Stiff shoulder with restricted movement?

Most people lack the full range of movement in their shoulders because they rarely use the full range. If you’ve spent most of your life sitting at a desk, you’re likely to have stiff shoulders.

Our shoulders are designed to make a lot of movement, but this also leaves them at higher risk of developing injuries, hence shoulder injuries are extremely common.

If you have restricted movement and stiffness, but no pain.  This is a great time to do some preventative work.  This could save you from a lot of pain and lost sleep later on.

Those of us who have suffered from shoulder injuries know exactly what a pain they are and also how long they take to recover.  Once you develop shoulder pain, it can be a persistent problem, interfering with daily activities and diminishing quality of life. Therefore, everyone should be taking preventative action.

What can you do to prevent a shoulder injury?

Soft tissue therapy is a fantastic way to improve shoulder movement.  My preferred therapy is Emmett Technique combined with targeted exercises.

Soft Tissue Therapy

The Emmett Technique is a gentle, non-invasive therapy that focuses on releasing tension and restoring balance in the body. By applying light pressure to specific points on the muscles, I can help alleviate pain, reduce tension and improve mobility in the shoulder and surrounding areas.

Many people find relief from shoulder pain after just one session, although multiple sessions may be needed for lasting results.

use a band to strengthen your shoulder

Targeted Exercise

Improving the way the shoulder moves, reduces the risk of over stretching and strain to the muscles.  Exercises such as shoulder rolls, arm circles, and resistance band exercises, can help strengthen and stabilise the joint, reducing the risk of future pain and injury.

Regularly taking your shoulders through their full range of motion without over stressing them can help maintain the mobility.

Improve your upper back mobility

Your body doesn’t work as separate parts, it is interconnected to other areas of your body and your shoulders are massively affected by your upper back and how your rib cage moves. Simple cat cow stretches can improve your upper back mobility which in turn will help your shoulder move more freely.

Do your shoulders have poor range of movement? Would you like help improving their movement?  Book your complimentary call now. 

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain or getting stronger and fitter, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

How is your pelvis like your house boiler?

We recently had to have our house boiler replaced but there was a bit of problem solving that needed to take place before we got to the replacement stage.

You might be experiencing a similar situation with your body and I’ll explain more later.

The problem

The problem we reported to the plumber was the shower was running luke warm. It appeared to be isolated to the shower, so we changed the thermostatic valve, this however made no difference.

We then thought the whole tap was faulty so changed to a non thermostatic tap… this revealed a bigger problem. The water was still running luke warm, but was it just the shower? The plumber checked the other taps in the house and discovered that sporadically some taps would run lukewarm whilst others were boiling hot. Not something we noticed before as the kitchen tap was always the hottest and you would only notice the others if they were run for a long time.

This pointed to a suspected fault in the boiler, so a part was exchanged. There was a slight improvement, but ultimately the problem remained.

As this point, we decided it would be more cost effective to replace the boiler.

Replacing the boiler has been wonderful. Not only do we get hot water from all the taps now, the radiators also heat up much faster. I hadn’t realised that the radiators heated up particularly slowly before… I just thought that was normal.

What does this have to do with your body or your back?

The problem

You have pain in your knee, so your see therapists and professionals for help with your knee. You get various treatments and exercises, but your knee pain continues. Eventually you see someone who looks at you as a whole and they see an alignment issue with your pelvis and lower back.

Once the back or pelvis is worked on, your body alignment improves so your body is able to move more easily.

Once good alignment is restored, you may notice your knee feels better, and as a whole you’re able to move more easily. Eg you are able to bend forward to touch your toes more easily. This wasn’t a ‘problem’ so to speak, but like my radiators, it is definitely a plus.

So what am I saying?

It’s not always obvious where the problem is coming from unless we are aware there may be restrictions or faults elsewhere in the system.

Are you aware of where you have pain or restricted movement in your body?

Having all this information to hand to provide the practitioner you’re working with can allow them to build the bigger picture to determine whether what you are describing is a symptom of something else.

