Simple Wellness Myotherapy & Remedial Massage
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How To Get Back Into Exercise Without Hurting Yourself

2/1/2020

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As we get into the swing of the new year, many people will make a resolution to get fit. But if you go about this the wrong way, it can end in an injury that puts you on the sidelines for weeks or even months.

Exercise is amazing for your body and your mind. It boosts mental wellbeing, helps you to manage pain and over the long-term can protect you against injury.

So how can you get back into a fitness regime without hurting yourself? Here are our top tips to minimise your chance of injury.

Start small – even if you used to be a master!

We know from experience that it’s really tempting to go back to doing what you have done in the past. After all, running that fast, lifting those weights or doing Pilates 5 days a week used to be easy!

But whether you’ve been away from exercise because of injury, pregnancy or just that life got on top of you, this is the most common mistake people make.

Over time, your muscles will become less conditioned. If you go back to your old regime, it may be too stressful on your body and lead to an injury.

So don’t just jump in where you were. Instead, go back to the start. Your body will start to remember if you give it time to warm back up to exercise.

Increase your frequency and intensity with time

This goes hand in hand with the first point. It takes time for the body to get back into the swing of things. So give yourself at least a couple of months to get back to where you were before you stopped.

For example, let’s say you used to run 10km 5 times per week. You’ve just had a break for several months due to a new job that took up your time. To get back into it, you might want to pace yourself by doing:
2km gentle jog x 2 for the first week to assess your fitness
5km gentle jog x 2 for 2 weeks
5km run x 3 for 2 weeks
7.5km run x 3 for 2 weeks
7.5km run x 4 for 2 weeks
10km run x 3 for 2 weeks

If you’re feeling good and have had no injuries or flare-ups, then progress back to your 5 x 10km runs.

As you can see, this progression takes 10-12 weeks to get back to your original program. It may take longer if you’ve been off exercise for a longer period of time or had a significant injury. But it will pay off in the long run if you pace yourself!

Make sure you’re getting good nutrition and plenty of sleep
Exercise recovery starts from the moment you stop exercising. There are a lot of factors that contribute to recovery, but nutrition and sleep are two of the most important. Our bodies use nutrients to heal and grow muscles, and most of this healing takes place as we sleep.

For nutrition, our nutritionist buddy Samantha Gemmell recommends eating plenty of wholefoods for a good mix of protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that support recovery.

When it comes to sleep, Sam says that quality is just as important as quantity. Make sure that your room is completely dark, avoid caffeine after 3pm and minimise your screen time for 30 minutes before bedtime.

Do some gentle stretches after your workout

Exercise is great for your body, but it can lead to muscle tension. Muscle tension can put you at risk of injury. So how do you minimise that risk? One way is to stretch out after a workout.

This doesn’t have to be anything too extensive. If you’ve gone for a run, do some gentle stretching of your legs and hips. If it’s upper body day at the gym, stretch out your shoulders and upper back. 1-2 minutes of stretching after each workout can add up!

Give your body some TLC

Sometimes stretching isn’t enough, and your muscles need a little extra TLC. Many people will get a relaxation massage or remedial massage, but this only addresses one aspect of the muscle tension.

That’s where myotherapy comes in. Myotherapy incorporates massage with other techniques such as dry cupping, needling, trigger point therapy and taping. This combination can be helpful for not only treating exercise-related injury but also preventing it.

Your myotherapist can also assess your muscles and joints to see if any are at significant risk of injury and prescribe exercises to strengthen those areas.

Want to show your body that TLC and reduce your risk of injury? Book in with one of our friendly myotherapists here.
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New Years Resolutions Your Body Wants You To Make

16/12/2019

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When we make New Years Resolutions, we usually focus on what we want. We want to be fitter, thinner, better organised and able to give up bad habits. But have you ever wondered what resolutions your body might like you to make?

Our head myotherapist and resident body-whisperer Mel has 5 resolutions that your body is begging you to make this year.

Move more throughout the day
Our bodies were not designed to sit at desks for hours every day. They were designed to move constantly in a variety of different ways.

Unfortunately, most of us can’t change jobs just to suit the body’s preferences! But you can find little ways to move more frequently throughout your day.

