Category: Exercises

By Hans de Wit October 29, 2024 Active Isolated stretching, Exercises, Sporting, Therapy

Lateral Epicondylitis – Elbow Pain!

Lateral Epicondylitis, commonly known as Golfers’/Tennis’/Swimmers’ and recently, Padel Elbow is a common condition associated with the inflammation of the tendons that bend your wrist backwards away from your palm. These tendons can become damaged from overuse and repetitive movements such as those found in Golf, Swimming, Tennis & Padel. This will lead to pain and tenderness felt on the outside of the elbow, often affecting an athlete’s performance.

Lateral epicondylitis involves the forearm muscles and tendons responsible for the extension of your wrist and fingers. The forearm tendons — often called extensors — attach the muscles to bone. The tendon usually involved in Padel elbow is called the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB), which attaches the forearm muscle to the lateral epicondyle. When this tendon becomes inflamed, surrounding muscles will compensate and tighten, often leading to pain, stiffness and decreased mobility felt from the shoulder to the wrist, which usually affects game performance.

It is important to ensure that the structures surrounding and supporting the elbow are in good health in terms of mobility, flexibility and strength. If these structures are not in good health, it can further the effects of lateral epicondylitis.

StretchingSA can help negate the effects of Padel elbow by improving the surrounding structure’s flexibility, mobility and strength. Stretch Therapy will also target the lateral elbow and assist in rehabilitating the ECRB to improve functionality, improve muscle elasticity and improve blood flow. Stretch therapy is also a “pre-hab” (before needing rehabilitation) method as we assist you in improving your mobility and flexibility, keeping your movements pain-free to avoid injuries such as Lateral Epicondylitis.

Make an appointment with StretchingSA today to treat or avoid elbow problems so that you can be at the top of your game!

Below is some common exercises to help relieve elbow pain

By StretchingSA October 1, 2024 Active Isolated stretching, Exercises, Therapy

Functional tips to manage and alleviate symptoms of TOS

1. Seated Posture

• Feet Flat on the Ground: To promote stability, keep your feet comfortably supported.
• Knees at Hip Level: Ensure knees are at or slightly below hip level.
• Straight Back: Use a chair with good lumbar support to maintain the natural curve of your spine.
• Shoulders Relaxed: Keep shoulders down and back, avoiding hunching.

2. Desk Setup

• Monitor Height: Position the top of the screen at eye level to prevent neck strain.
• Keyboard and Mouse Position: Keep them at elbow height, close enough to avoid overreaching.
• Use a Wrist Rest: This can help maintain neutral wrist positioning.

3. Standing Posture

• Weight Distribution: Distribute weight evenly on both feet to avoid leaning.
• Avoid Overhead Reaching: If you need to reach up, use tools like step stools or adjust your workspace.

4. Driving Posture

• Seat Position: Adjust the seat so your back is supported and your arms can rest comfortably on the steering wheel.
• Elbows at a 90-Degree Angle: Keep your elbows relaxed and bent while driving.

5. Sleeping Position

• Use a Supportive Pillow: A pillow that supports the neck without elevating the head too high.
• Side Sleeping: If sleeping on your side, consider placing a pillow between your arms to avoid shoulder compression.

6. Frequent Breaks

• Move Regularly: Incorporate short breaks to stretch and change positions throughout the day.

By StretchingSA July 30, 2024 Active Isolated stretching, Exercises

The Lower Back

The lower back, also known as the lumbar region of the spine, is primarily supported and controlled by several key muscles that play crucial roles in stabilizing the spine, facilitating movement, and supporting posture. These muscles include:

  1. Erector Spinae: This is a group of muscles and tendons that run the length of the spine on either side. They help extend and rotate the spine and maintain upright posture.
  2. Multifidus: These are small muscles located deep in the back, attaching to the vertebrae. They provide stability and support to the spine and help with rotational movements.
  3. Quadratus Lumborum: Situated on either side of the lumbar spine, these muscles help stabilize the pelvis during walking and standing and assist in lateral flexion (side bending) of the trunk.
  4. Psoas Major: Also referred to as the hip flexor, the psoas major connects the lumbar vertebrae to the femur (thigh bone). It assists in bending at the hips and plays a role in posture and spine stability.
  5. Iliocostalis, Longissimus, and Spinalis: These muscles are part of the erector spinal group and help extend and rotate the spine, contributing to movements like bending backwards (extension) and twisting (rotation).

These muscles work together to support the spine, maintain proper alignment, and facilitate movements such as bending forward, backwards, and sideways, as well as rotation of the torso. Proper conditioning and strengthening of these muscles through exercises like core strengthening, stretching, and targeted resistance training can help prevent and alleviate lower back pain and improve overall spinal health.

How does AIS assist in supporting and maintaining good back health?

