Did you know your fitness facility or gym can have a Chiropractor?
A Chiropractor at your facility can be YOUR clinical expert to address biomechanic problems quickly and effectively. I hosted the 2nd annual Espada Studio Sports injury Clinic. The goal of this onsite clinic was to address injuries sustained during training, answer questions on how to prevent injury and to give some of the members some TLC. The largest health and fitness facility in Canada, has onsite Chiropractors to address pain, posture and sports injury.
This onsite visit consisted of prompt and concise 15 minute mini appointments. During the 15 minutes, memebrs were able to ask a question, have a body part assessed and provided either active or passive care deemed necessary and relevant. Cases were hip, neck, knee and lower back conditions that were more long standing. During the class there was one acute knee sprain and strain that required immediate attention.
Do you own or are a member of fitness facility or gym? Ask them, who their clinical expert is ?
Joint Dynamics is Hong Kong’s first multidisciplinary and “intelligent movement” studio combining Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, manual therapy a Personal training. We provide a bespoke approach to prevention and treatment of movement impairments and injury. Dr. Benjamin Bluestein is the team Chiropractor.
The approach to treatment and personal training has been developed to facilitate movement capability within each individual. By treating patients with strong assessment, state of the art interventions and the addition of restorative personal training, Joint Dynamics offers a complete musculoskeletal package for clients who suffer anything from chronic pain, to people in need of fine-tuning and those seeking to condition themselves in preparation for sports competitions. Our credo is “intelligent movement for life”.
Whether you come for life or sport performance. We can be your partner to a healthier body no matter where along the journey you come to us. Our facility boasts its own weightlifting, stretch, strength and conditioning section where clients are able to build a capacity for movement.
At Joint Dynamics, your chiropractic care is MORE than just an adjustment or manipulation.
We are CLIENT FOCUSED and provide a team based approach to your care. Along with your Chiropractor you may be advised and have physiotherapist, massage/bodyworker and personal rehabilitation trainer involved in your case.
For more information on the Joint Dynamics and to ask me a question, CLICK HERE
As a Chiropractor and manual therapist, I always recommend people to move well and move often to reduce or prevent joint pain.
If your spine, shoulder or ankle have joint pain or not moving well, it might not just affect your ability to move but can even have effects on your breathing, stress and even your immune system. Of course, follow a healthy diet (fruits, vegetables, not too much red meat, whole foods, no preservatives etc.), sleeping well, and exercise are all good ways to keep your joints healthy and free of pain.
I had a friend recently ask what are the top things people aren’t doing that they should start doing for their joint pain and health.
Here are my top 3:
Self Screening- Prevention is key to joint pain and knowing when to see a professional and when something can be treated on your own is important to be able to differentiate. I always teach my patients how to screen for joint problems and whether or not they should seek advice from a health professional. If they are in doubt, I always recommend consulting with one as soon as possible. What do I teach patients with Joint pain for screening? CARs or Controlled Articular rotations. They allow for screening for all joints in all ranges of motion. Knowing what type of pain or restriction is considered abnormal is a great way of preventing further problems. For an example of CARs click here
Joint Mobility training- FR and FRC practitioners define Mobility= flexibility + strength. One can never be too mobile. Improving and maintain mobility is important for life. Whether you want to plays sports or just want to play with your kids, adequate mobility is required. FRC and FR protocols allow you to strengthen your joint articulations (hips, neck, lower back, wrist, pinky finger). There is no age limitations to joint mobility training as it is dependent on your own body. Those with joint pain also can benefit from these exercises as they can be geared specifically to their complaint without aggravating the pain. For more information on FR and FRC click here or visit functionalanatomyseminars.com
Capacity Training- Injury= load > capacity. Injury occurs when a load on your body is greater than the capacity that your body can take. Joint pain can occur when your capacity to do an activity is low. Do you train yourself in your weakest areas? Do you prepare your body for all ranges of motion? Increasing your capacity in weak areas will reduce the likelihood of injury and therefor pain. If you have been injured before, improving the injured areas capacity will prevent re-injury. What type of capacity training can I start with? You can start with simple Joint mobility training, see above. No equipment is required and it is done with body weight. You can also begin to do general strength and aerobic training. Sometimes just being strong in both your heart and skeletal muscle can prevent a lot if injuries and chronic disease.