For example, you could:
  • Take the stairs
  • Go for a short walk on your breaks
  • Take a walk around the office every hour or two to get the blood pumping
  • Walk to the printer instead of getting someone to fetch it for you!
  • Set a reminder or alarm on your phone to remind you to

When you get up and change position regularly, your body will thank you. Regular movement can also reduce the risk of injury and pain that can occur when you’re physically inactive.

Stretch out regularly
Another important way that your body loves to move is with a good stretch! But when we sit for hours at a time, our muscles can tighten up and leave us feeling sore.

So whether it’s at work, at home or even at the gym, find a way to incorporate a regular stretch. Make sure that you stretch until you can feel the muscle stretching out. But don’t go too far – pushing a stretch too deep too quick can lead to injury.

If you do feel any sharp pain while stretching, you might have just stretched too far. But you might have an underlying injury that needs to be checked by your myotherapist.

Focus on good quality sleep
Our bodies do their best healing work as we sleep every night. So if you’re not getting enough deep and restful sleep, your body can’t maintain itself properly.

A good rest isn’t just about how many hours you sleep. It’s also important to get quality rest, so your body can go into healing mode.

Sleep is particularly important if you experience chronic pain. A poor night of sleep can worsen your pain the following day. But this goes both ways – worse pain during the day can impact on your sleep that night.

Find a healthy way to manage your stress
A lot of the less healthy choices we make can come back to stress. How we eat, move our bodies and unwind in our spare time often reflects how we deal with stress.

But on the flip side, these factors can also make a big difference with how we manage stress. That's why it's a good idea to find a healthy way to manage your stress.

There are plenty of options out there, including:
  • Meditation and deep breathing
  • Yoga or pilates
  • Other forms of exercise such as running, swimming or lifting weights
  • Having a hobby
  • Journalling
  • Spending time with friends and family
  • Cuddling a loved one (or furbaby!)
  • Seeing a qualified counsellor or psychologist

Take a proactive approach for body care
When it comes to our health, most of us wait until something goes wrong before we actually do anything about it! But if we can switch to a more proactive approach to taking care of our bodies, we can get onto issues early or even prevent them.

Book yourself in for a check-up with your GP, dentist, optometrist and any specialists you see regularly.

When it comes to your muscles and joints, the team at Simple Wellness Myotherapy are here to help. To book in for a tune-up your body would approve of, head to our booking page here.
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A Myotherapist’s Top Tips For Desk Workers

28/10/2019

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If you work at a desk for hours on end, you know that it can be uncomfortable at the best of times. Office workers have just as much risk of injury and chronic pain as other more physically strenuous occupations. You may be at risk of issues including back pain, neck pain, repetitive strain injury or RSI and carpal tunnel syndrome.

So how can you minimise your chance of hurting yourself and stay at the top of your game? Our myotherapist Emily shares some of her tips for staying healthy and preventing pain and injury for office workers.

Stretch often
When you’re focused on your work, you often forget to shift position. Unfortunately, our bodies weren’t designed to stay in a position for hours at a time. That’s why the simplest tip is to stretch whenever you feel stiff, sore or fatigued.

Stretching can also help to boost blood flow to the brain, which means you are more focused and productive.

You can simply stretch at your desk if needed – stretch out your neck, shoulders and back, and do some circles with your ankles. But you can also do a standing stretch, which brings us to our next tip.

Set yourself reminders to move
Small amounts of movement throughout the day add up when it comes to preventing office injuries. But when you’re in the zone, you might forget! That’s why it’s useful to set yourself a reminder or alarm on your phone or computer.

Aim for at least 1-2 minutes per hour of movement. This might be standing and stretching, going and getting a glass of water, making yourself a coffee or tea, going to the toilet or just walking around the office to get your muscles and joints moving.

Give a sit/stand desk a try
Desks that can alternate between a seated and standing position have become popular recently. They allow you the best of both worlds – you can sit for a bit, then switch to standing as a break from sitting.

Have a chat to your employer about whether you can trial a sit-stand desk. The good thing is that many people find sit-stand desks boost productivity, so employers are often open to them.

If you work for yourself or you are the boss, you can hire sit-stand desks and other equipment before purchasing.

Make the most of lunchtime
It can be tempting to eat lunch at your desk and power through the to-dos. But your lunch and break times are an opportunity to move around and give your muscles and joints a break as well.

Get up and get moving. Head to a local park to have your lunch if it’s sunny outside. Grab a coffee from the café around the corner. You can even go for a brisk 5-minute walk around the block at the end of your break to wake up your brain and your body. That way, you’ll go back to work feeling refreshed.

