Surviving the trip….The best exercises for travelling!

15 Dec, 2019 in Blog by Tom McCormick

Going on holidays? Exercises for travelling.

Holidays are almost upon us! Are you making the most of the time off by getting away? Here are my top tips and top exercises for travelling for keeping mobile and functioning well!

Christmas and New Year can be such a wonderful time, especially if you’re lucky enough to escape for a few days. However, for some patients, the idea of sitting in a car or a plane for long periods of time or sleeping in different beds can be a bit daunting. If you’re already seeing an Osteopath, they may provide you with some exercises for travelling, stretches or advice specifically for your complaint, otherwise you might find these tips beneficial.

If you’re going on a road trip take a little extra time out to make the most of the beautiful lookouts or the amazing towns along the way. Getting out of your car regularly gives you a chance to stretch your legs, move around, get the blood flowing and keeps you from stiffening up. You may find it also helps to keep you alert whilst driving!

2. Again, if you’re travelling by car, make some room to take your pillow or your travel pillow (it could even fit in your luggage if going by plane 😉) with you. Unfortunately, you can’t control the beds you will be sleeping on, but in my experience taking your pillow can make a huge difference. That way you know your head and neck will be nicely supported.

3. While you’re packing your pillow, why not take your favourite heat pack or hot water bottle just in case? It’s a handy thing to have if you find you get the odd ‘niggly’ pain here or there, or are a little apprehensive of how you might feel whilst you’re away and you usually respond well to the use of heat. If you are unsure if the place you will be staying at has a microwave, then the hot water bottle can be a safer bet, as most places have a kettle or access to hot water.

4. Move it or lose it – especially when on a long distance journey! Try and get up and move around as often as you can, this is particularly useful and necessary on those long haul flights. We generally advise most people to move around every 30-60 minutes if you’re not sleeping.

5. Dress comfortably – If you are on a long distance flight try and wear clothes that aren’t restricting your movement or your blood flow.

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Some quick and easy exercises for travelling you might like to incorporate into your trip include:

When you have stopped driving for a break, or when you get up to go to the bathroom on the plane, do a couple of walking lunges with alternating legs. Then when in the cubicle, do a few squats and a few calf raises. These are great exercises for travelling to get things moving when you have a bit more space!
Otherwise, if you’re stuck sitting for a while you might want to try:
- sitting up nice and tall and bringing your ear down to your shoulder to stretch your neck
- roll your shoulders back a few times
- introducing some rotation to your upper body by twisting your upper body and sliding your hands down your thighs
- bringing your arms overhead and leaning from one side to the other to stretch your side body
- alternating bringing one of your knees up and outwards a few times and doing some foot pumps

Keep an eye out for some quick videos on our social media to further demonstrate these stretches and exercises for travelling.

Happy holidays everyone! We hope these tips keep you moving, growing and thriving!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of our reception staff or Osteopaths at the clinic on (03) 9570 9061.

(03) 9570 9061

www.valuedhealth.com.au

You do not need a referral to see one of our friendly Osteopaths at Valued Health Osteopathy. We have a very good relationship with many surrounding doctors, other health practitioners and personal trainers in the local community of Bentleigh East , Bentleigh, Ormond, McKinnon, Oakleigh, Carnegie, Caulfield, Moorabbin, Murrumbeena, Brighton, Clayton and Clarinda.

Valued Health Osteopathy offers:

Osteopathy

Clinical Pilates

Exercise Rehabilitation

Valued Health Osteopathy is open 6 days a week with early morning and evening appointments.

Valued Health Osteopathy is located at 3/658 Centre Road, Bentleigh East, Melbourne, Victoria, 3165.

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What a pain in the neck!

9 Dec, 2019 in Uncategorized by Tom McCormick

Neck pain | How can we help?

Do you suffer from neck pain?

Pain in the neck? … I think most of us have had those days where we have woken up with a sore neck after a poor night’s sleep, turned to look over our shoulders too quickly and ‘cricked’ our neck or had a lot of stress or tension and felt like the weight of the world is on our shoulders.

Unfortunately on top of that, for a lot of people our modern-day society typically requires us to be spend more time sitting and looking at our computer and mobile screens which over time may start to affect our neck and shoulders.

It is thought that ‘most people can expect to experience some degree of neck pain in their lifetime’ and it appears to be more prevalent in middle age (1).

Neck pain is also the fourth leading cause of disability, with an annual prevalence rate which exceeds 30% (2). The good news is most episodes of neck pain will resolve with or without treatment!

However, nearly 50% of people who have experienced neck pain will continue to experience some degree of pain or re-occurrence in the future (2).

This is where our Osteopaths at Valued Health Osteopathy may be able to help!

Book online today!

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As Osteopaths we aim to identify and treat the root cause of your complaint to help you to recover. Furthermore we will implement a self management plan (mobility drills, strengthening exercises, etc) to help avoid re-aggravation where possible.

Osteopathy and Neck pain

Your Osteopath will begin your consultation with a thorough case history. They may ask you what seems like a lot of questions, which may not feel completely relevant to what you’re coming in with.

However, these questions along with further testing will help us form a working diagnosis and give us a clearer indication as to what structures are being impacted, so we can treat you more effectively.

Once your Osteopath has finished taking your case history, if clinically indicated, they may perform a clinical examination. This typically entails looking at your neck and other surrounding regions and structures. (E.g. your upper back, shoulders, mid/low back).

Further examination such as assessing posture, areas of muscle tightness or weaknesses, range of motion (how well you move), your muscle strength and your reflexes. Other special testing such as orthopaedic tests may also be performed. This, coupled with your history will help give us a better understanding of what’s causing your complaint.

There can be many causes of neck pain including, but not limited to (3):

Muscles
Joints
Ligaments/tendons
Nerves
Underlying pathological conditions (e.g. Rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia)

Once your Osteopath has performed your case history, examination and has a working diagnosis and are confident that you may benefit from Osteopathic treatment, treatment will take place (only with your consent).

This may include techniques such as:

Soft tissue/massage to the tight muscles
Articulation (movement/stretching) of the restricted joints
Muscle energy (stretching) techniques to the affected muscles and or joints
High Velocity Low Amplitude (HVLA) manipulation of the restricted joints
Dry needling
Mobility & Stretching drills
Exercise rehabilitation prescription
Lifestyle/ergonomic advice

Please note with treatment, your comfort is very important to us and you will be asked if you consent to any form of treatment before it is provided. You always have the opportunity to decline a certain technique if you do not like it.

At Valued Health Osteopathy our aim is to get you back to moving, growing and thriving so you can get the most out of life!

If you suffer from neck pain and think Osteopathy might be beneficial for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the clinic on (03) 9570 9061 to speak to one of our receptionists or Osteopaths. We look forward to hearing from you!