Keep Rolling | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Rehab at Flow Physio Co Sutherland

Photo: Peter Hinton (http://hintonzone.smugmug.com) Southern Cross Jiu Jitsu Academy

Craig & Jason are physiotherapists at Flow Physio Co Sutherland who suffer from a BJJ addiction and understand the desire to quit your job and train all day, everyday.

Craig talks us through the Flow Physio co’s ‘KEEP ROLLING’ PROJECT to improve your BJJ by optimising performance, reducing injury risk & managing injuries when they occur.

Craig at Winter Cup 2018 - Sydney Uni

We know the frustration when injuries happen as a consequence of this healthy addiction.

As battling white belts at Flow Physio Co we need any extra edge that we can get.

We like to take a proactive approach aiming to maximise performance and we would like to share this with you to keep you rolling.

With the growing popularity of BJJ and grappling in Sydney and with minimal information available locally, we have decided to put together a series of blog posts, videos and exercises that aim to help you improve performance on the mats and minimise time spent off the mats due to injury.

We understand the time constraints so we want to provide simple research based strategies for you to use.

Today, before we get into talking about specifics on the mats we will discuss three areas to address off the mats that can have a big impact on performance and injury risk.

These are especially important to BJJ but are important to all sport and physical endeavours:

1. Sleep

2. Strength training

3. Load management

Sleep

“Sleep is the greatest legal performance enhancing drug that most people are probably neglecting”

- Professor Matthew Walker.

It is generally advised that the optimal sleep duration for adults is 7-9 hours and for adolescents it is 8-10 hours. Sleep can also be supplemented by napping with good effect. (1-2).

Sleep is important for growth hormone release and muscle protein synthesis aka repair, adaptation and growth of muscles and connective tissues. Learning and memories are also consolidated while we sleep.

Studies on athletes have found measurable improvements in athletic performance and skill execution when sleep duration was increased and significant declines in performance with lack of sleep (1-2). Other research has shown significantly higher rates of injury as the hours of sleep per night decrease (3).  

In a sport as mentally demanding as it is physically, this can be the difference between submission or having your opponent ending up in full mount.

Strength training

Strength training has many benefits for athletic performance including:

• Increased speed

• Agility

• Power and efficiency

• Reducing injury risk

Strength training alone has been shown to reduce the risk of overuse injuries by 50% and acute/traumatic injuries by 30% in a systematic review of 26 000 participants (4 & 5).

So not only will your game be stronger and more explosive but it will keep you dominating for longer.

Load Management

Whether you are trying to sneak in an extra couple of classes or have recently had a time off the mats for a well deserved vacation, any spike or drop in the short term vs long term workload can be linked to the likelihood of suffering an injury (6).

Consistency is important; long term high training loads make us more resilient to injury. Therefore, high work loads in themselves are a good thing, as long as we progressively load to that point allowing the body time to recover and adapt (7).

*For those wanting to get a little more technical. Every exercise session you do over the course of a week can be easily measured by multiplying the session time (mins) by a score out of 10 (rate of perceived exertion ie. 0=asleep, 10=max effort) and each session to calculate the weekly total. To reduce the likelihood of injury it is advised to not progress exercise loads by more than 10% per week and remain in the sweet spot of training loads (more on this in a later post) (6).

Take home message

• Aim for 7-8+ hours of sleep per night

• Strength train

• Gradually progress your training and aim for long term consistency

Keep rolling!

References:

1. https://www.mickhughes.physio/single-post/2017/05/26/Sleep-Injury-Performance

2. Simpson NS, Gibbs EL, Matheson GO. Optimizing sleep to maximize performance: implications and recommendations for elite athletes. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports. 2016 Jul 1. PubMed PMID: 27367265. Epub 2016/07/02. Eng.

3. Milewski MD, Skaggs DL, Bishop GA, Pace JL, Ibrahim DA, Wren TA, et al. Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes. Journal of pediatric orthopedics. 2014 Mar;34(2):129-33. PubMed PMID: 25028798. Epub 2014/07/17. Eng.

4. Lauersen JB, Bertelsen DM, Andersen LB. The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British journal of sports medicine. 2014 Jun;48(11):871-7. PubMed PMID: 24100287. Epub 2013/10/09. Eng.

5. https://www.mickhughes.physio/single-post/2016/12/26/8-Simple-Ways-to-Avoid-New-Years-Resolution-Induced-Injury

6. https://www.mickhughes.physio/single-post/2016/03/27/Load-Management-Part-1-Overuse-or-Underprepared

7. https://gabbettperformance.com.au/1256-2/

REDUCING INJURIES AND IMPROVING PERFORMANCE IN KIDS PLAYING SOCCER

FIFA 11+ For Kids Program

Sporting injuries in children and adolescents have often been thought of as an unfortunate but largely unavoidable risk of growing up playing sport. However, recent research suggests that we can drastically reduce this risk with the implementation of the FIFA 11+ and the FIFA 11+ for Kids programs.

What is FIFA 11+ for Kids?

FIFA 11+ For Kids is a scientifically developed exercise program that aims to reduce the occurrence and severity of injuries in children aged 7-14 years of age. It is recommended the exercises are used as a warm up at every training or game. It aims to be fun for kids but at the same time teaching them fundamental and sport specific motor skills and as a consequence also improves performance.