I was both a volunteer and injury consultant this past weekend for the mini Copa de Hong Kong Jiu Jitsu Tournament. I had a couple athletes ask, “what is the most common condition I see from combat athletes?”. In the past, I saw many lower back pain patients but most frequently it has been all neck injuries. I believe this is because athletes now train their core, abdominal and back strength much more frequently. As well, strength and conditioning for the lower back is a staple in many general body programs. Neck strength, conditioning and mobility is generally forgotten and currently this leads me to see more neck pain patients.
“Neck strength, conditioning and mobility is generally forgotten and currently this leads me to see more neck pain patients.”
Neck pain from both combat (jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling, muay thai, mma, football, basketball) and non-combat sports (basketball, football, tennis, golf, badminton) are quite common. Neck pain from combat sports can be particularly difficult to treat. This is due to the fact that sports typically involve techniques that strain the neck during training. Common injuries tend to occur in hyperflexion, rotation, traction and compression. The most common form of neck pain I see is from flexion based injuries from getting your neck snapped down, being pulled in a thai plum, being stacked while playing guard or being choked and head locked.
Neck pain is usually felt in the highest portion of the spine, the cervical spine area. The cervical spine area, has 7 vetebrae. When the area becomes moved beyond the normal functional range of motion both passive (bone, disc, ligament, capsule) and active tissues (muscle, joint, tendon) can become injured. The neck and upper back area has both superficial to deep areas of soft tissue that covers vertebrae (see below). Neck injuries may also cause pain into the mid back or shoulders and many times is mistaken for problems in those areas.
I have neck pain from a jiu-jitsu, wrestling, boxing and/or muay thai, what can I do?
Having your neck pain evaluated by a Chiropractor will help determine the extent of the injury and what your prognosis (the forcast of your condition) will be. If you have already recovered from a previous neck pain or injury, prevention of the next one should be what you are thinking about. Having your neck and body assesed is the best way to know how your body is moving and how painful or dysfunctional issues have affected the function of your joints.
In my clinic, if a person reports pain then I perform an SFMA, neurological, orthopaedic and palpatory assessments. Your Chiropractor should locate the dysfunctional issues and tissues (tissue Extensibility, Joint mobility, chemical pain, motor control issues, or vestibular issues). A skilled practitioner should be able to palpate using a layering technique like Functional Palpation before performing any Functional Release or Active Release techniques. Many Chiropractors possess the skill to palpate specific structures and are experts to do so. The type of treatment administered will be based on what will provide the quickest neck pain relief and return to function.
I have recovered from a neck pain and injury, what is a safe and effective exercise I can peform to help strengthen my neck?
Many athletes will typically stretch to get rid of pain and improve passive range of motion. Is that enough to prevent injury? Just stretching in order to allow your body to get into a range of motion is not enough.Aquiring strength and control in ALL RANGES (short and long ranges of motion) will help prevent injuries. This means having active ability in these ranges of motion.
Below is a video from my colleague and mentor, Dr. Andreo Spina. Featured on Jits TV, our functional range conditioning exercise will help prevent neck pain injury. This exercise is also beneficial for those who just want general conditioning for there neck.
There are other great conditioning and neck strengthening execises that a qualified personal trainer or strength and conditioning coach can give you to help prevent neck pain. Just be sure you have all the prerequesites for doing the exercises by seeing you Chiropractor. They can determine if your neck is prepared for more difficult movements.
Do you practice brazillian jiu jitsu (BJJ), muay thai, boxing, wrestling, or judo and get neck pain? See a Chiropractor for an evaluation and improve your joint health and mobility.
Athletes of all skill levels may suffer from back pain or stiffness at one point in their life. Typically, the spine is overlooked during a pre-game warm-up. A good spinal warm up can help improve shoulder range of motion and decrease stiffness overall in the spine. Off court spine mobility drills, in addition to a proper core strength and conditioning program, will help athletes improve back movement and reduce the chance of injury and pain. Back pain affects nearly every person at some point in their lives. Prevention of back pain is key, especially in terms of extending the playing lifespan of athletes.
Below is a video that has some good spinal mobility exercises that and help improve mobility and decrease the the likelyhood of typical back stiffness (what does stiffness mean? Click here) and back pain that athletes suffer from. It was produced with the great people at Coachbase
Remember, daily preventative exercises , and hands on treatment OR reduced performance and/or back pain, YOUR CHOICE (My lawyer buddy always phrases things like that haha).
