Booty Benefits: Importance of glute strength and why you should care

Posted on April 3rd, 2023 by Andries Lodder

The gluteal muscles, commonly referred to as the glutes, are some of the largest and most powerful muscles in the human body found in the buttocks. These muscles are responsible for several important functions, including providing stability to the hips and pelvis, supporting the lower back, and facilitating movement in the leg and feet during our activities of daily living or playing our favourite sport.

Having weak glutes (gluteal muscles) can have a variety of effects on the body, including:

Poor posture: The glutes are essential for maintaining good posture. When they are weak, the lower back and hip muscles can overcompensate, leading to a misalignment of the spine, pelvis and lower body.

Knee pain: The glutes play an important role in stabilizing the hips, which in turn helps to stabilize the knee joint. Weak glutes can lead to an imbalance in the muscles around the knee, which can result in knee pain or injury.

Lower back pain: Weak glutes can cause the lower back muscles to overwork, leading to lower back pain and discomfort.

Decreased athletic performance: Strong glutes are important for many athletic activities, including running, jumping, and cycling since they produce a lot of torque in the hips. Weak glutes can reduce power output, speed, and endurance.

Hip pain: The glutes are responsible for maintaining hip stability and proper alignment. When they are weak, the hip joint can become unstable, leading to pain and discomfort.

Increased risk of injury: Weak glutes can lead to an increased risk of injury, particularly in the lower body, as other muscles compensate for the lack of strength and stability in the glutes.

There are 3 main gluteal muscles, gluteus maximus, medius and minimus, which are the big torque producing muscles of the hip and pelvis. Supplementary to the glutes, there are smaller stabilizing muscles deeper than the glutes that support the main functions of the glutes.

The gluteus maximus is the largest of the three muscles and is responsible for extending and externally rotating the hip joint. This muscle is used in movements such as walking, running, jumping, and climbing.

The gluteus medius is located on the side of the hip and is responsible for abduction (pulling your hip away from the body) of your hip and stabilizing the pelvis during walking. This muscle is also important for balance and maintaining good posture.

The gluteus minimus is the smallest of the three muscles and is located underneath the gluteus medius. This muscle is responsible for hip abduction and medial rotation of the hip. It helps keep your pelvis aligned when walking ensuring there is good weight transfer.

In addition to the main gluteal muscle, there are deep hip stabilizing muscles buried deep in the pelvis that assist in rotating the hip and stabilizing the pelvis.

Exercises to help strengthen your gluteal muscles:

Straight Leg Kickbacks

Start on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
Extend your right leg straight back behind you, keeping it in line with your hip. Your foot should be flexed.
Engage your glutes and lift your leg up as high as you can, while keeping it straight.
Hold for a moment, then lower your leg back down to the starting position.
Repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch to your left leg

Glute Bridge

Lie down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart. Keep your arms at your sides.
Engage your core and glutes, and slowly lift your hips off the ground, pushing through your heels.
Keep your shoulders and upper back on the ground and continue to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
Pause for a few seconds at the top of the movement, squeezing your glutes.
Lower your hips back down to the starting position, but don’t let them touch the ground.
Repeat for desired number of repetitions.

Hip Hikes

Stand on a step with one leg hanging over the edge
Keeping the standing leg straight, lower the hanging leg below the step line by laterally tilting your pelvis
Lift the hip back up to just higher than the step line
Repeat the entire sequence for the desired number of reps

Clams

Lie on your side with your legs bent at a 90-degree angle and your feet together.
Place your top hand on your hip to stabilize your pelvis.
Keeping your feet together, lift your top knee as high as you can without moving your pelvis or lower back. You should feel the contraction in your outer hip area.
Hold the position for a second or two, then lower your knee back down to the starting position.
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides and repeat on the other leg.

In conclusion, gluteal strength is essential for overall health and wellness. Whether you are an athlete looking to improve your performance, or simply someone who wants to reduce the risk of injury and improve daily activities, it is important to prioritize the strengthening of your gluteal muscles.

