The spine curl is one of my absolute favourites to include as part of a rehab programme and to practise just to keeping the back moving.  It's a fantastic exercise for people looking to reduce stiffness in their spine. It's great for reducing anterior pelvic tilt and building strength in the hamstrings and abdominals.

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The Spine curl is a good addition to strengthening and conditioning workouts for runners, cyclists and sports requiring a stable centre of gravity and strong core.

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Spine curls work to mobilise and lengthen the spine - you get a lovely stretch through the lumbar spine especially if you can focus on lowering the spine sequentially. It's also a really great exercise for strengthening the core, glutes and hamstrings.

Start Position:

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and arms by your sides.

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• Feet are flat on the floor, hip width apart and approx one foot away from your glutes.

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Action:

• Tense the abdominals to tilt the pelvis so that the back is pressed into the mat, making a c-shape with your body.

 

• Press into your feet and squeeze the glutes as you lift your pelvis off the ground, keeping your c-shape.

 

• Roll your spine up from the mat. Hold when you are reach the tips of the shoulder blades.

 

• Wheel the back down slowly pressing each boney part of the spine into the mat, pelvis comes down last.

 

• Return the pelvis to a neutral position.

​Key Points

• Keep your movements slow and controlled throughout the exercise.

 

• Remember to keep the c-curve you have made. - only come up as far as you can while maintaining it. Lifting your pelvis high isn't the aim of this exercise, you want quality of movement not quantity.

 

• Try to keep the pelvis level, pressing into both feet equally should help.

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• Consult with your doctor before beginning a new exercise programme – especially important for people carrying injury or for pregnant women.

Inflammation can be painful and sounds very threatening, but it is actually necessary for an injury to go through some inflammation to make it through to the next part of the healing process. Rest, ice, elevation (and compression) is a great way to limit inflammation and pain, but there must be breaks in between ice application. Frostbite is a very real injury that has been known to occur at around 20-40 minutes of constant ice application.
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• Stick to an application time of 15-20 minutes three times daily. Remember to wrap the ice or ice pack in a tea towel or similar to prevent burning the skin. 

High heels, flip flops and flat shoes may be the worst shoes to wear whilst carrying an injury. High heels not only alter the alignment of the whole body (tipping everything out of shape from top to bottom), the challenge they pose to your balance is much higher when you are carrying an injury - and the last thing we would want is a nasty fall when you are already injured! Flip flops and flat shoes provide little to no support, which may not always cause problems, but when the body is trying to heal it can be a big factor.

The right shoes for you will depend on your circumstances, but as a general rule try to stick to:
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• A low heel of no more than 4cm with a broad base
• A cushioned sole
• Breathable materials such as fabric or leather
• Toe box that is big enough for toes to wriggle

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Playing on until the end of the session is so very tempting and there may be pressure to continue. But in most cases this will aggravate injury further and cause more problems in the long run by taking a longer time to heal. It could result in a bigger build up of scar tissue - more scar tissue usually means less flexibility and lower tensile strength! You may also be more prone to re-injury later on.
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• If you feel something ‘go’, stop what you’re doing as soon as you can. It may be only a small injury that requires just a couple of days rest. But if after the initial first 2 days of rest and ice, you feel no improvement, book yourself into see a sports therapist for treatment and advice.

References
1. Milne, C. Pain and Injury in Sport: Social and Ethical Analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(11), 950-951.2. Mika, A. Oleksy,L. Mika, P. Marchewka, A and Clark, BC. The influence of heel height on lower extremity kinematics and leg muscle activity during gait in young and middle-aged women. Gait Posture, 35 (4), 677-680.3. Carl, TJ and Barrett, SL. Computerized Analysis of Plantar Pressure Variation in Flip Flops, Athletic Shoes and Bare Feet. Journal of American Podiatric Medical Association, 98 (5), 374-378.4. Graham, C. and Stevenson, J. Frozen chips: an unusual cause of severe frostbite injury. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 34(5), 382-383.5. Bleakley, C. McDonough, S. and MacAuley, D. The Use of Ice in the Treatment of Acute Soft-Tissue Injury. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 32(1), 251-261.

Whey protein is a type of protein extracted from milk.  It contains all 9 essential amino acids required to maintain muscles.

It is very rare that people come to us with perfect ankle alignment.  This is because everyone has slight variations in joint structure and over the years bones begin to shift slightly according to the forces put through them and the supporting soft tissues around them such as muscles, ligaments and tendons.

When we walk and run the ankle naturally supinates (tilts upwards and outwards) and pronates (tilts down and inwards) as part of the movement.  It is only when the ankle moves too far into supination (over-supination) or pronation (over-pronation) that it can become an issue.  

Welcome to our Peak Topics blog! Our therapists will be posting regularly to this section of the website and welcome any comments. Check back here for helpful tips & advice on health & fitness and interesting insights into the world of sports therapy...