If you have a pain that you have not been able to resolve and would like help establishing where it stems from, book your complimentary exploratory call now to discuss how we can get to the bottom of your problem.

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain, getting stronger and moving better, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

Is one leg longer than the other?

"I have been told I have one longer leg and that’s why my back hurts."

Does this sound familiar?

Most of the time the leg length discrepancy isn’t structural or “real” it’s just your pelvis has tilted so your leg sits in a different position from your other leg creating the length discrepancy, but has anyone explained this to you?

Were you able to get your legs to equal length by the end of your treatment? What were you recommended? Did they pull your leg to make it longer?!

When leg length discrepancy isn't structural, it can be remedied through releasing the tension in the muscles that are causing the pelvis to tilt.

I personally suffered with this issue a lot during my early 20s, that is until I sorted out the muscles around my pelvis.... and gave up long distance running.

If you have been told you have one leg that's longer than the other and you're still walking around like this; providing it's not structural eg you've not broken your leg and had it pinned back together, then I could help you get back into balance.

What causes leg length discrepancy when it's not structural?

Muscle imbalance

Different muscles could be responsible but these two play a large role.

1. Quadratus lumborum. This muscles attaches from the bottom rib to the top of the pelvis hiking up the pelvis, making the leg shorter.

Quadratus Lumborum Image: Essential Anatomy

2. Rectus femoris. This is a quad muscle (front of thigh) that also acts as a hip flexor, pulling the pelvis forward, making the leg longer.

Rectus Femoris Image: Essential Anatomy.

lower leg issues

Weak ankles and feet or flat feet can result in the pelvis tilting forward, making the leg longer.

How do you fix something like this?

Your have to start by addressing your lower leg and feet muscles. Enable them to stabilise and hold you better. You may need to use orthotic supports and you should see a podiatrist about that.

It might be your ankle is misaligned and needs to be mobilised and strengthened.

Most people I treat have some issue with their ankle which can be made better through mobilisation and the use of EMMETT technique. There are some great EMMETT releases that can be done on the feet to improve how your feet and toes feel too.

The more your feet are able to feel the ground, the more stable you feel.

Why does my back hurt though?

Lower back pain occurs as a result of leg length discrepancy because the muscle tension in your lower back changes. When muscles are no longer in balance, you may feel discomfort or pain especially around your sacro-iliac joint.

Would you like to feel relief from your nagging discomfort and learn how you can move forward and prevent reoccurrence?

Book your complimentary exploratory call now.

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain, getting stronger and moving better, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

Suffering with lower back pain?

Tried various treatments and exercises and none have worked?  Wondering why your lower back pain is not going away and if you’re going to have it for the rest of your life?

When there is no medical reason for your lower back pain (LBP), it is described as non-specific and could be caused by a number of reasons. One of these reasons is muscle imbalance, and the pain you feel could be from muscle tension or overuse. 

Core exercises not working?

Strengthening your core muscles and learning to better engage them will ensure your spine is better supported, reducing LBP.  However, you’ve been doing core exercises, yet you are still suffering, why?

There are so many different reasons why your programme may not be working, but here are a few common reasons:

1.        Incorrect form during the exercise – poorly executed exercises could further exacerbate the issue or create new problems.

2.        Wrong exercises or intensity for you at the wrong time – remember how we crawled before we walked? Your body has to be able to engage muscles in a set order. You also need to be challenging your body at the right intensity and continually changing this.

3.        Poor activation in everyday living – failure to integrate what you’ve learnt into everyday movement reinforces poor movement patterns and little change occurs.

4.        Muscle imbalance is holding you back – exercise when done correctly can greatly improve muscle imbalance, however when muscles are inhibited, it makes activation harder and progression slower.

5.        Poor awareness as to what’s potentially contributing to you LBP – do you know what your pain triggers are?

Not sure which, if any, apply to you but you don’t want to suffer anymore?

As a Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer specialising in managing lower back pain, I approach your body as a whole. Rebalancing muscles by applying strategic soft tissue releases.

