December 2018 - Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness

Why Would You Strengthen Your Hips When It’s Your Knees That Hurt?

Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness :: Why Strengthen Your Hips When It's Your Knees that Hurt?

Pain at the front of your knee is often called patellofemoral syndrome, and can be a nagging ache or a sharp pain that you might feel after exercising or even sitting too long. Over time, your knee might start to hurt during exercise or throughout your day, and may cause you to limit your activities.

Recent research showed that in people with patellofemoral syndrome, strengthening the thigh muscles can be helpful, but it is even more helpful to strengthen hip muscles. One study followed 33 women who did consistent knee or hip strengthening exercises over four weeks: the group that strengthened their hip muscles reported 43% less pain than the group who did knee/ thigh strengthening exercises—they reported only 3% decrease in their knee pain.

Pain relief and function were similar for both groups by 8 weeks.

Why?

The power for you to move your body around is supposed to come from your hip muscles, specifically the “outer” butt muscles. Often people are fairly weak through these muscles and your brain makes your thigh muscles take over and do more of the work than they should. It is thought that getting or keeping the hip muscles strong helps to improve the mechanics of the whole leg and therefore reduces stress on the knee itself.

Strengthening your hip muscles can help decrease knee pain faster, but it is also thought that keeping those muscles strong can actually prevent knee pain from beginning. Examples of targeted hip strength exercises are clamshells, lateral walking with a resistance loop around your legs, and even squats—these exercises need to be done properly and should not be painful. It is always best to see your Physiotherapist who can determine specifically what is causing knee pain, and can then design a program individualized to help you.

Snow Shoveling … Canada’s “Other” Winter Sport!

Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness :: Snow Shoveling Tips for Canada's "Other" Winter Sport!

With winter comes snow, and with snow comes shoveling. Snow shoveling can be the cause of muscle and ligament injuries, as well as back pain. It should be treated the same way as any sport—warm-up and cool down with some basic stretches and movements to increase your heart rate.

7 Steps to Easier Shoveling

Start Slowly – shoveling can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, so warm up and cool down with stretches.
Clear Off Snow as Soon as Possible – fresh snow is lighter than packed snow, so the job is easier.
Push Snow Out of the Way – when possible, push snow off to the side rather than lifting and throwing the load.
Don’t Overload the Shovel – fill the shovel half full and step forward when loading the shovel.
Don’t Stoop and Lock Knees When Shoveling – that position increases the pressure on your low back, so bend your knees and keep your back straight.
Take Breaks – if it’s a heavy job, rest awhile and return later to finish
Stop to Stand Upright – make sure you regularly stand up straight and even stretch backward during shoveling to give your spine a break; repeat a few times in a row.

Choosing a Shovel

“Ergonomic” shovels have a bent shaft that allow you to keep your back much straighter, as you can get a good grip on the shaft without having to reach down too far. Often these shovels have an aluminum shaft, making it lighter and helping to minimize the stress that shoveling imposes on your back. Also look for a small, lightweight, plastic blade to help reduce the amount of weight that you are moving. When shopping for such ergonomic snow shovels, pick them up first and go through the motions of shoveling to see if they’re the right length for you.

Proper Lifting

When lifting even a light load, be sure to keep your feet wide apart and put your front foot close to the shovel. To lift, shift your weight to the rear foot and keep the load close to your body; turn your feet in the direction toward which you are throwing the snow rather than twisting your body. After you’re done, try to keep moving for a short time afterward—allow your muscles and your lower back to stay limber.

The Shoe Story (for Runners)

Ten years ago, research showed that there was no evidence to show that modern running shoes prevented injuries, and such shoes should be considered “unproven technology with the potential to cause harm.” Then in 2009,the rise in barefoot or “minimalist” running created the thinking that more traditional runners were not as good, as the minimalist shoe would make a runner adopt a more natural gait pattern.

As years go on, there is still no evidence to speak about how running shoes prevent injury—and that goes for traditional shoes, minimalist shoes, the super-cushioned maximalist shoes,or even that you should simply choose a shoe based on comfort.

The false argument that exists for the newer maximalist model states that since there is no evidence around more traditional shoes, then the newer version must be better. Also, the thinking that a more natural foot motion is best, as represented by the minimalist model, is also not backed up by evidence. Plenty of people who properly train in these shoes report injuries.

