Category: Massage

Shin Splints – How To Get Rid Of Them

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What Are Shin Splints

Anatomy For Shin Splints Massage In York
| Shin splints can be felt on the outside of your leg or the inside as a dull ache

Shin splints is a general term which usually means pain below your knee and above your ankle. If it is felt on the outside of your leg it is known as anterior shin splints. If it is the inside of your leg it is medial shin splints. Unlike a stress fracture, which is painful only at the site of the injury, shin splints are more of a dull ache which runs along the majority of your lower leg. Also it tends to feel worse the day after exercise due to inflammation. A stress fracture would feel slightly better due to being rested.

Causes Of Shin Splints

There are several potential causes of shin splints. One of the most common is an imbalance of tight and weak muscles at the front of your leg and stronger (often tight) calf muscles at the back. Beginners often develop this as they are working too hard too quickly and not allowing their body to adapt. But a seasoned runner who suddenly increases their training or includes inclines and harder surfaces can also suffer. A lack of stretching to lower leg muscles is also likely to contribute to developing shin splints.

Your running action can be a factor too(1). Tight muscles and imbalances in your body can put greater stress on one side than the other. Also a weak core and inadequate footwear, such as badly designed or worn out trainers, can contribute.

How To Get Rid Of Shin Splints

Stretch After Shin Splints Massage In York
| Stretching can help prevent problems but massage is a far more effective treatment

The best thing to do to treat shin splints is stop running. Or at least reduce training to a level where pain or throbbing is not felt. Instead try cycling, rowing, swimming or using a elliptical as an alternative for a while. Stretching your calf and anterior tibialis (shin) muscles is also an important part of helping things to heal. A lack of flexibility probably contributed to the problem and stretching will help to prevent it returning. And don’t forget to invest in some decent footwear that will lessen the impact, especially if running on hard surfaces.

How Massage Can Help

Given that muscle imbalances are likely to have some part to play in most occurrences of shin splints, finding out which areas are to blame is essential to treating them. Initially this can be done with a massage therapist doing a  postural analysis. This will identify which muscles are tight and which are contributing to issues with your running action. These can then be massaged to relax and lengthen them. Calf muscles will almost certainly benefit from massage as will the often neglected tibialis muscles of the shin.

Shin splints can start as a minor discomfort but if left untreated can develop in a debilitating long-term injury. Massage can help to speed up recovery and treat the underlying causes to prevent it returning in the future.

Book A Mobile Massage

If you would like to book a mobile massage in York please contact me on 07713 250352 or email david@massageinyork.co.uk. Includes sports massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. For more information on booking click here

Knee Pain – Causes And Treatment

Knee pain can be an annoyance which interferes with playing sports or doing strenuous activity. Or it can be a constant pain that makes climbing the stairs or just walking an everyday problem. Sometimes even sitting in the same position for too long can become uncomfortable. There are numerous causes of knee pain and most of them can be treated without the need for surgery.

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What Causes Knee Pain

Many people who get knee pain assume that it’s wear and tear of cartilage. This a tissue that covers the surface of joints to prevent them rubbing against each other. Or they think it’s just something that comes with getting old, such as arthritis. But there are other causes that can be due to the ligaments around the knee, or muscles that initially don’t seem to have anything to do with it.

Knee Pain From Ligaments

Anatomy For Knee Pain Massage In York
| Knee pain can be caused by ligament damage or inflammation or the build up scar tissue

Between the bones of your upper and lower leg there is cartilage to prevent them from rubbing against each other. This means the joint has to be held in place by ligaments. There are 4 main ones. The anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments. Injuries can occur from over-extension, such as turning sharply playing sport. If this causes a major tear, surgery may well be necessary, but if less severe it can recover naturally. However, the build up of scar tissue around the injury can lead to knee pain.

How Massage Can Help

A damaged ligament should be rested and iced for the next 72 hours. After this, a minor injury can then be massaged to help promote healing and prevent the formation of scar tissue. For more serious injuries it is recommended you wait a week. If the injury is older then knee pain could well be from scar tissue that has formed, even if it is weeks or months old. Massage to the affected area can still be a benefit.

Knee Pain From Muscles

Girl Needing Knee Pain Massage In York
| There are many muscles that connect to or pass over the knee joint

Knee pain from your muscles is more common than from ligaments and often without there being an injury. The muscles of your thigh, such as the quadriceps, connect to the patella (knee cap). Other muscles, such as the sartorius, extend past it to the tibia (shin). Also the muscles at the back of your thigh, such as the hamstring, run behind the knee to the lower leg. Tension in your muscles can be caused by injury, scar tissue, heavy use such as regular running or weight training. Or it could just be lack of flexibility. This can shorten and tighten your muscles, which is often the cause of knee pain.

How Massage Can Help

If your knee pain is to do with tight muscles then a massage will help to loosen them up. It will also improve flexibility and prevent injuries in the future. As a rough guide, if the pain is at the front of your knee it is your thigh muscles that need attention, if it is on the inside it could be your sartorius or hamstrings. Pain at the back of your knee could also be your hamstrings, or it might be your calf muscles which extend up to the thigh. While pain on the outside of your knee is often due to a tight IT band.

Any pain should initially be checked by your doctor. This is especially important if it is severe, came on suddenly or there is any swelling. Once anything serious has been ruled out, a massage therapist can help speed up recovery from injury or relax tight muscles to treat or even prevent knee pain.

Knee Pain From Arthritis

Arthritis in the knee can be a debilitating condition that causes pain, stiffness, swelling and clicking or grating. It is often worse first thing on a morning or after other periods of inactivity, but too much weight-bearing work can also aggravate symptoms. Although it is degenerative condition that can require surgery, studies have shown that massage can provide many benefits(1).