EMMETT Technique is a light touch soft tissue therapy, highly targeted and extremely effective at producing an immediate relaxation response; most clients feel immediate improvement to how they move.

I then help you restore movement by activating and strengthening previously inhibited muscles.

Your LBP is unique to you. I help you build your awareness around how you use your body, providing you with the independence to better manage the restoration of good healthy movement, thus reducing your LBP.

If you would like take back control of your life, book your complimentary exploratory call and discover how you can improve how you move and feel.

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain, getting stronger and moving better, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

Are You Stretching Enough?

Most of us are guilty of not stretching enough, I know I am!  But is there any good excuse for not stretching?

Stretching can be done anywhere and at anytime and should be done frequently, particularly if you spend a lot of time in one position eg sitting.

What happens when you stretch? 

When you engage in regular stretching, especially dynamic stretching, you improve the flexibility of your muscles and joints. This increased flexibility allows for a greater range of movement during exercises and activities, which in turn lowers your risk of injury.

Imagine this: you live in a stiff, restricted body, you reach up into the cupboard and suddenly you get a shooting pain in your arm and upper back.  Could you have prevented this?  Probably.... 

Stretching keeps your muscles supple and flexible. Supple muscles are more pliable and have more capacity to lengthen. 

Stretching also improves circulation and helps relax tight muscles, alleviating tension. 

Most people could probably avoid muscular skeletal pain if they stretched and moved more.

Do you feel weak in some of your movements or have poor muscle co-ordination?

This could be due to muscle tension.  Stretching improves your flexibility enabling muscles to contract more efficiently and effectively providing you with more force and power from those muscles.

Stretching can also contribute to better muscle coordination and proprioception (your body's ability to sense movement, action, and location), enhancing your ability to control and stabilise your body during various movements.

Convinced you need to stretch more yet?

If you like the sound of the benefits stretching can brings, it's time to get started.  So where do you start? What feels tight to you?  

When you have lived with tightness, it becomes difficult to identify what is and what isn't tight, unless you have pain, so I suggest you start with common areas of tightness like your chest, neck and hamstrings (back of thighs). Often people tell me they don't feel tight, but once they have released the tension, they are amazed by what free movement feels like.

Need help with muscle tightness or joint pain and stretching isn't helping?  Soft tissue therapy can help.  If you would like to move more freely and feel lighter, book your soft tissue treatment now.

Is your injury from 10 years ago causing your current pain?

Do You have pain that you associate with an old injury?  You might be right.

Injuries significantly affect how you move. When you are injured your body goes into protective mode to limit further damage. This protective response can result in altered compensatory movement. Your body’s protective mechanisms may also affect muscle recruitment and the way joints move, all this takes place to minimize stress on the injured area.

Let’s say you fell and hurt your shoulder. Your shoulder becomes stiff and when you try to lift your arm overhead, it locks up – this is muscle guarding. The surrounding muscles contract and tighten up to limit the movement. In order for you reach overhead, you have to recruit other muscles and use other parts of your body – this is the new compensatory movement you have adopted.

Your body adapts to protect you, this is great, but you need to be aware that once your body has healed, you don’t necessarily return to your original better healthier movements.

This is why people do rehabilitative exercises.  They teach the body how to use the damaged areas again, so you can return to good, healthy movement.

What happens when you don’t rehabilitate an injury?

Would you drive around with a flat tyre?

Your body continuing to use its new movement patterns may not seem so bad, but it is!  Imagine driving your car around with deflated tyres… it’s extremely inefficient and dangerous. You risk damaging your wheels and other car parts. You also increase your risk of skidding and losing control of the car.

Your body is not so dissimilar, you will overuse other areas of your body and potentially speed up the wear and tear of other joints. You may pull your body out of alignment and cause new aches and pains in your body.

If your car had a completely flat tyre, you wouldn’t even consider driving it, yet you continue to use your body despite it being less than fully functional….

 

But it was only a small ankle sprain

Even small injuries like a sprain can result in compensation. If you felt pain, your body will have adapted.  Ankle sprains usually result in the glutes switching off in order to stop you using that side of your body.