Get moving before or after work
Some days you won’t get much time to move at work, so make the most of the hours outside of work. Find a way to get your body moving on a regular basis.


This doesn’t mean you need to slog away at the gym for an hour every day. You can do some yoga stretches at home, walk the dog or go to the playground with your kids.

If you do find yourself too tired to move after work, try getting up 15 minutes earlier and go for a walk around the block before work. It seems counter-intuitive, but exercise actually boosts your energy and relieves fatigue. Even a little bit each day will add up!


Get a regular remedial massage or myotherapy treatment
Your muscles and joints need care, just like every other part of you. That’s why regular treatments can help to prevent injury and pain.

Our desk worker clients find that a treatment every 2-6 weeks helps to relieve tension and pain. Many report that they have fewer headaches, lower stress levels, improved sleep and mood and greater movement in joints and muscles. So if any of those are on your wish list, regular massage and myotherapy might be the answer!



Is regular massage or myotherapy on your to-do list? Our myotherapist Emily is currently open for new clients. You can book with a session with her here.



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Massage At A Spa VS Massage At A Clinic – What’s Best?

21/10/2019

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Have you ever had a massage at a day spa before? If not, you might be wondering whether a massage at a spa is similar to a massage you receive in a clinic setting.

One of our myotherapists, Emily, has experience in both a day spa setting and a clinical setting. So today, she’s sharing with us the similarities and differences, as well as why you might opt for one over the other.
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Why you seek out a treatment
For the most part, people who seek out a spa massage treatment want to feel great. They want to enjoy a massage that relaxes them, but usually aren’t looking for any other outcome.

On the other hand, people who seek out the services of a remedial massage therapist or myotherapist are looking for a specific outcome. When you book remedial massage or myotherapy, you generally want to alleviate symptoms such as pain, or at least prevent future pain and flares.

The aim of a massage treatment
As the reason for seeking treatment is different, it makes sense that the aim is also different. A spa massage therapist will aim to give you a massage treatment that feels good, relieve tension and helps you to feel more relaxed.

A remedial massage or myotherapy session in a clinic will have specific goals and outcomes. This is because you will generally come in with an aim of having pain or an injury treated, managed and/or prevented. We will put together a treatment plan based on your needs and goals, and review that regularly.

In a spa massage, there may be other treatments or tools involved such as hot stones or aromatherapy. Again, these are focused on relaxing you more and easing general stress and tension.

On the other hand, remedial massage and myotherapy can involve a whole toolbox of techniques, depending on your needs.

At Simple Wellness Myotherapy, we use dry needling, cupping, joint mobilisation, trigger point therapy, rehabilitation exercises and taping. Not everyone will need all of these in their treatment plan, but we can tailor your plan to your needs and goals.

What to expect in a 60 minute spa massage
Here is how a typical spa massage will run:
  • 1-2 minute chat with your massage therapist about the areas you would like to have massaged
  • 55-58 minutes of massage
  • 1-2 minutes to change and head back to reception
No follow up or assessment after the treatment will take place.

What to expect in a 60 minute clinic massage
This is how a massage or myotherapy treatment runs at Simple Wellness:
  • 5-10 minute sit-down consultation. We chat about your health history and the pain or injury you want to address. This is also when your therapist will assess and test anything relevant such as your range of movement in a joint.
    Once we’re clear on what is the priority, we’ll discuss our recommended treatment plan for the session, including the techniques we want to use and the goal of treatment.
  • 45-50 minutes hands-on techniques. This may include a combination of massage, dry needling, cupping, joint mobilisation and trigger-point therapy.
  • 5-10 minutes of reassessment and prescription. This is when we may recommend at-home exercises and other ‘homework’ for taking care of your injury or condition. We’ll also discuss our recommended treatment plan going forward, including how often we’d like to see you to help you achieve your goals.

Which is better – spa massage or clinical massage?
It’s not really a competition because they are so different! If you’re just looking to treat yourself and enjoy a relaxing massage, there’s nothing wrong with a sneaky spa massage. Spa massage may also be preferable if you’re looking to have other beauty treatments.

But if you’re dealing with pain, injury or significant tension, a clinical massage from a remedial massage therapist or myotherapist is best. Clinical massage is also better for preventing injuries and flare-ups of previous injuries and pain.

