A trainers guide to finding a good practitioner

As a personal trainer, you take great pride in your work and want to give 110% to your clients. Going above and beyond your personal training requirements is something that you would be used to, so sending your clients to get treatment for an injury or body related problem doesn’t seem like a problem or is it? 

Time and time again having spoken with many personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, martial arts instructors etc. who are absolutely frustrated and angered that they are betrayed. Why? They did they right thing, referred their client to get treatment only to be told that they no longer can train. So the client either puts their membership on hold or completely cancels it. The other flip side is that the therapist takes it upon themselves to do the rehab solely and not work with the trainer, again leaving them out of the equation. 

As a health professional this is one of my main pet hates. First things first the exercise/exercise discipline did not cause the injury itself, more so the individual did not know how to control or execute it correctly at the right moment. So to tell someone to stop training altogether is ridiculous. A more appropriate approach would be to scale back the exercise or recommend an alternate. Avoiding the issue simply does not solve it. 

So from practitioner to personal trainer, here are some tips to find the right person for your clients.

1. Does he/she train or has trained in your sport/training style? This will help them understand the movements or exercise and what they can recommend to your client for alternative exercises. 

2. Do they have an understanding of rehabilitation. This is important, so that the two of you can work together. 

3. Does the practitioner contact you and advise you what they found with your client (diagnosis) and the action plan to get them fixed. This is really important, as a lack of communication may imply a lack of cohesion with you. 

Don’t be put off by a previous sour experience you may have had referring on your clients to get treatment. I can guarantee you that when you find a practitioner that is ethical, communicative and bloody good at what they do, your clients will love you for it and your business will thrive with the increased client retention rate.  

The Art In Active Release Technique

Tightness in ones body either due to injury or overuse will change the way you move, feel and perform. The tightness you feel is not necessarily related to tight muscles. Our bodies have something called 'fascia' that is meant to glide and assist movement between our muscles, ligaments tendons. If the fascia is unable to glide effecitively it can then cause your muscles to contract more than they need to. Change in contraction = change in function. With athletic training, overuse injuries are on top of the list. 

This is where Active Release Technique (A.R.T) is extremely powerful. Compared to traditional massage, A.R.T works when you work. That is, by mimicking the tissue/muscle or tendons movement and applying tension you can effectively strip the tightness away and allow the tissue to work in its normal functioning state. Active Release Technique has been shown to be beneficial in cases such carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, shoulder pain, sciatica, nerve entrapments including many other body movement disorders.

Below are the 5 benefits of Active Release Technique: 

1. Improved mobility in the body

2. Reduction in pain

3. Improved range of movement (ROM) 

3. Quick results

5. Improved performance and function

To find out more about A.R.T and its benefits  click here 

kinetic Healthcare  

Feel Better, Move Better, Perform

Past ankle sprains = New body pains

Two standard questions are ALWAYS asked with our new clients at our practice. 

1. Have you had previous surgeries? 

2. Have you ever rolled your ankles? 

In our previous blog post, we discussed the relevance of scar tissue and the affect it can have on the body. Today we will touch on ankle sprains and why they can be holding back your performance. 

People often find it perplexed and amusing why I would assess their feet for a neck or even shoulder issue. Think of it this way. Your feet can be thought of as the wheel alignment to that of a car. When you ‘sprain’ your ankle, irrespective if you caused injury or not, you pretty much just altered the input system to your body. This is known as ‘proprioception’, your body’s ability to know where it is in space. So like a car when you accidently touch the wheels on the kerb, you change the alignment of the wheels and hence how well the car drives and performs. Same scenario happens with the feet with a sprain. The altered input can and will change the mechanics of the body. 

For instance, a sprained ankle can change your centre of mass, placing more pressure on one side of the body than the other. In a performance scenario, this will alter the movement of your deadlift and squat. When the tissue can no longer handle that altered load you know have yourself an injury.

On the other hand, a sprained ankle may make the affected foot ‘unstable’, so it will decide to look for stability further up the chain. It finds you’re mid back (thoracics) as a nice new home. Problem is your thoracics are meant to be a mobile area. Explains why you are now having troubles with your snatch or cleans four months after your foot injury, even though you foam roll the crap out of your back daily. 

The point is simple. Your feet are the gateway to how well you can performane. 

At Kinetic Healthcare we used Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) screens to work out exactly where your issues are holding you back. 

Contact the practice on (02) 9262 6473 to find if we can help you.