The Spinal Column (Golf Issue) by SOS Physiotherapy
The Spinal Column The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body
My husband Justin and I recently celebrated our honeymoon by traveling to Ireland and Scotland. We arrived in Dublin, Ireland after awindstormdelay and a long flight, excited and exhausted for our adventure. We had rented a car for our journey. It will be fun to drive on the opposite side of the road in a left-handed manual car, right? Now, after being awake for over 30 hours, it can be very challenging to navigate your way around a new city, while trying to remember to stay on the left-hand side of the road. Needless to say, this first journey definitely was a great relationship test. Galway was our first destination, a lovely harbor city. Unfortunately, wewere absolutely exhausted by the time we arrived. We headed into town for dinner, where we moseyed into a lovely pub and had the most delicious beef and Guinness stew! I still have yet to try and recreate this amazing stew back home. After dinner, we went back to our Airbnb, laid down for a rest and ended up sleeping for over 12 hours. Travelling takes a lot out of you! Now we’re off again, journeying down to Killarney. On the way, we stop at the Cliffs of Moher; a beautiful set of sea cliffs, over 500 feet tall, with edges that dive straight into the ocean. Definitely, a must-see for any who are traveling to Ireland! On the way back to Dublin, we stopped at the Blarney Castle, and of course, to kiss the Blarney Stone! Blarney Castle was built back in 1446, and if you kiss the Blarney Stone, it is said to give you the “gift of gab”. As tourists, we obviously waited in the hour-long line, making our way to the top of the castle to kiss the stone. After our backs were stretched out, arching backward to get to the stone, we were on the road again back to Dublin. We had a wonderful time driving through Ireland’s beautiful countryside. The city of Edinburgh was our first stop on our tour through Scotland. Edinburgh has something for everyone, from touring its medieval Old Town to the beautiful Georgian New Town. In the heart of the city SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS with Melissa and Justin!
center is the Edinburgh Castle. A large fortress, built in the 12th century on a massive volcanic rock. We had a wonderful time touring this castle, spending over 4 hours exploring. Near the end of our visit, we hiked up Arthur’s Seat to see the sunset. With the sky turning a beautiful pink colour, it was definitely a lovely ending to an amazing visit. For the final stretch of our trip, we toured through the Scottish Highlands, stopping at Stirling Castle on our way. The Highlands are a mountainous region, full of quaint towns and villages. Throughout this journey, we toured the LochNess, with no signs of Nessy, stopped at a whisky distillery, and toured Balmoral Castle, the Royal Family’s holiday home. So many amazing memories of this wonderful trip! Ireland and Scotland are beautiful countries to visit, both with breath-taking scenery and filled with history. Definitely worth a visit! And remember, if there, you must try the Irish stew! Melissa www.sosphysiotherapy.ca
The Spinal Column The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body 6 BACK CONDITIONS NOT TO IGNORE Continue An Active Lifestyle Free Of Pain!
IMPORTANT!
INSIDE: • Is Back Pain Ruining Your Golf Game? • Our Clinic to YOUR Community • Mentoring Corner • Upcoming Workshops
We will be temporarily closing our Belmont Clinic for the last week of August (8/27-8/31) to undergo renovations. Please contact ourCampusorElmiraClinics with any questions you may have. Thank you!
Do you feel aches and pains in your lower back? If so, you are not alone. Four out of every five people will suffer from back pain at some time in their lives. Without proper spine mobility, stability and alignment your back structures wear down over time, similar to tires that are out of alignment. There are many different back conditions, but here are a few common ones: 1. Lumbar or sacral radiculopathy: The result of pressure on a nerve exiting the spine. Pain, numbness and tingling can be felt down in different parts of the leg. 2. Sciatica: This comes from compression of the sciatic nerve by a muscle called the piriformis, deep in the buttock. Symptoms can radiate down the buttock and leg. 3. Spinal stenosis: This is a narrowing of the bony spinal canal which causes rubbing or pressure on nerves. Central canal stenosis is quite serious as it presses upon the spinal cord.
4. Lumbar sprain/strain: This is a common cause of low back pain due to injury of muscles and tendons. The rows of muscles that run up and down the sides of the spinal column, are the major muscle groups usually involved in lower back injury. 5. Fractures: These are due to trauma, or sometimes occur without any injury in people with osteoporosis. 6. Spinal cord compression: This is unusual, but very worrisome and may be associated with weakness and loss of bowel/bladder control. Medication and Bed Rest. Most lower back pain sufferers try over the counter drugs and bed rest. However, most self remedies will not provide the relief that you need. In fact, bed rest is the wrong thing to do because it can weaken the spinal muscles further. Weakness in the spinal muscles is one of the main reasons for low back pain and puts you at risk for injuring your back with common activities such as lifting, bending or squatting. Most of us sit too much and this contributes to severe weakening of the back and torso muscles which are needed for a healthy back.
www.sosphysiotherapy.ca
IS BACK PAIN RUINING YOUR GOLF GAME?
