You may ask, what is the pelvic floor?

The Pelvic Floor is a group of muscles that lie in the pelvis, forming the base of the abdomen.  They are shaped like a  “hammock” supporting the bladder and the urethra. Hence, contraction of these muscles, or the ability to use them consciously, gives one bladder control.

Did you know that many women experience poor bladder control after pregnancy?

Hormone changes occur during pregnancy, which cause ligaments to become lax, therefore widening the pelvis.  The pelvic floor muscles weaken due to these changes.

Pelvic floor exercises, done prenatally, can decrease the risk of incontinence after having your baby.

Pelvic floor weakening does not only occur with pregnancy, but can also occur due to aging, menopause, or lower back pain. So strengthening of the pelvic floor is important for both men and women.

In Pilates, the Pelvic floor muscles work together with the Diaphragm above, the Transverse Abdominus (which forms a corset around the abdomen) and Multifidus (which provides support along the spine).  This group is jointly known as the core muscles.

Pilates is an excellent form of exercise for strengthening the core and the pelvic floor muscles. This strength can improve quality of life by helping to relieve back pain (by releasing the pressure ‘carried’ by the spine), gain mobility and flexibility, and gain bladder control.

We encourage men and women of all ages to try Pilates.  Come join our weekly classes at Alphen House, or book an individual session (All classes and sessions are run by Physiotherapists).

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Proprioceptive training is used to rehabilitate injury, but it can also help to prevent injury.  By training the neuromuscular system the body can react appropriately by making slight adjustments of balance when running on tricky terrain, helping to avoiding injury.

In any sport changing your center of gravity to match your moves is the key to efficiency. This is known as agility and it allows us to move gracefully, with our joints moving through the full range of motion smoothly. As an example, initially one might pay a lot of attention to the terrain of a trail, but as your kinesthetic coordination increases, so your balance improves, and less attention is needed.

This goes to show that balance can be learned and improved – Kinesthetic awareness is the ability to know where your body parts are in space, and is required for every little movement we make. Using simple exercises that challenge our balance we can train our bodies to improve proprioception, resulting in improved performance, and helping to prevent injury.

One Leg Squat and Reach: This simple exercise improves balance, ankle stability, trunk stability and gluteus muscle strength.

• Place a ball (or any object) on the floor about half a metre in front and to the left of left foot.
• Balance on left foot, lifting right foot off the ground
• Slowly bend left knee and lower torso
• Reach forward with right hand and touch the ball
• Maintain balance by extending right leg slightly
• Protect the knee by keeping left knee over second toe
• Touch the ball and return to start position
• Repeat 5-10 times, focusing on slow and controlled movement throughout the exercise
• Repeat on the Right foot
• Do 2 sets on each foot

Make it fun by playing catch with a partner using a medicine ball while balancing on one leg.

Do the exercises barefoot to increase the challenge!

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The Hamstring is not just one band of muscle, but comprises three bands that allow you to bend the leg at the knee.

During exercise one of these muscles may overstretch or start to tear – this usually happens during exercise that involves a lot of running, jumping, lunging and stop-start movements.

This can either be slightly painful if less severe, or terribly painful at the back of the thigh on movements such as lunges, bending over, straightening the leg or even walking.

Rest, Ice, Elevation and anti-inflammatories are useful treatment tools, as well as progressive pain-free stretching and strengthening.

Hands on treatment from a Physio is very beneficial.

K-T taping also helps to relieve pain and the load placed on the muscle.

See attached video for help on self-application.

KT Tape Hamstring Strain

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As Capetonians, we spend the whole of summer traipsing from beach to beach, or along the beautiful Sea Point promenade in the same pair of flippy floppies.  Let’s have a look at the effect it might have after a long, sunny summer…

I found this neat picture on Pinterest…

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Let’s understand the anatomy: the muscles, the bones, and the subacromial bursa (lubricating sack).

The Shoulder is a relatively unstable ball and socket joint controlled by the Rotator Cuff muscles: 

subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus and teres minor are the small rotator cuff muscles that control and stabilize shoulder movement on the shoulder blade (scapula).

These muscles hold your arm onto your shoulder blade – or rather your humerus onto your scapula. Most of the rotator cuff tendons lie under the palpable bony point of your shoulder (acromion), which protects them from knocks and bumps.

In between the rotator cuff tendons and the bony arch is the subacromial bursa that protects the tendons from touching the bone and provides a smooth surface for the tendons to glide over.

Shoulder impingement syndrome: the rotator cuff tendons are occasionally trapped and compressed during normal shoulder movements, ultimately causing injury and inflammation of the tendons and bursa resulting in painful movement of the shoulder.

Symptoms:

• Pain in shoulder with shoulder height or overhead movements
• Pain reaching for seat belt
• Pain felt from top of shoulder to elbow
• Pain when lying on sore shoulder
• Weakness in overhead movements
• Pain when putting hand behind back

A Physiotherapist can help to relieve pain and pressure at the joint with hands on techniques and strengthening exercises, as well as by re-educating the movement rhythms of the shoulder joint.

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Take some time to give it a read and give yourself some love!

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Ladies, this one is for you…

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