Total Knee Replacement

Posted on April 3rd, 2023 by Andries Lodder

By Marco Mons

What is a total knee replacement?

A knee replacement, correctly termed knee arthroplasty, could be described as knee “resurfacing” as it is the surface of the bones that are being replaced. The damaged bone in the knee joint is removed and replaced with metal implants. A plastic spacer is placed in between the implants and the patella may be resurfaced as well at the surgeon’s discretion.

When is a knee replacement necessary?

If a knee replacement is suspected to be necessary, your doctor may refer you to an orthopaedic surgeon for a thorough evaluation to determine if you might benefit from this surgery.

Reasons surgery may be recommended:

Severe knee pain or stiffness that limits everyday activities, including walking, climbing stairs, and getting in and out of chairs.
Moderate or severe knee pain while resting, either day or night.
Chronic knee inflammation and swelling that does not improve with rest or medication.
Knee deformity — a bowing in or out of the knee.
Failure to substantially improve with other treatments such as anti-inflammatory medication, cortisone injections, lubricating injections, physical therapy, or other surgeries.

There are no absolute age or weight restrictions for total knee replacement surgery. Total knee replacements have been performed successfully at all ages, from young teenagers with juvenile arthritis to elderly patients with degenerative arthritis.

Recovery

Feeling some pain after surgery is normal as this is a natural part of the healing process. Your doctor and physiotherapist will work to reduce your pain, which can help you recover from surgery faster. Medications are often prescribed for short-term pain relief after surgery.

Foot and ankle movement is also encouraged immediately following surgery to increase blood flow in your leg muscles to help prevent leg swelling and blood clots.

Rehabilitation and Exercise

Most patients can begin exercising their knee soon after surgery. Specific exercises to strengthen your leg and restore knee movement will be given to allow walking and other normal daily activities soon after your surgery. The success of your surgery will depend largely on how well you follow your orthopaedic surgeon’s instructions at home during the first few weeks after surgery.

Exercise is a critical component of home care, particularly during the first few weeks after surgery. Through following carefully constructed programs, specific to you, you should be able to resume most normal activities of daily living within 3 to 6 weeks following surgery.

Your activity program should include:

A graduated walking program, initially in your home and later outside, to slowly increase your mobility.
Resuming ordinary household activities, such as sitting, standing, and climbing stairs.
Specific exercises several times a day to restore movement and strengthen your knee.

If you are looking for a Biokineticist to assist during your rehabilitation program after a knee replacement, don’t hesitate to contact us and book an appointment so that we can help you.

Staying Strong at the Center: The Benefits of Core Strength

Posted on February 28th, 2023 by Andries Lodder

By Gcina Gumede

Core strength is important for overall physical fitness and stability. A strong core can improve posture, balance, and stability, reduce the risk of injury, and enhance performance in physical activities such as sports, activities of daily living and exercise.

It also supports the proper alignment of the spine and hips, which can alleviate back pain and improve overall mobility. The core muscles play a crucial role in many daily activities, such as lifting, twisting, and bending. A strong core can help improve these movements, making them easier and more efficient. Maintaining a strong core can also contribute to overall physical endurance and can improve athletic performance.

These muscles include the abdominal muscles, the muscles in the lower back, and the muscles in the hips. It is important to note that core muscles don’t just exist over your tummy (anterior). There are several tiny muscles that are found on your posterior core that do just as important job as the anterior core muscles.

Generally, patients that come to the practice have a hard time activating their core. Some people may struggle with engaging their core muscles due to weak muscles, poor muscle activation, incorrect form, abdominal fat, or inadequate breathing. Many individuals usually need constant reminders to engage their core during exercise. So, learning to use your core is important before you can start strengthening it.

Here are some exercises that demand a lot of the core that can help in engaging the core:

Plank: Hold yourself up in a push-up position, but instead of lowering yourself to the ground, hold the position for 30 seconds to a minute.

Side Plank: Lie on your side, prop yourself up on one elbow, and hold the position for 30 seconds to a minute.

