Leptin Hormone & leptin resistance can cause weight gain.

Many people believe that weight gain and weight loss is all about calories and willpower. Me included.

Leptin controls your metabolism, hunger, and energy expenditure. A leptin system that is working properly improves brain fitness, mental sharpness, leads to better memory, and enhances mood.

It is supposed to tell the brain that we have enough fat stored, that we don’t need to eat, and that we can burn calories at a normal rate. This hormone is produced by the body’s fat cells. The more body fat they carry, the more leptin they produce. It is carried by the bloodstream and into the brain, where it sends a signal to the hypothalamus,  the brain area that controls when and how much we eat. The fat cells use leptin to “tell” the brain how much body fat they carry. Lots of leptin tells the brain that we have plenty of fat stored, while low levels of leptin tell the brain that fat stores are low and that we are at risk of starvation.

Leptin is also directly tied to insulin levels. Your blood sugar regulator.

Leptin Resistance – weight gain

Being overweight causes a lot of body fat in the fat cells.

Because fat cells produce leptin in proportion to your size, causes very high levels of leptin. The way leptin is supposed to work, your brain should know that you have plenty of energy stored. The problem is that the leptin signal isn’t working. There’s a whole ton of leptin floating around, but the brain doesn’t “see” that it is there. Leptin resistance.

When the brain doesn’t receive the leptin signal, it erroneously thinks that the body is starving, even though it has more than enough energy stored.

• Eating More: The brain thinks that we MUST eat so that we don’t starve to death.

• Reduced Energy Expenditure: The brain thinks we need to conserve energy,

 Trying to exert willpower over the leptin-driven starvation signal is next to impossible

 

People who are obese have high levels of leptin, but the leptin signal isn’t working due to a condition known as leptin resistance. Leptin resistance can cause hunger and reduced energy expenditure. Losing weight reduces fat mass, which leads to a significant reduction in leptin levels, but the brain doesn’t necessarily reverse its leptin resistance. When leptin goes down, this leads to hunger, increased appetite, reduced motivation to exercise and decreased amount of calories burned at rest. When people lose fat, leptin levels decrease significantly. The brain interprets this as a starvation.

Next blog - how to get your Leptin working for you.

Weight gain and the menopause. My story

Many people believe that weight gain and weight loss is all about calories and willpower. Me included.

In my 20s and 30s I had always maintained a healthy lean weight with regular exercise and a healthy diet, never needed to count calories. I hit my mid forties and I started to pile on weight,! within 4 months I had gained 1 stone, I felt tired, moody, low motivation and cravings especially in the evenings.

I tried increasing my workouts and cardio exercise… I felt at a loss, why was this not making any difference! For the first time in my life I had no willpower and found myself going against my lifestyle eating habits… eating crisps, starch carb foods, chocolate, eating bread. Biggest problem eating rubbish before bed. …. causing  weight gain, moodiness, frustration and no will power!

I found myself in a constant loop of battling against this, fighting to gain my will power, pushing myself in the gym, this would be a 3 week cycle. Bad diet and no exercise – gym and healthy diet – bad diet and no exercise – gym and exercise. Etc!

Eventually I started to link my problem to the pre menopause, there had to be a reason in my body change.

I did the usual went to the GP for advise.. umm not much help there!

I spent 4 years trying everything plant based and natural to get this under control, it was difficult to know if these were helping, because the hot flushes and night sweats would last about 6 weeks and wain for a few months. Over the 4 years my menopause symptoms increased causing vertigo, tooth pain, muscle aches, tiredness. I gained a total of 3 stone. I couldn’t function properly, was in pain most days, exhausted from sleep deprivation… enough was enough

I revisited the GP and insisted on blood tests for everything… surprise surprise.. completely menopausal. Discussed with the doctor HRT.

It took about 7 days for the HRT to kick in. Wow I was amazed, I was sleeping, able to function at work, not feeling dizzy and in less pain. My weight started to maintain. After 3 months I felt I had enough energy to rejoin a gym.. it felt amazing being able to workout again, my muscle were responding and I began to feel great. My body shape was toning. But I still wasn’t losing weight. I started to notice I was still in a 3 week cycle and my previous knowledge of eating habits just wasn’t working anymore and still had cravings. Researching more, I came across a hormone called Leptin!

