold weather because people are not warming up enough - having spoken to and treated a number of runners at the recent New York marathon, I have come to the conclusion that hydration is a big issue during the winter. The common reminders to stay hydrated (heavy sweating during the warm summer months)(physical heat accompanied by thirst) are absent and so ongoing hydration is not as important to those individuals training hard. That is - not until the few days before a race, or a match or competition. If you start intensive hydration the day or two before a race serum electrolytes can become imbalanced (dilution) and cramping may occur. Schwellman et al (2004) discovered very low sodium and very high magnesium levels in runners who experienced cramp during ultra marathon distance. Miller et al (2010) advise that adequate continuous hydration with an electrolyte solution should be one of the preventative measures that should be taken. Moreover, adequate fuel intake during a longer run will help to prevent cramp. Does this mean that if we always cramp at mile 23, we should have some salty carbs at mile 22 to prevent it? The pretzels in New York are now beginning to make sense! The NYC marathon took a lot of runners by surprise as the day was very warm for November and cramping was a big issue during the race. I saw a few runners afterwards for recovery and they all felt that the gently myofascial stretching techniques used yielded amazing results compared to the standard self administered post marathon 3 minute stretching routine (ya....I know....3 minutes was the average!!!).
Anyway, the point being made is that hydration doesn't just mean water ! And a well hydrated body means well lubricated tissue and joints - meaning less injuries! So drink up!
The evenings are getting darker still and outdoor training is significantly hampered by cold wet weather and the unfortunate pains and strains that seem to accompany the cold weather. Having given it some serious thought, I have moved away from thinking that injuries are increased during the cold weather because people are not warming up enough - having spoken to and treated a number of runners at the recent New York marathon, I have come to the conclusion that hydration is a big issue during the winter. The common reminders to stay hydrated (heavy sweating during the warm summer months)(physical heat accompanied by thirst) are absent and so ongoing hydration is not as important to those individuals training hard. That is - not until the few days before a race, or a match or competition. If you start intensive hydration the day or two before a race serum electrolytes can become imbalanced (dilution) and cramping may occur. Schwellman et al (2004) discovered very low sodium and very high magnesium levels in runners who experienced cramp during ultra marathon distance. Miller et al (2010) advise that adequate continuous hydration with an electrolyte solution should be one of the preventative measures that should be taken. Moreover, adequate fuel intake during a longer run will help to prevent cramp. Does this mean that if we always cramp at mile 23, we should have some salty carbs at mile 22 to prevent it? The pretzels in New York are now beginning to make sense! The NYC marathon took a lot of runners by surprise as the day was very warm for November and cramping was a big issue during the race. I saw a few runners afterwards for recovery and they all felt that the gently myofascial stretching techniques used yielded amazing results compared to the standard self administered post marathon 3 minute stretching routine (ya....I know....3 minutes was the average!!!).
Anyway, the point being made is that hydration doesn't just mean water ! And a well hydrated body means well lubricated tissue and joints - meaning less injuries! So drink up!
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
RUNNERS AT THE DUBLIN MARATHON
Good Morning all,
Well after a long weekend of standing at the Dublin Marathon Expo and screaming my lungs out at the finish line for 4 hours - I could definitely do with a full body stretch this morning. The stand was a huge success with a massive amount of interest in the Fascial Stretching techniques. One Dublin runner has booked a session in Clonakilty at the beginning of December ahead of the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon (www.runclon.ie). It was amazing to see that despite paying for physio and massage sessions at the expo, runners were still coming to the stand complaining of tightness in the calves (by far the biggest area of complaint) or the hamstrings, gluts and quads. Stretch sessions of between 3-5 minutes were resulting in runners skipping in circles around the front of the stand grinning! George Anderson, PT and running guru from the Full Potential running club was impressed with how light his legs felt after a quick calf stretch. While PNF stretching has been yielding excellent results, FST takes it 10 steps further and not only creates flexibility in the belly of the muscle but in all the surrounding tissue and in the joints. Keep your eyes peeled for a blog on George's site in the coming weeks for some tips on the most requested stretches. Stay happy :)
