#shucra

Ceci, que honra poder passar esse dia com você! Admito que não consigo ser fofa e escrever algo tão lindo como você provavelmente faria, mas juro que vou tentar!

Sabe quando você conhece alguém e sente uma energia boa e pura vindo dela? Foi o que senti a primeira vez que conversei com você. São anos que eu sei quem é a Somegirl, mas graças ao destino, finalmente pude conhecer a Cecília. E que pessoa, viu? Você é linda em todos os seus jeitos, com todas as suas cores e tudo o que vem de você exala uma coisa tão boa e tão linda que não tem nem como descrever. 

Desejo que nesse seu novo ciclo você possa amadurecer cada dia mais, alcançando todos os seus objetivos, conquistando tudo o que você merece! Que seu dia seja lindo e repleto de boas surpresas! Que sua vida seja colorida e cheia de bolo!!!! 

Eu amo você, amo te ter na minha vida! Obrigada por ser tão linda e tão prestativa, carinhosa e com um coração tão puro. FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO!

You may recall our Did You Know (DYK) blog #32 in which we discussed the muscles and also fascia. 

The Thoracolumbar Fascia (pronounced Tho-rak-o-lum-bar Fash-ee-a) is made up of the same collagen material and attaches from the Thoracic Spine (mid-section T7-T12) all the way down to the sacrum or tail bone, and out about one third to half way along the iliac spine or pelvis resembling the shape of a stingray and is an attachment point for many of the muscles in our body.

Beginning at the most inferior (lowest) position is where the lower body ie the Gluteus Maximus blog #7, attaches to the Fascia along the Sacrum and the Iliac Spine.  As we head toward the upper body, the Transverse Abdominus and Internal Obliques (two of your tummy muscles) join the Thoracolumbar Fascia.  At the widest part of the Thoracolumbar Fascia, is where an attachment point is formed for the widest and one of the largest muscles in the body called the Latissimus Dorsi aka the ‘Lats’.  You may recall from our last blog that the Lats are a primary muscle for the movement of the upper limbs for reaching overhead for example.  From this point the Thoracolumbar Fascia narrows to meet the origin point on the Thoracic Spine where it meets with the Trapezius (DYK#2).  This point is called the Thoracolumbar Junction.

Well it’s not muscle so what could go wrong?  Muscles have the ability to tighten and when this occurs there are a couple of things that can result.  Due to the inflexibility of the Fascia, the muscles that attach to the Fascia may begin to compensate for the structure of the body being thrown out of alignment hence causing lower back pain.

While it’s beneficial to exercise and keep our muscles strong enough to support our skeletal system, we also need to stretch the muscles and connecting Fascia ie Thoracolumbar Fascia.  Two stretches that I find helpful and gentle as well are the cat-to-cow pose and the supine lower back stretch which are included in the video below.

Content of this post is for information only and does not replace the medical advice provided by a registered General Practitioner (GP).  If symptoms persist please see your GP or Health professional.

Did You Know (DYK#32) blog talked about muscles in general and I provided you with an example which included the muscles of the lower leg. This month I thought I would talk about the muscles in the lower leg but on the anterior (front) of the leg and in particular the Anterior Tibialis.

The Anterior Tibialis attaches to the top of the Tibia (shin bone) and two thirds of the way along the shin bone via interosseous membrane or fascia between the tibia and fibula.  The distal end of the muscle attaches to the base of the 1st metatarsal or big toe via the base of the foot.

This muscle dorsiflexes the foot at the ankle which occurs when you point your toes to the ceiling when seated or lifting your toes off the ground when walking or running.  It also inverts the foot (point your foot toward the other leg).

Injuries to this muscle occur when you begin to perform large volumes of walking or running or by playing a sport which involves a lot of running.  Wearing the incorrect footwear can also contribute to injuries where you may experience pain in the front of the leg especially when lifting the toes off the ground.  Swelling of this muscle can lead to compartment syndrome where the muscle becomes too large for the fibrous sheath which may affect blood flow to the muscle and damage nerves.  If this occurs, applying ice and resting the leg is recommended, your GP may also prescribe an anti-inflammatory to reduce swelling and assist with pain.

This blog is devoted to the many Dads who are celebrating Fathers Day this month.

It is and has been a way of life in which many men used to or still continue to watch or play some kind of sport.  Whether it be soccer, football, baseball, cricket or golf, have you ever thought about the muscles that you use to hit, kick or catch and throw a ball?

