Mobility Mondays

So this week I want to talk about what over pronation of the foot is. You might think this only affects runners but if you’re walking around all day and your feet are over pronating this could cause a few issues – especially as most people don’t even know they do it, it just feels “normal” to them!

 

So as you can see what we want is your foot to be in a nice neutral position, but around 70-80% of peoples feet roll in to some degree. Now, we need some pronation to help absorb the impact from taking a step and help to propel us forward. However too much of this (hi-five to all my fellow “severe over-pronators”!) and it puts a lot of stress on the muscles in your legs -especially the calves – as they try to correct the roll and keep you aligned.

 

Thursday Thoughts #2

I see a lot of knee pain (especially in runners and cyclists) and a lot of the time it comes down to tight quads!

You can see from the picture below that the quads all insert into the knee, and if one of them is tighter than another, or they’re all tight then the knee cap gets pulled off its runner and grinds bone on bone which is pretty uncomfortable!

It’s a nice easy one to fix, and the sooner you get it seen to the less damage that will be done. Sports massage and foam rollers are your friend for this one -if you were paying attention last week you’ll know you can’t stretch most of the quad muscles. Make sure you’re hitting that part between the front of your quad and the ITB, it’s an easy one to miss but one of the biggest culprits of knee pain.

If you’re experiencing knee pain and want any advice feel free to send me a message:).

So this week we’ve got another tennis ball trick to ease out that knot you get at the base of your neck where it joins your shoulder. It’s actually your levator scapula and this is a great way to ease out the tension in it and bring you relief.

Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Happy Monday guys! So these stretches may look familiar but as lower back pain is probably the most frequent complaint I see I thought I’d put them together in one handy video tackling it from both sides.

Hope this helps!

So this week I’ve got a little tip for getting in at your calves using my beloved tennis ball. If you find holding yourself up to foam roll them too  much this might help,  and it gets in a little deeper than the roller.

Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

So this week I’ve got one for the weightlifters/ climbers/ any racquet sports/ musicians…

Anything that involves gripping will tighten up your forearms and can cause aches and pains in the wrists. To ease some of the tension try these stretches ( making sure you do both the inside and outside of your forearms!) and see if they help:)

This week we’re looking at using the roller to release the chest, its a nippy one one but very effective.

You might find that lying on the floor gives you enough pressure to release the tension without pushing up into a low push up but give it a try and let me know how you get on:)

So this week we’re looking at loosening off your rotator cuff/ lats to help with the pain you get in the front of the shoulder.

As the rotator cuff and lats pull the arm in towards the body, if this is tight your deltoid and traps have to work really hard to lift your arm causing pain. If we can loosen this off it should relieve the pain:)

 

 

 

So this week we’re looking at stretching out the chest – ideal for all those of you that are desk bound/ doing lots of driving / get back pain etc.

If you can loosen off the chest, it’ll help you improve your posture so you can sit up properly with your shoulders back:)