It is almost that time of year where we like to reflect on the year that has been and start to look towards the new year.
If you are the type of person who likes to set new years resolutions, let us help you to create some goals that will stick.
Here are some helpful tips to get you on the right track for 2023.
Set a goal that motivates you. For you to stay on track with your goal it must be something that means something to you. Pick something that is important to you. You are allowed to be a little selfish with this.
Put your goals in writing. Write them down somewhere you will see often, try sticking them to your desk at work or your mirror at home, to prompt you and remind you often on what you are working towards.
Make your goal realistic. We would all like to achieve amazing things but let’s start small. Perhaps this year’s goal can be a steppingstone to your next greatest feat.
Set short term and long-term goals. this will help you stagger your progress and stay on track. These goals might roll into one huge achievement, starting small and accumulating success will do wonders for your confidence.
Stick to it. You can do this, and if you want it bad enough you will succeed!
Another great tool to use is the SMART goals acronym.
S- Specific: it is important to set goals that outline exactly what you want to achieve. A bad example is “be a better runner”, a better example is “I will run 10km by my next birthday”.
M- Measurable: how can you measure your progress; it is important to be able to quantify your goal, so you know if you are on track. An example of this is to increase the number of kilometers I run by one kilometer each 3 weeks to reach my 10km goal, by my birthday in August.
A-Actionable: (or Achievable) when you write the goal down, start the sentence with an action word (verb). An example of this is “Run 2x per week” as opposed to “try to run more often”.
R- Realistic: can your goal be achieved, or is it going to leave you disappointed? It is good to stretch yourself, but it is also important to make it something you can achieve with a bit of hard work.
T- Time-Bound: to make goals more real, it is important to put an end date on them. Giving yourself a deadline will put a little pressure on you to stay on track.
Have a go at using these tools to set your goals for 2023.
Your nose is your first line of defense to allergens, pollens, viruses and the cold air. As air flows through your nose it goes to work filtering, warming and adding moisture to the air so by the time it reaches your lungs it’s clean and at body temperature. The moisture ensures the lungs function and can clear debris that does get through and inflate and function optimally.
The other amazing factor is the production of nitric oxide (NO) in our sinuses (laughing gas!). It doesn’t make you giggle but its effects are widespread and definitely promote wellness. NO works as a sterilizer (anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial), it promotes the beating of cilia – the cells that work like a Mexican wave to move your mucus around, reducing snotty noses and postnasal drip. It acts as a vasodilator (opens the blood vessels) and breathing against the increased resistance of small breathing tubes (compared to the mouth) opens up your air scass – this leads to an overall increase in the amount of oxygen you can absorb – up to 17-20% than through your mouth! NO also has anti-inflammatory effects.
This is all missed when you breathe through your mouth! You are more likely to feel calmer as you slow your breath down and tell your body it’s safe believe it or not breathing through your nose also improves your memory!! My favorite saying is it’s as silly to breathe through your mouth as it is to eat through your nose. People often tell me they can’t get enough air through their nose – this can be due to issues within your nasal structure and sinuses but often is actually due to chronic mouth breathing. The disuse leads to nasal stuffiness and a sensation of being blocked, so you continue to mouth breathe worsening the situation.
So….. tuck your chin in, close your lips, let your teeth sit slightly apart, your tongue floats to the roof of your mouth so it’s creating a small amount of suction, and is docked behind the top teeth. Breathe silently and feel your head, neck and shoulders relax and enjoy the calm and wellness.
It’s always tricky to find the motivation to dust off your sporting gear or rugby boots weeks before the season kicks off for pre-season training. Most sports are played seasonally so there is a lot of the year where players aren’t training or playing regular games.
During the off season it is common for muscular strength, endurance and general conditioning for the sport declines. When the new sport season begins, there are massive physical demands on players. Going from nothing to full training and competitive games can lead to injury, due to lack of conditioning over the off season and the sudden high demand on the body. It would be like running a full marathon after doing no training for 3 months, this would be especially hard on the body and most likely lead to injury.
Why is pre-season training beneficial?
Pre-season is set to take place before the competitive season begins to allow time for players to progressively work on their fitness, strength and game specific skills.
Pre-season training gives players time to condition their bodies to the physical demands of their sport. This will not only help with the players ability to reduce injury during the competitive season but also help improve technical skills of the game. Having a good training schedule weeks before the competition begins means your player will be able to hit the first games performing well, and not feeling as exhausted afterwards.
The impact a team has when they start the season fit and conditioned to the sport is massive, compared to starting unfit and having done no skills for months. This can be the difference between a successful season and a season full of lost games and player injuries.
Along with building the physical aspect of sport, pre-season training is great for team building. It is important for players to spend time with each other, getting to know each other, how they play and interact in order to have a cohesive team.
Tips for Pre-Season training;
Start off easy. Give yourself time to increase your physicality and intensity of your training sessions. This will allow time for your body to adjust to the increase in load on the body.
Recovery is just as important as training. An easy way to target this is to add cooling down and stretching into each training session. This will help reduce tightness in your muscles which can help to reduce injuries.