Bridge: Lie on your back, bend your knees and lift your hips towards the ceiling. Hold the position for a few seconds and then lower your hips back down to the ground.

Single straight leg lift: Lie on your back with both feet flat. Lift one leg to 90 degrees while keeping it straight. Make sure your lower back does arch during this movement ie. push your lower back into the surface you are laying on.

Russian Twist: Sit on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat. Hold your hands together in front of your chest, and twist your torso from side to side.

Remember to breathe steadily throughout the exercises and engage your abdominal muscles to maximize the activation of your core. It’s important to start with a moderate intensity and gradually increase the difficulty as your muscles get stronger.

In short, a strong core helps us move and perform daily tasks with ease and efficiency. It also helps prevent injuries by providing stability and support to the spine and upper body. Additionally, strong core muscles can improve posture, increase athletic performance, and enhance the overall quality of life.

If you need any help to improve your core, please dont hesitate to contact us.

Shoulder Stability in Overhead Sports

Posted on February 7th, 2023 by Andries

Shoulder stability and mobility should have a spot in any well thought-out training program for any athlete. Stability and mobility will help with soft tissue health, as well as allow an athlete to perform at his/her highest potential. Good mobility in the shoulder, thoracic and cervical spine can have a positive impact on athletic performance and career longevity. Poor stability and mobility in these areas can lead to compensatory patterns and results in decreased performance and increase risk of injury.

The shoulder is one of the most complex parts the body. The shoulder is a “ball and socket” joint with the socket portion being shallow and therefore providing very little stability via the bony anatomy. As a result, you have to rely on other structures to keep your arm securely inside the shoulder blade. During arm movement the stabilization process is much more complex and requires the four muscles of your rotator cuff to fire to maintain proper positioning of your shoulder joint.

The action of lifting your arm up above your head requires movement from both your shoulder blade and your arm in order to reach your full range of motion. For this movement to be performed correctly, it requires the proper muscle firing patterns in the shoulder complex. Athletes tend to forget about the small stabilizing muscles of the rotator cuff during their workouts and instead focus on the larger muscle groups. These big muscle groups, especially the “pushing” muscles which are used frequently in sports, can become overdeveloped in comparison to the small stabilizing muscles and result in injuries from this muscle imbalance. One of the most common issues from a muscle imbalance like this is that the small rotator cuff cannot compete with the larger muscles and is unable to perform its job of providing small rotational movements to the ball part of the joint to prevent it from hitting into the socket during arm movements.

It is important to remember that the rotator cuff is not only firing during athletic activities, it is also responsible for proper positioning of your arm and shoulder blade while you sit with good posture. Increasing the endurance of the rotator cuff will assist in maintaining the integrity of the muscles throughout the season of an overhead athlete. This is why it is important to remember that overhead sports require full kinetic-chain movements for maximum power. It is vital to keep the core and hips strong and mobile as well in order to decrease the stress placed across the shoulder during the throwing or shooting motion.

A lack of overhead mobility could be caused by:

A lack of thoracic mobility
A lack of mobility in the shoulder joint

Results of a lack Shoulder stability:

A lack of shoulder overhead mobility, can cause compensations in your lifting or throwing technique, which could cause injury or place strain on other muscle groups. Additionally, a lack of overhead shoulder mobility can contribute to pain in the neck or shoulder.

To improve your shoulder stability, strength, and power, contact us and book an appointment so we can assist you in playing your best sports.

Eccentric Exercises

Posted on November 22nd, 2022 by Andries Lodder

Eccentric exercise is the motion of the active muscle while it’s lengthening during a load. It focuses on slowing down the elongation of the muscle process in order to challenge the muscles, which can lead to stronger muscles, faster muscle repair and increasing metabolic rate. Eccentric movement provides a braking mechanism for muscle and tendon groups that are experiencing concentric movement to protect joints from damage as the contraction is released.

