Bridging

Good for switching on the gluteal and abdominal muscles which are weak in most people, especially those who spend a lot of time sitting in front of computers.



Important Note:
For all exercises and stretches on this blog, please ensure you are taught how to perform the exercise by a qualified member of Original Osteopathy. We accept no responsibility for any exercise attempted that we have not shown you! If you have been shown the exercise and experience any unexpected symptoms, discontinue and contact Original Osteopathy.

3 Position Neck Stretch

This is a great stretch for anyone who experiences neck tension and may even be helpful for headache sufferers.

Hold each position for 20 seconds. I have only performed 1 20 second hold so the video is not too long.



Important Note:
For all exercises and stretches on this blog, please ensure you are taught how to perform the exercise by a qualified member of Original Osteopathy. We accept no responsibility for any exercise attempted that we have not shown you! If you have been shown the exercise and experience any unexpected symptoms, discontinue and contact Original Osteopathy.

4 Point Shoulder Exercise

The instructions are on the video. Its a great exercise to use whilst recovering from a shoulder injury to increase the range of motion available at the shoulder joint and to increase the movement of the shoulder blade on the torso.

This exercise can create problems with impingement syndromes and frozen shoulders so make sure you check with the therapists at Original Osteopathy to find out when you can introduce this exercise into any shoulder recovery program.

And our usual disclaimer......
For all exercises and stretches on this blog, please ensure you are taught how to perform the exercise by a qualified member of Original Osteopathy. We accept no responsibility for any exercise attempted that we have not shown you! If you have been shown the exercise and experience any unexpected symptoms, discontinue and contact Original Osteopathy.

Fall Prevention

Why prevent falls?

Unfortunately the facts are a bit morbid….

Falls become more frequent with increasing age
Some 30% of elderly individuals fall each year and 25% of fallers sustain serious physical injury
Falls are the 6th leading casue of death in older persons and a contributing factor in 40% of admissions to nursing homes
Resultant hip problems and fear of falls are major causes of loss of independence

What causes falls?

Human balance is a finely tuned interplay of the sensory messages into your nervous system, how your nervous system interprets these messages and finally what message gets sent back out to allow your body to respond properly. For example, if you stumble, most of the time, your body should provide a fast response that allows you to right yourself with no subsequent injury (although you might look a bit silly to onlookers).

Unfortunately, functioning of these systems decline significantly with age and you become more vulnerable to a fall if your balance is challenged. While an unseen step may pose little problem for a vigorous, alert person, it may be sufficient to cause a fall in the patient with impaired vision, strength, balance or cognition.

Injuries sustained from falls

The most common injuries that require hospitalisation are:
femoral neck fractures (the upper part of the thigh bone that inserts into the hip socket)
other fractures of the leg
fractures of the forearm and other bones in the arm, wrist and hand

As we have all heard, the most serious fall-related injury is fracture of the hip. The elderly require a long recovery period from hip fractures and are vulnerable to post-operative complications. Hip fractures can result in death but NOT due to the fracture itself. Our bodies require constant movement for nutrients to get to the tissues and wastes to be removed. This period of immobility means that patients are more prone to things like lung congestion, clots and strokes and general infections. Too often those who do survive many never regain complete mobility and hence are more susceptible to these conditions. You may have heard someone you know mention that their parent, aunt etc “went downhill” following a fall.

Falls also result in restriction of activity, and reduced quality of life and loss of independence. It has been found that after falling, 48% of older people report a fear of falling and 25% report decreasing activities. Falls are frequently cited as a contributing reason for an older person requiring admission to a nursing home.

Exercise and Fall Prevention

Although falls are very common amoungst people aged 65 years ands over, there is strong evidence to indicate that many falls can be prevented.
Home based exercise programmes designed for falls prevention have been shown to significantly reduce the number of alls in elderly populations.

Let’s just say that one again in case you didn’t take it in….

Home based exercise programmes designed for falls prevention have been shown to significantly reduce the number of alls in elderly populations.

Such programmes should address three major areas:
STRENGTH
BALANCE
ENDURANCE

Take a look at the video that accompanies this blog to make sense of these exercises. (We will put this up very soon).

