What is Rehab?

The term Rehab here implies any activity by a professional in the allied health industry (including Personal Trainer) that reduces pain and dysfunction for their client - not simply what happens after an operation, or what happens in a treatment centre by a medically trained professional. The number one goal of the Rehab Trainer is to reduce risk and get you out of pain.

We Do This By:

+ Risk Assessment of an Injury

+ Evaluation of Functional Movements

+ Hands-On Loosening Techniques

+ Activation Drills and Techniques

+ Blend Rehab into Life

The R+E+H+A+B Protocol

Risk Assessment of an Injury

R

Risk associated with injuries may be classified into “high risk” or “low risk” by a Fitness Professional (or a Physiotherapist too), so they can more accurately and confidently decide which injuries can be trained through (termed “Functional Injuries”, or Low Risk) and which ones need to be trained around (termed “High Risk, or Pathological).

Our Coaches takes the client through our assessment process that consists of static assessment, table assessment and gait assessment this process also includes a full injury and history questionnaire that will guide them to make the right decision. Note that this is nothing like the complex process of “Diagnostics” that a Physiotherapist will go through to determine what an exact injury is.

Evaluation of Functional Movements

E

Evaluation of Functional Movements is based on a deeper understanding of Muscle Imbalance and how it wreaks havoc with comfortable, clean and effective movement.

Common Muscle Imbalances of the upper, lower body and spinal regions are named, biomechanically explained, and linked to compensatory pattern that may be causing the pain or injury.

Poor Positioning – are clients beginning the exercise properly, with optimal body positioning from head to toe, and setting themselves up to move well? * Poor Habits of Movement (Technique) – many compound gym exercises from shoulder press through to squat and running, can all be progress and regressed to suit where you currently are at. Giving you the right exercise at the right time gives you the best chance of being successful and getting immediate results We can then offer you cueing and progressive loading to ensure muscle control is sufficient for the job.
Poor Biomechanics – Commonly with injury, certain movements have become “restricted, inhibited or altered” in the brain (often initially due to self-protection) and therefore structures can remain chronically overloaded. Other muscles may remain “overactive” long after the need to be protective of a body part remains, gradually remaining shortened, riddled with trigger points, hyper-sensitive and painful. These two elements form biomechanical blockages resulting in ‘mobility barriers’, pain, and poor performance within exercise.

Hands-On Loosening Techniques

H

Before you protest that Fitness Professionals are not allowed to get hands-on with their clients bodies…. rest assured, it can all be done with the versatile myofascial release skills.

Trigger Point releases, Myofascial Rolling techniques, active and dynamic stretches are all techniques used to help you get the most from your training.

A

Activation Drills and Techniques

Activation: Improve muscle control and stability of joints

Simple activation drills are incorporated into warm-up and warm-down allowing for quick and easy process that addresses your immediate needs without needing to complete endless low-level exercise.

B

Blend Rehab into Life

Activation: Improve muscle control and stability of joints

Simple activation drills are incorporated into warm-up and warm-down allowing for quick and easy process that addresses your immediate needs without needing to complete endless low-level exercise.

What is Trigger Point Therapy?

Trigger point therapy is a soft tissue technique that works to release painful, tension in muscles and fascia that you would usually experience or may know as a knot in the muscle. There are many different approaches to trigger point therapy including soft tissue work, deep tissue massage and ischemic pressure.

What is a trigger point?

A trigger point is basically a really sore point in a muscle when you push on it or what most people would think of as a knot. You know that bit of the muscle when you are rubbing your tight shoulders that just really hurts? When a trigger point is very sensitive it can cause pain without being pressed on and this is a major cause of muscular pain that most people suffer from.

According to the leading researchers on trigger points and the doctor that coined the term “myofascial trigger point” a trigger point is a “hypersensitive nodule within a taut band of tissue that can refer pain”

There are 3 types of trigger points being active trigger points, latent trigger points and satellite trigger points.

Active trigger Points

Active trigger points are defined as causing pain when no pressure is placed on them. So this means they are painful even if you aren’t massaging them. Common examples of active trigger points are headaches, neck pain, back pain including sciatica, knee pain and so on.

As in the picture above the X marks the spot where you press and the red area is the referral pain pattern. This is helpful in diagnosing where the trigger point is.

Latent Trigger Points

A Latent trigger point is a point you press on that causes pain and often refers pain to another area. These points can be seen as the precursor to active trigger points. If you have latent trigger points that get worse through further strain then they can become active trigger points and that is when you usually feel pain and need someone to help you get out of the pain.

Satellite Trigger Points

A satellite trigger point is the area where the pain is referred to. For example if you were getting pain in your shoulder and you found that the trigger point was in your shoulder referring to the elbow, the elbow points would be the satellite trigger points. So you would also work on these elbow points as they will be involved as well. This is why it is important to work on more than just the area that is painful.

What causes a Trigger Point?

There are a few ideas that have been shown to cause trigger points.

lack of nutrients in the tissue including oxygen. When the blood supply to parts of the muscle is reduced it can cause these issues in the tissue that then cause pain.
Overuse of a muscle through exercise, posture, behaviors can cause the muscle fibers to become chronically contracted which over time causes pain.
Injury such as a strain to the muscle/fascia. When this heals it may leave trigger points.

How do we find them?

There are 4 main criteria to confirm a trigger point.

A taut band within the muscle fiber
An area that is sensitive to pressure within that taut band of tissue
The point refers pain or sensation to another area i.e: you press on the trapezius muscle and you feel it radiate into the head, causing a headache.
A twitch response in the muscle that is pressed on or dry needled.

What is pain referral?

There are a few ideas that suggest that the referral pain you experience is happening in the brain. It is like “crosstalk” you get in electrical cables that are close to each other. This can happen in the brain where areas of sensation in the brain are close to each other. For instance is the trigger point is in the glutes and refers down the leg the area of the leg is close to that area in the brain and that is why you feel it there.

Some simpler ideas are that the muscle may attach to the area you feel the referral, which is common and may be transmitted through the fascia or nerves.

Methods of Trigger Point Therapy

There are a number of ways you can release a trigger point. The most common way is using sustained pressure with fingers, thumb, elbow or a massage ball or tool.

Manual therapy for Trigger Points: this usually involves a sustained pressure on the trigger point until it releases. If you find the nodule within the taut band of tissue you hold pressure on it until the pressure starts to reduce. This may take from 30 seconds to a few minutes. If the trigger point is really chronic then it may take multiple sessions to release this pain. You can try this with a ball to help to release the trigger point, but generally this is less effective as it isn’t as direct as what the therapist can do. This method is also known as ischemic pressure with the idea to get the blood flow away and then when you let go the blood flow rushes back in, drawing all of the new nutrients to the area.