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:
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:
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. Whether you’re an athlete or a weekend warrior, an injury can set you back when it comes to your exercise goals. How you handle an injury can make a big impact on the recovery process. If you want to speed up your recovery and minimise the risk of injury in the future, this is the guide for you.
What to do immediately after an injury So you’re reading this right as you’ve hurt yourself. Props to you for Googling the answer! But on a serious note, it’s good to have the injury assessed by a GP if you suspect a fracture, dislocation or muscle tear. That way, you know right away whether you will need any significant treatment such as surgery or a cast. In the meantime, start with elevating the injured body part. This helps to reduce fluid retention in the area. It also means you’re not on it, so you’re less likely to keep injuring it! Rest and elevation are also a good idea for minor injuries such as sprains and twisted ankles. If you have a pre-made support or brace for the injured part, you can pop it on for some stability and compression. If not, you might like to bandage it if compression feels supportive for you. There is a bit of debate out there about whether heat or ice is best for an injury. Ice is the old-school treatment, and may be useful for reducing pain sensitivity and fluid retention. On the other hand, if there is pain without any swelling, a heat pack or warm bath might help increase blood flow to the area and reduce pain. Once the swelling has gone down This is the time when it’s good to see your friendly local myotherapist. We can’t really help if you’ve just done a significant injury such as a break or a muscle tear. But after the first few days, we can put together a treatment plan to get you back to your everyday life ASAP. Some of the therapies we can offer to help you recover include:
How to support recovery and reduce risk of re-injury Are you ready to jump back into it after an injury? Here are some tips to maximise recovery and minimise your risk of getting hurt again. Start slow – I know you want to jump straight back in, but this is a recipe for disaster! When you’ve been injured, your body part often needs time to strengthen and get back to your pre-injury levels. Begin with low impact versions of movement such as yoga and walking, and build up over a period of 4-12 weeks depending on your injury. Use rest and compression after exercise – if you do find your injured area aching or swelling after exercise, head home to rest and a support or brace. This can minimise the fluid retention and ease any pain you might experience. If you experience sharp or shooting pain, stop – some aches are common as you get back into movement. But sharp, shooting or severe pain is a sign that something is not ok. Stop whatever you’re doing until your pain has been checked out by a qualified practitioner. Eat plenty of nutrient-dense foods – even if your rehab program is perfect, your body can’t recover without the good nutrients you need for healing. Eating plenty of fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices and high-quality is protein is a good start, according to our nutritionist friend Samantha Gemmell. Work with a myotherapist – a myotherapist can help you with rehab exercises to rebuild strength. But they can also keep you on track with supportive taping and addressing any muscle imbalances. Are you dealing with an injury? Our myotherapist Emily works with people with sports injuries, particularly muscle tears, joint injuries and rehab. Her goal is to get you back to training, events and everyday life as soon as possible while minimising your risk of re-injury. To book an appointment with Emily, head to our booking page and select ‘Emily Wells’ as your practitioner. 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. 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. 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:
What to expect in a 60 minute clinic massage This is how a massage or myotherapy treatment runs at Simple Wellness:
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. Have you ever wondered about flame cupping? Flame cupping sounds scarier than what it really is. Let’s have a look at the facts around flame cupping, and how it might be beneficial for you.
What is flame cupping? Flame cupping is a form of dry cupping that uses fire to cause a vacuum in a cup. The cup is then placed on the area of skin being treated. What is flame cupping good for? Flame cupping is great for relieving muscle tension, especially tension that isn’t responding quickly to hands-on techniques. The best part about flame cupping? It is applied and left on while your practitioner continues to work on another area of the body. So if you have a sore shoulder and tight lower back, they can cup the shoulder and massage the lower back or vice versa. Is flame cupping going to burn me? It shouldn’t if it’s applied by a qualified flame cupping therapist. A qualified therapist who has training in flame cups knows how long to heat each cup before applying it to the skin. If you’re worried, ask your practitioner about their training in flame cups before agreeing to treatment. Who can’t have flame cupping? As useful as flame cupping is, there are a few contraindications to keep in mind. Flame cupping is not recommended for those with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure or those using medications such as warfarin. Flame cupping cannot be safely applied over wounds. However, it can be used over fully healed scar tissue. Does flame cupping detoxify the body? Not really. Flame cups can’t detoxify you – that’s the job of your liver and other detox organs. But in a way, they can support the natural detoxification process. It increases blood flow to the area, which improves the exchange of oxygen and waste products in that area. The waste products are then transported to the liver and detox organs and excreted from the body. I have dark marks after flame cupping – is this a bad thing? Cupping marks are normal after a treatment. They aren’t bruises or a sign of tissue damage. Eastern medicine practitioners such as acupuncturists believe that cupping marks are a sign of what is happening in the body. For example, darker marks are signs of how stagnant the energy or ‘chi’ is. For myotherapists, they are bruise-like marks caused by surface capillaries that break during the suction. Either way, they are nothing to worry about – they will fade over the period of 3-7 days for most people. If your cupping marks remain dark or tender for a prolonged period, contact your therapist directly for a check-in. How can I try out flame cupping? By booking an appointment with our flame cupping myotherapist Emily! Emily loves to work with flame cupping, because she can work on two areas of tension at once. To book a session with Emily, head to our booking page and select ‘Emily Wells’ for your practitioner. Need a massage and it’s only day 2 of the school holidays? We’re open, and although we know you’d probably prefer the time to yourself, we want you to know that our clinic is kid friendly! There are toys for the little ones, or your older kids can choose to read, or of course every kids favourite, play games or watch YouTube.
