Active Life Balance Sports Massage

24/12/2024

Active Life Balance has now closed for Christmas and New Year. I will be re-opening Monday 6th January 2025! Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! (Bookings will still be taken through the holiday period).

15/09/2022

Pilates for your core..

Who said building your core needed a gym membership?

08/09/2022

What happens to your fitness when you take a break frim running?

Whether it's due to injury, a holiday or a voluntary break, here's what happens to your body when you take a timeout from training

06/09/2022

"Hills, Love them or HATE them?

Our latest monthly workout is all about the power of hills. Would you be looking to add hills to your training this week?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVtI8LZWoUs"

Every month we will be bringing you a workout you can try at home. They are all from running coaches who know their stuff and this session is from Amanda Bro...

05/09/2022

'Sugar is on top of the list of foods that may increase muscle and joint inflammation. It is believed that processed sugars release pro-inflammatory substances in the body, causing further inflammation in the joints....'

Do you know how much sugar you are eating daily? Most people don’t. Not only do we think we are eating far less sugar than we are, but we may not understand what sugar does to our bodies. Here w…

01/09/2022

Strengthen your bones and joints for running....

These physio-approved exercises build stronger and more injury-resistant knees, hips and lower back

30/08/2022

Running a marathon in the autumn?
The running channels advice below...

Marathon season is upon us, well the training period anyway! And the sooner you start training the better! Not sure why you’ve started so early? Or looking f...

29/08/2022

10 minute yoga for back pain.

26/08/2022

Training your abs for running in 10 minute work out...

Strengthen your entire core with just four functional moves.

23/08/2022

Exercises to improve your running ...

Looking for ways to boost your running? Running Channel physio Manni, along with colleague Mo, takes us through the best 10 exercises you can do at home to i...

22/08/2022

'Whether you run, bike, dance, practice yoga, or just hang out on your couch, your psoas muscles are involved......'

🔈 WHY ARE THE PSOAS MUSCLES CONSTANTLY CONTRACTED DURING PROLONGED PERIODS OF STRESS?

Whether you run, bike, dance, practice yoga, or just hang out on your couch, your psoas muscles are involved. That’s because your psoas muscles are the primary connectors between your torso and your legs. They affect your posture and help to stabilise your spine.

The psoas muscles are made of both slow and fast twitching muscles. Because they are major flexors, weak psoas muscles can cause many of the surrounding muscles to compensate and become overused. That is why a tight or overstretched psoas muscle could be the cause of many or your aches and pains, including low back and pelvic pain.

👩‍🔬 ANATOMY

Structurally, your psoas muscles are the deepest muscles in your core. They attach from your 12th thoracic vertebrae to your 5 lumbar vertebrae, through your pelvis and then finally attach to your femurs. In fact, they are the only muscles that connect your spine to your legs.

Your psoas muscles allow you to bend your hips and legs towards your chest, for example when you are going up stairs. They also help to move your leg forward when you walk or run.

Your psoas muscles are the muscles that flex your trunk forward when bend over to pick up something from the floor. They also stabilize your trunk and spine during movement and sitting.

👩‍🔬 THE PSOAS AND FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE

The psoas muscles support your internal organs and work like hydraulic pumps allowing blood and lymph to be pushed in and out of your cells.

Your psoas muscles are vital not only to your structural well-being, but also to your psychological well-being because of their connection to your breath.

Here’s why: there are two tendons for the diaphragm (called the crura) that extend down and connect to the spine alongside where the psoas muscles attach. One of the ligaments (the medial arcuate) wraps around the top of each psoas. Also, the diaphragm and the psoas muscles are connected through fascia that also connects the other hip muscles.

These connections between the psoas muscle and the diaphragm literally connect your ability to walk and breathe, and also how you respond to fear and excitement. That’s because, when you are startled or under stress, your psoas contracts.

In other words, your psoas has a direct influence on your fight or flight response!

During prolonged periods of stress, your psoas is constantly contracted. The same contraction occurs when you:

➡️ sit for long periods of time
➡️ engage in excessive running or walking
➡️ sleep in the fetal position
➡️ do a lot of sit-ups

💡 Here are some tips for getting your psoas back in balance:

✔️ Avoid sitting for extended periods
✔️ Add support to your car seat
✔️ Try Resistance Flexibility exercises
✔️ Get a professional massage
✔️ Release stress and past traumas
✔️ Stretch

💡 HOW TO STRETCH

Roller Psoas Stretch
Use a foam roller for this passive, relaxing stretch that lengthens your psoas, one of your deep hip flexors.

1. Place the roller perpendicular to your spine and lie with your sacrum (the back of your pelvis) — not your spine — on the roller.
2. Pull your left knee toward your chest, keeping your right heel on the ground. You should feel a stretch on the front of your right hip.
3. To increase the stretch, reach your right arm over your head and open your left knee slightly out to the left.
Hold for 30 seconds, then switch legs. Repeat as needed.

18/08/2022

Yoga and running?

Why you need to add yoga into your training week and exactly how to get started