Next blog all about Leptin.

Trigger point therapy

Trigger point therapy


When a nerve is pinched or when a bone is out of place and hits a nerve, the muscles that the nerve(s) runs through will develop Trigger Points in response to the pain and will send a pain signal where there isn't necessarily an injury, causing referred pain. For example, if you have pain in your wrist, the muscles near your elbow have probably shortened, causing the tissues to pull and thus, you feel pain in the wrist and not at the elbow. The root of the problem must be addressed in order for the injury to heal.

A Trigger Point Therapist's job is to release the Trigger Points at the point of pain and to find and 'erase' the Trigger Points at the origin. Erasing Trigger Points can be done in a variety of ways, but basically, the therapist applies pressure directly at the site of the Trigger Point for a short period of time, usually, several seconds. This breaks up the muscle fibers within the adhesion and releases the toxins that have built up. Once the muscle fibers are broken up, they begin to repair and eventually they return to their natural state, ultimately releasing the muscle memory associated with the injury and healing the pain.

Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT)

This technique manipulates the soft tissue of the body (muscles, tendons and connective tissue) to balance the central nervous system. Nerves transmit impulses (which are responsible for every movement, function and thought) to the body very slowly. Injury, trauma, postural distortion or stress cause nerves to speed up their transmission, inhibiting equilibrium and making the body vulnerable to pain and dysfunction.

Nerve compression or entrapment

Pressure or compression on a nerve by soft tissue, cartilage or bone. The nerve is unable to properly conduct its signal. There are many potential causes for a pinched nerve, depending on the location of the nerve.

Treatment involves:

1. Location, identification and treatment of trigger points
2. Postural and biomechanical correction
3. Restore neurological pathways

• ischemia (tight tissue with reduced blood flow)
• myofascial trigger points (hypersensitive points within muscles that give rise to referred phenomena, including pain)
• neural entrapment (pressure on nerves by muscles and other soft tissues), and nerve compression (pressure on nerves by osseous and other bonelike tissues, such as cartilage or  discs).
• postural assessment (assessment of the position of the body as a whole)
• and dysfunctional gait patterns (manner of movement when walking)
• with constant consideration for many other perpetuating factors, such as hydration, nutrition, breathing patterns, and psychologic stress.

NMT is highly effective for clients who present with chronic pain and is often successful in reducing or eliminating even longstanding painful conditions. Some of the techniques can also be applied to acute injuries and for post-surgical care; many help to improve performance in sport or dance and to prevent injuries due to these activities.


If you think neuromuscular therapy is the treatment for you then contact Caroline at Holistic Life Sports Injury Centre in Cheadle Hulme.

Getting the right type of sports massage

Pre-massage: A sports massage treatment can aid your warm-up and help to increase your circulation and flexibility.
Post-massage: A sports massage will increase your circulation to speed the removal of fatigue toxins, relieve your muscle spasms and prevent soreness, minimising recovery time.
Fine-tuning: A sports massage will help identify the areas of biomechanical stress in your muscles and correct any misalignments before they become problems, enhancing your endurance.
Injury Rehabilitation: Sports massage speeds your healing, increases range of motion, reduces scar tissue allowing the muscle to expand/contract normally. Involves different techniques adapted to the injury and individual.

Benefits of including Sports massage as part of your training plan.

Sports Massage techniques can help:

• Enhance body awareness
• Identify problem areas before they develop into injuries
• Remove knots in muscles formed as a result of injury or hard training
• Relax and stretch muscles that have become shortened and tight
• Improve range of motion in the joints
• Restore suppleness and elasticity
• Relieve pain and stress
• Free muscle adhesions and soften scar tissue caused by injury or overuse
• Improve circulation
• Flush out toxins that cause muscle stiffness and soreness
• Relax the body and mind
• Speed recovery and healing from exertion


At Holistic Life Sports Injury Centre, different Sports Massage techniques are used to ensure that each session is tailored to the specific needs of the sport, injury and the individual.

