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Breast Cancer Rehabilitation
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, with just under 60,000 women diagnosed every year. The treatments for breast cancer will vary depending on how early the tumour is spotted, the size of the cancerous area and whether the cancer has spread to other regions. In most cases, a combination of surgery and chemotherapy will make up the treatment plan, and this will be overseen at every stage by a medical professional.
If you or someone you know has received a breast cancer diagnosis, this naturally comes with a lot of worry and uncertainty. Feeling as though you are not in control of what is happening or how to solve the problem is a common theme among breast cancer patients, and many look for ways to gain a bit of control over their situation.
This campaign aims to outline some simple things that can be done, alongside medical treatment, to help improve recovery from breast cancer, and avoid recurrence post-surgery.
CLICK HERE to Download our Entire Set of Free Resources about Breast Cancer Rehabilitation
or click on the links below to download the individual resources:
Understanding and Managing Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a complex condition that can have a profound impact on every aspect of a person’s life. From managing chronic pain and fatigue to managing social relationships and maintaining emotional wellbeing, individuals with fibromyalgia face a unique set of challenges.
Living with fibromyalgia can be a challenging and often overwhelming experience, but it is important to remember that you are not alone. By staying informed, seeking support, and exploring the various resources available, individuals with fibromyalgia can develop effective coping strategies and improve their overall quality of life.
We encourage you to download our full set of resources for a more comprehensive understanding of fibromyalgia and its management on the following link:
Link to Fibromyalgia Information Pack
Hip Abduction Weakness & Management
I thought I would share some interesting content on ‘Hip Abductor Weakness’…….have a look at the following links to learn more about it & download the free exercise programs to improve strength and conditioning of these vital muscles……
How Shockwave Therapy can help you Reduce Pain and Recover from Injury
What is Shockwave Therapy?
Shockwave Therapy, or Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (EWCS) works by sending high energy sound waves into an area of injury or discomfort.
It is completely non-invasive and can be used to target very specific areas of the body.
Studies have shown it to be an effective treatment for everything from whiplash to tendinopathy and even bone stress injuries.
How Shockwave Therapy Works
In essence, the shockwave device helps the body to trigger its own healing process.
The energy pulses that are sent through the affected area stimulate an acute inflammation response, much as your body would naturally do after an injury.
With the tissue inflamed, the body knows to increase blood flow to the area, bringing more oxygen and other healing chemicals such as collagen to the site.
The waves can also help to break up areas of calcified tissue, or ‘knots’.
The process of a shockwave therapy treatment takes around 5 – 10 minutes.
A therapist will use ultrasound gel to help the conduction of the sound waves, then will hold the device against the skin.
It can feel a little uncomfortable as the energy pulses through the area, and the machines can be noisy, but other than this the treatment is simple and completely non-invasive.
For most injuries and conditions, around 3-4 sessions are recommended, though many people start to feel the benefits after just a single session.
Who Benefits from Shockwave Therapy?
Due to the acute nature of the treatment, shockwave therapy is suitable for an extensive range of conditions including plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, bone stress injuries and more.
“Don’t let your engine outpace your chassis” – How to build an injury-resistant body and prevent running injuries
Runners are often very good at running, but when it comes to strength training many runners run away from it, often because they believe it will make them heavier and more prone to injury.
This is however a complete myth, in fact quite the opposite is true. Supplementing running with strength training exercises will not only help you prevent injury, but it will also make you a stronger, faster, and a more efficient runner.
One of the major reasons that runners get injured is because their bodies are unprepared to handle the physical demands of the activity. Tissue overload then occurs, either because of a sudden introduction to the sport, or a relatively sudden change or increase in training mileage or intensity (like hill repeats).
When it comes to building an injury-resistant body, this analogy is useful, “Don’t let your engine outpace your chassis”, meaning don’t let your aerobic fitness (endurance built up by running) outpace your structural fitness (bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles).
If you do, you’re setting yourself up for injury.
In fact, runners need weight training even more than you may realise. Strength work accomplishes three big goals for runners:
1 Prevent injuries by strengthening muscles and connective tissues, to better handle the loads while running.
2 Run faster by improving neuromuscular (nerve-muscle) coordination and power.
3 Improve running economy by encouraging coordination and stride efficiency.
Improving your upper-body strength can also boost your running efficiency. With a stronger core, you’ll be able to maintain a stable upper body, minimising side-to-side movement – and better hold your form at the end of a run when you begin
to tire. And by developing strength in your arms, you’ll improve your arm drive so you can inject more power into your stride, especially uphill.
That’s why we’ve put together a set of resources to help you introduce some strength training into your running programme, as well as explain why and how it can help.
Golf: Avoid Injuries and Improve your Skills
Did you that golfers are actually injured more often than rugby players?
It’s true.
In fact, 62% of amateurs and 85% of professionals will sustain a significant injury associated with playing golf.
And with a staggering 60 million golfers worldwide – that’s a whole lot of people getting injured.
The main problems are that amateur golfers can be a little out of shape and/or don’t have the best swing mechanics, and professional golfers often overuse their muscles with frequent play.
Trauma to the lower back accounts for one third of all injuries and can happen to anyone regardless of age or ability.
There are a couple of logical reasons for this.
Firstly, a good golf swing requires significant club-head speed, which is something that is only achieved by applying a lot of torque (force) and torsion (twisting) throughout your lower back.
Secondly, compared to other sports, golf puts a lot of pressure on your spine. Consider the average golf swing produces a compression load on your back equal to 8 times your body weight, whereas a sport like running produces a compression load just 3 times your body weight.
Golfers experiencing low back pain typically have one of the following types of injuries:
- Muscle Strain or Ligamentous Sprain
- Disc Injury
- Altered Joint Mechanics or Motor Control
- Degenerative Arthritis
- Bone Fracture
Other top golf-related injuries include trauma to the elbow, wrist/hand or shoulder. (So much for golf being a low-impact activity!)
It’s helpful to understand not only the types of injuries associated with golf but also the main causes of injury which include:
- Frequency of repetitive practice (overworked muscles)
- Suboptimal swing mechanics
- Inadequate warm-up routine
- Poor overall physical conditioning
With the average recovery time lasting 2-4 weeks, addressing the main causes of injury is well worth the effort.
SO, the question is – How can you enjoy the wonderful game of golf while reducing your risk of injury?
The simple answer is through targeted and routine conditioning. Golf requires strength, endurance, flexibility and explosive power in order to play the game well – and not hurt yourself in the process.
Physical conditioning routines designed specifically for golfers can help you stay on the green and out of pain.
And as a bonus, conditioning your body to avoid injury while playing golf also helps you improve your game.
An 11-week targeted conditioning program found participants:
- Increased their clubhead speed by 7%
- Improved their strength up to 56%
- Improved their flexibility up to 39%
- Increased their drive distance up to 15 yards with sustained accuracy
Whether you’re a casual golfer or serious about your game we can help you avoid injury and improve your skills. That’s why we’d like to share with you our informational fact sheets on Golf Injury Prevention.