Watch out for Winter Hibernation

The clocks have changed and we’re running out of daylight very quickly now.  It’s tempting to head towards a state of hibernation but that potentially means stiffening up and leaving yourself open to injury.  Hopefully Mulberry Osteopaths have helped to get you back on track and we hope that you have managed to keep the old aches and pains at bay successfully over the spring and summer. However, don’t let it all go pear shaped with the change of the seasons!

Top of the list of advice is to stay active which can sometimes be harder to achieve with the shorter days. The long hill walks and leisurely games of golf maybe a bit trickier to fit in so indoor activities may need to take over.  Perhaps it’s time to think about a yoga or Pilates class. It might even be worth looking at winter time gym memberships.

The swimming pool could be another good idea to keep you moving through the winter. There’s also the added benefit of having access to saunas and steam rooms to help you defrost the body on some of the colder days ahead.

Also remember to keep warm when you’re outside. A cold muscle is going to be easier to injure than a nice warm pliable muscle.  School kids might think it looks great to walk around in the freezing cold without a coat but hopefully you’re more sensible than that.  Get the layers on and make sure the hat, scarf and gloves are on hand.

Simply getting outside during the limited daylight hours is in itself useful.  We take the sunlight for granted during the long days of summer but the impact of daylight on the mood should not be underestimated.  In extreme cases folk suffer badly with SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) becoming depressed, fatigued and apathetic in the absence of daylight. This has the knock on effect of making the sufferer less active, potentially more sensitive to pain and ultimately more prone to injury or recurrence of an old injury.  If it’s a bright crisp autumn or winters day try to make sure you go for a walk or potter around in the garden.

It’s the time of year to take it easy with your activity and treat your body with some respect.  Remember that you are potentially a bit stiffer than you might like and the muscles are probably a bit tighter than usual so don’t go mad in the garden without a gentle warm up stretch.  Also watch out for the crazy snow clearing activity should that be required. Great for a good cardiovascular workout but your back may not like it so much.

Try not to be the one ringing for an emergency appointment with us over the next few months.  

The Problem and the Pain

Funnily enough the problem isn’t always where the pain is!

Osteopaths are used to seeing people in pain.  After all that’s usually why folk come to see us in the first place. They are hoping that we can relieve or ideally remove the pain.

As far as I’m concerned, one of my jobs as an osteopath is to make sure patients have a better understanding of why they are in pain.  It comes as a surprise to many people when they find out that the bit that hurts is often not really the site of the underlying problem.

We are talking basic mechanics here.  If one area stops working something else normally has to work harder to compensate.  The classic example of this which I seem to be seeing a lot of recently is pain and tension around the hip and buttock.  Okay so we know where the pain is but when we look to see how things are working we find that in actual fact the hip is moving really well and it’s often the base of the back which is stiff and ridged even though there’s no back pain.

The pain around the hip is related to the tension in the muscles and soft tissues that are being worked so hard as a result of the low back essentially not pulling its weight.  Treatment therefore is relatively straight forward. We soften up all the over worked muscles but, more importantly, make sure we back that up with waking up the low back so that it starts moving again.  Working the muscles around the hip alone may provide some temporary relief but patients often find that the problem recurs because the underlying problem has not been addresses.

So the moral of the story is that the problem isn’t always where the pain is.  Step back and take a look at the whole thing.

Avoiding Holiday Back Pain

After eagerly awaiting the long overdue summer holiday the last thing you want to happen is for it all to be spoilt by a case of holiday back pain (either yours or your partners). It’s silly season so Mulberry Osteopaths are always busy over the summer period.  It might be the shock of all that activity after days spent at the office desk, the stress of a holiday with screaming kids, the lumpy bed, or the hours squashed onto an economy flight.

Here are our ten tips to help you avoid holiday back pain:

1. Be Prepared and Loose the Stress – Give yourself plenty of time, don’t start the holiday in a blind panic trying to catch a plane or train. If you’re stressed you’re much more likely to give yourself an injury.

2. Pack Light – With surcharges for excess baggage on flights it’s tempting to over pack the hand luggage with all the heavy stuff. Remember that you’ll have to carry your load around the airport. Besides, do you really think you can lift it above your head to fit it in the overhead lockers on the plane?

3. Use Wheels – If your luggage has wheels, that’s great. If it doesn’t, make use of luggage trolleys if they’re around.

4. Move Around – You’ve arrived at the airport two hours before departure and you’ve got three, four or maybe more hours ahead on a plane. Make the most of the freedom at the airport and move around because you won’t get as much freedom on the flight.

5. Break the Journey – If it’s a long road trip stop off and remind your back how to move, even if it’s just a walk to a café and back. Have a stretch, you know you need it.

6. Back Supports – Let’s face it most plane, train or bus seats aren’t designed for your average human being so they may need a bit of extra padding like a small cushion or rolled up scarf in your low back to make it slightly more comfortable.

7. Walk it Off – After a long journey by car, plane, train or yak have a walk at the end of the trip to get things moving again. Also don’t be in a rush to lift that heavy case out of the boot of the car, loosen the back up a bit first.

8. Take it Easy – After a long trip to your holiday destination don’t shock the body too much on day one. Give your body a chance to recover from the journey with some gentle activity before stepping up the pace.

9. Have a Rest Day – It’s very tempting to cram as much as possible into your precious holiday but you might find it helps to have a rest day.

10. Pre-flight Check – Especially if you’re working like a lunatic in the run up to the well-deserved holiday you may find making a pre-holiday appointment for an osteopathic MOT saves us having to pick up the pieces after the holiday.

Have a great holiday and we’ll see you when you get back!