So what?

When muscles such as the glutes switch off, you are potentially setting yourself up for issues such as hip and lower back pain.  It’s bad enough that most people live sedentary lives which also results in the glutes being switched off, therefore, if you can get everything back up and working as soon as possible after an injury, all the better!

How do I help?

I can help you restore movement after an injury. I prefer to work with people who have chronic pain, where an injury maybe happened a long while ago but was never rehabilitated at the time.

Soft tissue therapy such as EMMETT Technique can be applied to tight muscles releasing them enabling joints to move more freely.  

Want to find out how I can help you? Book your complimentary exploratory call now.

Alternatively join my Facebook group for more educational tips and learn to better understand your body and how it works.

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain, getting stronger and moving better, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

Fed up with the pain shooting down your leg?

Last week I had a guy ask if sports massage could help with his sciatica. He was getting pain down his right leg.

I asked about his symptoms then I said Sports massage could help but I use EMMETT technique (another soft tissue therapy) these days as it is far more effective and efficient. His description was of a trapped nerve coming from his buttocks. The sciatic nerve can become impinged by gluteal muscles when there is too much tension in the area. The fabulous thing is EMMETT technique is amazing at releasing tense muscles. Relaxed muscles mean immediately less tension on the nerve.

He agreed to give EMMETT TECHNIQUE a go

Upon treating him I found that most of the tension was coming from his adductors (inner thigh muscles), as they relaxed, he felt less of the nerve pain. The tension was pulling his pelvis down.

When he came in, he said his pain level was 5/5 (extremely painful), when we finished he said it was 2/5. On testing, he could still feel it but it was only at the point of origin in his hip rather than shooting down his leg and only when his leg was raised.

When muscles and tendons are pulled and stretched and held in unnatural positions, they will become inflamed and cause irritation and discomfort. Even after muscles are relaxed, soft tissue still needs recovery time. This pain can still lessen in the following 48hours.

Image: Essential Anatomy

This client was far more comfortable when he left. The next day, he reported feeling "so much better". He was definitely sold on this treatment as he asked “if my back goes in the future, can you treat it? Will you be able to use the same technique?”

Sciatica V Piriformis syndrome

True Sciatica is a result of spinal dysfunction, however sciatic nerve impingement can occur anywhere along its route through your hip and down your leg. They produce similar symptoms and the pain in your thigh or leg can be painful and annoying.

As soon as people have pain down their leg, they automatically assume it’s sciatica, but it may not be "true" sciatica.

Nerve impingement can occur due to muscle imbalance and muscle inflammation. Releasing tension in your muscles can reduce the impingement.

Fast and effective soft tissue therapy

EMMETT is such a great soft tissue therapy. Not only is it effective, it works extremely quickly and to top it all off, it is gentle. No harsh manipulations and definitely no bone cracking!

If you’re suffering with musculoskeletal pain or like this gentleman have a pain running down your leg and you’re fed up, let’s have a chat to see if I can help.

I offer a complimentary exploratory call. Book your call now.

Alternatively join my Facebook group for more educational tips and learn to better understand your body and how it works.

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain, getting stronger and moving better, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

Can you pat yourself between your shoulder blades?

Test it with your arm coming from overhead and also from below….. and test both left and right.

This is a good test of internal and external rotation of your shoulder. If you struggle with either or your left and right are significantly different, keep reading…. as you may want to improve your range of movement.

Why is having good range of movement important?

You need a healthy range of movement for comfortable everyday living.  Maintaining range of movement is key to maintaining independence. 

Think about these basic daily tasks:

1.      Getting dressed

2.      Combing your hair

3.      Drinking a cup of tea or coffee

Image: Fanwer Store

These tasks all require good mobility.  Putting on your underwear can be the most complex if you have poor hip and shoulder mobility.  Putting on your socks can be difficult if you have poor hip mobility, hence you often see those gadgets that help elderly people pull their socks on.

