Are you feeling the stress that many Kiwis are experiencing at the moment? While worries may be inevitable, you can keep your health and wellbeing robust by adopting some health promoting habits. In that vein, we got our sports nutritionist to create this helpful guide to keeping stress levels at bay.

The stress and nutrition connection

When you’re under stress – physical or emotional – your body switches into fight-or-flight mode, ready to fight off or flee from a predator. This short-term response is healthy, but when it lasts for a long time it puts the body under strain.

Sufficient vitamins and minerals help protect you from the negative effects of stress, however, for many people, stress and altered eating habits go hand-in-hand. But by making nutritious habits the norm, you are in good standing to bounce back in the face of stress.

It’s all about balance

Stressful moments are not the time to jump on the latest diet bandwagon – instead of giving up carbs or only eating cabbage soup, strive for balance. Try to ensure your daily diet consists of all three macronutrients: carbs, fats and protein. Eat a variety of foods and don’t feel guilty every time you indulge in a treat. Remember, it’s what you eat most of the time that matters, not what you eat occasionally.

Up your greens (and other colours too)

Green leafy vegetables are chock full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that will give your body what it needs to stand up to the draining effect of stress. Research by nutritionists has also shown that eating plenty of vegetables is linked to a more positive mood. And it’s not only greens – deep reds and purples, bright yellows and oranges will also do the trick.

Keep hydrated

When you’re dehydrated, your cortisol (stress hormone) levels increase. To stay hydrated, make sure you always have a water bottle within arm’s reach so it becomes second nature. If you don’t like plain water, try adding some frozen berries, a squeeze of lemon or a sprig of mint for some flavour.

Sleep-promoting habits

A good night’s sleep is one of the best ways to arm yourself against stress and anxiety, yet sleep is often the first thing to suffer when you’re under the pump. It’s an unfair irony, but there are things you can do to promote better sleep. Avoid screens right before bed, try mindfulness or meditation and limit caffeine in the afternoons.

Ask for help

If you need a hand getting back on track, Body In Motion’s Tauranga nutritionist and dietitian is here to help. Book an appointment and we’ll help you find sustainable ways to stay resilient in the face of stress.

As a physiotherapist I am an avid believer of the patient needing to play an active role in their treatment, which is why the sceptic in me wondered whether I was best suited taking on the Shockwave service for Body In Motion. However, after researching more into this evidence based practice, there were plenty of reports suggesting good clinical outcomes for a number of musculoskeletal pathologies, with the main body of supportive research for that of chronic tendinopathies.

I‘m not here to do a sales pitch or go into depth about the mechanisms of action, but more so to give you feedback on what I’ve seen over the past 10 months in clinic at Body in Motion, Adam’s Centre for High Performance.

1. Best outcomes are seen in those patients who continue to play an active role in their treatment. I always inform the patient not to ‘rely’ on Shockwave to fix their injury, but to see it as part of their treatment in which they need to continue to work on other contributing factors (stiffness, weakness, movement control…etc) and ultimately for a tendon- the need to load it.
2. Seeing Shockwave as ‘hitting the reset button’ or ‘providing a window of opportunity’. This is how I describe it to my patients who struggle with pain and the difficulty they have associating exercise with helping their symptoms, as ‘exercises are too painful, so I don’t do them’. This is a crucial part of treatment in order to gain long term benefits. I have seen some very immediate responses to pain and stiffness of the tendon (some immediate in clinic, others weeks down the line), but education as to the need to continue their rehabilitation is of utmost importance for long term gains.

Summary:
1. Rotator cuff tendinopathies (namely supraspinatus insertional and calcific)- immediate change to pain response and movement dysfunction in the athletic and non athletic population. With all the shoulders (n=4) showing immediate changes in pain and movement within the first session, which has continued to carry over. Painful arc and empty can testing being much less irritable on retest. Additional treatment: manual therapy and tendon loading.
2. Achilles tendinopathies (insertional to proximal)- the majority of these patients do well however there is no real pattern as to the time frame of improvements. The best outcome I had was a 70 year old lady who had pain and weakness for over a year, which lead to the inability to heel raise or walk day to day. Within 4 weeks of Shockwave (and physiotherapy) her pain had settled in order to allow her to strengthen her lower leg, 3 months later she heel walked out of the clinic doors. 
3. Lateral and medial epicondyalgia- Overall good response in short and long term. Follow up at 12 weeks, showed nearly everyone had improved to a level at which day to day function was pain free, if not resolved.
4. Proximal hamstring, patella and quadriceps tendons- only experienced to date in the athletic population which had positive outcomes and allowed continuation of training and sport participation
5. Plantar fascia- I have had a number of plantar fascia patients referred for Shockwave and this is the main pathology which has had varied results. Some patients have reported no change at 12 weeks, and others have reported complete symptom resolution. For those who have improved, the main improvements appear to be a number of weeks down the line.