Cycling injuries and biomechanics

Cycling injuries and biomechanics

Cycling is unique due to its combination of postural inertia of the upper and lower body.
Set-up and positioning of the bike can help prevent injuries.  A cyclist requires both flexibility and stability, imbalances can result in overloading.

Seat height -
To high - power is reduced and injuries to pelvis, adductors, gluteals, hamstrings, calf and knee joint can occur.
To low - increases knee flexion and can cause patella bursal loading.

Bar reach and drop - Poor positioning can reduce flexibility and cause problems in the pelvis, hip and hamstrings.

Cleat positioning - important for the alignment of the hip, knee and ankle.

Seat - should be narrow enough to allow legs to pedal freely without impingement and comfort for endurance.

I would recommend getting a biomechanical posture assessment to identify any musculoskeletal misalignments.

My cycling and triathlete clients have benefitted greatly from biomechanical assessment at my centre in Stockport as well as advice on bike correction/posture to help aid their performance, endurance and less injuries.

Martin Hewitt and Mount McKinley

Helping to rebuild my clients tired muscles, Martin Hewitt who lost the use of his right arm in 2007 and went on to compete for Great Britain in adaptive ski racing, walked unsupported to the North Pole with HRH Prince Harry and led a team of injured soldiers on Mt Manaslu and Everest.  Read more at http://www.fieri.biz/leadership/expeditions/blog/

Five factors that cause pain:

1.     Ischemia: Lack of blood supply to soft tissues which causes hypersensitivity to touch.

2.     Trigger Points: Highly irritated points in muscles which refer pain to other parts of the body.

3.     Nerve Compression or Entrapment: Pressure on a nerve by soft tissue, cartilage or bone.

4.     Postural Distortion: Imbalance of the muscular system.

5.     Biomechanical Dysfunction: Imbalance of the musculoskeletal system resulting in faulty movement.

Biomechanical Assessment
 

• Do you feel poor posture or movement is limiting you.
• Do you suffer with pains, niggles and injuries.

A biomechanical assessment involves an examination of the body, looking at the structure, alignment, strengths and weaknesses, looking at how you move as an individual. It aims to identify potential problems with your mechanics that could lead to injury or slow you down. Muscles are also assessed to make sure that they are in balance and the correct length. If any structures are unbalanced or an incorrect length, re alignment is then achieved through soft/deep tissue massage, manipulation and exercises for muscle strengthening.

How to be a better runner and avoid injury

How to be a better runner and avoid injury

You may or may not know, but pelvic stability is absolutely crucial for injury-free running. You need to be able to control forces in all directions of pelvic movement:

Lateral

Anterior-posterior

Rotational

Book in for a biomechanics assessment today...

In sports medicine, there is no tougher challenge than often the most commonly seen injury with very high re-injury rates.

The endurance runner and their troublesome ITB!

Want to solve the problem and reduce the pain…

Book in for a soft tissue massage today...

There's more to reducing the risk of sustaining a running injury than incorporating a couple of stretches and the odd weights session into your training routines.

You need to be aware of injury prevention for runners - and that is something I can offer you... 

Book in for a biomechanics assessment and treatment today, with specific exercises for your body mechanics and posture.

When all is said and done, prevention is far better than cure.

Neuromuscular Therapy

NEUROMUSCULAR THERAPY?

NMT treats the recovery from acute and chronic pain through specific massage therapy and flexibility stretching to eliminate the causes of most neuromuscular pain patterns. This specific approach to muscular pain relief will help to bring about balance between the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system. NMT enhances the function of joints, muscles and biomechanics (movement) and it releases endorphins, the body's own natural pain killers. Techniques used are:

• Trigger points
• Deep/soft tissue massage
• Nerve entrapment/compression
• Postural corrections
• Nutrition

Holistic Life - sports injury centre uses Neuromuscular therapy as a very effective treatment for many clients.