How does it work?

The program focuses on a number of key areas including:

1. Spatial orientation, awareness and anticipation, especially while dual tasking to minimise unintended and unexpected contact with other players or objects.

2. Body stability and movement coordination.

3. Appropriate fall techniques to minimise consequences of any unavoidable fall or tackle.

How effective is the program in reducing injuries?

A large European randomised controlled trial involving over 4000 kids aged from 7-12 demonstrated approximately a 50% injury reduction in teams that used the FIFA 11+ Kids as a warm up. More specifically match injuries were reduced by 31%, training injuries by 40%, lower extremity injuries by 41%, overall non-contact injuries by 55% and severe injuries by 56% (1).

Why are there different prevention/warm-up programs for different age groups?

Typically, there are different injury profiles seen in skeletally mature athletes compared with adolescents and then children. Younger footballers tend to experience more fractures, bone stress and injuries to the upper body and fewer strains and sprains.

How long does it take and how often should it be used?

Approximately 15-20 minutes once the players are familiar with the exercises and at least twice per week to be effective.

How long does it have to be performed to reduce the risk of injury?

Approximately 10-12 weeks, the key to its success is consistency.

Take home message

With the football season largely done and dusted for another year, now is the time to plan for the season ahead. By implementing a simple warm up routine many tears and appointments with doctors and physios can be easily avoided in our little footballers.

Sources:

1. https://www.fifamedicinediploma.com/lessons/prevention-fifa11-kids/

2. https://www.fifamedicinediploma.com/wp-content/uploads/cdn/fifa11plus_kids_booklet.pdf

3. Trial to Assess the Efficacy of '11+ Kids': A Warm-Up Programme to Prevent Injuries in Children's Football-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29273936-A Multinational Cluster Randomised

4. A new injury prevention programme for children's football--FIFA 11+ Kids--can improve motor performance: a cluster-randomised controlled trial-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26508531

Pelvic Floor Pain | Common but not NORMAL

Women’s Health Wednesday

Here is a great video below that talks about how pelvic floor health issues are common, but how they are not spoken about and are not normal. 

Let’s start talking about it, so we can lead happier and lives.

SOURCE

WELCOME CRAIG HARRIS

We are super excited to announce that Craig Harris will be joining the team at Flow Physio Co Sutherland from Monday 15 October, 2018.

Craig brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and has worked with people from all walks of life during his roles at sports physiotherapy clinics in the Bankstown area, the Eastern Suburbs and at Westmead Private Rehabilitation Hospital.

Additionally, Craig has gained extensive experience working with adolescent athletes in the NSW Schoolboys Rugby Union side, South Sydney Rabbitohs Junior program and with Trinity Grammar School.

Craig understands the importance of an individualised treatment approach, incorporating his strong hands on skills with progressive exercise prescription to enable prompt recovery, optimal performance, quality of life and longevity.

How to manage hip and knee osteoarthritis - What's the latest?

Did you know that Australians living with Osteoarthritis is expected to rise from 2.2 million in 2015 to almost 3.1 million by 2030?

So what can you do about it?

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners recently updated their guidelines for management of hip and knee osteoarthritis.

Little to our surprise, the interventions that come with strong recommendations based on available evidence for managing these conditions include EXERCISE and WEIGHT MANAGEMENT.

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis the most common form of chronic arthritis that is characterised by joint pain, stiffness and swelling, and mainly affects the hands, knees and hips.

Osteoarthritis frequently occurs in people aged over 55 years, however younger people can also be affected.

What are the risk factors?

Risk factors for OA include:

• Joint injury

• Being overweight or obese, and

• Older age

 

How can you manage Osteoarthritis best? What does the evidence say?

Lifestyle, lifestyle, lifestyle. We are seeing a recurring pattern here. In short, regular exercise and weight management are the interventions that are strongly recommended for people living with osteoarthritis.

Regular exercise is strongly recommended as a key factor for relieving pain and improving function in people with knee and/or hip osteoarthritis. This includes muscle strengthening exercises as well as walking and Tai Chi.

Weight management is strongly recommended for people with knee and/or hip OA who are overweight or obese.

How can you get help to develop an exercise program for osteoarthritis?

An exercise program that is tailored specifically to you and your level of function is a key aspect of helping to manage osteoarthritis. It is not a once size fits all approach, particularly when it comes to proper programming for strength and cardiovascular endurance. This is where the help of a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist will help. 

The RACGP suggests the following;

Clinicians should prescribe an individualised exercise program, taking into account the person’s preference, capability, and the availability of resources and local facilities.

Realistic goals should be set. Dosage should be progressed with full consideration given to the frequency, duration and intensity of exercise sessions, number of sessions, and the period over which sessions should occur.

Attention should be paid to strategies to optimise adherence.

Referral to an exercise professional to assist with exercise prescription and provide supervision either in person or remotely may be appropriate for some people.

Exercise has many other health benefits that can assist in managing lifestyle diseases and optimising health. See post here.

What does it all mean?

In conclusion, what this means is that there is plenty that you can do in order to optimise your function and quality of life. Exercise, particularly strength training and weight management are strongly recommended in the management of osteoarthritis.

Getting advice from a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist will help in getting started on the path back to better health.