You may think that when playing soccer that the leg muscles are the predominant muscles used and this is spot on.  In order for us to run or to bring our leg back in preparation to kick the ball,  we use our gluteal muscles (backside), our hamstrings to bare the weight of our body on our non-kicking leg, and then our quads together with the swinging action of our kicking leg to put force behind the ball when we kick it.  The ankle is in plantarflexion (toes pointing to the ground) which involves most of the muscles in the lower leg.  

Common injuries that occur when playing soccer are muscle strains particularly with the hamstrings as they bare the majority of our weight.  The other common injury is ankle impingement in which the tissue is caught between the joints.  As with most impingement injuries, it is treatable.  So we have identified that the main muscles used are the leg muscles and ankle however what about the muscles used to keep the body balanced so that you don’t fall over?  This task is where your abdominals or stomach muscles as well as your spine postural muscles for example erector spinae come into play.

For a sport where the upper body is predominantly used such as golf for example, according to Golf Week magazine, the shoulders, chest, arms and abdominals are the most important muscles used to obtain a powerful swing however flexibility in the wrists is required for chipping. Baseball is another sport which requires strong abdominals and chest but also wrists and forearms for slogging the ball out of the park.

Regardless of the sport the most common denominator as far as muscles used in any sport is the abdominals which provide stability, power and strength whether you swing a club or a bat, or kick, throw or catch a ball.  This means that it’s time to get planking.. and I don’t mean on building ledges or stairwells.

To learn how to do a plank click below to watch the video.

This DYK on muscles in general was originally my number 3 blog.  Instead of talking about one particular muscle this month, I thought that it was time to revisit the muscles in general.  I have added further information to the original as well as examples to make it more interesting. So, here we go….

Muscles contain 75% water, 20% proteins and 5% fats, mineral salts and glycogen [1].  There are three types of muscle tissue, skeletal muscle which we use to move our arms, legs, fingers and toes for example, smooth muscle which is used for breathing, digestion and moving blood and lymph around our body; and cardiac muscle which pumps the heart.  The smallest skeletal muscle is the Stapedius which is found in the ear [1].  

There are two ways that muscle attaches to the body.  One is via Fascia which is a thin sheath type substance that is found throughout the body and covers organs and muscles and; the tendons which are an extension of the fascia which forms thick and strong fibrous cords to attach the muscle to the bone.

The muscles work by responding to messages from the brain called nerve impulses or action potentials.  When the muscle is stimulated by the action potential, the muscle contracts or shortens while pulling on the attachment points. For example, the gastrocnemius muscle in the lower leg (DYK#28) attaches to the Femur (the thigh bone) and inserts at the calcaneus (heel of the foot) via the tendon which is the strong collagen fibrous tissue called fascia explained previously.  

When this muscle receives a message from your brain to raise your heel  up to your Gluteus (backside), the Gastrocnemius muscle shortens which pulls on the heel of the foot  and the other attachment point being the base of the femur (thigh bone).  As the muscle shortens the foot is raised off the ground toward the Gluteus forcing flexion (bending) of the knee.

If you were to keep the leg in this position with the muscle shortened for an extended period of time, there is the potential to over work the muscle.  If there is not enough oxygen, it can cause lactic acid to form and constriction within the muscle fibres which in turn causes pain and loss of proper muscle function for example, the muscle cannot lengthen from the shortened state.  Although there is no known research that massage can assist in negating lactic acid formation, research shows that recovery time is decreased when massage treatment is performed after sport or exercise which is why you see massage therapist located in tents at running or walking events.

Content of this post is for information only and does not replace the medical advice provided by a registered General Practitioner (GP).  If symptoms persist please see your GP.

I thought I would change it up this month a little and instead of talking about muscles, we’ll talk about bones.

Did you know that there are 206 bones in the skeletal system separated into two sections, the axial and the appendicular.  The axial contains 80 bones consisting of the skull, vertebrae (spine) and ribs.  The appendicular contains 126 bones consisting of the limbs and pelvis.

Bones are made up of cartilage containing collagen which undergoes a process called ossification.  Ossification is where bone forming cells call osteoblasts, combine with minerals such as calcium which hardens the cells forming the bone.  The bones are a site for the formation of blood cells and also act as storage for minerals like potassium and calcium.  The tissue of bones is very similar to the rings found inside a tree trunk.