Your muscles have tension producing tissue comprising small contractile units referred to as sarcomeres that each contain a thick (myosin) and thin (actin) myofilament that overlap to format a cross-bridge bond. Eccentric actions place a stretch on the sarcomeres to the point where the myofilaments may experience strain, otherwise known as exercise induced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). This will occur with a quick overload or unaccustomed exercises.

Why should we train our muscles with Eccentric exercise?

Yield more Muscle Growth Per Rep

Eccentric exercises stress the more difficult part of a movement and therefore do more micro-damage to whatever muscle group you’re working. This will improve the size and quality of your tissue. Therefore, this results in a faster rate of muscle and strength growth.

Eccentric Exercises Increase Flexibility

Lasting changes in mobility require not just the stretching of the muscles and connective tissues as the improvements in range of motion (ROM) seen tend to be short lasting. In order to create long lasting effects, we must move our bodies through the new-found ROM and add load through it. Movement creates neuromuscular activations of the stretched muscles, which essentially teaches our bodies how to use that ROM. Greater loads generate greater neuromuscular activation, and is necessary in being able to keep this change in ROM. Eccentric overload exercises create muscular stretch and high amounts of activation, which both contribute to lasting changes in mobility. Evidently, it leads to sarcomerogenisis (the generation of new sarcomers – muscle cells), which lengthens the muscle itself. Therefore, your flexibility will be increased.

Eccentric Exercise Lowers Injury Risk and Aids Prevention

Eccentric exercises have been shown to help build incredible strength and decrease risk of injuries. There are a couple of reasons why. First, eccentrics make you use muscle over momentum. And second, they help build your connective tissue.

Eccentric Training Enhances Overall Better Performance

Data reported by several studies suggests that stretch combined with overloading, as in eccentric contractions, is the most effective stimulus for promoting muscle growth and enhancing the neural drive to muscle. These neurological improvements, along with the changes in the elastic properties of the musculotendinous unit, contribute to the increase in speed, power, strength, and agility.

To improve your performance, contact us and book your assessment!

Balance and Stability in Sports

Posted on October 24th, 2022 by Andries Lodder

Balance and stability in sport, and everyday life, is essential to ones performances and well-being. Balance is our ability to keep our centre of mass within the limits of our base of support, whether this is static or dynamic. It is responsible for keeping us upright whether standing still or moving. Stability is the ability to control forces, which may be unbalanced, in order to remain balanced.

These principles are important for almost all sporting movements whether it is kicking, throwing, using a racquet, running or even during a golf swing. If we have a stable base, we can produce more force, more efficiently and effectively. The more stable the base of the movement, the more force we can generate off this base. Generally more force means better performance. Having a more stable base of movement also means less force is ‘lost’ in the kinetic chain.

From an injury prevention perspective, it is simple, the more stable we are, the less prone we are to injury. For example, instability in the hips, often called a ‘trendelenberg sign’ changes the biomechanics of almost the whole body. It predisposes someone to: lower back pain, gluteal tendinopathy, trochanteric bursitis, ITB syndrome, patella-femoral pain syndrome, shin splints, tibialis posterior tendinopathy, plantar fasciopathy, among other conditions. The more stable the base of our movement, the more we can control the force throughout our body.

In older indviduals, who may or may not participate in sports as well, balance and stability is key to reducing your ‘fall risk’. As we get older, and our bones become more brittle, the risk of one falling is higher, and rate of breaking bones is significantly increased. Research shows that improving your balance and core stability allows one to live a healthier, safer life and complete their regular daily activities with less worry, and less risk of falling and getting injured.

For both athletes and more sedentary individuals, balance and stability can be trained using equipment such as airex mats, bosu balls, and doing specific movements unilaterally. Core stability is best trained with other movements, not simply doing crunches and planks for extended periods of time. It is vital to train along the kinetic chains on one’s body.

For an individualized exercise programme catered to your own needs, contact us and book an appointment!

Pad your body for Padel!