Active Isolated Stretching (AIS) effectively alleviates lower back pain by specifically targeting tight muscles and improving flexibility. By systematically elongating muscles surrounding the lower back, AIS increases blood flow and oxygenation to these tissues, promoting healing and reducing stiffness. AIS’s gentle, repetitive nature allows muscles to relax gradually without triggering protective contractions, which can occur with static stretching. This approach helps restore the normal range of motion and enhances overall muscular balance, reducing the strain and discomfort associated with lower back pain over time. Integrating AIS into a routine can provide significant relief and contribute to the long-term management of lower back issues.

By StretchingSA June 28, 2024 Active Isolated stretching, Exercises

Gluteus Muscles or Buttock Area

Buttock pain and posterior hip pain are widespread and can be caused by a variety of disorders. When your gluteus or buttock muscles and the piriformis muscle, a hip rotator located underneath the gluteus muscles are tight and tired, they can cause discomfort and pain in the body.

The gluteus muscles are a group of muscles that make up the buttock area. The glute muscles include the gluteus medius, at the back and top of the hips and the gluteus minimus, also at the back and just below the gluteus medius, as well as the gluteus maximus – the biggest muscle in the body lying over the other glute muscles and the hip rotator muscles. The piriformis is one of the six hip rotator muscles lying horizontally underneath the glute muscles and over the sciatic nerve.

Some issues caused by tight glutes and piriformis:

  • Sore lower back and hamstrings
  • Poor balance and posture, which can lead to other issues in the body
  • Shooting nerve pain down your leg and sometimes in the heel, due to sciatica (your sciatic nerve shoots underneath your piriformis).

Stretch therapy can stretch and strengthen the glutes and piriformis as well as the other muscles and soft connective tissues in the deep gluteal space to treat and prevent the issues mentioned above.

We will always advise you to see a stretch therapist before commencing any of our recommended home exercises. Still, they are suitable for maintaining a body structure that has been balanced and mobilized with a program of stretch therapy. Watch the link below to stretch the piriformis muscle.

By Hans de Wit April 30, 2021 Active Isolated stretching, Exercises, Therapy

What is Stretch Therapy?

Stretch Therapy is the name we give to the special work being developed by Aaron L.Mattes over the last 50 years. Stretch Therapy spans the entire technique called ‘active isolated stretching’ and ‘active isolated strengthening’. This technique is very useful right from rehabilitation to performance enhancement.

Stretch therapy comprises the following main elements:

Stretching
we use a number of techniques to improve the Range of Movement (ROM) of the body; nerves, fascia and muscles are used as ‘gateways’ to change the “movement map in the brain.

Re-patterning
inactive muscles are made active; knees, shoulders, and elbows are stabilized; posture and alignment are made more efficient.

Strengthening
the capacity of the whole body to exert force is the emphasis here; most of our techniques are body-weight only, and all involve the ‘core’.

Relaxation
the forgotten part of any health optimization program. Here, ‘relaxation’ is used in two ways: the first as a shorthand for techniques that enhance speed (any force-producing agonist needs its antagonist to relax equally quickly so that a limb, or a whole body, can move faster), and the second sense, the fundamental part of rejuvenation and regeneration practices.
Together, the Stretch Therapy elements enable anyone to improve flexibility, and to perform ordinary and extraordinary tasks with greater ease and better performance, and for longer in life.

Stretch Therapy is the safest, most efficient method for anyone to achieve grace and ease in daily life, and is suitable for most people.

Active Isolated Stretching: How it Works

There are two primary principles that provide the basis for how AIS works. The first is called reciprocal inhibition, which means that if you want to lift your arm, your nervous system has to shut off the muscles that bring your arm down. This means that AIS involves your nervous system in the stretch, making it easier for the muscles to elongate. The second principle is to hold the stretch for 1.5 to 2 seconds, and no longer. Research shows that holding a stretch for longer than 2.5 to 3 seconds will cause your body to engage a protective reflex. This stretch reflex will cause a muscle contraction in the muscle you are trying to stretch. It is therefore important not to hold any stretch to long, not even 3 seconds.
By not “tripping” the stretch reflex, you are able to get a gentle stretch, without the body fighting itself. The stretch is repeated 8 to 10 times in a set. The repeated “pumping” action of the muscle allows for increased circulation to the area. Because the stretches target highly specific areas of the body, AIS provides an efficient and effective stretch.

These specific movements also help relieve symptoms of stress. Stress touches all of our lives. Gentle stretching movements can invigorate the circulatory, respiratory and neuromuscular systems, which help alleviate many of the symptoms of stress.

Benefits of Active Isolated Stretching:

  • Improves flexibility
  • Helps to relieve muscle soreness
  • Reduces muscle spasm
  • Helps to address and reduce chronic pain
  • Reduces the risk of muscle strain and tearing
  • Helps recovery from injury
  • Helps to increase athletic performance
  • Helps to relieve stress
  • Improves oxygen and nutrient delivery to cells
  • Helps stimulate lymph circulation and elimination of cellular waste
  • Helps to maintain good posture
  • Helps to regain and maintain the full range of motion of a joint
  • Promotes balance in the body
  • Promotes healthy growth in children and youth
  • Prevent postural problems in pre-adolescent growth spurts