Athlete’s Shoulder

Athlete’s Shoulder - Resolving Shoulder Injuries with Active Release Techniques (ART)

By: Dr. David Westmacott

Athletic activities require a considerable amount of strength, coordination, and flexibility from the shoulder.  As a result, athletes participating in sports such as swimming, paddling, golf, baseball, and tennis, commonly develop shoulder injuries.  Unfortunately, when shoulder injuries occur they not only prevent optimal performance, but they often progress to the point of preventing competition and training altogether.  To make matters worse, many of the most common shoulder conditions are slow to respond to traditional types of treatment and often result in months of frustration for the athlete.

Fortunately, a new treatment technique known as Active Release Technique (ART) is proving to be a very successful method to combat many common shoulder problems and get athletes back in the game quickly and effectively.  But before we talk about why ART works so effectively, first we need to understand how the shoulder becomes injured in the first place.

Shoulder Basics – The high cost of mobility

The shoulder joint consists of the round head of the upper arm connecting to the flat surface of the shoulder blade.  This “round-on-flat” relationship is different from most other joints in the body, and as a result is capable of providing a great deal of movement.  For example, most joints allow only one direction of movements (i.e. ankle, knee, elbow, fingers).  In comparison, the architecture of the shoulder allows us to reach up overhead, back behind the body, across the chest, and into internal and external rotation.

Over time the muscles become strained and develop small scale injury known as micro-trauma.  Initially this micro-trauma is not painful, but may be perceived as a mild ache or tightness in the muscles.  Although only small, the damage still needs to be repaired.  The body responds to tissue injury in a very predictable way – by laying down new tissue to repair the damaged tissue.  With micro-trauma the body repairs the strained tissue by laying down small amounts of scar tissue in and around the injured area.  The scar tissue itself is not a problem – in fact it is a normal and necessary part of healing.

The problem occurs when the shoulder is repeatedly subjected to the same high force athletic movements.  This in turn causes the same muscles to become strained and subsequently repaired over and over again.  Over time scar tissue will build-up and accumulate into what we called adhesions.  As these adhesions form they start to affect the normal health and function of the muscles.  In fact, they will often lead to pain, tightness, stiffness, restricted joint motion, and diminished blood flow.

As these scar tissue adhesions accumulate in the shoulder region, it places more and more strain on the muscles as they must now stretch and contract against these adhesions in an attempt to move and stabilize the shoulder.  This places even further strain on the shoulder muscles, which in turn leads to more micro-trauma.  Essentially a repetitive injury cycle is set-up causing continued adhesion formation and progressive shoulder dysfunction.

As the cycle progresses the ability of the muscles to contract properly is affected and the stability of the shoulder becomes compromised.  At this point it is not uncommon for the muscles to give way, resulting in a more severe and debilitating pain.  In fact, many athletes come into our office explaining how they have hurt their shoulder during a routine task that they have done thousands of times before.  When further questioned these athletes almost always describe some mild pain or tightness in their shoulders that has been building over time.  As you can see from the explanation of the repetitive injury cycle, these types of injuries build-up over time and the more acute injury is often just the “straw-that-broke-the-camels-back”.

How are Shoulder Injuries Best Treated?

The Traditional Approach

In the attempt to relieve shoulder, a variety of treatment methods are used, either on their own, or in combination with other methods.  Some of the more common approaches include anti-inflammatory medications, rest, ice, ultrasounds (US), muscle stimulation (E-Stim), steroid injections,  stretching, exercise, and when all else fails, surgery.  Unfortunately, most of these traditional techniques generally require a long period of time before they provide any significant relief, and in many cases, provide only temporary relief from symptoms instead of fixing the underlying cause of the problem.  This can be a huge problem as athletes often want and need to get back to training and competition as soon as possible.

The main reason these traditional approaches are often ineffective is they fail to address the underlying scar tissue adhesions that develop within the muscles and surrounding soft tissues.  It is these adhesions that are binding the tissues together, restricting the normal movements, and interfering with the normal flexibility, and contraction of the muscles in the shoulder area.