My own personal experience and potential insight would be the importance of the other contributing factors of plantar fasciopathies, i.e. body weight, physical activity levels, general health, inability to offload and/or appropriately load. Shockwave for this diagnosis in my experience is only effective if the patients are compliant with other self management strategies, and finding the correct balance of load/stress through the plantar fascia.

Some Questions I Continually Reflect On:
1. How much is enough? The main body of research recommends 3-5 treatments, 1 week apart. In clinic, I advise a minimal of 3 and have used up to 6 sessions in some patients. I am still uncertain as to how much is enough and have seen better outcomes with treatments less than a week apart and around 3-5 sessions in total.
2. How chronic is chronic? Although the research suggests best outcomes for chronic tendinopathies, there have been a couple of athletic patients which showed early signs of tendon related pain, at which i used Shockwave and showed immediate changes to pain and function (namely shoulders and achilles). If the patient has trialed normal conservative means of addressing their pain and function, and struggle to show improvements, early Shockwave intervention from my personal experience may be of benefit.
3. When do the effects of Shockwave occur? The main body of research suggests long term gains around 12 weeks, of which I relay this to the patient. In my experience I have seen some immediate responses to symptoms, and others which have only started to show improvements around 6+ weeks. On reflection this may be due to a number of different reasons e.g. tendon size, tendon loading, acute vs chronic, etc.

Sceptic?
No I don’t think I am, my clinical outcomes over the past months far outweigh my initial skepticism. As with the research, there are still many unknowns and variables which account for the differences in clinical effectiveness. 
The changes to short term pain response and subjective reports of tendon stiffness are the main findings from my clinical experience.
For the patients I see, it is ‘another tool in the toolbox’, an adjunct to treatment of which I would use alongside manual techniques and the active role the patient partakes.

At Body In Motion, we offer Shockwave at:
ACC $ 60 per treatment
Private $250 for 3 session bundle, $85 per additional treatment

The physiotherapists at Body In Motion see it every year: winter sets in and people’s activity level plummets. We understand that it can be hard to find the motivation to exercise in the cold when the warmth of a cosy couch in front of the fire is calling your name but staying fit over winter is incredibly important.

By staying active and keeping your body moving, you ward off aches and pains, maintain a healthy weight, improve your immune system and support your mental health. Here are 5 tips from your local physio for staying active during the cooler months ahead:

Invest in Warm Weather Gear

One of the biggest pieces of advice our physiotherapists can give you is to get yourself some warm yet breathable clothes that will make outdoor workouts comfortable and attainable. If you have weather-appropriate workout gear, like active wear, wind breakers and possibly even ear muffs, you won’t be daunted by the cold or the rain.

Warm Up

Warming up is always important, but never more so than during winter. A warm up by literally warms your muscles and tissue, which increases their elasticity and suppleness. When you go out into the cold with cold muscles, they can seize up, leading to injury. Our Tauranga physios recommend increasing warm up time, stepping up intensity gradually and involving the entire body. You don’t want to end up in physiotherapy because of cold muscles!

Get a Buddy or a Schedule

Any physiotherapist will tell you, clients are more successful with their exercise plans when they are accountable. Getting yourself a jogging, walking or gym buddy will make it harder to ditch exercise, even if the weather’s not particularly nice. It also makes exercise more fun and social so it doesn’t feel like a chore. If solo exercise is more your style, you can stay accountable to yourself by scheduling exercise into your weekly diary, giving you little reminders to keep active and helping track your exercise frequency.

Try Something New

One of our favourite physiotherapy tips for winter exercise fatigue is to mix things up. If your weekly run in the sun has lost its magic by winter, swap it for a new, exciting activity. Try a kick boxing class or lane swimming, outdoor boot camp or Zumba. You’ll find that doing something different will give you that motivation to keep going.

Indoor Options

We’re lucky in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Papamoa to have mild winters where outdoor exercise is possible year-round, but this doesn’t mean it’s the only type of activity you can do. There’s plenty of fun and challenging indoor options. You can sign up for a yoga class or get a gym membership, but to keep it more affordable, just head online. Any number of exercise videos are available at the click of a button – just grab yourself a mat, a water bottle and discover exercising from the comfort of your lounge.

When it comes to body aches and pains, there is a common thread that joins far too many conditions: poor posture. Correcting posture is one of the most common tasks for physiotherapists as the painful effects of posture are far-reaching, from shoulder injuries to back pain to headaches.

