The ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign was launched in 1991 to reduce the number of infant deaths from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and according to the Lullaby Trust, babies who are slept on their back for every sleep are six times less likely to die from SIDS than those who are slept on their front or side.
Despite this, a recent survey revealed that parents are still unsure of the safest way to put their baby to sleep.
38% of mothers are not sure whether a baby can sleep on their front and 55% are unsure if their baby can sleep on their side.
“The survey results have shown us we need to go back to basics. Following the ABC’s as part of a baby’s routine for every sleep day and night is a simple way to help protect them from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome”
Back to Sleep, Tummy to Play
As osteopaths we are aware that many parents are concerned about back sleeping and positional plagiocephaly, also known as ‘Flat head syndrome’. Although an increase in the incidence of positional plagiocephaly has been reported over the last 20 years (Mawji et al., 2013) it is important that parents consistently place infants on their backs to sleep to decrease the risk of SIDS.
The following simple strategies can help to prevent cranial asymmetry:
- Supervised tummy time several times a day while awake to help to lengthen and strengthen the neck.
- Stimulate or attract your baby’s attention to the side your baby avoids.
- Change your baby’s sleeping position on alternate days. Babies prefer to look out into the room, changing orientation allows your baby to have the same view without lying on the same side.
- When your baby is asleep, turn your baby’s head away from its preferable side.
Mawji, A., Robinson, V., Hatfield, J., McNeil, D.A., Save, R. (2013) The Incidence of Positional Plagiocephaly: A Cohort Study. Paediatrics 132(2)
The Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths., Canadian Institute of Child Health., Canadian Paediatric Society. (2010) Positional plagiocephaly and sleep positioning: An update to the joint statement on sudden infant death syndrome. Paediatric Child Health (6)
At this time of year as Osteopaths we see many people that have returned from their mountain adventures with ski or snow sport related injuries.
Regardless of whether you are skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing or simply enjoying the après-ski, a week in the mountains is physical both on and off-piste and your endurance is likely to be tested. Make the most out of your trip, ensure you have the right equipment and be physically prepared!
Most snow sports require strength, flexibility, balance, and muscle control. As most of us do not ski regularly, we are likely to experience muscle soreness after a couple of days on the slopes. Muscle soreness may cause some loss of muscle control, increasing the likelihood of injury. To support adaptability and enhance your technique, we advise that you start to strengthen your muscles prior to your trip.
If you are experiencing musculoskeletal pain before you go away, don’t ignore it! An existing problem is likely to predispose an injury. Osteopathic management offers a full assessment of your biomechanics to help prevent further pain, and advice will be given on how to best support the area of dysfunction.
Patients often come into the clinic with the following injuries after a skiing holiday:
- Muscle strain due to overuse
- Damage to the ligaments or cartilage of the knee due to twisting and changing direction
- Rotator cuff muscle and shoulder injuries
- Thumb, hand and wrist injuries
If you have returned from the mountains a little worse for wear, or if you have any concerns, please contact the clinic on 020 7436 9007 or email firstname.lastname@example.org to discuss how we can help you.
Squats and Lunges
When skiing, the quadriceps (the group of muscles at the front of your thighs) are constantly engaging as we bend our knees and lean our body weight forwards in our ski boots.
Stand against a wall, keep your back straight and bend your knees to a 90degree angle so that you are in a sitting position. Hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.
If you would rather perform standard squats to strengthen, ensure that your knees, hips and toes are in alignment, make sure that your back is not arched and keep your buttocks above knee level.
Lunges are also good to strengthen. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and engage your abdominal muscles. To initiate your lunge, take a big step forwards. Both knees should be at a 90degree angle as you lunge down and keep your back knee off the ground.
When skiing downhill your upper body is normally held in flexion. In this position your glutei (buttock muscles) and hamstrings (at the back of your thigh) have to work hard to counterbalance.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and you feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips off the ground until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Engage your glutei and abdominal muscles and hold the position for 10 seconds.
Heel Raises and Calf Stretching
Strengthening and increasing the flexibility of your gastrocnemius and soleus (the muscles in your calf) will be of benefit as these help to stabalize and keep you upright!
Standing near a wall for balance, place your feet hip-width apart and make sure your ankles, knees and hips are in alignment. Press down into the balls of your feet to raise your body upwards.
