May ’23 news: The Undies Workout

May already and it’s starting to feel a lot cooler and hence get a little harder to get out of bed in the morning. This month’s newsletter has all you need to know about how o put your undies on without sitting down (yep, you did read that correctly), how to prevent Tennis and Golfers Elbow from recurring and the highs and lows of Calf Strain. But first, you might have noticed that we’ve had some new faces join our team in the last month…

We’ll Keep You Active

Our team continues to grow and with it, the experience and specialised services that we can offer to you, our clients. Whether you’re suffering from recurring back pain, a workplace or sporting injury, or have concerns about your child’s physical development, our physiotherapists have the expertise to diagnose, rehabilitate and strengthen your body, keeping you and your family active.

To read more about our wonderful and talented team members and their expertise, jump over to the about us section of our website.

To make a booking contact the team at (02) 9438 1782 or contact us via email at enquiries@stleonardsphysio.com.au

Suffering from “Udderly” Painful Calf Strain? 

Sore Elbows but don’t Golf or Play Tennis?

If you haven’t had Tennis or Golfers Elbow elbow before you might think you’re immune to these issues if you don’t play those sports, or on borrowed time if you do. But here’s the thing, neither of these conditions actually discriminate by sport, in fact, they most commonly affect tradespeople and office workers.

Tennis elbow (also called lateral epicondylitis) and golfer’s elbow (also called medial epicondylitis) are both forms of elbow tendonitis that can affect anyone who repeatedly uses their forearm muscles and tendons, particularly in a twisting motion.

So what can you do if you find yourself suffering from one of these? Other than stopping the activity that causes the pain, it is difficult to prevent these conditions, however there are some other measures you can take to help prevent it recurring. These are:

• Spread the load. Tennis and Golfers Elbow are often due to repetition. If possible, try to spread the load on the affected joint by using other muscles or a different technique that uses more shoulder or upper arm muscles.
• Warm up properly. A proper warm-up and gently stretch of the arm muscles prior to the activity can help avoid injury.
• Increase forearm muscle strength. Stronger forearms can take some of the pressure off the affected tendons. Your physiotherapist can demonstrate exercises you can do to help achieve this.
• Improve your technique. Often tennis elbow and golfers elbow can be put down to poor technique. If your condition is from sporting activity, try getting some coaching advice on the correct technique that will reduce pressure on the elbow.

As with any pain, correct diagnosis is important, so if in doubt, reach out to the clinic to make an appointment.

(02) 9438 1782 or email inquiries to enquiries@stleonardsphysio.com.au

The Education Quarter

Maintaining Mobility (Or…How to Put your Undies on Without Sitting Down)

We talk a lot about maintaining mobility as we age. Perhaps this makes you think about 80-year-olds power-lifting and 90-year-olds doing yoga. That’s amazing, and if that’s your goal, the physiotherapists at St Leonard’s Physiotherapy are right behind you. But today we want to talk about some more mundane fitness goals, like being able to put your undies on without sitting down! It’s one of those things that we take for granted when we’re young, like scratching between our shoulder blades or picking something up off the floor without thought or effort, but it can be a challenge if we let age and stiffness creep up on us. It might not be the most inspiring fitness goal and you certainly can’t post pictures of yourself doing it on social media with the hashtag fitspiration. But the mobility you gain from it will help with lots of other everyday tasks.

What is Involved in the “Undies Workout”?
When you think about it, the movement sequence is quite complex. You stand on one foot while your hands stretch the undies out in front of you. So, you can’t hold onto anything for balance. Then you lift one leg up, the knee heading towards the chest, requiring strength from the hip flexors and flexibility of the back. All this, before pointing, flexing, and generally manoeuvring the foot through the leg hole. Then you repeat the whole thing on the other foot. It’s not at all difficult – until it is.

How do I do the “Undies Workout”?
OK – we admit that’s a very silly name, but… Below are a few exercises and stretches that will keep you strong and flexible enough (with the necessary balance skills) to put your undies on without having to sit down.

BALANCE

• Stand on one leg for a minute.
• Repeat on the other leg.
• If that’s too easy, close your eyes for the duration.
• Now stand on one leg with your eyes closed but challenge yourself by moving your other leg around – specifically flexing and pointing the foot.

HIP FLEXORS

• Stand on one foot.
• Lift your knee to your chest and hug it to yourself. Hold for a moment.
• Repeat twenty times on each leg.

SPINE

Cat Stretch:

• Get down on all fours.
• Lift your spine up from the naval. (like a cat arching its back.)
• Collapse the naval down toward the ground. (Like a cat.)

Wag Your Tail: (We can’t let cats have all the fun, so we’ll even it out by pretending to be a dog.)

• Still on all fours.
• Lift your feet up and cross your ankles (as you might in an introductory “on the knees” push-up.)
• Move your feet from side to side as if you’re wagging your “tail.”

ANKLES

• Before you even get out of bed in the morning (and any time you feel like it throughout the day) do a bit of ballet – point and flex a few times. Throw in a few ankle rotations from time to time for good measure.

Practice these movements individually and over time you’ll find at least one part of getting dressed in the morning a little easier. If you’d like to learn more, you can always give us a call on (02) 9438 1782. The physios at St Leonard’s Physiotherapy are here to help with this and any other mobility challenges you face.

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