Foot Pain and Plantar Fasciitis

Foot Pain and Plantar Fasciitis Treatment

Some cases of plantar fasciitis can linger for months, with pain increasing and decreasing in an irregular pattern.
If plantar fasciitis symptoms are not treated quickly, there is a very big possibility that the condition may deteriorate, and they can also develop further and lead to problems throughout the body, caused by the enforced change in body posture. Knee, foot, back or hip problems are common
It's not surprising that plantar fasciitis occurs fairly frequently as the plantar fascia is not very receptive to stretching, and yet stretching occurs in the fascia nearly every time the foot hits the ground.
Plantar fasciitis is often associated with a change in activity, using worn-out shoes, individuals with flat feet and also those with high arches.  Stretching is often recommended, as are soft tissue massage, decreasing training, purchasing better-fitting shoes, using special insoles.
As is the case with any injury, you have to understand why plantar fasciitis cropped up before you can really rehab.
You also need to increase the strength and resiliency of the plantar fascia and the other muscles and connective tissues of the foot - and stabilize and strengthen the entire leg - before you can expect to stay away from plantar fasciitis in the future.
The treatment for this injury in the acute stage is with soft tissue massage whilst stretching the facia, combined with trigger therapy of the foot and deep massage of the leg muscles. Followed with specific ongoing exercises.

Eating for a healthier body. 9 tips.

9 tips for a healthier body.

1.  Eat more raw fruit and vegetables.         
2.  Steam vegetables rather than boil.
3.  Eat more fibre - Wholewheat bread, cereals and pasta.
4.  Instead of frying, try poaching, steaming or grilling.
5.  Cut down on fatty foods such as sausages and pastry.
6.  Cut down on sugar.
7.  Cut down on salt.
8.  Cut down on pre-packaged food.
9.  Chew each mouthfull.

Muscle Referral pain and trigger points

Muscle Referral Pain and Trigger Point Therapy.

When muscles are injured and a nerve is pinched, the muscles that the nerve(s) runs through will develop Trigger Points in response to the pain and will send a pain signal where there isn't necessarily an injury, causing referred pain. For example, if you have pain in lthe lower back, the muscles in your buttocks will be to tight, causing it to press on the nerve sending a message of pain to the back.

Trigger Point Therapy releases the point of pain and not the referral pain area by applying pressure directly at the site of the Trigger Point for a short period of time. This breaks up the muscle fibers within the adhesion and releases the toxins that have built up. Once the muscle fibers are broken up, they begin to repair and eventually they return to their natural state, ultimately releasing the muscle memory associated with the injury and healing the pain.

What is Scar tissue?

What's scar tissue?

Scar tissue is a fibrous material that binds itself to damaged soft tissue fibers in an effort to repair the damaged fibers back together. But it also creates a weak spot at the injury site if not treated properly.
Do you get re-occuring injuries!! You most likely have a scar tissue problem.

So what can you do to get rid of scar tissue?
Massage, deep/soft tissue massage. Massage is the only treatment that will reduce and re-align scar tissue. Ice won't do it. Heat won't do it. Exercises won't do it. Only massage will get rid of scar tissue.

If you can't get to a qualified therapist.. then..
I would recommend a massage balm?
Cooling Balm. This special balm has essential oils which are anti-inflammatory and is very effective in treating soft tissue injuries, like sprains, strains and all types of aches and pains. It includes all-natural ingredients, has no side effects and best of all, is handmade by myself. So if you're suffering with any type of pain... Then buy a jar..

Common Elbow conditions..Elbow pain, Tennis Elbow, Golfers Elbow

Common elbow conditions

 

Golfers elbow, throwers elbow, tennis elbow, elbow pain and elbow tendonitis.

Pain is most often experienced anywhere from the elbow joint to the wrist.

Damage occurs by small rears to the muscles, tendons and ligaments around the elbow joint and forearm. Forming scar tissue and calcium deposits. They cause a restriction of movement, inflammation and pain. If untreated, this scar tissue and calcium deposits can put so much pressure on the muscles and nerves that they can cut off the blood flow and pinch the nerves responsible for controlling the muscles in the forearm.

What causes elbow pain?
Any action, which involves a repetitive and prolonged strain on the forearm, direct injury, or fall onto the elbow. Poor technique will contribute to the condition, such as using ill-fitted equipment, like golf clubs, tennis racquets, work tools, etc.