Some researchers have argued that the best way to choose a shoe is comfort, and that your own legs have a unique“preferred movement path” that will minimize injury. There are plenty of studies that show how different types of shoes, or no shoes at all,affect the way your joints move and the forces that impact them – but no one can say if those changes actually affect injury rates.

What research actually does show is some of the best ways to avoid injury are to be cautious about how to increase the training load, and maybe to make small adjustments in running form to avoid problems such as excessive braking with muscles on the front of the thigh.

Someone newer to running might want to try on several different shoes at their local running store to find what feels best. Running shoes should not have a “breaking in” period, so if they aren’t comfortable right out of the gate, then try a different make or model that feels good to run right away. Check with your physiotherapist for specific exercises or gait analysis to help you build up some miles safely and stay injury-free!

How to Keep Your Fitness Goals Rockin’ this Winter

Winter is here, and although it’s not bad yet, we know what is in store for the upcoming months. It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s icy— all conspiring to suck any motivation to keep up your fitness goals right out of your body!

But here’s the thing. We know it’s coming, so now is the time for a few easy preparations to keep your workouts loaded through the next few months.

Keep your gym/yoga studio/dojo close to your home or work. If you have to travel more than a few kilometers out of your way, you won’t go. At least not regularly like you should. Make your workouts easily accessible to go first thing in the morning before work, at lunch, or right after work before you go home and settle in for the night. Or train at home. It only takes a few basic piece of equipment to get in a solid workout in your own space. Some resistance bands, dumbbells or kettle bells, maybe an exercise ball or suspension system, and you’re gold.
If you’reworking out outside, dress appropriately. Layers are the key. You will still sweat if it’s -20° and you’re running outdoors. No cotton, including socks, as that will hold the moisture close to your body. Clothes that wick the moisture away from you is best, and won’t restrict your movement.
A warm-up is actually important. Even if you’re inside at the gym, you’ve probably just arrived from outside and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. When it’s cold out, blood flow to muscles decrease and joints can get stiff. Even a short warm- up will better prepare your body for the work you’re about to do. Some dynamic stretches, a few bridges and body-weight squats, 5 minutes on a treadmill and you’re good to go!
Use the winter months to try something new. Why not try out the kickboxing studio you pass each day on your way to work? You’re more likely to do “inside” workouts during the winter months, and why not mix it up with something you haven’t tried before?

The bottom line: keep yourself moving! The pull to hibernate can be strong, but think of the next few months as an opportunity to keep yourself fit so you can hit the ground running (literally!) in the spring.

Kegels are your Friend—Get to Know Them!

If you’re leaking urine when you cough, sneeze or laugh, it’s no laughing matter—but there is a lot that you can do to help it. It is not normal to leak even if you’ve had kids, nor is it an inevitable part of aging.

The muscles of the pelvic floor work like every other muscle in your body, they are just tucked up inside, so people don’t given them much thought. Due to this weakness, they often don’t work to squeeze effectively around the urethra, and leaking can happen. They also work to hold up organs like the bladder, uterus and colon, and need to be kept strong to keep these organs from sinking down.

It’s not just women who have had kids that have problems with their pelvic floor—it can happen to any woman. A decrease in hormone levels with menopause can cause irritability in the bladder and pelvic floor muscles, and gravity can help things descend if there is poor external support.

The good news is there is so much that can be done before and after you notice any problems. It is important to get to work on strengthening your pelvic floor muscles, and of course, it is necessary to make sure you’re doing them correctly. A proper pelvic floor contraction is a lift—for example, imagine a ping pong ball sitting outside your vagina and you want to lift it inside. Once you have the lift movement down, try to do 10 contractions in a row. Keep practicing—you will get better strength and control as you practice.

It is worth seeing a physiotherapist who works in pelvic health who will do an internal assessment to make sure that you are engaging the muscles properly, and then give feedback on the strength, endurance and control. A pelvic physiotherapist can also give you exercises to work your other core muscles along with your pelvic floor and proper breathing—breath is very important to train with your pelvic floor muscles. Working the pelvic floor regularly –and properly—can help you get to the point where you can cough or laugh without leaking, and that is nothing to sneeze at!