Discovery Vitality Wellness Day
Posted on June 7th, 2022 by Andries Lodder
Importance of a Biokineticist
Posted on June 7th, 2022 by Andries Lodder
A Biokineticist is a medical professional that prescribes individualized exercise and physical activity for both rehabilitation and the promotion of health and quality of life.
We as biokineticists, understand how the human body moves and what it needs to stay active and healthy. We can be used for specific injury rehabilitation, strength training as well as maintaining a good quality of life through exercise and movement. But why is this important?
When we don’t use our muscles regularly, they begin to weaken. This means that our bodies are at a higher risk of injury as our muscles aren’t strong enough to do their job properly anymore. With this lack of activity, we also start to lose our flexibility. Tight muscles can increase the amount of tension placed on various joints causing pain and discomfort. The weaker we get and the more pain we start to experience, the urge to exercise decreases even more and the cycle continues.
By exercising, we are moving our muscles through a full range of motion, thus taking pressure off those painful joints. We are also strengthening our muscles each time we train. This means that each group of muscles is doing their intended job and we are decreasing our risk of unnecessary injury. Exercising also increases the production of feel-good hormones. The combination of these feel-good hormones, the decrease in joint pain and the improved strength makes us want to train more and more, thus creating a much more productive and healthy cycle.
Unfortunately, when we exercise or play sport, we sometimes land up with an injury. Luckily for you, we can help with that too. How do we help?
We start with a full assessment, taking into account the history of any previous injuries, any conditions you may have, how the injury happens and what goals you want out of the rehabilitation process. We then do a full postural assessment as well as looking at your strength and flexibility levels.
Your personalized rehabilitation process is then based off these findings. We help you with every movement, ensuring that they are done with the correct form. This ensures that the muscles are working optimally and that no other muscles are doing the job of the injured one. Each muscle in your body has a specific role and if it is not fulfilling that role, it increases your chance of re-injury.
We are also able to help those that are not injured and just want some kind of training that is specific to their sport. We prescribe movements that are most commonly used in your sport. This helps you avoid unnecessary exercises that offer no benefit to your goals. Improving on these specific exercises will greatly improve your performance.
We look at how you progress during each session and work toward the goals set out at the beginning ensuring that you reach them as soon as possible. This can be a fast process but it can also be slow depending on the extent of the condition. The most important aspects for us are to ensure that your body is working optimally and that you are able to return to exercise or sport without any fear of hurting yourself again.
If you need any assistance with an injury or would like to start your fitness and health journey, feel free to contact us.
Core Training
Posted on June 6th, 2022 by Andries Lodder
By Daniel Sauer
Core training is an essential element of athletic performance. This helps players start a motion in their legs and carry it through to their arms, or vice versa, with the most efficient transfer of energy. In movements such as kicking, throwing, running, jumping or swimming, an athlete’s core is involved in every action. Furthermore, core muscles are responsible for stabilizing one’s spine and pelvis. As well as generating and transferring energy from the centre of the body to your extremities.
Developing core strength and stability enables athletes to maximize their power output and perform complex athletic movements that require coordination, balance, and technical skills. Moreover, focusing on core strength can help athletes stabilize other weak areas to reduce the risk of injury.
What is your ‘core’?
Your core is a complex series of muscles that extend far beyond your abs and is incorporated in every movement of your body. Strong core muscles act as isometric or dynamic stabilizers for movement; transfers force and can initiate movement on its own. The major muscles of your core include your transverse abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, erector spinae, diaphragm, pelvic floor muscles, and the rectus abdominis (your abs). Your minor core muscles include your lats, traps, and your glutes.
Why do core training specifically?
- Improved Stability: The initial benefit of improving your core stability is increased flexibility and preventing injury. Core training for strength and flexibility is a sure-fire way to reduce your chances of sitting on the side-line. In order to excel, players need to have great mobility, flexion, range of motion, and body control.