Posted on September 28th, 2022 by Andries Lodder

Padel is the latest up and coming for sport. I’ts great for fitness, co-ordination and overall fun! But jumping into any sport without practice and warming up brings its challenges. This article will share the most common movements, shots and injuries, followed by some exercises to help pad your body.

According to a study in the Journal of Human Sport & Exercise (2013), these are the most common movements throughout a match of Padel:

Conditioning Exercises

A few exercises to help you prepare your body for a game of Padel include:

Side Steps/Crab Walks: Place both feet hips width apart, with your feet facing forwards. Bend your knees, and push your backside out. Slowly step sideways, leading with your outer leg.

Lateral Hops: Place 5-10 small items, like a cone, approximately 30cm apart. Stand on one leg on the side of your cones. Hop sideways, landing gently with a bend in your knee. Once reaching the other side, swap your feet and repeat back to the starting point.

Lunges: Stand with your feet together. Step forward with 1 foot, and bend both your knees. Straighten up completely and repeat the movement.

Common Injuries

The most common injuries occurring in Padel are similar to those of tennis and squash. As one begins playing many hours, we develop injuries such as tendonitis, and muscular strains. Tennis Elbow and Rotator Cuff Strains are the most common injuries resulting from Padel. Despite the low weight of the racquets, we exert force into playing our shots. This can come as shock to one’s body if they are not used to such movements.

Tennis elbow is an irritation of the tissue connecting the forearm muscle to the elbow. It is experienced on the outside of the arm, between the elbow and forearm. An exercise to prevent, and treat tennis elbow is wrist curls. Holding a weight or similar item, bend the wrists upwards and downwards, whilst keeping the rest of your arm still.

Rotator Cuff injuries occur to any, or multiple, rotator cuff muscles. These are the muscles of your shoulder girdle, and are primarily responsible for internal and external rotation of one’s arm, as well as stabilizing one’s shoulder girdle.

Exercises for Rotator Cuff Strain:

Shoulder External Rotation: Stand up-right, with your shoulders back and down. Tuck your elbows into your sides, with your arms bent at 90 degrees. Holding a resistance band, or weight, rotate your arms externally (outwards), whilst keeping your elbows tucked in.

Horizontal Abduction: Stand upright, with your shoulders back and down. Raise your arms to your chest height, in front of your body. Holding a resistance band, or weights, open your arms at your chest level, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Keep your arms straight throughout the movement.

Wall Slides: Place a resistance band around your wrists. Standing close to a wall, place your wrists, forearms and elbows on the wall at your shoulder’s width. Keep your shoulder blades set back and down. Without raising your shoulders, slide your arms up and down the wall. Keep your wrists and elbows against the wall throughout the movement.

For any aches, pains, and overall strength and conditioning, contact us to assist you with your specific exercise programe, catering to your wants and needs!

Kickboxing World Champs

Posted on September 6th, 2022 by Andries Lodder

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/alejandra-aucamp-2022

Hi! Ally, my daughter, absolutely loves kickboxing! Please help us support her dream! My name is Yolandi Aucamp, and I am from Western Cape, Cape Town, Tableview.

We would like to call on your support!!

The funds raised here will go towards Ally’s participation at the World Kickboxing Championships in Italy! WOW! How amazing is that!!

We are so proud to share that she brought home a gold medal and the National title for her division in Points-fighting and a silver and bronze in her two other divisions!

Her hard work and dedication to her sport is paying off! She now has the opportunity to live out her dream even further – to represent her country on an International level!! She has been selected to represent South Africa as part of the National Team in two events in two of her divisions!

Firstly, Ally was included in the National team taking part at the WAKO Africa Continental Championships held in Benoni from 26-28 August 2022, where she received 2 silver medals in both her divisions. And even more exciting for her was to be selected for the National team taking part at the WAKO World Championships in Italy from 29 September to 9 October 2022. Again, this will be a great stepping stone towards being eligible for both the World Combat Games in 2023 and the Olympic team in 2028!

Now, this is where we would like to call on everyone’s support again! We would love to support her and give her this opportunity to compete internationally!

