Hamstring Stretch
Lie down with one leg straight up in the air, the other bent with foot flat on the ground. Loop a towel over the arch of the lifted foot, and gently pull on the towel as you push against it with your foot. Push only to the point where your muscles contract. Stretch both legs.
Stretches courtesy of Cole’s therapy and injury clinic
Quadriceps Stretch
Kneel on your knees (without resting back on your heels). Lean back with your body erect and your arms to the side. Hold for 15 seconds.
Heel To Buttock
Stand on one foot, with one hand on a wall for balance. Hold the other foot with the opposite hand and raise the heel of the lifted foot to the buttocks (or as close as comfortably possible), stretching your quadriceps. Keep your body upright throughout. Change legs and repeat.
Hip & Lower Back Stretch
Sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Lift your right leg and cross it over the left, which should remain bent. Hug the right leg to your chest and twist the trunk of your body to look over your right shoulder. Change legs and repeat (i.e. looking over your left shoulder).
iliotibial Band Stretch
Lie on your side with both legs bent in running position. Bring the bottom leg toward your chest and then bring the top one back toward your buttocks, so that the running position of your legs is exaggerated as possible. Hold for 30 seconds then flip sides and repeat.
Bridge
Lie on your back and, with your feet flat on the ground, lift your hips up until your body forms a flat plane. Repeat this one ten times for 30 seconds each to stretch your quads and lower back.
Groin Stretch
Seated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground.
Stretches courtesy of Cole’s therapy and injury clinic
A muscle strain or ‘pulled’ muscle happens when you tear some of the hundreds of thousands of muscle fibres that make up a muscle. If you’ve only torn a few then you might not feel much pain and perhaps just a bit of localised stiffness. If you do some serious damage then you might notice a gap or indent in the muscle, bruising around or below the pain site, and have trouble using that muscle. A grade 3 muscle strain is Read More…
Wall Pushup #2
From the previous position, bend forward to lower your body to waist height. Bring one foot forward with your knee slightly bent. Lift the toes of the front foot to stretch the muscle under the calf. Stretch both legs.
The diagnosis of ‘sciatica’ means that there is inflammation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve supplies information about movements to the leg, and sends information about sensations back to the brain. The sciatic nerve is quite large, in fact, it is the largest peripheral nerve in the body.
The sciatic nerve is Read More…