- Balance: Balance is a function which creates and maintains movement patterns. All athletes require efficient and effective movement in order to perform at an adequate level. Improving your ability to stay balanced while playing sports will eliminate any wasted movements. This allows you to react quicker and play faster. Having a lack of core strength makes it more difficult to transfer any power through your lower and upper body.
- Improved Posture: A core strengthening programmed causes your trunk to be supported and protected, allowing for better posture. This in turn causes your movements to be more fluid and efficient.
- Injury Prevention: Improving core strength and stability can also help athletes reduce their risk of injury. Focusing on core strength can help athletes stabilize weak injury-prone areas and rehabilitate lower limb injuries. When the core is weak relative to the body, the athlete becomes accustomed to overusing other muscle groups to produce the desired force in any movement. Generally, this puts more strain on muscles to generate energy and on joints to transfer their force.
- Improves Athletic Performance: Core stability enables athletes to control their body position, generate optimum power, and transfer force along the kinetic chain. Core stability is needed in rotational movements, and is required in almost every sport. Ultimately, developing core strength and stability enables athletes to maximize their power output and enhance gameday performance.
Core training exercises:
- Plank
2. Rolling Side Plank
3. Dead Bug
4. Bosu Single Leg Deadlift
5. Kneeling on Exercise Ball
6. Rotation Medicine Ball throws
Arthritis: A pain in my Joints!
Posted on May 3rd, 2022 by Andries Lodder
Have you been experiencing joint pain and discomfort as you get older? Are you noticing swelling in your knees, wrists, shoulders or ankle? Maybe you have arthritis…
But what is arthritis? Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis is more common in people over 65 years old, however it can occur at any age.
What are the main risk factors and causes?
The cause of many types of arthritis is unknown. As a result, researchers have been looking into the role of genetics (heredity) and lifestyle in the development of arthritis for many years. They have established several things that may raise your risk for arthritis, including:
- Age. Over time, your joints tend to get worn down. That’s why the risk of developing arthritis, especially osteoarthritis, goes up with age.
- Sex. Most types of arthritis are more common among women, except for gout.
- Genes. Certain types of arthritis run in families. Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and ankylosing spondylitis, for example, are linked to certain genes.
- Excess weight. Being overweight puts extra stress on weight-bearing joints, increasing wear and tear of your cartilage and the risk of arthritis, especially osteoarthritis.
- Injuries. They can cause joint damage that can bring on some types of the condition.
- Infection. Bacteria, viruses, or fungi can infect joints and trigger inflammation.
- Work. Some jobs that use repetitive movements or heavy lifting can stress the joints or cause an injury, thus leading to arthritis, particularly osteoarthritis. For example, if you need to do a lot of knee bends and squats at work, you might be more likely to get osteoarthritis.
How do I know if I have arthritis, or I’m starting to get it?
Joint discomfort might come and go, or it could stay constant. Common symptoms include:
How do I prevent and treat Arthritis?
As biokineticists, we can help you carry out your daily activities by reducing your pain, increasing your Range of Motion (ROM) and strengthening your muscles and bones! Furthermore, Research shows that continued physical activity is an effective way to reduce symptoms long-term, as a result individuals will experience less discomfort. Despite initially feeling a slight increase when starting with exercise.
A couple of the factors we can assist you with:
- Doing low-impact, non-weight bearing exercise.
- Maintaining a healthy body weight.
- Increasing Cardiovascular health, strength and fitness
- Activities of Daily Living (ADL)
- Stretching
- Improved Range of Motion and Flexibility
- Strengthen Muscles and Bones
Exercise and Mental Health
Posted on May 3rd, 2022 by Andries Lodder
May is seen as mental health awareness month, so what better time for us to talk about the impact exercise can have on mental health issues, especially depression and anxiety.
We all know how exercise keeps us physically healthy, but research has shown that people who exercise regularly heave improved mental wellbeing and decreased rates of mental illness.
Physical activity has been seen to be as effective as antidepressants or other psychological interventions when treating mild-moderate depression.
But why does exercise help us feel better mentally?
Most of the time, people exercise simply because it makes them feel good. Physical activity can boost your mood and concentration.
