The Hidden Truth About Wearing Heels....

Most women love to put on a pair of heels for a night out, or even for a day at the office, but how many of us actually realise the effect it has on our body?

According to studies, women in high heels walk with shorter, more powerful strides, using their muscles rather than their tendons, thereby leading to muscle fatigue and increased risk of injury. Essentially, wearing high heels contracts the calf muscle, shortens it, and puts more mechanical strain on it. But it is not just the calf muscles that are effected.....

Feet - Wearing heels shifts much of your mass on to the balls of your feet and toes, forcing you to change your natural stride pattern.

Ankles - Wearing heels forces your ankles to bend forward, a movement that could restrict circulation in your lower limbs. It also stiffens your Achilles tendon, causing your calves to bunch up.

Knees - Frequent high heel use can put extra stress on the inside of the knees, causing wear and tear that can lead to osteoarthritis.

Hips - In order to keep yourself upright whilst wearing heels, you have to thrust your hips forwards, arching your back, and pushing out your chest, putting increased strain on the outer hips and tendons.

Back - Walking around in high heels causes your spine to sway unnaturally, a process that stresses your lumbar muscles, resulting in a sore back.

Quadriceps Strain

A strain is a tear in the muscle. The size of the strain (Grade II, II or III) usually correlates to the intensity of the pain and the function of the muscle. They occur when the force of the contraction exceed the muscles ability to resist the force.

Grade I - Some muscle fibres are torn. You may have some pain but can usually maintain normal activities.

Grade II - More muscle fibres are torn. There can be moderate swelling, including bruising. It is commonly tender to touch and it may be difficult to use the muscle or limb.

Grade III - A larger portion of the muscle is torn, in severe cases the whole muscle. Severe swelling and bruising will be present, and movement will be difficult and painful. On contraction of the muscle, a bulge will often appear.

Quadriceps strains are common in sports that involve sudden bursts of speed, such as rugby, hockey and football, as well as activities such as kickboxing due to the kicking action involved.

Treatment involves the RICE protocol, and stretching and strengthening exercises to follow. If you are suffering from a muscle strain, contact Jo at Rise Sports Therapy to see how we can help you.

Pain, Tingling, or Numbness in Your Toes?

You may be suffering from Morton's Neuroma.... a swelling of nerve and scar tissue arising from compression of the interdigital nerve, usually between the 3rd and 4th toes.

Anything that causes compression or irritation of the nerve can lead to development of the condition. This includes wearing shoes that have a tapered toe box, or high-heeled shoes that force the toes forward. People with certain foot deformities, such as bunions or flat feet are at increased risk.

Symptoms of Morton's Neuroma include; tingling, burning or numbness, pain, or a feeling that something is inside the ball of the foot. Pain is often increased by forefoot weight bearing activities and with narrow-fitting footwear.

Treatment consists of ice to alleviate acute tenderness. Padding may be used to spread the load over the toes. Foot strengthening exercises may also be prescribed to maintain or improve the arch of the foot. If the patient gets no relief from these methods, then surgical excision of the damaged nerve may be required.

 

McKenzie Exercises for Lower Back Pain

In short, the McKenzie method was developed in the 1960s by Robin McKenzie, who noted that extending the spine could provide significant pain relief to certain patients and allow them to return to their normal daily activities, by centralising the patients pain, moving it away from the extremities (arms or legs) to the back. Centralising the pain allows the source of the pain to be treated rather than the symptoms.

Exercises will be guided by an initial assessment, but the kinds of exercises you may be prescribed are shown below. The goal, as previously stated, is to centralise the patients pain in the core back structures rather than treat pain that is localised to a specific area. Patients can be expected to achieve centralisation over the course of daily prescribed McKenzie exercises.

The Q Angle

The Q angle is the angle measured between the quadriceps muscle and the patella tendon, and can provide useful information about the alignment of the knee joint.

On average this angle is greater in women than men, because of the wider pelvis in women. This increased Q angle places more stresses on the knee joint, as well as leading to increased foot pronation (flat feet) in women.

Whilst there may be other factors that lead to increased injury risk in women (eg. strength, skill), an increased Q angle has been linked to many injuries, particularly of the knee, including:
- Patellofemoral Syndrome (patella tracking)
- ACL Injuries (Ligament)
- Chondromalacia of the Knee (wearing of cartilage)

Strengthening and stretching exercises, often prevention programmes, have been shown to decrease the risk of injuries in female athletes, and custom orthotics work to decrease the Q angle, reducing pronation and putting less pressure on the knee.

Stiff Upper Back?

Try this simple stretch/exercise when you feel your back has stiffened up and has become uncomfortable.

Roll a towel up and place under your upper back, around the level of the shoulder blades. Position your arms out to your sides.

Stay in this position for up to 5 minutes, or until you feel a good stretch has been achieved.

Give it a go!

Upper Cross Syndrome.... It's in Your Posture

We looked at Lower Cross Syndrome a few weeks ago, and Upper Cross Syndrome is caused by many of the same factors; poor posture, especially when working at a computer, coupled with long periods of time sitting hunched up.

In Upper Cross Syndrome, tightness of the upper traps crosses with tightness of the pecs, and weakness of the deep cervical flexors cross with weakness of the middle and lower traps.

This pattern of imbalance creates specific postural changes - forward head posture, increased cervical lordosis and thoracic kyphosis, elevated and protracted shoulders, and rotation or abduction and winging of the scapulae. These postural changes decrease shoulder stability and cause the levator scapula and upper traps muscles to work harder.

Specific stretching and strengthening exercises can be prescribed to help combat this problem, so please get in touch if you think you may be suffering from Upper Cross Syndrome.

Bit lost?! Take a look at the picture which will hopefully help to explain the condition further.