Injuries are either traumatic (due to an incident) or non-traumatic i.e they seemingly show up for no reason! Regardless of their nature, injuries have the ability to stop you in your tracks. It’s true, the body has the phenomenal ability to adapt and self-heal so when IS the best time to seek help from a physiotherapist?

Well the answer is simple – the sooner the better.  While many may think to themselves ‘of course you’d say that!”… there is indeed oodles of conclusive evidence that ‘early accurate assessment and prompt appropriate treatment is much better than delay’. And, thankfully we are really starting to see a change in mindset around self-care.  The ambulance at the bottom of the cliff approach is so last generation and in the long run will cost you more…more money, more energy, and more time sidelined out from the things you love to do the most.

Physiotherapists are specifically trained to diagnose and manage musculoskeletal injuries both acute injuries (usually traumatic) and those annoying niggles (which usually after a long time brewing become out of nowhere injuries!) that are insistent on letting you know they exist. When we leave an injury to ‘see if it will get better’ your body will adopt a compensatory pattern which serves a purpose in the interim. However, if not corrected – this protective pattern will become what is termed ‘dysfunctional’ and pain eventually will result and often in a completely different part of the body. Go figure!

So – don’t wait to seek intervention. At Evolve, we see the best results from an acute or new injury when we see people in the first 24-48hrs. And, if you only have ‘niggles’ which are simply annoying at this stage, get yourself a physical WOF and address the ‘handbrakes’ on the system sooner rather than later. Your future self will thank you for it!

Advancements in human technology are out of this world and way beyond what many of us would have predicted however it also means that most of what we do day to day is in front of us. Just think about it! We sit in front of a computer, a steering wheel, a smart phone – the list goes on! And as a result, we end up with our head forward and chin poked.

Even when you are sitting with good posture that incredible noggin of yours weighs around 4.5-5kgs. With a little help from gravity and some leaning hunched over a laptop, desk or mobile phone that beautiful head of yours weighs closer to 25+kg! Crikey – that’s as heavy as a 10-year-old child! No wonder your neck and shoulders feel tired, tense and painful.

You see, ‘tight’ painful muscles aren’t tight for no reason and stretching them or ‘rubbing them’ out is unlikely to have a lasting result because tight muscles are often protecting the body from an underlying structure that has lost its function. Poor posture such as ‘Tech neck’ where your head sits forward of where it is designed to be aligned lends to a loss of function particularly of the lower cervical (neck) spine. Our software (central nervous) system interprets this as a system breach and triggers a protection mode which varies in its presentation from person to person but generally manifests itself as tight muscles around the base of the neck, upper back area with or without arm pain.

At Evolve, one key mindset message we believe in spreading far and wide is this which is adapted from the systems that we specialise in:

You need to know why are you releasing something tight. Do you know the area is tight because it’s overworking or tight because it’s weak and the brain has ordered the surrounding muscles to shorten to protect that area? Just because a muscle is tight doesn’t mean it’s over active either! Don’t release a tight muscle unless you know first if it’s over or under working. If you release/roll/stretch that short tight muscle, you are potentially creating a bigger problem. Neck pain is often also commonly linked to dysfunctional breathing patterns (it doesn’t make you a bad person!).  Assess – don’t guess. Understand the why of the what of any presenting problem…OWN YOUR WORLD.

Right-o…now for the gold standard exercise that most people who bring this into their life love us for evermore!

• Position yourself as tall in your chair as possible with your head facing straight ahead.
• Tuck your chin (very slightly) and slide your head straight back as far as it will go.
• Apply a touch more oompf by pushing your chin backward with both hands.
• Hold this position for a second or two
• And repeat this motion 8-10 times per session.
• Perform six to eight sessions throughout the day.
• NB – discomfort during is generally ok.

 

As always, if this doesn’t work for you – consult your health provider for a thorough assessment.

Your future health will thank you.