Passive approaches, such as medications, rest, ice and steroid injections, all focus on symptomatic relief and do nothing to address the muscle restrictions and dysfunction.  More active approaches, such as stretching and exercises, are often needed for full rehabilitation of the condition and to restore full strength and function of the muscles, however, they themselves do not treat the underlying adhesions.  In fact, without first addressing the scar tissue adhesions, stretches and exercises are often less effective and much slower to produce relief or recovery from the shoulder condition.

One of the best things about ART is how fast it can get results.  In our experience, the majority of shoulder injuries respond very well to ART treatment, especially when combined with the appropriate home stretching and strengthening exercises.  Although each case is unique and there are several factors that will determine the length of time required to fully resolve each condition, we usually find a significant improvement can be gained in just 4-6 treatments.  These results are the main reason that many elite athletes and professional sports teams have ART practitioners on staff, and why ART is an integral part of the Ironman triathlon series.

To book an appointment to see if ART will be able to help with your elbow injury, simply call our office at 403-278-1405.

What is IMS Needling?

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Active Sports Therapy

IMS stands for Intra Muscular Stimulation. It is a technique that uses needles similar to needles used in acupuncture to find and diagnose muscle shortening in deep muscles. The goal of the IMS needling technique is to release this deep muscle tension.

Why do muscles become shortened and therefore cause pain in the first place?

In theory, muscles can become overactive or tight when nerves malfunction following minor irritation. Nerves and nerve endings become extremely sensitive and cause innocent, harmless signals to be exaggerated and misperceived as pain. This characteristic is known medically as super sensitivity. The response to the super sensitivity is pain and extreme muscle shortening.

IMS works to release shortened muscles and pain by calming down the overactive nerve signals to the muscles.

Does this treatment work?

If the shortened muscle is caused by overactive nerve signals to the muscle, then IMS is a very good treatment.

Ask you Doctor or Therapist if IMS is an appropriate treatment for you! Our Physiotherapist, Michelle Nay, has had great success treating patients with IMS at Active Sports Therapy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Athlete’s Knee

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]Resolving Knee Injuries with Active Release Techniques (ART)

By: Dr. David Westmacott – Doctor of Chiropractic

Knee problems can be among the most frustrating and debilitating injuries to occur across a wide range of sporting activities.  Not only are knee injuries extremely common, but as the pain and symptoms associated with the injury develop the athlete’s ability to train and compete quickly diminishes.  Making matters worse, many sports injuries involving the knee are slow to respond to traditional types of care, keeping the athlete sidelined for weeks or even months at a time.  This often causes an athlete to miss a large part of their competitive season, or even worse, to be unable to participate in an event they have spent months preparing for.

Fortunately, a new treatment technique known as Active Release Techniques (ART) is proving to be a very successful method to combat many common knee problems and get athletes back in the game quickly and effectively.  But before we talk about why ART works so effectively, first we need to understand how the knee becomes injured in the first place.

How Do Knee Injuries Develop?

The knee joint is a type of hinge joint that allows the knee to bend forwards and backwards.  For most athletic activities the knee is a critical region as it must act to both support the weight of the body, as well as flex and extend to generate the propulsive forces needed to move the body.  To help with these tasks there is a complex set of muscles that surround the knee.  It is essential that these muscles possess adequate strength, flexibility, and coordination as we rely on them to protect and stabilize the knee during virtually every athletic activity.

For example, with sports such as basketball or soccer, the muscles of the knee must contract during running, jumping, or to initiate rapid changes in direction.  Similar demands on the knee can be seen within a wide variety of sports such as hockey, football, baseball, racket sports, and martial arts.  These athletic motions require explosive muscle contractions at the knee, but also require finely tuned muscle balance and coordination to control the knee and prevent excessive strain during these movements.

For the knee to stay healthy and to retain optimal function it is absolutely critical that there is adequate strength, flexibility, and coordination of the surrounding muscles.  However, maintaining proper function at the knee in itself is not enough.  In fact, for the knee to stay injury free, proper function is needed at the other regions of the leg and trunk as well.