Well after a long weekend of standing at the Dublin Marathon Expo and screaming my lungs out at the finish line for 4 hours - I could definitely do with a full body stretch this morning. The stand was a huge success with a massive amount of interest in the Fascial Stretching techniques. One Dublin runner has booked a session in Clonakilty at the beginning of December ahead of the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon (www.runclon.ie). It was amazing to see that despite paying for physio and massage sessions at the expo, runners were still coming to the stand complaining of tightness in the calves (by far the biggest area of complaint) or the hamstrings, gluts and quads. Stretch sessions of between 3-5 minutes were resulting in runners skipping in circles around the front of the stand grinning! George Anderson, PT and running guru from the Full Potential running club was impressed with how light his legs felt after a quick calf stretch. While PNF stretching has been yielding excellent results, FST takes it 10 steps further and not only creates flexibility in the belly of the muscle but in all the surrounding tissue and in the joints. Keep your eyes peeled for a blog on George's site in the coming weeks for some tips on the most requested stretches. Stay happy :)
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
DUBLIN MARATHON EXPO
Hi to all runners/walkers/joggers, racers! With the countdown bringing us ever closer to the Dublin Marathon, it is time to pull back on those long runs and start working on really priming our bodies for the upcoming event. Speed sessions, fartlek, intervals....they are the last focus sessions for those of you who hope to get good times in Dublin. However, as the training is curbed to preserve glycogen stores and allow for sufficient recovery - so too is the flexibility work. I could count on one hand the amount of runners I know who build focused flexibility work into their weekly training plan. For all others, its what happens as part of a warm down at the end of a run. So, during the week where maintaining flexibility and mobility should be our focus, instead pasta, oats and protein shakes take over. Don't get me wrong- nutrition is key in these last two weeks (some people do tend to take the 'carb loading' process a bit too literally though!) - but some attention needs to be paid to our flexibility too. Spend 6 or 7 minutes working the legs and lower body to get warm and increase the heart rate gradually. Gentle stretching is key here. You are not looking to wrap your ankles around the back of your neck this week (we can work on that next week) - you just want to remain as flexible as you were last week. Breathing in to prepare, exhale as you gently lower yourself into a stretch - you should never feel pain, just a gentle stretch awareness. Breathe in again to release the stretch slightly, then exhale to lower yourself into the stretch again. Stretching in time to your breath is a great way to relax your tissue and allow it to lengthen. Counting the stretch out can be a bit stressful so just think about holding a stretch for 6 or 7 breaths and think about relaxing more every time you breath out!
Please please please get back to me if you have any specific issues and we will discuss them here on the blog - you may be asking the question everyone else wants to know the answer to!!!
Alternatively, see me at the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon stand (no 18 ) at the expo, and Ill give you a stretch there.
Happy stretching, Fiona ;))
Please please please get back to me if you have any specific issues and we will discuss them here on the blog - you may be asking the question everyone else wants to know the answer to!!!
Alternatively, see me at the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon stand (no 18 ) at the expo, and Ill give you a stretch there.
Happy stretching, Fiona ;))
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
FREESTYLE DANCER
Hi all, apologies for the absence. Setting up the clinic in Ballincollig has been taking up quite a bit of my time. Everything is in place now and the 3rd clinic will be on Wednesday the 26th of October. This will be the final clinic before the Dublin Marathon as I will be in Dublin at the expo for the rest of the weekend - do come along as I will have the plynth with me and I will be stretching people at the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon Stand. Well, aside from all my lovely runners, I have treated some very interesting cases in the last fortnight. One case was a freestyle dancer who we will call Katie. Katie has been dancing since a very young age and is now close to leaving cert. Katie's main problem started just over a year ago with a pinching sensation in the front of her hip. This progressed to significant pain which impeded her ability to dance. Despite frequent visits to physiotherapists, tens therapy and visits to physical therapists, Katie just could not get relief from this hip pain. Over the year, the pain has lessened from where it was initially but she feels that her flexibility is seriously hampered on her left side and her ability to move without pain is impacting on her dancing. Katie had some very tender areas and while moving her leg through what should be a normal range of movement she was nearly hopping off the bed due to the pain in the front of her hip which was travelling into her groin and down her thigh. Following the first session (where there were lots of gasps - and so we had to move into doing everything in baby steps) Katie returned after a week. She was delighted to say that even after the week of walking to school and dancing, she felt much more fluid in her movement and while stretching at dancing, her range of movement had improved and her pain had drastically reduced. Throughout her second session, it was much easier for me to identify where her real issue were in terms of tightness and guarding as the tissue was much more relaxed. I will be seeing Katie at my clinic again on the 26th and will hopefully have more to report then.
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