back pain is not something that is isolated to muscle weakness in the back. Rather, back pain is a manifestation of overall core weakness. Physiotherapy targets not only the injured area in the back, but the muscles that are causing improperposture,apoorswing,and resultingbackpain.Once theseareasare addressed,manygolfersfind that theyareable toreturn to thegreen,painfree. 2. Physiotherapy can get you through the back nine. Even if a back injury isn’t keeping you from golfing altogether, physiotherapy can help you get through the back nine without pain. While many people only associate PT with injury, physiotherapists are also trained to help patients avoid injury and address problem areas before an injury occurs. Targeted exercises on the back, core and legs can improve muscle endurance and lessen fatigue making it possible to improve your game on the back nine. 3. Physiotherapy improves your flexibility and mobility. Why visit a physiotherapist when you are stiff but not in pain? Because physiotherapistsareexperts in improvingflexibilityandmobility. Imaginebeing able to drive farther and follow through better without any stiffness the next day.Mobility, rangeofmotion,andstrengtheningexercisesasprescribedbya physiotherapist improve flexibility throughout the body, leaving you refreshed the day after 18 holes instead of regretting them. While physiotherapy alone will not give you a spot on the PGA tour, it can certainly get you back on the links, improve your game, and help you do what you love, pain free.
You can get rid of back pain and improve your golf game with physiotherapy! For an avid golfer, there is nothing more debilitating than back pain. From a minor tweak in the lower back on the tenth hole tee off to the persistent pain in the shoulders that keeps them from teeing off at all, once a golfer begins to feel discomfort they know they are headed toward hanging up the clubs permanently. Fortunately, this does not have to be the case. Targeted physiotherapy cannot only relieve pain, it can strengthen a golfer’s core and improve their flexibility, thus improving their overall game. 1. Physiotherapy can get you back on the links If you have avoided a tee time because of back pain, or in anticipation of back pain, physiotherapy can get you back on the course. For many people,
www.sosphysiotherapy.ca
Exercise Essential Try this movement if you are experiencing back pain.
Improve Your Golf Game with This Exercise! Here Liam (Volunteer extraordinaire at SOS Belmont....) is demonstrating an exercise with a foam roller.This exercise is meant to help your mobility through the mid-back (thoracic spine). Lie on your foam roller (available at SOS!) with it across your back or perpendicular to your spine as Liam is showing here. Keep your knees bent and lift your lower torso and pelvis slightly off the ground. Be careful not to arch your back or tilt your head back over the foam roller. Use your legs to slowly move your body back and forth, moving the roller like a rolling pin. Do this for 20 seconds, rest, repeat 3-4 times. Do not continue if uncomfortable or call your physiotherapist for more details. This exercise is great to try and improve your mobility for the golf swing. A stiff thoracic spine means a decreased turn and that means diminished yards with the big stick. Do this daily and right before your golf game, see your turn increase, and the yards off the tee right along with it...
CALL TODAY! 519.743.4355
Our Clinic to YOUR Community
Mentoring Corner
The physiotherapists at SOS Physiotherapy are dedicated to learning and helping each other hone their skills to enable their patients to get the best outcomes possible. They get together weekly to practice their hands-on skills and share ideas, all in an effort to improve the overall care for their patients. Here’s what they’ve been working on to get you better faster. Physiotherapist Amy deCorte is helpingWestern University student Marina Renperforma lowbackmanual therapy technique that “gaps”or “opens” the specific joint in the lumbarspine that ispainful.Thishelps takepressureoff the irritable joint, restore blood-flow, reduce muscle spasm, and generally help you feel BETTER! Having some back pain or stiffness that is affecting YOUR golf game? This is just one of the many techniques your physiotherapist may use to help you out. When that back is moving better you’ll be splitting the fairway like you never have before. Come and see for yourself!
SOS Physiotherapy is a proud sponsor of the Sidewalk Sale Days that happen every year in Downtown Elmira. This year the Sidewalk Sale took place on August 9-11. The Sidewalk sale had many amazing mixes of unique retailers and vendors. In addition to the regular sale, there was fun for the entire family! Included were food trucks, drink tents provided by Murphy’s Law Distillery, as well as family- friendly activities, entertainment and music acts. Great turn out. Thanks everyone and... We’ll see you there next year!
Workshops at SOS Physiotherapy
Golf Workshops Call & Register Today!
Presented by Jonathon Clay, Physiotherapist Jon has practiced physiotherapy for over 15 years and has golfed and taken various lessons for over 30 years. Come and learn about his blend of knowledge about the golf swing and physical biomechanics to help you FEEL better and PLAY better.
& Tuesday, September 25th 7:30 pm @ the Elmira Golf Club
Monday, September 24th 7:30 pm @ our Belmont Clinic Location
• Perfect posture at address • • Learn warm-up exercises for your pre-round routine • • Realize basic swing faults that lead to injury •
• Drill s & Exercises to address those swing faults • • Learn exercises to help increase your flexibility and strength • • Discover common injuries that keep you off the course and what to do about them •
Elmira (519) 669-1212
Belmont (519) 743-4355
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online