For example, in addition to problems occurring in the knee muscles themselves, knee injury can also be linked to problems at the adjacent joints, such as the foot, hip and pelvis.  This is because the knee is directly connected to these structures through the tibia and femur, as well as through the surrounding muscles.

This interconnectedness is referred to as the kinetic chain.  With this relationship we can think of the knee as one link in the kinetic chain, but each link can be affected by any of the other links.  This can be a big problem for the knee because the adjacent foot and hip move differently than the knee.  For example, both the hip and foot are designed to move in all 3 planes – front to back, side to side, and into rotation.  The knee however, is designed to move primarily in only one plane – forward and backward.  If even a minor problem such as excessive tightness, weakness, joint restriction, poor muscle balance, or faulty alignment exists in the hip or foot, it will often cause the knee to move excessively into a side-to-side or twisting direction.

This abnormal knee motion will not only result in excessive strain and overload to the bone and ligament components of the knee joint, but will place even further contractile demand on the muscles that surround the knee in an attempt to protect the knee and correct the abnormal movement.  This does not necessarily mean that these adjacent areas (i.e. foot or hip) will themselves be painful.  In fact, the knee is often the site that will first develop pain, even if the knee is not the primary cause of the problem!

This situation where pain develops in one area as a result of a problem in another adjacent region is referred to as “movement compensation”.  Because of the repetitive, high force motions associated with sports, even minor movement compensations will be greatly magnified and will prevent the athlete from properly controlling the knee and generating the propulsive forces required for the athletic movements.  As this occurs, instead of forces being transferred effectively through the muscles and joints of the kinetic chain, the forces become concentrated at the knee, which is the site of the movement compensation.

Due to the impact movement compensations have on knee injuries, it is critical that the entire kinetic chain is evaluated to ensure all areas are functioning properly, not just the area of pain.  Failure to identify and correct these compensations will not only prolong the injury process, but will also lead to the injury reoccurring over and over again.

ART: Our Approach – A Better Solution (Kristian decide if there should just be a link here that circles back to the November 17th Post)

ART stands for Active Release Techniques.  It is a new and highly successful hands-on treatment method to address problems in the soft tissues of the body, including the muscles, ligaments, fascia, and nerves.  ART treatment is highly successful in dealing with many knee injuries because it is specifically designed to locate and treat scar tissue adhesions that accumulate in the muscles and surrounding soft tissues.  By location and treating the soft-tissue adhesions with ART, it allows the practitioner to, 1) breakup restrictive adhesions, 2) reinstate normal tissue flexibility and movement, and 3) more completely restore flexibility, balance, and stability to the injured area and to the entire kinetic chain.

You can think of an ART treatment as a type of active massage.  The practitioner will first shorten the muscle, tendon, or ligament, and then apply a very specific pressure with their hand as you actively stretch and lengthen the tissues.  As the tissue lengthens the practitioner is able to assess the texture and tension of the muscle to determine if the tissue is healthy or contains scar tissue that needs further treatment.  When scar tissue adhesions are felt the amount and direction of tension can be modified to treat the problematic area.  In this sense, each treatment is also an assessment of the health of the area as we are able to feel specifically where the problem is occurring.

An additional benefit of ART is it allows us to further assess and correct problems not only at the site of pain itself, but also in other areas of the kinetic chain, which are associated with movement compensations and are often contributing factors to the problem.  This ensures that all the soft tissues that have become dysfunctional and are contributing to the specific injury are addressed, even if they have not yet all developed pain.

One of the best things about ART is how fast it can get results.  In our experience, many knee conditions respond very well to ART treatment, especially when combined with the appropriate home stretching and strengthening exercises.  Although each case is unique and there are several factors that will determine the length of time required to fully resolve each condition, we usually find a significant improvement can be gained in just 4-6 treatments.  These results are the main reason that many elite athletes and professional sports teams have ART practitioners on staff, and why ART is an integral part of the Ironman triathlon series.