There is a complicated link between exercise and mental health because inactivity can be both a cause and a consequence of mental health.
Here are some of the ways your mental health can be benefited through exercise:
- Changes in chemicals like serotonin and endorphins
- Exercise can improve sleep which can improve your mood
- Exercise is a good outlet for frustration as well as a form of distraction for other issues
- It offers social opportunities with other people
- Exercise can reduce overall muscle tension and helps you feel more relaxed
The physical health benefits of exercise like increased cardiovascular health and overall physical health are just as important for people suffering with mental illness. This is because people suffering from mental health issues are at a higher risk for chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.
People often think that exercise must be intense for it to have an effect, but this is not always the case. Research shows that even low or moderate intensity exercise is enough to improve mood and thinking patterns. It is recommended that individuals should do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week to keep fit and healthy. This being said, any exercise is better than none, going for a slow walk, doing yoga or even cleaning your house can count as small workouts.
If you haven’t exercised in a long time, it can be very intimidating to start. Coming up with a plan before you start can help you get going and help you stick with it.
- Do an activity you enjoy
- Start slowly and progress gradually
- Revisit your workouts and make sure you are always doing something new
- Change it if it’s not working for you
Exercising outdoor can add even more positive changes to your mental and physical wellbeing. Studies have shown that people who exercise outside show higher levels of self-esteem and enthusiasm and a lower level of depression, tension, and fatigue. People that exercise outside also tend to exercise for longer and more often than those exercising indoors.
Making exercise a part of your everyday life is crucial. Try walking or cycling to places when taking a car is not really needed, walk with your kids or your dogs, wash your car, do the gardening, or even just clean the house. As long as your body is moving around every day, you will start seeing amazing effects on your wellbeing.
If anyone needs help starting an exercise program again or anyone is struggling with their mental health, do not hesitate to contact us or anyone around you. Don’t be silent.
Muscle Tone: High vs Low
Posted on April 5th, 2022 by Andries Lodder
What is “Muscle Tone”?
A term you may have heard alot is “muscle tone”. But what actually is muscle tone? Why is muscle tone important? These are the most common questions one usually asks around the topic.
Hypotonicity (Low muscle tone) is used to describe muscles that are “floppy” and stretched. People with low muscle tone may need to put in more effort to get their muscles moving properly when they are doing an activity. They may also have difficulty maintaining good posture when sitting or standing. Many children with low muscle tone have delays in their gross motor development. On the other hand, hypertonicity (High muscle tone) describes muscles that are overly tight and require more effort to stretch and lengthen. This also affects one’s movement during regular activities of daily living, one’s posture and can lead to different degrees of spasticity.
Why is Muscle Tone Important?
There are three main functions for muscle tone:
- Muscle tone helps maintain posture and helps muscles resist the forces of gravity. This is simply your ability to remain centered and balanced while at rest. The less muscle tone, the more uneven you are physically and the more prone you become to injury or muscular-skeletal stress.
- Muscle tone stores energy. It retains energy and makes it possible to release that energy when you need it. This is the case even for something as simple as walking.
- Muscle tone operates like a spring. Toned and fit muscles help absorb shock and stress even from ordinary movements. For people who exercise, this type of function can be crucial for further muscle development and to avoid injuries.
It is important to recognize that muscle groups are all connected. The way we maintain balance and the ways in which we compensate for uneven stress on the body is largely dependent upon muscle tone. By having a basic tension in the muscles, our bodies are able to move and exert without running the risk of injury or undue strain.
Muscle tone contributes to physiological function over the entire body. Some of the key areas that make muscle tone important are:
- Posture: Muscle tone ensures that your relaxed state maintains a balance posture. Without muscle tone, stress on the spine and skeletal system begin to weigh in varying directions. This can result in spinal problems and back pain. Properly tones muscle scahttps://nfsports.com/blogs/supplements/muscle-tonen even decrease the likelihood of osteoporosis.
