March 2008
Greetings Cindy
Fridays 12-1 pm.
Drop in rate is $15/class, or buy a 10 punch card for $120 and save!
If after work is the best time for you to get in shape, consider a reformer class taught by Melissa Myers, Pilates instructor extraordinaire. Melissa will make you sweat, and keep you moving in this invigorating class. Now you can benefit from Pilates on Thursday and Tuesday evenings.
New Reformer Class
Thursdays 5:30-6:30.
Cupping technique compliments trigger point dry needling. Connective tissue winds throughout our muscles, nerves and joints. Healthy connective tissue glides and provides a support structure for our body. Connective tissue can lose elasticity and begin to restrict movement with injury. In the case of the Iliotibial band the cup is placed over the ITB.
Suction is then provided through the cup and the ITB is lifted off of the thigh muscles. Instead of pushing on the ITB as with the foam roller, cupping lifts the fascia of the ITB away from the musculature. The cupping helps to restore the ITB’s ability to glide with movement.
The technique of cupping can be performed with movement to release the fascial restrictions within that plane of motion. Cupping also increases blood flow to the area of treatment and this hastens recovery.
A Painful Iliotibial Band:
Will it be Your Downfall in the Bolder Boulder?
As you torture yourself, rolling your IT band across the foam roll one more time, do you wonder if you will ever make any headway? And if stretching the ITB is not the answer to fixing it, what is?
If you run, ride a bike, hike, weight lift… or for that matter, if you spend much time sitting, Iliotibial Band (ITB) problems might be in your future, if they aren't already here. Iliotibial Band Syndrome also called “Runner’s Knee”, is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain in runners and cyclists.
What is the Iliotibial Band and What does it Do?
How do ITB problems develop?
But what causes ITB tightness in the first place?
Common structural causes of ITBS:
• Uneven leg length
• Bowlegged or knock knees (excess varus or valgus)
• History of back problems with adverse nerve tension
• Knee caps that face inward when your knees are straight
• Shortened muscles or connective tissue on the outside of your hip
Training habits that contribute to ITBS:
• Running only one side of a cambered road or a banked surface
• Running downhill for long distances
• Increasing distance too quickly on the bike, running or hiking trail
• Too much time in your aero bars
• Cycling too many hills in early season in a big gear
• Stretching incorrectly or not at all
• Not paying attention to posture, on your bike, or in your chair.
Let’s assume you do have a tight Iliotibial Band, and you want to avoid getting into pain that interferes with your training routine. What should you do?
Ask yourself these questions about your form:
• Does my hip drop more on one side as I run?
• Does my knee “fall in” a lot with running or riding?
• Do I ride with my feet “toed in”?
• Is my saddle too high?
• Is my stance too narrow?
• Is my back stiff or sore when I get off the bike?
• Am I able to use my core muscles to stabilize as I run? (If you are wondering what your core muscles are, make an appointment today!)
Like many musculoskeletal problems, there’s a bit of detective work involved to sort out the cause of your ITB pain, and that’s where the experts at ALTA can really help you!
• a bike fit
• a core strengthening program
• correcting lower back dysfunction and mobilizing the nerves of your legs
• changing the way you run or ride
• orthotics to correct foot mechanics
• TDN for loosening those highly trained but tight muscles
• Cupping to help the ITB glide easily along the thigh muscles.