Unfortunately, the costs are enormous (you can follow the link and see the breakdown) and it feels out of our reach! Since each participant must pay their own way, we will need all the help and support we can get!! But I believe with the help of family, friends and kind sponsors we will be able to achieve this goal and support her Italy dreams! Every R50 donated towards this goal gets us closer to the end!

Funding will cover entry fees, airfares (domestic and international) and airport taxes, accommodation, transportation, meals, team clothing, WAKO approved Equipment (the kit she has at the moment she will not be allowed to compete in), travel Insurance, Schengen VISA and passport costs. We hope to raise enough money so that she and her Dad (as shaperone/her coach at home) can go to Italy!

Thank you for taking the time to support Ally and her love of kickboxing, whether by giving or sharing! God bless!If you want to read more about Ally’s road to the Worlds Champs, please read on:

She started her kickboxing journey at the start of 2019 at Venters Martial Arts and Kickboxing in Duynefontein. During the past 3,5 years, she has enjoyed her training and has been developing her skills with the help of Shihan Dave.

Training during Covid was tough, but she and her dad kept up with the training at home during the lockdown. As soon as restrictions allowed, they were back at the club, training with the rest of the students again.

She truly shows great talent for the sport. In 2019, only months after starting the sport, she achieved Western Province colours through NMA ISKA. Unfortunately, since the pandemic prohibited all sporting events worldwide in 2020, all students were denied the opportunity to fight for their SA colours. 2020 was not the year for sports – anywhere!

In 2021, Ally could not compete at the Western Cape Championships, due to contracting Covid in July. It was a long road to full recovery, but she started her training again at the end of November.

Luckily, as things returned to normal and she regained her strength, she once again participated in the Cape Town Championships in Ottery during January this year.

She achieved 3 gold medals and was included in the Cape Town Team to participate at the Western Cape Kickboxing Championships this past March. Here she attained gold and 2 silver medals in the Tatami divisions.

This led to her selection for the Western Cape Team that took part at the South African Kickboxing Championships in Mossel Bay where she performed so well!

The Final Stretch of the Year

Posted on August 25th, 2022 by Andries Lodder

By Daniel Saue r

We are in the final quarter of the year, and our bodies may be feeling the effects of every day life. It may seem like there aren’t enough hours in a day to fit in exercise and stretching, or sometimes those meetings run a bit over time. As a result, our bodies experience stiffness and shortened muscles as a result of our every day lives. Have you ever thought about how much time we spend sitting each day? What about the time spent driving, sitting in meetings, dinner, and of course, at work? All those weekend games of Padel, Soccer, Tennis and Golf that we don’t stretch after?

Stretching daily has many physical and mental benefits. Stretching provides your body with an increased range of motion and flexibility, allows you to function and play sport more optimally, and helps release endorphins to promote relaxation. Furthermore, another benefit of stretching is to reduce one’s risks for injury. The best part is that stretching only take a few minutes per day and can be done before bed or as you wake up, So you don’t need to worry about it being too time consuming!

We would like to provide you with a few stretches to ease those tired legs, and help you feel much looser and ready to tackle each days challenges and activities!

Stretches:

Hip Flexors and Quadriceps: Hold the stretch for up to 30 seconds per side, and repeat twice. Place your leg on the wall, and knee on the floor. Place your 2nd leg in front of you. Keeping your back upright, push your hips forward.

Glute Stretch: Hold the stretch for up to 30 seconds per side, and repeat twice. (You can do either of these). Lie on your back with 1 knee bent. Place the other ankle on the bent knee. Hold your bent thigh and pull your knee towards your chest. Alternatively, Sit on the edge of a chair. Place your ankle on your knee and slowly lean your body forward.

Hamstring and Calf Neural dynamics stretch: Do 10 repetitions per side, and repeat twice per leg. Lie on your back. Bend your knee and pull towards your chest. Slowly straighten the leg you’re holding and point your toes down towards you. Relax your foot and bend your knee again. Repeat this movement 10 time per leg.