To book an appointment to see if ART will be able to help with your injury, simply call our office at 403-278-1405.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Active Release Techniques : Our Approach – A Better Solution

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]By: Dr. David Westmacott – Doctor of Chiropractic

ART stands for Active Release Techniques.  It is a new and highly successful hands-on treatment method to address problems in the soft tissues of the body, including the muscles, ligaments, fascia, and nerves.  ART treatment is highly successful in dealing with neck injuries because it is specifically designed to locate and treat scar tissue adhesions that accumulate in the muscles and surrounding soft tissues.  By location and treating the soft-tissue adhesions with ART, it allows the practitioner to, 1) breakup restrictive adhesions, 2) reinstate normal tissue flexibility and movement, and 3) more completely restore flexibility, balance, and stability to the injured area and to the entire kinetic chain.

You can think of an ART treatment as a type of active massage.  The practitioner will first shorten the muscle, tendon, or ligament, and then apply a very specific pressure with their hand as you actively stretch and lengthen the tissues.  As the tissue lengthens the practitioner is able to assess the texture and tension of the muscle to determine if the tissue is healthy or contains scar tissue that needs further treatment.  When scar tissue adhesions are felt the amount and direction of tension can be modified to treat the problematic area.  In this sense, each treatment is also an assessment of the health of the area as we are able to feel specifically where the problem is occurring.

An additional benefit of ART is it allows us to further assess and correct problems not only at the site of pain itself, but also in other areas of the kinetic chain, which are associated with movement compensations and are often contributing factors to the problem.  This ensures that all the soft tissues that have become dysfunctional and are contributing to the specific injury are addressed, even if they have not yet all developed pain.

One of the best things about ART is how fast it can get results.  In our experience, the majority of neck injuries respond very well to ART treatment, especially when combined with the appropriate home stretching and strengthening exercises.  Although each case is unique and there are several factors that will determine the length of time required to fully resolve each condition, we usually find a significant improvement can be gained in just 4-6 treatments.  These results are the main reason that many elite athletes and professional sports teams have ART practitioners on staff, and why ART is an integral part of the Ironman triathlon series.

To book an appointment to see if ART will be able to help with your injury, simply call our office at 403-278-1405[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

AST Winter 2014 Lecture Series Line Up

All Lectures are from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the AST Clinic

 

The Truth About Cholesterol & The Most Important Heart Tests You Should Have to Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease

Diamond Fernandes, BSc, ACSM CES®, NSCA CSCS®

Founder and Director of the Heart Fit Clinic

Over 50% of heart attacks occur with people with normal cholesterol profiles.
Learn about the truth about cholesterol and really what causes heart attacks and strokes.

In this talk, you will learn:

 

Strengthen Your Core With Breath

Dr. Jennifer Teasdale DC and Dr. Shereen Kangarloo DC

Did you know that we take approximately 24,000 breaths per day and most of us do not do it properly! Proper breathing mechanics play a huge role on our ability to active our core muscles. Without the ability to properly activate our diaphragm, we can never adequately train our core and build core strength. The ability to breathe correctly can give us that competitive advantage, decrease neck, back and shoulder pain, as well as, return to activity with a lower risk of injury.

Join Dr. Jennifer Teasdale and Dr. Shereen Kangarloo as they present to you step by step breathing techniques that will strengthen your core and help keep you injury-free in your athletic pursuits and your health and wellness goals.

This hands-on lecture is for anyone with chronic headaches, neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, all recreational and high level athletes, anyone with respiratory conditions, as well as, anyone who has ever been pregnant or has had abdominal surgery.\

Muscle Activation Technique

Sarah Kundersma

Join Sarah Kundersma as she introduces MAT – a revolutionary treatment NEW to Active Sports Therapy!

Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) is a systematic approach that targets pain at its source through a revolu-tionary set of checks and balances that result in increased stability and mobility. It resets the neuromuscular imbalances the body exhibits.

MAT™ was developed by Greg Roskoff, a biomechanics expert, who has worked as a consultant for the Denver Broncos, the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz.

WHY DOES MAT™ WORK?