- Stamina and Immune system: Muscle tone tends to reduce weight and body fat. This leads to a healthier heart, increased stamina, and flexible joints. This reduces the likelihood of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
- Skeletal-muscular balance: Muscle tone serves to balance the strains over the body. Rather than allowing one set of muscles to bear the burden of physical stress, tones muscle distributes these stresses over the muscular-skeletal system. This reduces the strain on muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
- Better sleep: Muscle tone is linked to REM sleep. REM sleep cycles, or rapid eye movement, is part of the natural sleep cycle. This also the time during sleep that muscle tone completely relaxes. A lack of muscle tone will impact the quality of REM sleep cycles and this will have a negative effect on sleep overall.
Hypertonicity
This can occur for many reasons:
- A blow to the head
- Stroke
- brain tumors
- Toxins that affect the brain
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Cerebral palsy
Hypertonia often limits how easily the joints can move. Symptoms include:
- Loss of function
- Decreased range of movement
- Rigidity of muscles
- Spasticity of muscles
- Deformity
- Tenderness and pain
- Rapid muscle contractions,
- Involuntary crossing of legs
Hypotonicity
Hypotonia is a medical term used to describe decreased muscle tone. Normally, even when relaxed, muscles have a very small amount of contraction that gives them a “springy” feel and provides some resistance to passive movement. It is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.
Hypotonia can happen from damage to the brain, spinal cord, nerves, or muscles. The damage can be the result of:
Hypotonia is more commonly seen in:
- Down syndrome
- Muscular dystrophy
- Cerebral Palsy
- Prader-Willi Syndrome
- Myotonic Dystrophy
- Tay-Sachs Disease.
The most common symptoms of Hypotonia include:
- Loss of function
- Decreased range of movement (ROM)
- Laxness of Muscles
- Deformity
- Tenderness and pain
- Slow Muscle Contractions
There are a few differences in the treatment of both, hypertonia and hypotonia. However, many of the treatment protocols do overlap. Your biokineticist will know when to apply each protocol.
Treatment for Hypertonicity:
- Postural Correction
- Stretching of Muscles
- PNF Stretches
- Exercises to Improve Neuromuscular control and feedback
- Eccentric Exercises
- Co-ordination Exercises
Treatment for Hypotonicity:
- Postural Correction
- Postural Strengthening
- Strengthening Exercises
- Exercises to Improve Neuromuscular control and feedback
- Isometric Exercises
- Concentric Exercises
- Co-ordination Exercises
The role of stress on recovery
Posted on April 5th, 2022 by Andries Lodder
One of the most important aspects when it comes to seeing results after training, is recovery. Some of the most well-known recovery methods include:
- Active recovery workouts
- Correct nutrition before and after workouts
- Enough rest days
If we all only focus on how well we recover from physical exercise, we may forget that both physical and mental stress plays a major role in total recovery and affects how soon we are able to exercise again.
We have all experienced stiffness after intense exercise, and we often think that we are ready to go again the second that stiffness is gone. There is however, that possibility that exercising at high intensities can take a toll on your body if you are experiencing high stress levels even if you don’t feel tired or sore physically.
When our bodies experience stress, your brain sends a signal through your autonomic nervous system to tell your body to either deal with the event or run away, the so-called fight or flight response. Our sympathetic nervous system then provides a burst of energy to deal with the event while our parasympathetic nervous system promotes the rest response to calm the body down. Psychological stress can cause physical changes in the body such as increasing blood pressure, heart and breathing rate.
These responses are useful when we are in actual danger but can cause issues when the physical danger is not real. Repeated activation of this stress response can lead to chronic stress with frequent illnesses, fatigue, sleeping issues, anxiety, and depression.
Exercise does have benefits with regards to stress. Tough workouts can be used to help reduce mental stress and take the mind off whatever is causing the stress. Feel good hormones released when exercising helps increase your mood and distract your mind from any stress.
On the other hand, exercise can also add to the stress and strain on your body. Even if your body is feeling physically fine, accumulative, and continuous high intensity exercise can add to the stress you are already experiencing. Continuing training at high levels when you are already stressed will lead to a decrease in recovery and will just increase stress levels even more after each session. Prolonged stress will decrease your tolerance for exercise which will lead to poor adaptation to training and poor performance.
