Health blog Category: muscles
Strain in Our Flexor
A lot of us have found that we have been spending a lot more time sitting whether it is while we are working from home, learning from home or spending time sitting on the couch catching up on new tv shows. Some of us have also started working out from home and taking longer walks outside as the weather as been nice. Going from sedentary to very active can cause some to experience a hip flexor strain.
Read full blogWhat is PFPS…
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a condition in which the tendons surrounding the knee becomes inflamed. It can also be associated with damage of the cartilage behind the knee cap (patella). PFPS is very common in many people of all age ranges and activity levels.
The most common symptom is knee pain that is described as a dull ache or pain that increases with:
- Stair climbing
- Squatting movements
- Walking after sitting for a prolonged period of time
Other Symptoms of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- Swelling, especially after exercise
- Restricted range of motion (inability to bend the knee or extend the knee without pain)
- Creaking/popping sensation along the front of the knee or when bending the knee
- Tenderness when you touch the front of the knee or inside border of kneecap
- Instability in the knee
Causes
- Overuse –running or jumping sports can often put repetitive stress on your knee joint, which can cause irritation under the kneecap or along the patella tendon.
Effective Treatment for Hamstring Injuries
Hamstring injuries are common amongst athletes, especially with movements involving high-speed running, high kicks, slide tackling, and splits.
What are Hamstrings and How are They Injured?
The hamstring is a combination of 3 muscles:
- Semitendinosus
- Semimembranosus
- Biceps femoris
Injury is dependent on intensity of sport along with other variables such as duration, frequency and/or body compensations for other lower extremity injuries (such as injury to meniscus).
Read full blogA Strengthening Program’s Role in Preventing Injuries
For athletes, being stronger and strengthening properly will help them to experience a significant decrease in potential for injury, and experience an overall greater ease of activity and movement with everything they do. This all starts with knowing what muscles to work and how to work them correctly.’
Typically, there will be no immediate effect to having weakness in a particular muscle in your body. The effects are usually more long term in the sense that “weakness” or lack of proper strength in an area, results in excess friction on the bones in the joint, excessive wear and tear on tendons and cartilage around a joint, and more.
Setting up a Strengthening Program
First and foremost, you need to know what the strength of the smaller supporting muscles are, in the area you wish to begin to strengthen.
Read full blogOur Feet Could be Causing Our Back Pain
You know that old song, ‘the knee bone is connected to the hip bone?’ That catchy tune has a lot of truth to it and explains what is called the biomechanical chain. For many people, simply standing or walking for more than 20 minutes means their back starts aching. This can be due to a whole host of factors, but believe it or not, your feet and ankles can be a culprit.
When we walk, our hips, knees, ankles and feet rotate in opposite directions to act as shock absorbers.
How Your Core Muscle Strength Affects Your Health
Do you ever find yourself slouching in a chair, slumping at the computer or your belly sticking out after standing for awhile? This is a sign of core muscle weakness that can negatively affect your health and create long-term back or neck pain.
What are Your Core Muscles?
Your “core” is the group of muscles that help stabilize your body and give a strong anchor point from which your skeleton can move properly with good posture.
Read full blogLow Back Pain and How it Affects Us
Low back pain is very prevalent in our society and can greatly limit our ability to carry out daily tasks. Many of us have complained at one point or another about stiffness, or radiating pain in to the buttock/legs or into the mid back. These are both indicators of low back pain affecting us.
The pain can range anywhere from a mild nagging pain to a severe pain that will greatly limit your mobility.
Identifying Hamstring Injuries
The most common form of hamstring injury is a muscle strain. This is a stretching and sometimes even tearing of your muscle or tendon. Symptoms you could experience with a muscle strain include pain, swelling, muscle spasms, tenderness, and restricted range of motion. The length of time for your muscle to heal is dependent on the severity of the strain and the treatment process. As with any injury, the sooner treatment starts, the better the results will be.
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