Susan Martin Soft Tissue Therapy

Are you stuck in a rut?
Focussing on doing something that you really like can change your mood and lift your spirits.
It’s a good part of your self-care programme. We should all have one of these, but many of us never get round to it.
Doing things that you love, either alone or with friends and family, can help to reduce anxiety, stress and low mood. It can make us think more clearly and prioritise better.
So, let’s go - Make a list of things you like to do, then for each one consider the following:
1. When did I last do this? How long has it really been? – Time does fly even when we’re NOT having fun.
2. Is this something that I do alone or with family/friends? – Time to ring round and arrange a meet up.
3. What will this give me that is currently lacking in my life? – Relaxation, activity, fun?
Now, start planning some activities that you truly enjoy and notice the big change in your sense of wellbeing.

We all know that scars look and feel different from the skin they have replaced, but they also react differently to the sun. Now that Summer is here and we are trying to spend at least part of the day outside, extra care should be taken to avoid direct sunlight on all scars and particularly those that are still actively healing (less than 2 years old).

Keep your scars covered with clothing or high factor sunscreen if they’re within this two - year time scale. They will still be healing and changing. While the idea of getting a tan to hide your scars sounds good, it’s also impractical. Melanin is what gives your skin a tanned look, but scars produce it in uneven patches. Too much melanin on the upper layers of skin creates hyper-pigmentation. This means that the scarred area develops a red or even purple appearance. This coloration doesn’t fade easily and can make scars more noticeable. Even old scars need more protection from the sun as the new skin tends to be thinner and burn easier.

Scars heal faster when the skin is clean, infection free and well hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids during the summer to replace water lost through sweat. Spending lots of time in the pool or sea will not hydrate your skin or protect you from the sun. It can have the opposite effect as the chlorine or salt content of the water can dry your skin out more quickly. Shower after swimming to remove these chemicals then apply a good quality moisturiser.

A healthy diet with lots of protein, fresh fruit and vegetables will provide the skin with the vitamins and minerals that it needs to re-build itself. This works better that trying to rub vitamins into the skin through creams and oils. Some lotions can be too strong for the new skin and cause irritation whilst others are just a marketing gimmick. Let your body heal itself, it’s what it does best.

Muscle or tendon strains are what many runners are nervous about as they increase the mileage and aim for a specific event. This is because the enforced break in their training will have a big impact on achieving the result they want.

A STEADY increase in mileage or effort, along with regular stretching, massage and strengthening exercises can all help your muscles to cope with the stresses that this increase in activity puts upon them. Here are a few facts about strains and how to manage if you do get one. As always, any questions, please get in touch.

A muscle can be strained when some or all of its’ fibres cannot cope with the demands being placed on them. This strain can occur in the muscle belly, where the tendon attaches to the bone or (most commonly) at the musculotendinous junction.

Strains are more common in muscles that span two joints e.g. Hamstrings, Quadriceps and Gastrocnemius (calf). Muscles are most likely to strain during sudden acceleration or deceleration and strains are, therefore, most common in sprinting, football and netball. Most strains are preventable and a number of factors can contribute to the damage. These include inadequate warm up, previous injury, excessive muscle tightness and overuse.

Strains can be classified in three grades or levels where Level 1 has a small number of muscle fibres torn and Level 3 is a complete tear. In all cases, the P.R.I.C.E. protocol should be followed for the first few days until swelling and pain is reduced.
P-rotect
R-est
I-ce
C-ompression
E-levation

As the strain heals, gentle stretching, soft tissue therapy and rehabilitation exercises should ensure that the muscle heals in a strong and effective manner.

Runners knee is the common name for patellofemoral pain syndrome which causes pain around and behind the knee cap. It is one of the most common overuse injuries in people who run, hence the name. Patellofemoral pain is most often a result of abnormal mechanics forcing the patella (knee cap) to bump against the femur (thigh bone). Women and those with flat feet are more prone to this problem due to the angles between bones and joint.

There are two main causes of Runners knee:

Weak hips (outer Glutes) and inner quad muscles – These can be strengthened with specific exercises.
Tight Hamstrings, Glutes and Piriformis – Stretch, Foam Roller and Massage should help.

Make sure you have the correct footwear for your foot type, take regular rest days and do some cross training when not running. Kinesiology taping may help get you through an important race by easing the load on your knees, but is not a cure.
Medical help should be sought if there is any swelling at the knee joint or the simple strengthening and stretching work mentioned above does not improve the situation within a few weeks.

If you need help with managing any minor injury, please get in touch.

When injury strikes or everyday aches and pains need a little attention, it can be hard to decide what action to take. This picture gives a simple explanation about when to use a cool pack or heat pad to help your recovery. Please remember to always place some protection between the heat pad/ice and your skin. A tea towel is useful.
If you have any questions about managing daily aches or minor sports injuries, please get in touch.