Fitness and wellbeing are dependent on three things:
- Exercise
- Nutrition
- Rest & Recovery
If you are stressed about work, family and working out, your autonomic nervous system is in overdrive. This prolonged stress will lead to poor recovery and performance.
The three best ways to boost recovery are as follows:
- Exercise: Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. When training, your body uses the energy rush from the stress response to start breaking down stress hormones and release endorphins. Regular exercise also improves fitness and well-being which can also decrease stress. To gain maximum benefits and achieve fitness results, you must balance training with recovery.
- Sleep: Sleep quality is an indicator of stress and recovery. It is essential for recovery from exercise and daily stress as restorative functions like muscle growth, tissue repair and protein synthesis, all take place mostly during sleep.
Poor sleep can affect cognitive function, mood, and motivation. It can affect training directly through fatigue, or indirectly through increased anxiety levels. Poor sleep can also increase your overall risk of illness and injury. - Breathe: Deep breathing can help boost recovery. There are several breathing techniques to help trigger the relaxation response and relive stress, but these all take practice. Mindful breathing done for 10-20 minutes a day can help build resilience and reduce overall effects of stress in the body. This helps the body recover more effectively, achieve better results, and be better prepared for exercise.
Tendonitis and Overuse Injuries
Posted on March 1st, 2022 by Andries Lodder
There are many activities/movements that can cause tendinitis, such as:
- Gardening
- Painting
- Scrubbing
- Tennis
- Golf
- Throwing
- Beginning exercise too quickly and over-loading your muscles
Other risk factors for tendonitis include:
- Incorrect posture at work or home or poor conditioning before exercise or playing sports.
- An abnormal or poorly placed bone or joint that stresses soft-tissue structures.
- Stresses from other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, thyroid disorders, or unusual medication reactions.
- Overuse or doing too much too soon when the tendons aren’t used to making a movement or doing the task taken on.
Tendinitis can occur in almost any area of the body where a tendon connects a bone to a muscle. The most common types are:
- Achilles tendonitis: The Achilles tendon is a thick band of tissue attaching the heel to the calf muscle. This tendon, which helps a person walk, run, and jump, endures a great deal of stress.
- Jumper’s Knee (Patellar Tendonitis): This is when the patellar tendon, situate just below the knee cap, becomes inflamed. This causes discomfort at the bottom of the knee and is very common in runners and people that frequently jump in their sport and activities.
- Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis): Lateral epicondylitis causes pain when a person bends their wrist outwards. This pain may radiate down the forearm towards the elbow.
- Golfers Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis): Medial epicondylitis causes pain when bending the wrist towards the inside. The pain is more acute when trying to lift against a force. This pain is usually below the elbow on the top of the forearm.
- De Quervain’s Stenosing Tenosynovitis: This form of tendinitis happens when the sheath surrounding the tendons between the thumb and wrist becomes inflamed. The tendon sheath thickens and swells, making it painful to move the thumb.
Common Symptoms of Tendonitis or Other Overuse injuries
- tenderness or pain in the affected muscle or joint
- a throbbing or pulsating sensation in the affected area
- tingling in the limb
- temporary loss of sensation
- loss of strength
- reduced range of motion as a result of pain/discomfort
Rehabilitating and Preventing a tendonitis or overuse injury:
- Warming up before exercising
- building up an activity’s intensity gradually
- using proper form when exercising
- ensuring shoes and gear fit appropriately
- stopping if a movement causes pain
- strengthening the surrounding muscles, which can reduce the strain on tendons
- avoiding repetitive activities where possible
- Resting from exercise and using the affected muscle
- Strengthening the muscle structures around the area of pain takes the stress off the inflamed tendon
- Gradually pacing yourself to not overload too quickly
Vitality Wellness Day Killarney Country Club
Posted on March 1st, 2022 by Andries Lodder
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Vitality Wellness Day Bryanston
Posted on March 1st, 2022 by Andries Lodder
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