Are you a lazy bum?

Are you a lazy bum? Well, you better not... One of the msot important muscles of your body is the bum, more scientifically called the glutes... the main portion of this muscle (glute max) helps you move your body when you climb the stairs, walk. Squats, lunges, and stepups are useful for strengthening this muscle.

Meanwhile, the side portion of this muscle (glute med) helps stabilise sideways movement, thereby indirectly reducing strain on the knee. If you have weak glute med, your knee may cave in when you squat or do stepping movements. Clamshell and siedlying exercise where you lift up the top leg is helpful for developing this muscle.

Try the exercises show in these two video links.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njaf4EQ5VI8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azt0TnyhlXM

Caution - if you already have knee instability or injury, do NOT attempt to do stepping exercises.

how to squat

How to squat? Will it damage my lower back and knees? These are common questions... Take a look at these two links, written by experienced people.  I do not recommend squatting where your knees go below parallel to the ground.

Christian Finn, a fitness guru, shares his tips in this article

http://muscleevo.net/how-deep-should-you-squat/

http://functionalanatomyblog.com/2012/11/15/proper-bodyweight-squatting-form-with-dr-spina-for-jitsmagazine-com/

The video shows Dr Andreo Spina, a chiropractor, giving tips on how to squat.

Body beautiful and injuries?

Many people who go to the gym eventually end up with shoulder pain due to overtraining (endless bench press, or pushups) and sloppy technique. Hence, it is reasonable to say that a balanced training program is important. Here are a few tips:

1) Train the whole body using movements that involve the 'entire' body instead of muscles in isolation. For example, a dumbell curl is pretty much an isolation exercise that works the biceps. You can save time and work your arms, shoulders, etc by doing other exercises such as squats with dumbell at shoulder level, etc.

2) Work on the smaller, stabilising muscles. In this post, I found three great videos where the physio to the Navy SEAL team gives some advice. Enjoy!

Knee pain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNgtVAIdIH8

Shoulder pain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk86iHgbdwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn3W9i7r8zk

chiro, physio, acupuncture or massage?

Which is better for rehab after sports injury? Chiro, physio, acupuncture, or massage?
It really depends on the nature of injury... if there are broken bones (fracture), torn ligaments (ankle, knee, shoulder),  or torn tendon (shoulder rotator cuff), then it's wise to let the orthopedic specialists examine first.

Every healthcare professional holds a piece of the puzzle for better rehab after an injury...

Let me share a few key principles with you.


1. Reduce PAIN - many ways to achieve this... Painkillers block the pain signals and anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce the swelling (bengkak). Cold pack or ice wrapped in cloth can also be applied on the area provided there are no cuts or open wounds. TCM practitioners may prescribe some herbal recipe to boil and drink, while bone-setters (titda) may wrap the injured area with Chinese herbs to reduce the swelling (provided there are no cuts or open wounds).
You can read some guy's blog about his visit to a semi-traditional Chinese medicine centre...  http://www.shaolintiger.com/2008/08/09/osso-bone-care-fix-your-joints-bones-general-pains/

Granted, it is difficult to find an experienced bone-setter nowadays but there are some around. Do e-mail me for more info (info@everhealth.asia)

2. Gradually increase MOBILITY (range of motion). Two ways to achieve it - via exercise and treatment. Here is where physio and chiro may excel because physiotherapists and chiropractors have knowledge about what exercises to recommend for *gradual* improvement. Skip the over-enthusiastic gym trainers for the time being!!

Treatment to increase mobility - acupuncture can be used to decrease pain, increase circulation to the injured area and some TCM practitioners may also add some massage (eg, tuina), pulling movements, etc.

Physio may use certain stretching techniques, etc to increase mobility while chiro may adjust the joints if necessary.

3. Improve strength and coordination. Depending on the nature and severity of injury, you may sometimes not be able to re-gain the level of strength and coordination as prior to your injury... but at least you will have a better quality of life and can get back to activities of daily living (walking, lifting, reaching, etc) with minimal pain.

 As I have mentioned before, skip the over-enthusiastic gym trainers for the time being!! Knee, shoulder and back injuries can take a long time to heal... so you definitely don't want to go back to square one by doing exercises that you are not ready for. For example, jogging or doing full range squats when your knee is not ready for it.

What if you have a chronic sports injury (eg, six months up to several years)? Chronic injury usually leads to scar tissue  or knots and relevant muscles will not work properly. For example, if you have an injured rotator cuff (assuming nothing is torn) for many months or years, you may not be able to move in certain directions such as reaching upwards. Hence, other muscles have to substitute to help you reach upwards... and over time you may find that you feel tight below the neck area.

For treatment of such chronic problems, you need a combination of deep massage and perhaps ultrasound (which on its own provides rather slow progress) to remove the scar tissue. Physiotherapists, massage therapists, and Rolfers would be able to help in this respect. Tuina or some bone-setters also know how to massage but since your problem is chronic, you need to bear in mind that the area that requires massage may be *more* than just the originally affected area (eg, shoulder). Hence, physiotherapists, massage therapists, and Rolfers may be more experienced in this aspect.
To find more about ultrasound, you can read here http://www.pthealth.ca/therapy_services.php?services=6

Finally, you also need to re-educate the brain (nerves) on how to move and use the proper muscles. In this aspect, physio is a good bet.