Looking for a clinical massage? At Simple Wellness Myotherapy, we offer both remedial massage with our therapist Helvi and myotherapy with Emily and Mel. You can book an appointment with one of our practitioners here.
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Why I Want To See You For A Follow-Up Myotherapy Appointment

20/8/2019

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If you've chosen to see a Myotherapist, theres a good chance that you've got a pain or injury that you're concerned about and you know that it needs more than just a bit of a massage.
There are some cases where follow-up may not be needed. But for the majority of pain conditions or injuries, the best long term pain relief comes from a series of treatments specifically designed for you by your Myotherapist.
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Why do I want to see you for a follow-up treatment? Let me tell you all of the reasons!

Seeing how you responded to the treatment
This one is pretty self-explanatory. When you receive a myotherapy treatment, you might respond well, or you might not. A follow-up allows us to check in and see how you recovered, and how the original problem is going. This lets us know which treatment techniques to keep using because they were effective for you, or which ones to drop from your treatment plan.

Checking progress with at-home care and exercises
Most clients receive either suggestions for at-home care and modifications and/or exercises. During your follow-up appointment, we can check in and see how these changes went for you.
Found yourself struggling to do a particular exercise? We can prescribe an easier alternative until your strength or balance improves.
Forgot how to do one of your stretches, or not sure if you’re doing it right? This is our opportunity to review it for you.

Getting to the root cause of the original issue
For most people, one treatment isn’t going to fix the issue completely. In most cases, there is an underlying cause that needs to be looked into.
This is particularly important for those with chronic conditions and chronic pain. There are multiple contributing factors to chronic symptoms and pain.
Unfortunately, we can’t address all of those factors in just one session! That’s why follow-up appointments can make all the difference.

Helping you achieve long-term health goals
Do you dream of running your first marathon? Or maybe you want to do an obstacle course with your friends? Perhaps you just want to chase the kids around the park and not pay for it later?
Whatever your long-term goals are, we can work on them during a follow-up appointment.
Follow-up sessions can really pay off when it comes to long-term goals, even if you experience chronic pain. One of my long-term clients with a chronic pain condition recently achieved her goal of going back to full-time work. She also goes to F45 several days a week – talk about smashing goals!

Preventing future injuries
Unfortunately, once you’ve had one injury, you are more vulnerable to future injuries. But we can help to minimise the risk of this occurring through follow-up sessions.
During a follow-up, we can assess how strong and stable the surrounding muscles and joints are. Myotherapy treatments such as stretching, taping and exercises can all support the area while it heals and minimise the chance of future issues.

Ensuring that your injury or symptom doesn’t warrant further investigation
If you come in with some pretty impressive muscle tension or pain, it can be difficult to fully assess your situation. Your first session gives us a chance to release those muscles and reduce the pain.
But in some cases, tension and pain can be covering up a red flag sign or symptom. With a follow-up, we have the chance to investigate your concerns further. If we do see any red flags, we can immediately refer you to your GP or specialist to get it sorted.
 
Is it time for you to book your follow-up session? You can do that right here.
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We're going to the Anytime Fitness Open Day - are you?

12/8/2019

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Anytime Fitness in Ferntree Gully are having a one day sale on Wednesday 21st August, and they've invited us along to talk to you about Myotherapy and how it can help with your training or recovering from an injury.

We'll be there from 5-7pm, and have some Myo vouchers to give away, as well as bringing some of the tools of the trade for you to see. Of course, Perry will be trying his best to get a work out in as well!

If you've been considering joining a gym, I can highly recommend Anytime Fitness. I go there myself and always find the place clean and neat, the staff are friendly and helpful, the personal trainers are happy to help you figure out how to use the equipment and they offer a selection of group classes that are free as part of your membership.
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​All About Hypermobility – Supporting Your Loose Joints