Home based exercises for fall prevention

1. Strengthening

- Knee extension: Seated using 1-2kg ankle weights. 10 reps, 2 times

- Knee flexion: Standing uisng 1-2 kg ankle weights. 10 reps, 2 times

- Hip abduction: Standing using 1-2 kg ankle weights. 10 reps, 2 times

- Ankle plantar flexors: Up on toes. Hold a support for balance. 10 repetitions.

- Ankle dorsiflexors: Rock back and balance on heels. Hold a support for balance. 10 repetitions.

- Sit to stand. Sitting in a chair and standing with/without hands for support. 5 – 10 repetitions.

2. Balance training

- Knee bends whilst standing on one leg. Hold a support for balance, then alternate between hold and no support. 10 repetitions.

- Backward walking. With/without support a support for balance. 10 steps, do 4 times.

- Walking and turning around by making a figure of eight. With/without support. 2 repetitions

- Sideways walking. Facing a wall with/without support for 10 steps. 4 times.

- Heel and toe walking. With/without support for 10 steps. 4 times.

3. Endurance training

You will improve your endurance as you aim to complete the required number of steps and repetitions. Once you have acheived the above, you can increase the steps and number of repeptitions to increase your endurance. In other words - just do more.....


Important Note:
For all exercises and stretches on this blog, please ensure you are taught how to perform the exercise by a qualified member of Original Osteopathy. We accept no responsibility for any exercise attempted that we have not shown you! If you have been shown the exercise and experience any unexpected symptoms, discontinue and contact Original Osteopathy.

Fitball Squat

The fitball squat is really good for strengthening the back, hips and knees.

Lean back into the fitball and let it support your weight. Feet shoulder width apart and facing straight ahead. Sit the bottom down as if you are going to sit on a stool directly under the buttocks.

Squat until the knee is bent to 90 degrees. In this position, the shin should then be 90 degrees to the ground. If it's not, then adjust the position of the feet and the body lean into the fitball until this alignment is achieved.

The last part of the clip shows a squat with a small knee bend only. It is useful as a starting point for this exercise if the knees are sore and/or arthritic.

For all exercises and stretches on this blog, please ensure you are taught how to perform the exercise by a qualified member of Original Osteopathy. We accept no responsibility for any exercise attempted that we have not shown you! If you have been shown the exercise and experience any unexpected symptoms, discontinue and contact Original Osteopathy.

Theraband Neck Stretch

This neck stretch is very effective because it relies on the band to do the stretch for you and helps prevents you from straining the neck by over stretching. The intensity of the stretch is determined by the colour of the band used.

Start by doing a warm up with a few shoulder rolls in both directions.

Then hold each position as shown:

1) Ear to shoulder

2) Looking to the right and left (only turn until neck rotation stops, don't force it)

3) Nod the head forward and to 45 degrees

Hold each position for the amount of time instructed (usually 30-45 secs)

Note the postural position. Chest up and shin in.

For all exercises and stretches on this blog, please ensure you are taught how to perform the exercise by a qualified member of Original Osteopathy. We accept no responsibility for any exercise attempted that we have not shown you! If you have been shown the exercise and experience any unexpected symptoms, discontinue and contact Original Osteopathy.

Arm Openings

Arm Openings is an exercise from Pilates. The aim is to increase the range of motion in the upper back and neck. Its an articulation exercise rather than a stretch so at first it feels like not much is happening but stick with it as the results are amazing!

Note that the movement is slow and controlled.

The rotation is timed with the breathing. Every time Saskia's hand is going to the roof (vertical position), Saskia is taking a breath in. Every time Saskia's hand moves away from the vertical position, Saskia is breathing out.

Please also note that the hand and nose are always in line with each other. The hand NEVER stretches past the nose/chin line. So the hand will only reach around as far as the neck and torso can comfortably turn.

For all exercises and stretches on this blog, please ensure you are taught how to perform the exercise by a qualified member of Original Osteopathy. We accept no responsibility for any exercise attempted that we have not shown you! If you have been shown the exercise and experience any unexpected symptoms, discontinue and contact Original Osteopathy.