Treatment.

Soft tissue massage and trigger therapy by a sports massage therapist is one of the most effective treatments for removing scar tissue and speeding up the healing process of the muscles and tendons.

Once most of the pain has been reduced, the next stage is rehabilitation to regain and improve the strength, power, endurance and flexibility of the muscles and tendons that have been compromised.

Suffering from pain and muscular inflammation!!! Try including fresh pineapple and Kiwi into your diet regularly.

3 COMMON TRIATHLON INJURIES

Runner’s Knee (Chondromalacia Patella)

This is one of the most common injuries that occurs among runners and cyclists,  excessive force causes that cartilage to become roughened or softened, causing pain. Weakness of the medial quadriceps muscle is responsible.
Treatment - The roughened kneecap may smooth out over time if offending activities are stopped. RICE therapy and avoiding hill climbs in both running and cycling. Cyclists may try riding higher in the saddle or stand more when climbing. Strength training is used primarily to prevent injury and should be limited when injured. Deep tissue massage to loosen tight/shortened muscles surrounding the knee and hip flexors aiding in the patella gliding with a smoother function.

Achilles Tendonitis

Pain is usually located in the posterior calf and may be more localized to its insertion point on the heel.
Worn out/improper fitting shoes or poor cleat positioning is one cause or a new shoe or cleat, especially when leg extension is increased.  
Treatment - RICE therapy with training volume and intensity reduction to relieve symptoms. Avoid hilly terrain, lowering the seat by a few millimeters may help to reduce stretch on the calf. A heel pad or lift may help if symptoms are from new shoes with a lower heel. Deep tissue and soft tissue massage to to remove scar tissue and to loosen tight muscles and gain more flexibilty and strength in the ankle.

Swimmers Shoulder

Swimming, especially freestyle, causes the shoulder to undergo repetitive overhead motion which may compromise the rotator cuff muscles, causing pain and ruducing the range of motion (ROM), sometimes devloping into frozen shoulder.of impingement in the rotator cuff. It often begins due to volume and/or intensity overload while practicing poor technique. Symptoms usually are reported as pain at the shoulder during the late recovery phase and early catch phase of your stroke.

Treatment - RICE therapy, a reduction in training, anti-inflammatorys and physical therapy/rehab.  Soft tissue massage to reduce scar tisuue and trigger therapy to increase mobilisation of the joint.

Advice

As with any injury if symptoms continue for more than 4-5 days or worsen in any way see a sports therapist for treatment and recommendations. If you wait for it to just “go away” you may end up developing a more chronic condition that could hamper your training and season goals.

Suffering from hip pain!

Hip Pain
Iliopsoas Tendonitis and Iliopsoas Syndrome

What Causes Iliopsoas Tendonitis and Iliopsoas Syndrome?
Iliopsoas tendonitis is predominately caused by repetitive hip flexion or overuse of the hip area, resulting in inflammation. Iliopsoas syndrome, on the other hand, is caused by a sudden contraction of the iliopsoas muscle, which results in a rupture or tear of the muscle, usually at the point where the muscle and tendon connect.Athletes at risk include runners, jumpers and participants of sports that require a lot of kicking. Also at risk are those who participate in strength training and weight lifting exercises that require a lot of bending and squatting.

Symptoms!
Hip Pain and tenderness are common symptoms of both conditions; however the onset of pain associated with iliopsoas tendonitis is gradual and tends to build up over an extended period of time, whereas the pain associated with iliopsoas syndrome is sudden and very sharp.

Treatment!
Immediately following an injury, or at the onset of pain, the R.I.C.E.R. regime should be employed. This involves Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

The next phase of treatment (after the first 48 to 72 hours) involves soft tissue massage therapy, the application of heat and ice. Massage is one of the most effective treatments for removing scar tissue and speeding up the healing process of the muscles and tendons. Trigger therapy is also applied.

Once most of the pain has been reduced, it is time to move onto the rehabilitation phase of your treatment. The main aim of this phase is to regain the strength, power, endurance and flexibility of the muscles and tendons that have been injured.