5 Tips to help stretch and strengthen your hands

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Have you been experiencing some pain in your wrists or hands?
We’re hear to point you in the right direction : )
1. SELF MASSAGE
 Try massaging between your thumb and pointer finger, you can do this by making an L shape with the affected hand. Use your other hand to grip the area on both sides massaging in circles.
2. O SHAPE
 Try making on O shape between your thumb and each finger. Have the tip of your thumb and tip of each finger touch to create the letter O. Touch each tip of the finger with your thumb one at a time.
3. Wrist movement – Figure 8’s
Try moving your fingers in each direction like you’re making a figure 8. Repeat this movement a few times.
4. Spikey Ball –
Try pressing your hand and forearm muscles on a spikey ball to work through some of the tender points in the muscles.
5. To finish let’s stretch out our wrists. Have your palms facing the ground bend your hand so that your fingers are pointing down. Repeat this exercise with your fingers pointing to the sky. You may gentle add extra pressure with your opposite hand, be careful not to push too hard.
Talk to your osteopath Melbourne at City Osteopathy about any hand/wrist pain.

Foot Pain and Running

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Foot Pain while running or walking can often be due to a lack of muscle strength and stability in the foot.

Performing some simple yet effective strength exercises can be a great option in combination with osteopathy treatment to return to walking and running pain free.

There are 3 main points in the foot to be equally balanced between when performing these exercises; the heel, big toe and little toe.

Consult your Melbourne osteopath at City Osteopathy about tailoring these exercises to suit you. :))

Dr Sarah Cust, City Osteopathy

https://youtu.be/1sCphsH-QyY

Benefits of Exercise. Osteopath Melbourne.

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Evidence from the past 20 years has been pointing to exercise and physical activity as the frontier of preventative medicine and considering the health benefits it has been proven to achieve, it’s really no wonder why.

 

A FEW BENEFITS OF EXERCISE:

  • Relief of stress & improved mood
  • Higher energy levels                                                                                                                                                                
  • Reducing the risk of cardiovascular, neurological and musculoskeletal disease/injury
  • Pain relief
  • Weight loss
  • Improved sleep
  • Improved cognitive function and neural plasticity

‘MOVEMENT IS MEDICINE’

Exercise may not look like a pill to swallow with water, but with regular activity it may be just as effective at alleviating or preventing many health issues altogether. Our bodies were made to move, to walk and run and jump, to interact and create and help. By giving this necessity to our body, we gift it with health. It’s more important now than ever with the circumstances at hand. .

Exercise is a supplement to a healthy diet and behaviours amongst other things. If you’re considering starting a new exercise program, we recommend you consult your healthcare practitioner first and communicate any questions or concerns you have.

If you want a  CBD Melbourne Osteopath Sports Injury Centre practitioner who specialises in these types of issues, come visit our very own guru!

Dr Daniel Castellano Osteopath Melbourne

City Osteopathy

Gratitude, giving, volunteering….

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November has come and and so to has the amount of filthy moustaches walking around the Melbourne CBD. Movember is a great foundation which raises money for mental health programs In Australia. 1 in 5 people aged 16-85 will have a mental health illness each year. With the Covid-19 pandemic that 2020 has brought,  it is even more important to look at some mental health strategies to help you in your day to day life.

I’ve never been on to practice any mindfulness or gratitude but after listening to the Dylan Buckley podcast [Dylandfriends] which had a Melbournian by the name of Hugh Van Cuylenburg. Hugh wrote a book called The Resilience Project (also the name of his company) which travels around Australia working with schools, corporations, sporting clubs etc sharing the benefits of practicing the three principles of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. These three principles are incredible and can have an amazing effect on your mental health.  So what are they all about? Here is a quick summation

 

Gratitude

So what is gratitude? Gratitude is about being thankful for the things we have now, and importantly paying attention to those things. You can practice gratitude by noticing the positive things around you, those people or places in our lives that make us thankful. For example I keep a journal where I write 3 things I’m thankful for every day. It’s quick and easy to implement, it only takes 21 days to form a habit. I have formed this habit and now I never miss. (There’s also a cool resilience project app you can download for $3)

 

Empathy

There is a close link between empathy and kindness, similarly there are close links between empathy and compassion. To be empathetic is to put ourselves in the shoes of others, to feel and to see what they are. You can practice this by being kind to others, saying thank you or listening.

