A well-balanced and injury-free body is the dream of every athlete. Unfortunately, this is not always the reality. Osteopathy in sport has been used in different countries to prevent and treat injuries, giving the athletes a better quality of life, and helping them to achieve better results, no matter which kind of sport we are talking about.
There are a great number of top athletes that benefit from osteopathic treatment. In 1998, just after winning the World Cup, the former football player Zinedine Zidane said: “I owe a large part of my presence in the final match to my osteopath.” Fourteen years after that, he talked about Osteopathy again: “treating yourself naturally, with less medication and anti-inflammatories, allows you to preserve yourself after your sports career and age better". Currently, many other athletes utilise Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT), for example the Polish tennis player Jerzy Janowicz, the British olympic champion Mo Farah, and the French Real Madrid’s football player Karim Benzema.

Therefore, it is no surprise that a team of osteopaths have been present in all Olympic Games since ‘London 2012’. That was the first time that 25 osteopathic health professionals joined the health team of the biggest sporting event in the world. There were more than 900 treatment sessions there. In ‘Rio 2016’, the number of osteopaths that joined the health team increased to 30. Consequently, the osteopathic approach has become a reality for prevention and treatment of injuries for high performance athletes.
However, amateur athletes can also benefit from osteopathic treatment to increase their health status, quality of life and improve their performance. Presenting a truly holistic approach, Osteopathy considers the body as a single unit, where all the systems are interrelated and interdependent, also considering all the other aspects that are common to every human being, like the psychological, mental, social, environmental and spiritual fields.

Although we all consider exercise to be a key component of a healthy lifestyle, regular stretching is often overlooked and is not always integrated into our exercise routine. Whether we’re exercising regularly or not, it is important to stretch for both our physical and mental health. Many people consider stretching to be time consuming and so it’s either done very briefly, or not at all. Now that we are currently in isolation, people have more time to consider their physical and mental wellbeing at home. We can use this opportunity to incorporate stretching into our daily lifestyles.
​
If we are working from home, or simply taking this time to rest and recuperate, it’s likely that tension will build up in our muscles after prolonged periods of sitting. It is important to stretch daily to help to keep this tension as minimal as possible. The great thing about stretching is that everybody can do it, regardless of flexibility or age, and you don’t need any equipment or a huge amount of time to be able to feel the benefits. 

​Benefits of stretching

Improve posture
Office workers, or anybody who is seated for long periods of time tend to build up muscle tension in the chest, back and legs, if they don’t regularly stretch. This can dramatically impact your posture because as tension builds up, your muscles will become tighter and shorter in length, causing us to develop rounded shoulders and a slouched and slumped spine. Over time, if this is left untreated, your posture can get progressively worse and can begin to cause musculoskeletal pain. Stretching regularly will help the body respond better to stresses that we put on it through prolonged positioning and will also help to prevent chronic tension from building up.

Reduce chance of injury
Muscle injuries tend to occur when they’re tight and put under strain by being stretched too far. This can happen during simple day to day activities or sometimes through exercise. A regular, consistent, gentle stretching routine will help to keep muscles more supple and flexible, thereby reducing the risk of injury.

Improve range of motion
Tight muscles will prevent your range of motion. For example, tight hamstrings may prevent us from being able to straighten our legs fully, or bend forwards to touch our toes. Regular stretching will improve the flexibility within your muscles and therefore allow an increased range of motion to occur.

Reduce pain and stiffness
A form of active recovery for sore muscles is to do regular, light stretching of the affected muscle group. Many studies have shown that regular stretching can help to decrease pain levels and reduce stiffness, for both acute soreness and also in individuals with chronic neck and lower back pain. 

Calm the mind
Although stretching can feel a bit uncomfortable at first, the more regularly you stretch, the greater the benefit will be for both your mind and body. Focus on taking deep, mindful and slower breaths when you are stretching. This can help to relax you further and help your stretching routine to be calming and enjoyable. 

How often should I stretch?
When it comes to stretching, consistency is key. By doing a few simple stretches daily, our muscles will remain supple, our flexibility and posture will improve and our chance of injury will be reduced. Keep the stretches gentle if you’re doing them throughout the day e.g. lunch time stretches. The best time to stretch more deeply is after exercise when our muscles are warmer e.g. after walking or running.
 
How long should I stretch for?
Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and try not to hold your breath whilst your stretching. Don’t ‘bounce’ in the stretch, this can cause injury. Just take the stretch to the point that you can feel tension in the muscle and hold it there. You should not experience pain when you are stretching. If you do experience pain, ease out of the stretch to find a more comfortable level of tension or contact us for further advice.
 
Keep an eye on our social media where we will soon be posting stretches that you can easily do at home. 

​Rhianna Smith 
DO M.Ost. Reg. Osteopath, MONZ 
www.cityosteopaths.co.nz
​Phone 04 4991439

We had a great response to our hip mobility video, so we decided to follow it up with 3D functional calf stretch.
You may be doing the type of calf stretch where you hang your heels off the edge of a curb? If so, you may want to try this calf stretch instead, which creates mobility that will carry over into your running or walking gait. Get the most out of the 3D calf stretch, by doing it before the 3D hip stretch. All you runners and walkers out there, give it a go!
#stretching #hip #tri #functionality #running #video #edge #gait #calfstretches #runningstretch #cityosteopaths #run #achilles #tendonitis #runners #jogging #stretch #stretches #triathlete

​Following on from our previous running blog, we decided to make a short video, demonstrating a simple and effective hip mobility stretch, to help you get the most out of running and reduce the chances of injury.

Mobility is an essential component in all sports. Creating mobility through stretching is essential and the most effective stretches are those that look, in the whole or part like the sport that you are preparing for. Notice how the hip stretch in the video is performed in a running type posture and creates the hip movements that will carry over into improved running performance.  Give it a go and let us know what you think!

Athletic performance in golf seems to get little consideration outside of the professional game. You wouldn’t play rugby or cricket without training to improve athletic performance, so why do people do so with golf? All too often the only warm up a golfer will do before they hit the ball, is carrying their clubs to the first tee!

As well as having the correct equipment and the correct technique, the golfer needs their body to have the correct mobility and stability, to create the movement necessary for a successful golf swing.  When a golfer plays without the necessary physical preparation, they invite injury and don’t play to their full potential.

Common golfing injuries include:​

• Lower back pain
• Golfers elbow
• Shoulder / rotator cuff injury
• Knee pain

​At City Osteopaths we use NG360°, the Nike Golf Performance System.  This is a scientific process of analysis and training that enables us to enhance athleticism and performance of golfers at all skill levels. This process, coupled with osteopathic principles and techniques, are a potent force for creating success on the golf course.

We offer a unique and effective approach to treating golfers. This includes:​

• Providing an accurate diagnosis of any golfing injuries
• Performing specialist mobility assessment to understand areas of the swing for potential for improvement
• Providing effective hands on treatment to improve mobility and help injured tissues heal
• Prescribe a personalised exercise program to help golfers recover from injury, remain injury free and play better golf

Written by Lewis Jenner M.Ost., FAFS, Reg Osteopath MONZ ​
See Lewis for:
​- Sporting injuries and exercise advice - Foot, ankle, knee and hip injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Restrictions and mobility problems

Phone 04 4991439 and speak with one of our reception staff to make an appointment.
Our website www.cityosteopaths.co.nz has more information and online booking link.
​