We can help you save your mobile data by connecting you to our wifi during your treatment, so the kids can keep themselves busy and you don’t have to wait til they’re back at school. We’ll also be open throughout the AFL Grand Final weekend, including on Friday the 27th (the Grand Final eve public holiday) and on Saturday the 28th. Time to make a booking? We’ll see you soon! Have you wondered if yoga might help you? Yoga has become the "in thing" over the last few years, and you only have to do a quick search online to see everything from traditional styles of yoga, to beer yoga, chicken nugget yoga and goat yoga! (Not even kidding!) But is yoga a good option if you have pain?
Here's a lot of reasons I like yoga as a pain-friendly exercise.. Low Impact Movements Many yoga sequences are slow, gentle, low impact movements. There's no need for jumping, running, hopping, or other high energy movements that can put a lot of force through your joints. Moving in these slow, controlled ways can help keep your muscles and joints happy and healthy. Improve Your Balance Practicing yoga can challenge your balance, it can be a little tricky at first if you're not used to shifting your body weight or if your proprioception is a little out. But practice makes perfect, and by improving your balance you can reduce risks of things like trips, falls or rolling your ankles. It Can Be A Full Body Work Out Unless the class specifically is targeting a certain area, most of the time you'll get a pretty well balanced work out for your whole body. You'll also be doing stretching and strengthening moves without needing to push yourself too hard. Of course, there are many types of yoga classes, and some are designed to be much more physically challenging, so if you have pain choose a gentle class like a Slow Flow or Yin style, and talk to your yoga teacher about any limitation you have so they can keep an eye on you if they need to. Stress Buster Exercise naturally produces amazing brain chemicals that help reduce our stress hormones. Combine that with mindful breathing, purposeful movement, and the calming environment and you have a very powerful stress buster! So Many Choices! There are just so many choices in where, when and how to practice. Yoga studios are abundant in Melbourne. But with the internet, YouTube and smart phones, you can also choose to practice at home, at the beach, in the park, literally anywhere with enough space to roll out a mat. Online classes also means that you can pick the length of class you can manage on the day, even if thats just 5 minutes per day. Join A Community By joining a class at a studio, you can meet people who are there for similar reasons. A lot of studios also offer memberships to make it affordable to go regularly, and run workshops or events. Build Great Habits By booking in for the same yoga class each week, you create a routine. Even one class a week makes a difference! Its your You Time, your time to move your body, push thoughts out of your head, breathe a little deeper, and know that you've nourished your body and brain. You Can't Win At Yoga There's no prizes or championships for yoga. No medals for being the most flexible. Winning isn't your purpose in yoga, you can just be exactly how you are on the day and move your body in a way that feels good. Some days you'll feel more or less mobile, but its all about you, not the person next to you. Modify The Moves To Suit You A lot of poses have different stages, and its unrealistic to expect to jump straight into the most advanced version of a pose. Speak to your teacher and they can modify poses to make it gentler and more comfortable for you. Taking a modified position that isn't painful is always better than forcing yourself into an advanced position that hurts. Want to try yoga, but you're not sure where to start? If you're local to our Knoxfield clinic, then my favourite yoga studio near us is Hark Yoga on Burwood Hwy, Ferntree Gully. You can try an intro pass for $30 for 14 days of unlimited classes - personally I can highly recommend their Body & Mind classes, its a great combination of movement and meditation. Hark Yoga also have a 21 Day Challenge starting on 2nd September, and we're contributing some Myotherapy gift certificates to the goodie bags! 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. 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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