MAT™ does not treat pain but rather uses it as an indicator that something is wrong. From a muscular point of view, body pain results from stronger muscles being “ tight” be-cause they are overworked to compensate for the weak there by causing misalignment. By “ reactivating” weak muscles, body symmetry is restored. The result is pain re-duction and improved performance levels, including: greater range of motion, increased joint stability, reduced muscle fatigue, and faster muscle recovery.

HOW IS IT DONE?

Certified specialists look for asymmetries in the body through a range of motion exam. The weak muscles are targeted through manual palpations and positional isometric contractions.

EVERYONE CAN BENEFIT?

Individuals can expect reduced pain, improved range of motion and the ability to return to living life as opposed to sitting on the sidelines.

 

Active Isolated Stretching

Michelle Nay BSc. PT, MCPA

Join Active Sports Therapy’s Physiotherapist, Michelle Nay for an evening of active isolated stretching. – a technique new to the clinic!

This specific technique often referred to as “Aaron Mattes” exercises, promote range of motion, restore or develop brain-muscle connectivity, and increase muscle strength, as the bodies soft tissues, including fascia, tendons, and ligaments.
These gentle stretching movements can invigorate the circulatory, respiratory, and neuromuscular systems, which help alleviate many of the symptoms of stress as well.

Flexibility and proper stretching have played a very important role for enhancing performance, rehabilitation and wellness.

Physiological benefits of optimal stretching:

Overall benefits of an Optimal Flexibility Program:

Participants will learn simple stretching techniques that can be used every day.
Let’s get stretching!!!

 

Functional Movement Screen

Dr. David Westmacott B.Kin., DC, RMT

What is your risk of injury in sport or activity? We can tell you! If you are an athlete or just love physical activity, come see if you are at risk of having an injury that could very possibly take you out!

How do we quantify your risk of injury?

THE FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREEN (FMS)

Put simply, the FMS is a ranking and grading system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function. By screening these patterns, the FMS readily identifies functional limitations and asymmetries. These are issues that can reduce the effects of functional training and physical conditioning and distort body awareness.

The FMS generates the Functional Movement Screen Score, which is used to target problems and track progress. This scoring system is directly linked to the most beneficial corrective exercises to restore mechanically sound movement patterns.

Exercise professionals monitor the FMS score to track progress and to identify those exercises that will be most effective to restore proper movement and build strength in each individual.

What is your risk of injury?

FREE FMS SCREENS FOR ALL WHO ATTEND THIS LECTURE

 

Stress and Emotional Management in Work, Sport and Life

Learn how to De-stress in 5 minutes or less – Anytime!

Tracey Delfs BPE, RMT, CYT, CPCC

Join Tracey Delfs to learn some techniques to better manage your stress and emotions, as well as enhance your performance at work, sport and life.

During this presentation you will learn more about how stress impacts our physiology and how practicing the "HeartMath" techniques can bring your mind, emotions and nervous system back to a place of balance. Helping you to calm your mind, decrease anxiety, increase your performance and energy levels. You will also get a chance to see and try out state of the art biofeedback equipment that measures your stress level.

This talk is essential for all looking for ways to help manage stress and emotions or just to get that extra edge for better performance.

Tracey Delfs has experience working with a variety of populations using these techniques and technology. These populations include; Olympic athletes, high stressed executives, overwhelmed parents and individuals with various health conditions including anxiety, hypertension and hormonal imbalances.

 

Silent Inflammation

Its Relationship to ALL CHRONIC DISEASE & How Your GUT PERMEABILITY Plays A Role

Dr. Clare Westmacott MD, CCFP, MF(HOM)

Carole Westmacott RN

 

Special Testing – Available at Active Sports Therapy

Dr. Gayle Maguire BSc., ND

This talk will be presented by Dr. Gayle Maguire, naturopathic doctor.

Come learn about testing options available at AST, including hormones, stress (cortisol), and allergy testing.  We will discuss who may benefit from these tests, how they are performed, how they benefit patient health and guide treatment plans.  We will also cover how these tests compare to alternatives.

 

Improve Your Golf Game by Improving Your Golf Biomechanics

How to effectively increase your biomechanical advantage in golf, and improve your swing in the process. The role that both muscles and fascia have in causing stiffness and/or allowing flexibility as they pertain to golf are examined.

