Joanne Thorp Sports and Complementary Therapies

07/10/2021

07/07/2021

30/06/2021

This is why I love my job

23/02/2021

Did you know that regular massage in pregnancy has been shown to decrease pain in labour and to shorten labour by up to 3 hours?

Regardless of whether you massage yourself or switch off and enjoy being looked after by your partner or a therapist, you’d be happy to know that it is safe to enjoy a massage during all stages of your pregnancy.

Here are 7 ways massage can be used as a form of pain relief for many ‘ailments’ of pregnancy, as well as in labour:

1.It helps to ease the discomfort of stiff or tense muscles and leg cramps by stimulating the flow of blood to these problem areas
2. As well as circulation, it improves lymphatic drainage, helping to prevent and reduce swelling
3. It can help to relax the muscles involved in sciatic pain relieving the discomfort caused by the pinched nerve
4. Massage of the face, neck and shoulders can help to alleviate sinus pressure and headaches caused by tension
5.Regular abdominal massage encourages bowel movement and helps relieve constipation
6.Massage during labour can help you better cope with contractions by making them feel less intense and more manageable
7. As well as easing pain, massage in labour can help reduce anxiety, labour time and pain-relief required

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03/01/2021

04/12/2020

Enhancing Recovery: Cryotherapy for Soreness?
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In a recent post I discussed the value of ice and whether it should be used for injuries. Here is a followed up post with the question:
Should you use ice for muscle soreness?
Roberts did a study to assess the effect of cold water immersion (ice baths) and the long-term adaptions in muscle / strength training.
Each group performed a strength program with 1 group following up with cold water immersion (CWI) and the other did an active recovery (brief submaximal aerobic training). Following a 12 week program both groups improved strength and muscle mass however the change was significantly smaller in the CWI group.
The author concluded that Ice baths reduced the long term benefits of strength and muscle building.
Exercise can be looked at purposefully stressing muscle tissue so that adaptation can occur. The adaption in making that tissue stronger and more resilient.
Appropriate stress -> Adaptation
Less stress -> Less Adaptation
Therefore if one does something to reduce the stress the physiological adaptation will also be impaired and some of the benefits will be negated.
So while ice may potentially reduce soreness you also have to consider whether that is a good thing or not.
Keep in mind that In the study the subjects went into the ice bath within 30 minutes after working out. Potentially these negatives may be lessened if there was several hours between exercising and the ice bath.
Times I may consider using CWI may be following skill training sessions, where the goal is skill development and not physiological changes.

References:
1️⃣Roberts, L. A., Raastad, T., Markworth, J. F., Figueiredo, V. C., Egner, I. M., Shield, A., ... & Peake, J. M. (2015). Post‐exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long‐term adaptations in muscle to strength training. The Journal of physiology, 593(18), 4285-4301.

01/12/2020

Enhancing Recovery: Should you Ice Injuries?
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Icing is a staple for injury management, right? Actually this has been a fairly controversial topic of late: Should you be using ice after an injury? The original concept was developed by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, “RICE” (Mirkin 1978)
•Rest
•Ice
•Compression
•Elevate
The thought process is that ice would reduce inflammation and assist with the healing process.
Dr Mirkin eventually refuted his own model (Mirkin 2016), and recommended against ICE and REST. Why? Inflammation is critical for the initiation of hormonal release so healing can take place. Meaning, if you stop the initial inflammatory response you delay the healing process.
Bleakley presented on this topic at the Sports Kongres comparing the research on this topic.
1️⃣He notes that while ice may reduce inflammation in rat models it hasn’t been shown in human models.
2️⃣It is unclear whether there is a net positive or a net negative when icing an injury.
3️⃣Ice is proven to reduce pain.
So ice DOES help or it DOESN’T help?
My professional interpretation on whether you should ice or not:
Ice is an effective method of pain management. If you have resting pain (lingering pain) ice can be an effective tool for pain reduction.
Personally I prefer to avoid icing my own injuries that being said if my patients are in a lot of pain I prefer them ice instead of being reliant on pain medication for relief. That being said if you do not have PAIN I do not recommend icing.
Reference:
1️⃣Bleakley, Chris. Rice, Price, Police - What’s in and what’s out. Sports Kongres
2️⃣Mirkin, G. (1978) The Sportsmedicine Book
3️⃣Mirkin, G. (2016) Why Ice Delays Recovery