Why is SCAR tissue different?

Scar tissue is made up of the same protein (collagen) as the tissue that it replaces but instead of being laid down in a cross-weave pattern, the new tissue fibres are aligned parallel to each other. This is because when we are injured, the body's quick response team kicks into action and mends the wound as quickly as it can. We are designed that way to protect us from blood loss and infection.

This new tissue is therefore not built the same as the original and does not look, feel or perform in the same manner.

Scar tissue tends to not be as strong or as elastic. There are no hair follicles or sweat glands in scarred skin and a lot less blood vessels and lymph nodes. This lack of blood, strength and elasticity means that scar tissue is more likely to get injured in the future and is slower to heal than virgin tissue.

Where Soft Tissues are concerned, the number 1 risk for injury is previous injury. Careful rehabilitation, strength work and Scarwork™ therapy can all help to reduce this risk by enabling the scarred area to perform better and lessen the load on the surrounding tissues.

If you need any help or advice about scars or minor injuries, please get in touch.

Proprioception is the sense of knowing the relative position of ones’ body in space. It is necessary to maintain posture and balance and helps us to co-ordinate movements.
The information needed for the brain to know where parts of the body are located without the eyes seeing is provided by proprioceptors. These are located in muscles, tendons and joints. When muscles and joints are damaged nerve endings and pathways are also damaged and the proprioceptive ability can be lost. This may result in impaired balance, decreased co-ordination or a tendency for joints to give way. Any of these may leave you prone to further injury.
Problems are most common with damage to the lower limb joints (ankle, knee) although it can also happen with shoulder and arm injuries. Specific rehabilitation exercises are needed to re-train this sense. These proprioceptive exercises should begin as early as possible in the rehabilitation program as this type of neuromuscular training acts to restore the body’s awareness and is not stressful to the repairing tissues. These exercises usually consist of some kind of balancing task if training the legs. Standing on one leg, standing on tip toes, using a balance board, single leg squats will all improve balance and the proprioceptive sense.
For the arms, exercises would include weight bearing exercises in different positions (press ups seated, kneeling, against the wall) to gain input from hand, wrist elbow and shoulder. It is useful to include proprioceptive training into your regular regime on an ongoing basis to aid in injury prevention.

Are you a Corporate Athlete?
Our modern corporate life means that many of us struggle to achieve a healthy work : life balance… Let alone a work : training : life balance!
Whatever type of athlete you are, when also holding down a full-time job, there are a number of challenges facing you both physical and logistically, which many of your colleagues will never fully understand.
The first challenge is the amount of sitting we now tend to do and what that does to our hips and lower back. Hip mobility is vital to moving well in running, cycling and walking and that covers a large number of sports.
Things to think about that may help are:
Can you get a variable height desk and stand at work?
Take walking phone calls or meetings.
Drink a lot of water, keeps you hydrated and increases visits to the toilet (walking and opportunity to stretch).
Schedule training and “me time” into your work diary so you don’t get pulled into different things.
Use your lunch break wisely. Don’t be tempted to get back into work mode before you have finished your cool down and stretches.
Another challenge is travel. Working away from home can play havoc with your training routine, if you let it. If you use this time sensibly, the variety can enhance your usual sessions.
Here are some tips:
Use local knowledge (Hotel concierge, work colleagues, Facebook) to find local facilities and groups where you can train. Council run pool/gym, running clubs, Triathlon or Masters Swim groups will probably let you train with them as and when you are around.
Hotel facilities vary but many have a small gym and pool. The pool may be too small for a full session but will be ideal for drill practice. Alternatively use your room for some resistance band and body weight strength work. If there is a spa, try to get a massage.
Always pack a swim suit, goggles, trainers, resistance bands and a small foam roller. They don’t take up much space and give you a lot of scope to do something whilst away.
Finally, don’t stress about sessions missed through a long work day or unexpected travel. Resist playing catch up and only re-schedule the sessions vital to the achievement of your ultimate goal.

Under our skin is a layer of connective tissue that envelopes all of our muscles and organs. It keeps things apart as well as connecting it all together. It is called Fascia and works like an all over body stocking. Sometimes, this fascial "web" is dense and forms tendons and ligaments. Sometimes, it is very fine and wraps itself around individual muscle fibres.
If we look at Fascia as a web or net we can imagine what happens to it when strands get stuck together. This could be because of scarring from surgery or adhesions in overused and tense muscles.. As you can see in this picture, the shape of the fascia changes as well as the tension lines within it. These changes can cause disfunction and pain throughout the body. Soft Tissue Therapy and Scarwork™ use a number of hands-on techniques that help to ease out these "stuck" patches and improve the way our bodies perform.
If you have any questions, please get in touch for a chat.