Dr. Corey Finan, D.C., C.C.S.P., R.M.T.

Have you tried golfing and found it difficult to improve your game? Have you sought out lessons without significant improvement to your swing? Maybe your limiting factor is not your skill, but your body’s mechanics and flexibility. In this lecture we will explore the reasons why people lose power in their golf swing, have inconsistencies, and get sore with golfing. Simple changes can lead to significant results. We look at how the biomechanics of the foot can affect your elbow, causing elbow pain with golf. Other problems such as hip pain, knee pain and shoulder pain can all have a common cause. The role that fascia and muscles have on complex movements can make or break your game. Find out why you’re not performing to your peak potential, and what simple things you can do to change that.

 

Meet Dr. Jennifer Teasdale’s Maternity Locum: Dr. Shereen Kangarloo

Dr. Jenn will be away from the clinic commencing March 31, 2014 for 8 weeks and will be returning June  2, 2014.

 

Dr. Shereen Kangarloo was born and raised in Calgary and attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. She later received her Doctorate of Chiropractic degree from the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Shereen is committed to optimizing function and performance through a combination of active release techniques, chiropractic adjusting, rehabilitation exercises, nutritional support, and functional taping techniques. She believes in the team approach to health, empowering her patients to become active members of their recovery.

Dr. Shereen strives to be the healthiest she can be and hopes to facilitate the transformation of her patients’ lives. As a fellow outdoor enthusiast, you can find her cycling on the many city pathways, hiking or cross country skiing in the Rocky Mountains or enjoying some quiet time in the yoga studio.

 

Dr. Kangarloo will be in the clinic during the month of February on Thursday afternoons 2-6pm getting to know Dr. Teasdale’s patients.

Active Sports Therapy is pleased to welcome Sarah Kuindersma to our team!

Active Sports Therapy is pleased to welcome Sarah Kuindersma to our team. Sarah is a certified Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) Specialist and is currently accepting new patients. An MAT session may complement you current AST treatment plan.

Welcome Sarah!

Sarah Kuindersma MAT,  PTS - Muscle Activation Specialist

 

Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT)

When someone is compensating and unable to do certain motions, MAT will assess the limitations and get the inhibited muscles firing. MAT is a revolutionary approach to the assessment and correction of muscular imbalances. It is a straightforward and non-invasive technique, designed to balance the muscular system. Through a unique systematic format, MAT techniques are used to “jumpstart” the muscle in order for them to function with maximum efficiency.

MAT works with the communication between your brain and muscles, so you can reach your full potential.

MAT identifies weak muscles, or those that aren’t properly communicating with the brain, and walks you through exercises that target those very specific areas. Fixing the way that muscles contract and more evenly distributing work amongst muscles in a group can do a lot for the body.

When you have the muscles working together as they should, movement and function of individuals’ are optimized.

Join us in Welcoming Dr. Jennifer Teasdale to the AST team!

Dr. Teasdale grew up in British Columbia and recently moved from Portland, Oregon where she completed her chiropractic doctorate.

Dr. Teasdale is passionate about health and wellness. Before becoming a chiropractor she worked in the fitness industry for over a decade as a personal trainer, bootcamp instructor and running coach. While in Portland, she fell in love with yoga and has since completed her teacher training. Check out her teaching schedule at www.breathehotyoga.ca

When she isn't at the clinic she is out in the mountains training for the Canadian Death race, in the hot yoga studio or spending time with her two favorite men, her husband, Mike and their German Shepherd, Bo.

Welcome to our new and greatly expanded Active Sports Therapy Health Centre

Dear Patients,

We are truly excited for this opportunity to expand our Health Centre which we have build with you in mind so that we can serve you even better and more comfortably.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our loyal patients over the years for allowing us to serve you and we apologize for any inconvenience to patients for our re-location. This New Location however, is the best solution for us to finally move forward and continue the growth of our clinic.

We would like to welcome you to the new Active Sports Therapy Health Centre and we look forward to sharing it all with you.

Dr. David Westmacott and Dr. Corey Finan