How Massage Can Help

If your arthritis is severe enough to reduce your activity level, this can in turn make the associated pain and stiffness worse. Massage can increase blood flow to the knee joint which helps to cleanse the area of toxins and debris. As well as this, receiving freshly oxygenated blood helps the process of repairing the cartilage.

Pain and stiffness in general has long been shown to be reduced by massage. By over-riding the pain sensation while releasing feel-good endorphins, movement and activity levels are likely to increase. In turn this helps to improve the flexibility of muscle, tendons and ligaments around the knee already which are already directly benefiting from massage.

Book A Mobile Massage

If you would like to book a mobile massage in York please contact me on 07713 250352 or email david@massageinyork.co.uk. Includes sports massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. For more information on booking click here

IT Band – Is It Causing Your Lower Back Pain

The IT band (iliotibial band) is something you are only likely to hear about when it causes problems. A thick band of connective tissue and fascia, it runs from your hip to the outside of your knee, which is where it can be the source of pain. This is known as IT band syndrome. But a tight IT band can also lead to issues in your hip that result in lower back pain.

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How Does The IT Band Cause Lower Back Pain

IT Band Anatomy
| Inflammation of the IT band causes outer knee pain and can also affect your hip

The IT band works along with other muscles to extend your hip and move your leg away from your body (abduction). It also helps to rotate your hip and therefore your leg, as well as stabilising your knee(1). Problems can develop when the IT band become inflamed from overuse. This is usually from running, cycling or any sudden increase in activity levels. The result is usually knee pain which comes on with exercise or walking. But because the IT band connects to your hip via your TFL (tensor fascia lata) muscle, it can also cause lower back pain.

As mentioned in other articles, the gluteus medius and other muscles of the buttocks can often be the undiagnosed cause of lower back pain. If they are tight or weak, other muscles will have to do more than their fair share to compensate. The result of which can be lower back pain or even injury. But this can begin further along the chain if the cause of your gluteus problems comes from a tight or inflamed IT band.

How To Treat Lower Back Pain Caused By The IT Band

Tight IT Band Before Massage In York
| The IT band runs along the outside of your upper leg

The first step is to identify the cause of your tight IT band and avoid it, or at least make some changes where possible. If running is the culprit, try  some different exercise for a while such as cycling or a cross trainer machine(2). This will help with the repetitive strain side of things that can cause and maintain inflammation.

The next step is to loosen up the IT band. Plus any other muscles along the chain that have lead to your lower back pain. A massage therapist will relieve any tightness, as well as specific areas of tension, knots or adhesions. This is also true of the gluteus (buttock) muscles and lower back muscles such as quadratus lumborum (QL). Stretching without massage can have limited benefit, such as pain relief, but the effect will only be temporary. The same goes for use of foam rollers. Things might seem better for a few hours but you will most likely wake up the next day back at square one.

Stretching and foam rollers can be a useful accompaniment to massage, but a deep-tissue massage or sports massage will be far more effective.

Book A Mobile Massage

If you would like to book a mobile massage in York please contact me on 07713 250352 or email david@massageinyork.co.uk. Includes sports massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. For more information on booking click here

Tight Hamstrings And How They Cause Back Pain

Most people have suffered back pain and it will be worse at some times than others. While good posture and lifting technique will help prevent it, the cause is often left untreated. Tight hamstrings are very often neglected but can be a major reason back problems develop.

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What Causes Tight Hamstrings

Tight Hamstrings Massage In York For Back Pain
| Tight hamstrings can pull your pelvis out of position and lead to lower back pain

Hamstrings are the muscles at the back of your upper leg. They start at the base of your hips, run behind the knee and connect to the bones of your lower leg. They are primarily responsible for bending your leg. But they also play a large part in keeping your pelvis in the correct position. Spending many hours sitting down, whether at desk, driving or watching TV, causes your hamstrings to shorten and become less flexible. As do activities like jogging, lifting weights, or anything else that involves using your hamstrings to bend your leg.

In contrast, bending at the waist with your legs straight will lengthen the hamstrings. Most people do this a few times a day at most however, so it does little to undo the hours spent sitting or running.

How Tight Hamstrings Cause Back Pain

The muscles of your upper leg connect to the lower parts of your pelvis and the muscles of your back the upper parts. Together they play a major role in its alignment during certain activities. For example, your pelvis has one position it would prefer to be in while standing upright and another it would prefer to be in while sitting down. Also, as you bend forward or do squats your pelvis tilts. This is why good technique involves all of the muscles connecting to it, including your hamstrings.

Unfortunately hamstrings that are tight or considerably weaker than the muscles of your thigh can prevent this. Sitting for long periods or standing with your pelvis in a poor position can allow your hamstrings to shorten. In turn this means it becomes difficult or in some cases impossible to have good posture, making the problem worse.

The constant pulling effect from tight or weak hamstrings can also lead to pain in the lower back(1).

How To Treat Tight Hamstrings

Stretch After Tight Hamstrings Massage In York
| Stretching can help improve tight hamstrings, but only if done correctly

The ultimate goal when tight hamstrings are leading to back pain is to correct bad posture. This stars with your hamstrings becoming more flexible. There are various stretches for this which should be done every day to start with. As they loosen up the frequency can be decreased, but the best way to achieve this is with massage. In some cases back pain may prevent stretches being done at all, which is why it’s always best to consult a qualified massage therapist.

Book A Mobile Massage

If you would like to book a mobile massage in York please contact me on 07713 250352 or email david@massageinyork.co.uk. Includes sports massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. For more information on booking click here