In my 16 years as a trainer specializing in rehabilitation and teaching people the principles of core strength and functional movement skills the most common injury I have seen is a Bulging Disc. An extremely painful injury that can significantly alter your daily life and take a long time to recover from. Some people come to me after years of severe pain, surgery, on all types of medication that not only did not help them but also ended up giving them side affects to new problems. This condition can really knock you down and give you a beating both physically and mentally if the right strategy from the outset is not adopted. While we have all heard about severe damage to backs which can occur because of lifting something too heavy, like a deadlift in the gym or moving a fridge in your house. Most back pain episodes, and in particular bulging disc injuries are the result of everyday activities, postures and sports movements, involving repetition and small to moderate forces. Over time, these add up to produce pain and stiffness. When in pain our instant reaction is to find something to get out of pain, and while this makes sense and obviously needed, is not the solution to the real problem. This process is only step one in a process of many if you want to get rid of pain for good and avoid it in the future. Unfortunately as we are so conditioned into treating symptoms this is where many people stop their rehabilitation program. Once the pain is removed they go back to their life this time making some adjustments to their lifestyle, (no longer doing gym, or changing jobs) to avoid being hurt again. This now sets you up for more injury as you begin to move in compensatory ways. In this article we are going to provide you with some tips on what to look for and how to change these compensations.
Piriformis Syndrome: How To Get Rid Of This Pain In The Butt For Good
Piriformis syndrome is an irritation of the sciatic nerve caused by an inflammation of the piriformis muscle. This often feels like a deep aching pain in the buttock, or a radiating sharp nerve pain that extends along the middle of the hamstring muscle in your leg. Some people even feel numbness and tingling right down into the calf and toes. These symptoms can be accompanied by low back pain and worsen after prolonged sitting. This is where it can often by misdiagnosed as a different injury and left untreated. The symptoms of often mimic those of many other injuries such as a herniated disc pressing upon the sciatic nerve, and various other hip or back problems. To be sure you have piriformis syndrome, the problem should be properly investigated by a medical professional to rule out more serious possibilities. You must also understand that this condition will become chronic if left untreated, so getting started with a treatment program straight away is critical. Rest and anti inflammatory medication may help in the beginning to reduce pain, but will not provide the solution to getting rid of it for good. A very carefully designed exercise program, that focuses on treating the cause, is the only effective way to deal with this injury. Even surgery will not address the real problem, which you will see in this article has a lot to do with your glutes (buttock muscles), your hips and most importantly how you move!
WEAK VMO & KNEE PAIN: How To Improve VMO Strength & Reduce Knee Pain In 5 Simple Steps
Knee pain is one of the most common injuries affecting people of all ages. It can cut down many young sporting athletes suffering with patella-femoral problems and more severe ACL injuries and it can greatly affect adults and people with a more sedentary lifestyle. If the cause of the problem is left unchecked it will develop into a much bigger problem and eventually begin to create injuries at other joints of the body. According to latest research, frequent knee pain affects 25% of adults, and osteoarthritis is the most common cause of knee pain in adults 50 years and older. Rates of knee replacements have tripled in women in the United Kingdom and have increased 8 times in the United States among those 65 years and older. In the early stages of treatment people are often told they have a weak vastus medialis muscle (VMO) that needs to be strengthened and it will make their pain go away. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that as there are many factors you need to consider with correcting knee pain. While it is true that the VMO plays a massive role in stabilizing the knee, the methods you use to strengthen this muscle is the secret to finding the solution to your knee pain. In this article I explain the 5 steps you need to follow to get this right.