10/9/2018

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Many people know what it’s like to have a loose joint. Maybe you even considered yourself ‘double jointed’ when you were in primary school. But hypermobility is something that can be benign, or it can be a serious concern in some cases. So let’s look at hypermobility and how you can support a loose joint naturally.
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What is hypermobility?
Hypermobility is when a joint has a greater range of movement than usual. This can be caused by a handful of factors, including:
  • The range of movement of tendons and ligaments
  • The range of movement of muscles
  • Whether there has been any stretching or damage to any of these structures
The diagram above from the Hypermobility Syndromes Association shows some joint mobility tests that can help identify generalised hypermobility. Having any or all of these signs doesn't necessarily mean you have a hypermobility syndrome, but can be an indicator. As always, see your GP if you are concerned.
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Is hypermobility a bad thing?
Not always. Some people can actually train their joints to become hypermobile over time – think people who do gymnastics or calisthenics. This isn’t a problem, as long as the joint isn’t damaged and the muscles are strong enough to prevent the joint from slipping out.
There are also people that have one or more hypermobile joints, but don’t have any problems as a direct result. This is generally described as benign hypermobility.
But it can be problematic for some people. Sometimes, it’s a short-term problem – like if you dislocate a shoulder during football. This will mean you need to nurse the joint back to normal mobility to prevent further injury.
Sometimes, hypermobility is part of a bigger concern. There are conditions that present with hypermobile joints, including most forms of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Marfan Syndrome. Sometimes, hypermobile joints that become problematic are the first clue that there is an underlying issue.

Tips to support a hypermobile body part
If you have some hypermobility and it’s not causing you any issues, you might be just fine. But if your joint is causing you pain, is unstable or affecting your life in any way, here are some tips to support it back to health.
Keep exercising within your limitations
The body thrives off movement, and it boosts blood flow throughout, which is needed for healing. If you have an injured body part, do any kind of exercise that doesn’t cause pain or discomfort. For example, if your shoulder is the issue, go for a daily walk still. If it’s an ankle, keep doing upper body work at the gym that doesn’t require standing.
Remember, if you’re not sure how to exercise safely due to injury, the best course of action is to consult a myotherapist who can assess the situation for you.
Use taping and other tools to increase proprioception
One issue that is common with hypermobile joints is a loss of proprioception. Proprioception is where your brain thinks your joint is. If you lose proprioception, your body can start to think that the correct position for your joint is partially dislocated, or subluxed.
A good tool to use to increase proprioception is taping. By taping a joint, you can stabilise the joint when it is very unstable. Once the joint improves, kinesiotape can help to increase your awareness, or proprioception, of the joint.
In the clinic, I offer both rigid and kinesio taping services. In fact, return clients can book in a follow-up taping session, so we can re-tape a loose joint until it regains stability. To book a taping session, contact me directly.
If your joint is particularly loose, you can also consider tools like splints, supports or orthotics to help with proprioception. These are most useful for highly unstable joints, or for times when you can’t focus solely on where a joint is. Not sure which tool is best for you? Ask your friendly myotherapist.
Be cautious with stretching and yoga
Stretching and yoga can have oodles of benefits. But if a joint is already stretched out of place, the wrong stretches or yoga poses can exacerbate the situation. Just because you can move into an extreme stretch doesn't always mean you should - often the safest option is to stop short of your absolute maximum stretch, because here you'll have the most control over your movement. Control at our very end range of movement can be difficult, and if your joints are prone to dislocation and instability due to loose or unreliable ligaments then ideally you should be aiming for a stretch where you can still keep excellent muscle control over the joint. If you’re not sure what is safe to do, have a chat to your practitioner or yoga teacher.
Work with a hypermobile-literate myotherapist
If your body is sore, a massage therapist can relieve some pain. But if you want to get the injury rehabilitated, you want to work with a myotherapist who is familiar with hypermobility.
With myotherapy, we can not only give immediate relief using massage and other treatment techniques, but also put together a personalised treatment plan. A hypermobility management plan will include targeted strength and proprioception exercises. By rebuilding the muscles and teaching your joint where it should sit, you can get back on track.
 
I’ve had the opportunity to work with many people who have hypermobility – both short-term and chronic. So whether you have a loose joint post-injury or a condition like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, I’m happy to help. Click here to book in an appointment.
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Prevent Sports Injury With Myotherapy

21/2/2018

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We’re a nation of sports lovers. One in five Aussies regularly participates in competitive sports, and many more engage in non-competitive activities. But with sports comes a risk of injury. The good news is, you can work to prevent injuries before they even happen. Let’s look at how myotherapy can reduce your risk of injury.
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Why prevention is better than treatment 
You might wonder why it’s smarter to put in the time and effort to prevent injuries, rather than just treating them. Here’s why:
  • Preventing injuries hurts less than having injuries!
  • You can keep up the sport while preventing injuries – but that’s not the case if you have an injury that needs treatment
  • The methods we use for preventing injuries can also enhance athletic performance
  • They can also help to prevent other injuries or conditions, making you a healthier person in general
  • Even if you do get injured, you’re more likely to recover quickly if you were in a healthy state prior to the injury
  • Injuries carry a risk of not recovering sufficiently or developing into chronic pain, which could take you out of your sport forever

They all sound like pretty good reasons to get yourself an injury prevention plan to me!