Bones come in a variety of shapes including the long bone which is kind of self-explanatory and includes the Humerus for example.  You may recall our previous DYK#30 in which the Humerus is located in the upper arm.  Another type of bone shape is the short bone of which there are numerous and can be found in the wrist (carpals) and feet (metatarsals) for example.

The sesamoid bone is a special shaped bone.  An example of this shaped bone is the patella or what we call the knee cap which is the largest sesamoid bone in the body.  Flat bones are usually smooth like the ribs or those found in the pelvic area which is a contrast to the irregular bones of the vertebrae which are different shapes with notches and knobbly bits.

Bones come together in the body to form joints and as the saying goes….. the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone certainly rings true.  This particular joint is called the Coxal Joint which is a synovial type of joint structure  called a ball and socket joint.

There are three types of joint structures, the fibrous joint structure which is immovable and can be located in the skull called skull sutures.  The Cartilaginous joint structures are a little more movable such as those of the ribs which allow movement of the ribs when you breathe.  The last type of joint structure is the synovial which allows free movement such as the ball and socket mentioned earlier.

This months ‘Did you know’ post is about the calves, but not the ones you see in a paddock that make a ‘moo’ sound.  I’m talking about the ones located on the lower legs.  The calf muscles are predominantly a group of two muscles, the gastrocnemius and the soleus.

The Gastrocnemius or Gastrocs for short, are actual one muscle that has two parts or ‘heads’ which looks kind of like an upside – down love heart.  These muscles attach to the Femur (the thigh bone) and insert at the calcaneus (heel of the foot) via the tendon (the strong collagen fibrous tissue called fascia that we spoke about in DYK # 3).

The second muscle that forms the calf muscle group is the soleus (pronounced sol-ay-us).  This muscle is situated below the Gastrocs and attaches to the posterior surface of the tibia (shin bone which is part of larger lower leg bone) and the condyle of the fibula (the bone notch to the outside and behind the knee).  As with the Gastrocs this muscle also inserts at the calcaneus (heel of the foot) via the tendon.

This muscle group flexes the leg at the knee for example when you lift your foot off the ground behind you during walking or running or when you do a quad stretch.  The muscle also plantar flexes the foot which is when you are walking on your toes (tippy toes) or pointing the toes to the ground similar to a ballerina.  This reminds of the littlies upstairs above the treatment room doing tap dance when they go ‘heel, toe, heel, toe…. galump, galump galump’.

If this muscle is shortened/tight it may also present as foot pain and discomfort especially around the heel and into the tendon.  To ensure that you do not suffer from a calf muscle or tendon injury, you need to ensure that you perform regular calf stretches.  An easy calf stretch is performed by standing approximately an arm’s length distance from a wall.  With your hands on a wall at shoulder height, keep your legs straight with your belly tucked in, bend your elbows and allow your upper body to move closer towards the wall.  You will feel a stretch in your calves depending on your muscle health.  For a stronger stretch you can move your feet further away from the wall however you need to ensure that you do not ‘sink’ into the wall by ensuring you keep your back straight.

Please note that this is a gentle stretch for those who may be recovering from a muscle injury or foot pathology.  There are a range of calf stretches available which may be suitable for those with healthy muscles or post workout routine.  

Welcome to our Did You Know post number 27 and as promised last month we have returned to the musculoskeletal segments.

In saying that, this months’ Did you Know' will feature the Psoas with the P being silent (pronounced so-as).

The psoas (in greek meaning “Groin Muscle”) is a large muscle situated in front of the spine but located behind the reproductive and digestive organs which makes it very difficult to treat but not impossible.

The Psoas begins at the last thoracic vertebrae (T12) attaching to the lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5) and inserts at the lesser trochanter which is a boney type nodule on the inner side at the back of the Femur (thigh bone).

However, the psoas doesn’t travel alone and picks up two other muscles called the minor psoas and the Iliacus which also inserts at the lesser trochanter. These muscles form the iliopsoas which helps support and stabilise the spine and together with the Gluteus maximus (DYK#7) and the piriformis, connect the legs to the spine. They also work together to create the curve in the lower back to provide a pelvic tilt and are also powerful hip flexors.

This muscle plays a part in our fight or flight response (from last months did you know number 26) and is also a muscle that some say is the key to good walking patterns and provides a dancer with graceful like moves.

This muscle may be shortened due to prolonged sitting which can create lower back pain, hip instability and difficulty standing in an upright position. Regular stretching of this muscle is key to avoiding injury and my favourite is a yoga pose called the warrior I or for the guys out there who don't do yoga, a low lunge.