Back

Most back problems seen at the clinic are due to weak core strength in the pelvic girdle, allowing movement away from the norm. This leads to a change in the spinal position and degeneration of the vertebrae, a misfiring of the muscles, and muscle imbalance.

Usual strains that occur are hip flexors and hamstrings and, of course, pain!

Strengthen with pelvic tilts and low load core stability.

Hip

The usual suspects here are tightening of the hip flexors, and/or the rotator muscles of the femur.

Correction of posture is a must, with core and glute strengthening exercises such as fitball squats and hipdips. Proper warm up drills and stretching are a must.

Knee

Other than impact injuries, knee problems stem from the back and the feet.

As a quick test: perform squats or squat jumps in front of a mirror. If your knees roll inwards you are heading for pain or injury, whether to your tendons, ligaments or cartilage. Strengthen your glutes and vestus medialis with correct foot and ankle posture. Stretch properly, especially the hips, quads and iliotibial band.

We see so many patients with problems that would not occur if they took the time to stretch so be warned!

Feet/ankles

Typical problems include Achilles tendonitis and calf pulls.

A weak footing leads to biomechanical problems all the way up to the head. Strengthen feet and ankles frequently by performing toe crunches, heel and toe walking (i.e. walk on the heels only, then walk on tiptoe for a few minutes every day).

Stretching and warming up the Achilles tendon will strengthen it but it can take time up to 12 weeks so dont give up!

Neck and shoulders

A weakness in the scapular stabilizers leads to incorrect biomechanics of the upper body, so reducing mobility of the shoulders and neck. This causes tension, headaches, frozen shoulders, impingement of the nerves and soft tissue to name but a few.

Strengthen by performing scapular rotations. Start with arms above the head in the Y position, drop shoulder blades down and so pull arms down into a W position. End up with elbows tucked in behind back in L position, pull shoulder blades together then hold. Repeat 10-15 times.