Many people lose the ability to rotate through their shoulder making combing or brushing their hair challenging.

Poor movement in your shoulder can make lifting a cup to your mouth to drink hard work.

The shoulder is a highly problematic joint

if you haven’t already had a shoulder injury, make sure you do everything you can now, to prevent a future injury. Stretch and strengthen to improve mobility. Our lack of shoulder usage predisposes us to injury.  Once injured, movement is dysfunctional and further weakening occurs.

Rehabbing a shoulder can be a lengthy process.  So why not work on strengthening to prevent a shoulder injury rather than spend months with poor function and even more months rehabbing.    

Do you need help improving your shoulder movement?

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain or getting stronger and fitter, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

As a soft tissue therapist and movement coach, I help clients move better and out of pain faster. Using soft tissue releases such as EMMETT Technique, clients can feel an improvement, in most cases immediately. With a few exercises and stretches post treatment, the issue can resolve itself.

Would you shatter like a pane of glass?

If you fell over, how would you fare?

No body wants to fall over to be left with breaks in several places and requiring a double hip replacement…. so it’s important to think about what’s happening under your skin.

How are your bones doing? 

Your bones are extremely important but we rarely think about them. When concern is raised about their health, it’s usually because there is already a problem.

Have you heard of the balance test? 

How long can you balance on one leg?

Over 50 - you should be able to stand for at least 10 seconds.

How long can you balance standing on one leg? You may have heard that this is used as an indication of life longevity. Wondering how and why?  It’s linked to likelihood of falling.  If you are unsteady, you are more likely to have a fall.  Falls can have a domino effect on your health, particularly if you have poor bone health or osteoporosis.  Someone with good bones will recover much faster, whereas someone with poor bone health may find their fall has caused severe fractures in multiple places. Imagine you have poor bone density in your vertebrae and you fall. What happens to you when your spinal column is damaged? That’s a life you don’t want to imagine.

How do you strengthen your bones?

1. Diet - adequate calcium and vitamin D intake promotes strong bones

Resistance bands are just one form of strength training that will strengthen your bones.

2. Resistance exercise – When you place a bone under tension through the pulling of muscles, it stimulates bone growth. Resistance training will increase the density of your bones.

Menopausal? Take note!

If you are menopausal or post menopausal, the drop in oestrogen leaves your bone health at further risk.  Low oestrogen levels can lead to porous, weakened bones and osteoporosis. Hence it is even more important to engage in physical activity that stimulates bone growth.

Are you doing any exercise to stimulate bone growth?

Resistance training can be in the form of body weight exercises, using resistance bands or using weights. As long as you are challenging your muscles and they are pulling against the bone, they will be stimulating growth. You want to ensure you are challenging all your main muscle groups though as you don’t want to have just strong legs and hips, your upper body and spinal column are equally important.

What’s my role?

I work with people who want to get out of pain and develop stronger healthier bodies.  Sometimes a soft tissue treatment is just the start.  Reducing pain enables you to move more and do more, so this is the perfect time to engage in exercise that will make you overall much stronger and healthier. If you would like help starting your fitness journey, let’s talk.

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain or getting stronger and fitter, book your complimentary exploratory call now.

Pain in your butt?

Image: Essential Anatomy - Hip rotators - piriformis

Do you have a pain in your butt that makes you feel like it needs a really good stretch?

Maybe it occurs after standing for a while or gets worse when sitting, or perhaps it’s there all the time?

One of the pains you may feel in your butt or lower back is due to your hip rotators. The piriformis is usually one of the culprits..

Watch the video to understand why stretching may be making things worse.

Do you have a pain in your butt? Why stretching may be making it worse.

I am Sabrina Qua - Soft Tissue Therapist, Movement Coach and Personal Trainer based in Worcester Park, Epsom, who helps people resolve or significantly reduce their muscular aches and pains through an integrative approach, so they can live active, enjoyable lives. More tips and information available in my Facebook group Reduce Pain and Move Better.

If you would like help reducing pain book your complimentary exploratory call now.