Stand facing a wall with your hands flat against it. Place the leg to be stretched back behind you, keeping your back knee straight, lunge forwards on your front leg until you feel a stretch in the back leg.
Alternatively, sit on the floor with the leg to be stretched extended forwards, bend the other leg and place your foot on the floor. Using a band, towel, or your hand if you can reach, pull the toes toward you. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds then repeat on the other side.
Kane and Ross is one of the only practices in London to offer musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound with osteopathic treatment. This not only allows us to confirm a clinical diagnosis but also allows us to monitor tissue repair enhancing our osteopathic treatment and management … Continue reading
With Wimbledon now in full swing, tennis courts are the busiest they have been all year. Whether you play avidly all year round or dust off your racket only for the summer months, all tennis players have similarities and susceptibility to injury.
It is not just the direct strain that the body goes through when serving, spinning, smashing and sledgehammering the ball that causes musculoskeletal pathology. There are many factors that are often overlooked that may predispose injury and contribute to the manifestation of pain. Osteopathic management offers a full assessment of your biomechanics to find the underlying cause for pain that you are experiencing. Using a range of manual techniques such as soft tissue and articulation we treat acute injuries and acute and chronic pain. We also offer advice on self management and how to prevent recurrent injury.
In tennis and other racket sports our joints and the soft tissues surrounding them are particularly prone to overuse injuries due to the repetitive motions required when playing. Tennis players are also prone to traumatic injury due to the fast pace of a game, changing direction quickly and stopping and starting.
As osteopaths we commonly see traumatic injuries to the lower limb and repetitive strain injuries to the upper limb associated with racket sports. In the lower limb ankle strains and sprains and knee injuries are among the most prevalent. In the upper limb overuse injuries are seen in the wrist, elbow and in the shoulder. The most notorious repetitive strain injury is ‘tennis elbow’ or Lateral epicondylitis as it is more formally known, with the overall incidence of this injury in tennis players reported to be between 35 – 51%. Other common injuries associated with tennis are carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator cuff tendonitis, achilles tendonitis and back pain.
If anything is holding you back this season, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Find more information on how we can help you at www.kaneandross.co.uk.
What is “tennis elbow”?
In the forearm there are many small muscles. Most of these attach to the bony prominences of the elbow (the epicondyles), these are at the end of the humerus also known as the funny bone! These small muscles act to flex and extend the wrist as well as to stabilise it. Lateral epicondylitis is the inflammation of the tendons of these small extensor muscles causing pain at their attachment point on the lateral epicondyle of the elbow. Particularly the tendon of the extensor carpi radials brevis muscle. Pain is experienced due to both inflammation and periosteal irritation, where the surface of the bone is irritated.
Tennis Elbow can arise from the repetitive movement of the wrists causing weakening to the extensor muscles and subsequent damage and inflammation as described above. There is a high incidence of lateral epicondylitis in tennis players due to the repetitive movement and increased contraction of the extensor muscles when performing the backhand stroke.
As an osteopath we can diagnose each patient’s problem, relieve acute pain and help with chronic problems. We will teach you how to do specific exercises, focus your exercises to prevent pain and make you stronger. However… as I keep reminding my patients…you need to actually do your exercises. Sometimes we all need a little encouragement…
I loved the following article written by an athlete Pete Hitzeman. It gave me motivation that I should be more focused and work a little harder….on my own exercise! It is highly motivational and I hope it will give many of you the same sense of determination and uplift that I felt after reading it.
Simone and Mark and the rest of the team have worked for many years with babies and children who have been born at St. Mary’s or who have needed their expert care.
Over the last 20 years we have excellent working relationships with many of the doctors and consultants there. They really need your help with increasing the size of the intensive care unit so that more families and children can be helped and that existing families have more privacy. Please have a look at the following video: https://vimeo.com/140047364
MyBaba is a website blog that parents often mention to us. It carries articles from experts in their field and when Simone was asked to contribute, she decided to write about Plagiocephaly. It’s still a subject that should draw far more attention and one that Simone feels many parents should know far more about. You can read her article here:
More information can be found about how we can help you at http://www.kaneandross.co.uk
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SafeHands for Mothers aims to reduce the number of deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth.
SafeHands for Mothers has so far reached an audience of one million across sub-Saharan Africa, so it’s working already – please help if you can.