Have a good mix of exercises and drills. There are many aspects to training that are beneficial to making pre-season training worthwhile. Cardiovascular training is great to help increase your fitness. Resistance training helps to reduce muscle imbalance and builds strength. Speed and agility training is great and be sure to add in sport specific skills and drills, so you are ready for the demands of your sport. Stretching is important too. This will help muscle recovery and increase flexibility.
Add in fun games and activities. It doesn’t all have to be sport focused. In order to build sportsmanship and increase team bonding, try some activities that push your players out of there comfort zone or away from the sporting context. For example, taking your team to mini golf, or day tramping or even a movie night.
Where we can help:
We can help with our expert physiotherapists. Our physiotherapists are trained to sport muscle imbalances, biomechanical issues and can test range of motion, flexibility and muscle strength and function. Identifying these can be key in avoiding injury.
We can also help by tailoring individualized exercise program, warms up or drills to ensure you are correctly loading your muscles and optimizing your training load.
Our podiatrist can also offer expert advice. They are trained in assisting with shoe selection. This can be helpful to people who are new to sport or people who will be spending a lot of time in the shoes they have chosen for their sport as it can be a good way of reducing injury or muscle soreness.
Podiatrist can also do gait analysis. This is extremely helpful to analyze your walking and running style to see if you need any assistance with exercise to improve the way you walk or run. This can be hugely beneficial in injury reduction.
Childbirth is such an exciting time for so many reasons. Women’s bodies have a tremendous capacity to adapt and accommodate during childbirth, but sometimes injuries to pelvic structures can occur and these are called Maternal Birth Injuries. These injuries can have long-lasting effects on pelvic function so it’s important to get treatment and support early on. This will help women recover faster and reduce the impact of related injuries and symptoms in the future. Pelvic floor physiotherapy plays an important part in the assessment, treatment and support of these birth injuries. More information on postnatal physiotherapy can be found in our previous post/article.
New ACC Coverage;
As of October 1st 2022, ACC is expanding their personal injury coverage to include some of these specific injuries that occur during childbirth. This means that women who have birth injuries that happen during labour or delivery on or after 1 October 2022 will be eligible to submit a claim to ACC for coverage of their injury. Midwives, doctors, nurses, pelvic health physios and some other healthcare providers can lodge these claims on behalf of their patients within their area of practice. This might be straight away after the birth of a baby while in the hospital, or sometime after birth when it’s been identified further support and care is needed for recovery from the injury.
The specific injuries that will be covered are listed here;
Anterior wall prolapse, posterior wall prolapse, or uterine prolapse
Coccyx fracture or dislocation
Levator avulsion
Obstetric anal sphincter injury tears or tears to the perineum, labia, vagina, vulva, clitoris, cervix, rectum, anus, or urethra
Obstetric fistula (including vesicovaginal, colovaginal, and ureterovaginal)
Obstetric haematoma of pelvis
Post-partum uterine inversion
Pubic ramus fracture
Pudendal neuropathy
Ruptured uterus during labour
Symphysis pubis capsule or ligament tear
Pelvic health physiotherapists (including our team at Active Health) are able to treat all of the conditions listed above, however are only able to lodge the initial claim for some of the covered injuries. If this pertains to your situation your physio will advise you to see your medical provider (GP or specialist) to have the claim lodged, if this has not already been completed. You will still be able to access pelvic health physiotherapy using ACC Maternal Birth Injury coverage as long as your injury fits ACC’s criteria.
What happens next?
Once the ACC Maternal Birth Injury claim is approved, women can get the support they need from ACC, just like others with musculoskeletal injuries can. This support might include pelvic health physiotherapy, specialist treatment, support at home, or help with other costs. ACC are also offering traditional rongoā Māori healing services as a rehabilitation option. These services include mirimiri (bodywork), whitiwhiti korero (support and advice) and karakia (prayer).
ACC Maternal Birth Injury coverage does not cover any of the listed injuries that occurred prior to 1 October 2022, episiotomies, pregnancy-related injuries or illness, maternal birth injuries not listed, or injury to the baby, although they may be eligible for treatment injury cover. They acknowledge this is difficult for those excluded by this change and encourage mothers who may have experienced a maternal birth injury that is not listed or which occurred before 1 October 2022, to please talk to their midwife, doctor or primary care provider about support available.
As Melissa Davison (Pelvic Health Specialist Physiotherapist) reported in her interview with RadioNZ “This is life changing for these women. The more we talk about it, the more the taboo will get lifted and the more women will seek treatment. And while some of these injuries are common, they are not normal and they are treatable. So the more words we get out there to say ‘hey, we can help, it’s effective’, the better it is for women.”
More information on this Maternal Birth Injury coverage may be found HERE on the ACC website.
Our team of Pelvic Health Physiotherapists at Active Health are ready to help all women recover, rehabilitate and be their best. If you are unsure whether your injury is covered or would like to chat about your situation or book an appointment you may contact our team at Active Health 03-383-6290.
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