 

Mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness helps us be present in the moment, to be still and help create a feeling of calm. You can practice this by focusing on one thing at a time without distraction. Think meditating, colouring in or doing a puzzle.

All three of these principles are research backed and show positive effects on our mental health.

If you don’t know what to get your loved one, your colleague, family member or even yourself for Christmas, you won’t regret buying the Resilience Project Book. I’m very thankful that I did!

Dr Daniel Castellano Osteopath

City Osteopathy

5 Minute Foam Roller Routine for Upper Back Stiffness

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Video from Shane Heslop, Melbourne Osteopath at City Osteopathy.

Great video done by our resident Melbourne CBD Osteopath guru Dr Sarah Cust! Check out these great foam roller exercises for the upper back. These are perfect for those with #wfh as these exercises introduce some extension into the back which counteracts desk posture. These can be performed multiple times a day in only 5 minutes. Time to get moving!

 

5 Ways to get the Most out of your Gym Membership

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​With the pending announcement of lockdown 2.0 being over gyms will finally be opening up for visits. Yipeee.
There’s a lot of buzz and excitement from a lot of our patients so as 0ne of our Melbourne CBD Osteopaths just thought I’d give you a few tips to get the most out of your gym membership.
1 – Find A Gym You Like – 
 
Firstly, before you choose a gym based on what equipment or classes it has, you have to like the look of the space. If you don’t physically like the space you won’t go there regularly.
A lot of gyms are similar but have different equipment; weights, treadmills, TRX stations, cardio equipment and so on. You need to pick one that you walk into and you feel you could go there a few times a week.
2 – Make Sure it’s convenient enough for you to visit regularly.
 
Make sure the location or locations (anytime fitness/jetts) is convenient for you to attend regularly.
Hopefully you can be more selective and not solely pick based off of cost. Most gyms range between $15 – $25 per week. Not a massive cost for the time that you will hopefully spend there in a week. You must like the environment and be able to travel there regularly.
3 – Have A Program
 
Have you heard of the saying: if you don’t prepare, then prepare to fail.
Speak to a healthcare professional (osteo, physio) or a personal trainer to get a personalised plan.
These have proven to be more effective than a generic google search.
Have a program or routine for when you’re in the gym. It’s easier when you have a set workout plan that way you’re in the gym for less time. These can be tailored to your specific injuries or areas of weakness.
4 – If You Don’t Know, Ask
 
If you don’t know ask, there’s nothing worse than anxiety in the gym.
Trying to find all the equipment and machines maybe hard. What does that chest press look like? Is it different from the one at another gym. If you don’t know what a specific machine looks like, ask the receptionist if there is someone that can show you where the equipment is.
Now every gym has staff during specific hours. But they normally start early and finish late, staff are there to help, literally that’s their job. What the receptionist might do is put you onto a personal trainer and now they’ll gladly show you where the equipment is, maybe even give you a demonstration of your program and the exercises.
This will save you loads of time, helping you map out your gym route in no time at all. And even make a friend, the more friendly faces in the gym the better.
5 – Does the gym have the right ‘vibe’ for you?
 
If you like the feel of the gym and the environment, you’re much more likely to continue to attend. Even on rainy days in the middle of winter….
To find this out, go to a gym at a time that you would regularly train for example, after work, gauge the vibe, the crowd, the capacity. If you don’t like that crowd, then that gym isn’t for you.
Different gyms have different crowds and environments. Find one that is more suited to you. There are many types around; bodybuilding gyms, crossfit gyms everyday gyms and so on. Find a crowd that is more suited to you or who you aspire to be.  Come chat with a Melbourne Osteopath today at City Osteopathy

Daniel Castellano 

Osteopath | City Osteopathy