How myotherapy can help prevent sport injuries
Ready to stop injuries before they even happen? Myotherapy is a must-have therapy in your toolkit. Here are just some of the ways that myotherapy can help prevent sport-related injuries:
 
We explore the balance of your muscles – It’s a little known fact that most of us have imbalances between the muscle groups. This is particularly true in sportspeople, as they train the muscles they need, but often neglect other groups. The problem is, imbalanced muscles leave you more open to injury.
 
During your myotherapy assessment, we can check your muscles and spot any imbalances early. That way, it’s easy to prescribe exercises and stretches to correct the problem – BEFORE you get injured.
 
It helps with recovery after an intense training session – nobody likes being super sore after an intense training session. But using bodywork techniques and targeted stretching, myotherapy can help to loosen up tight muscles and mobilise joints. This can increase circulation to the muscles and boost recovery. So your soreness will fade in no time!
 
We can personalise at-home care to your needs – if you have any old injuries or muscle imbalances that need some extra TLC, myotherapy is there to help. Together, we’ll craft a care program to your needs that might include exercises to stretch and strengthen your muscles, and using self care tools like foam rolling, spiky massage balls or hot/cold therapy.
 
Taping can help to stabilise muscles and enhance performance – taping isn’t just for looks! It can stabilise muscles that may be at risk of injury. Plus it can help to enhance performance by supporting key muscle groups needed in your sport. So it can give you that real competitive edge for the big events.
 
Ready to get a tailored plan to keep you fit and ready for your sports? There’s no better time to organise on-going management for your body than today! Be sure to book in your appointment now.
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Myotherapy And Acute Sports Injuries

14/2/2018

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Us Aussies love our sports! Keeping active is an essential part of living a healthy, happy life. But whether you love your extreme sports or just enjoy a spot of golf on the weekend, you have a risk of getting injured.
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What injuries can occur during sports?
Pretty much every injury you can imagine can happen, depending on the sport you’re involved in. Every single bone, joint, muscle, ligament and tendon that can be injured WILL be injured by someone at some point!
 
Some of the more common injuries you might come across include:
  • Strains and sprains – often in ankles, wrists, back, shoulders and arms
  • Dislocations or partial dislocations of joints – including fingers, shoulders and knees
  • Broken bones – you name it! Fingers, toes, ankles, wrists, arms, legs…
  • Torn muscles, ligaments or tendons
  • Concussions
  • Severe bruises from contact
 
Just because your sport is “low impact” doesn’t mean it’s risk-free. Any time we move our bodies, there is a small chance of injury. It’s part of life! But the good news is, injuring yourself doesn’t mean you have to suffer through unnecessary pain.
 
Myotherapy can help with injury recovery
Because myotherapy is all about ‘muscle therapy’, it is fantastic for helping you recover from an acute injury. Here are some of the ways that it might be able to help with your sports injury:
 
It can help to drain excess fluid and swelling – when we massage and mobilise an area, it increases the lymphatic drainage from the area. That lymphatic drainage is what can help to pull excess fluid away from an injury, which aids with recovery.
 
It can loosen the muscles around an injured joint – when we are injured, our muscles can tighten up to protect us from further pain. Unfortunately, that’s not so helpful when it comes to recovery. It can keep a weakened joint out of place, and it can strain other muscles that have to compensate.
 
Working the muscles with myotherapy techniques will loosen them, allowing the joint and other muscles to return to a neutral position.
 
Taping can help with swelling, pain and proprioception – it’s great to get some bodywork done. But taping can keep working on the injury days after you’ve left the table. Different taping techniques can be applied to reduce swelling and stabilise the injured area.
 
The most important thing about sports injuries
If you have injured something, remember this: the quicker you get it seen to, the quicker it will heal. If left untreated, you may end up with a chronic injury. And believe me, chronic pain is not something you want to get familiar with.
 