The Posture Problem

Our modern lives are filled with poor posture traps. We recline in front of the television, we sit all day at our desks and spend too long stuck in traffic, all of which make good posture a challenge. You may find yourself at physiotherapy for a sudden strain or injury, but chances are your posture was a contributing factor working away for quite some time.

The Good News

Small, simple changes to your habits, as guided by your physiotherapist, can help you experience major improvements. Your physio will assess your posture and give you daily exercises to bring your body back into balance. Your physiotherapist will also recommend adjustments to your sitting and standing style which will stop the problem from returning.

The Benefits of Good Posture

Fewer aches and pains – those dull but frequent back pains and neck cricks that brought you to physio will ease with improved posture as correct alignment makes better use of your muscles, easing the pressure off bones and joints.

Sleep – if you think posture is irrelevant when it comes to sleep, think again! Sorting out your posture will lead to a sounder, deeper, more restful sleep.

Improved energy – since your muscles, joints and ligaments won’t be working overtime to compensate, you’ll find you have more energy for everyday life.

Better breathing – proper breathing is an important part of physiotherapy and posture is key when it comes to taking in full, deep, diaphragmatic breathes. When you breathe properly your body relaxes, your mental capacity increases and your well-being improves.

Long term health – the earlier you see a physiotherapist, the better as good posture will improve spinal health which effects your entire nervous system and keep conditions like kyphosis (curvature of the spine) and slipped discs at bay.

Don’t suffer in silence. Poor posture is incredibly common and it’s a hard habit to break on your own. If you’re in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui or Papamoa, the physio team at Body In Motion can sort your posture out!

We often think about physiotherapy as a way to repair the body after an injury, but one of the best things you can do for your body is to see a physio prior to injury, when you’ve got a niggly, unexplained pain that just won’t go away.

Niggles include recurrent twinges, dull aches, slight but consistent pain after exercise, and sudden catches of pain with certain movements. These pains are mild so they are often ignored, but they are signals that something isn’t working as it should.

Prevention is better than cure 

When it comes to your health, it’s better to do what you can while in reasonably good health to ward off needing lengthy treatment, time off work or medication.

When you have a niggly pain that just won’t go away, get it seen by one of our physiotherapists in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui or Papamoa and you’ll likely be back to full health quickly. If you wait for the niggles to get worse and turn into a full-blown injury, the road to health will be a lot longer.

Our physiotherapists will assess you and determine which sort of treatment would suit you best – it could be physio, massage, acupuncture, home exercise programs or stretches. 

Stretches and exercise 

Often, your physiotherapist can teach you some daily stretches and exercises to do at home that will right any wrongs. Our physiotherapy team at Body In Motion love nothing more than seeing hugely positive changes from a few simple stretches and our patients are often surprised at how quickly their niggles disappear. 

Proper form 

Another common cause of niggles is improper form, which could happen while exercising or even while sitting at your desk. We can teach you techniques to improve your posture and your form while running, walking or playing sports. Once corrected, niggles often come right and not only do you feel better, but you’re exercising more efficiently. 

Quality of life 

Probably the most important reason of all to see a physio for niggles is to improve your quality of life. It saddens us to see people suffering through unnecessary aches and pains, sometimes for years, when it could have been nipped in the bud with a few physiotherapy appointments. Life is meant to be enjoyed, and a niggly shoulder, back, neck or knee can stop you from getting the most out of life.

See Body In Motion’s team of experienced physiotherapists at multiple clinics throughout Tauranga for any niggles – we will get you back on track!

KEEP CALM – ITS GIVEAWAY TIME!!

As the season of giving is upon us, why not treat a loved one to a life changing introduction to the world of Pilates, taught by the experts here at Body In Motion.

Purchase a gift voucher concession of x10 Mat classes at $145 (usually $160) or x10 Reformer classes for $210 (usually $230) and that same loved one will also receive their private 1:1 40minute Pilates intro for FREE.

Many bodily functions are essential to survival but breathing is our lifeline, linking us to the world from birth to death.

Breathing is subject to major disruption or interference from thinking, feeling and experience, and also as a result of biomechanical and biochemical factors.

The foundations of good breathing are using your NOSE, breathing LOW – using your diaphragm – and SLOW (8-14 breaths per minute for an adult).

Not long until the Mount Festival of Multisport… Half Iron Man, Aquabike, and Under Armour Run are just a few of the events taking place. Body In Motion & Areté Massage Therapy will be onsite on the day. Also, come see us in clinic, our staff have heaps of triathlon experience and expertise!
To book an appointment before or after race day, please comment on this post or contact Ali Wilson. No bookings required on the day.

See you out there!

Carmen the Christmas Fairy delivering a delicious Xmas morning tea from The Artisan Bread Bakers to our biggest customer! Merry Christmas!