Once you’re recovered, you can head on back to your beloved sport! But that’s not where it ends – as we’ll discuss next week, myotherapy can be a great supportive treatment for prevention of injury as well.
 
Been injured while at your favourite sport? It’s best to get it looked after asap. Book in an appointment today, and we’ll get you back into the swing of things quickly.
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Taping for Pain and Injuries

17/1/2018

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​Taping – The Whys And Hows
One of the coolest tools for supporting your muscles (or at least I think it’s cool!) is taping.
Let’s have a look at what taping is, what it can help, and if it’s right for you.
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What is taping?
Put simply, taping is when we use a specially designed tape to support your muscles and/or joints. It’s not a treatment to use in place of your healthcare practitioner. But it is a tool that we use to help support your body between treatments.

What can taping help with?
It has a variety of applications! As a myotherapist, I use taping to:
 Stabilise joints that are injured or weak
 Increase proprioception, or location awareness, of the body part
 Aid in recovery from acute and chronic injury
 Reduce fluid and swelling in an injured body part
 Enhance athletic performance and prevent injuries
It can be helpful for a variety of people, from athletes to people with chronic pain and those with an acute injury.

What types of tapes are there?
There are two main types of tape that I use in the clinic: rigid tape and kinesiotape.
Rigid tape is just what it sounds like. The goal is to hold the joint in a specific position for a period of time so that it is able to recover.
Kinesiotape is a newer kind of tape that moulds to the skin and moves with the body. It is less restrictive, and is helpful for many applications.
It’s particularly useful for helping people to be aware of how they are holding their body.
When we’re injured, we tend to hold ourselves wherever is least painful – but that’s not always the best location for recovery! This tape helps you to be aware of that, so you can correct it.
Kinesiotaping also has a pain reducing effect by applying a constant stimulation to the skin. Its applied with the tight muscle in a stretched position, so that when you return to your normal posture the tape holds the muscle slightly stretched. You might see or feel the tape pucker - that is what its designed to do!

Can I do my own taping?
I’m not your mum. If you want to DIY your taping, that’s up to you. But there are benefits to getting it done professionally:
1. You get taped with high quality tape
2. If it’s a repeat taping, I will quickly reassess to see whether a different taping technique may be better – for example, I might use rigid tape for the first taping, then switch to kinesiotaping. I might even use both!
3. I make sure that the injured part is positioned correctly
4. You don’t have to tape yourself one-handed, or twist around to tape anywhere on your back half!

Taping aftercare
There are things you can do to make sure your tape lasts and your skin stays happy:
 To make sure tape adheres properly, it’s best to avoid exercise or showering for 1-2 hours after taping.
 Although you can shower with your tape, it’s best to let it dry properly. Otherwise, it might get a bit smelly! Pat it dry rather than rubbing it with the towel so the ends don't come up.
 If the ends do come up, theres a few things you can do. The Kinesiotape is heat activated, so usually giving it a quick rub to get heat back into the tape will get it sticking again. If the tape is only coming up a little at the ends but won't stick back down, putting a bandaid over the top to hold the end down can give your tape a little extra life. If its coming up a lot, trim the tape (or ask someone to help you trim it)
 When removing tape, take your time! Some people can have fragile skin that is inflamed or may even tear when removed too quickly. Slowly remove the tape in the direction of your hair growth (otherwise you might get an accidental wax effect!)
 If your tape is stuck fast, use oil to dissolve the stickiness - even cooking oil from your kitchen can do the trick! Some clients also remove it in a hot shower for the same reason.
 When you remove your tape, leave the skin to recover for a day or two before re-taping. Otherwise, your skin is at risk of being damaged.

Do your joints need some taping support, but you don’t want a full myotherapy appointment every week? Never fear! For current clients, I offer a taping service – you pop in, and I’ll get you taped up for just $25. You can get re-taped between regular appointments, AND you can still claim it on your health insurance! To book in your slot, contact me directly or call 0401212934.
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    Mel Hanley

    Mel is a Myotherapist based in Ferntree Gully.
    She's a nerdy, geeky bookworm who loves to help explain complex pain in an easy to understand way.
    ​She has a special interest in chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and more.

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Simple Wellness Myotherapy Clinic
Level 1,
1571 Ferntree Gully Road, Knoxfield VIC 3180
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Mel Hanley and Emily Wells are registered as members of Massage & Myotherapy Australia as Remedial Massage Therapists and Myotherapists
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