It’s a rare moment when you can stand in your Irish strip, singing Amhran na bhFiann while the Irish flag is being raised. A moment I treasured at the European Cross Country Championships in Albufeira, standing with the deputy manager Teresa McDaid.
It’s been 16 years since our last cross country gold (that was Catherina McKiernan winning the Europeans in 1994), and our first ever team gold, won by the men’s under 23’s team. It was a special weekend from the start. There were 32 athletes in total, made up from male and female junior, under 23’s and senior teams, including Wicklow athletes Fionnuala Britton, Brian Farrell, and junior Fiona McKenna. Team manager was the accomplished runner Ann Keenan-Buckley. I was the only physio but luckily they were a low maintenance, injury-free bunch, so my workload was relatively light. We also had a guest motivational coach on the trip, Liam Moggin from Coaching Ireland, and certainly his daily talks added to the team spirit and atmosphere.
The day of competition itself I base myself in the warm-up tent, where the athletes arrive and prepare for their race. Fionnuala Britton gave us a lot to shout about in the women’s senior race as she put in a superb performance but narrowly missed out on a medal by finishing in 4th place. An exciting performance from a great athlete, there is a lot more to come from Fionnuala who has been in rising form this season.
Our victorious team of David McCarthy, Brendan O’Neill, Michael Mulhare, David Rooney, John Coughlan and Ciaran O’ Lioniard I have to say were infectious with their energy before their race, you could feel that something special was happening as they left the tent to give the performance of their lives in taking home gold. They deservedly received a hero’s welcome in Dublin Airport last Monday when we arrived home, we were blinded by flash photography as we arrived out, with a strong media presence to interview the lads. All in all, a great weekend for Irish Athletics, with high hopes for the future.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Avril returns to LRFC
The LRFC have returned to division one this season and will play 8 teams home and away in the1B division. We have currently played 3 games away and two at home in Lansdowne Road. Although we have maintained a winning record at home, we still remain to clinch an away win. We were up in Dungannon a few weekends ago, and we battled hard against a very strong side. We lost by 2 points, when the opposition scored a drop goal in the last minute.
In the physio room we have a few hamstring injuries to contend with presently. The lads are diligently keeping the rehab going and the physio team work on them weekly to restore good movement and flexibility to the muscle. We have one or two knee joint injuries currently also, again the rehab is essential and we keep the lads well strapped for games to protect and support the knee joint during play. It has been a busy start to the season in the physio room & it will no doubt be another busy season for the Medical team, to keep all the players in shape.
Low Back Pain (LBP)
Low back pain (LBP) is the most common problem we see as a Chartered Physiotherapist. Statistically up to 80% of people get LBP at one stage during their life. There are many reasons for LBP. The muscles, ligaments, discs or vertebrae/bones in our back can all cause pain. Pain may come on suddenly or slowly, it can be constant or intermittent, stay in one place or radiate to other areas. It may be a dull ache, or a sharp or piercing or burning sensation. The pain may radiate into the leg or foot, and may include symptoms other than pain, such as weakness, numbness or tingling. Large nerves that originate in the spine and go to the legs can make pain radiate to the extremities.
The majority of back pain patients are diagnosed with nonspecific acute back pain which has no serious underlying medical condition (or “pathology”). However, secondary back pain which is caused by an underlying condition accounts for a small number of the cases. The most common underlying pathology in these cases is a herniated disc or a slipped disc.
Disc pain in the lower back is common. Discs are located between the vertebrae (bones) in the back. They have a hard outside layer with a softer inner layer. When people ‘slip a disc’ the jelly like inner disc substance pushes through the outer layer and causes pain. Pain can be caused by a sudden strain on the disc from lifting in the wrong way, or a gradual strain from standing or sitting in the wrong way. For this reason it is essential to have correct posture when lifting and while in sustained positions (sitting or driving). The disc strain can be called a herniated, bulging, or protruding disc. With the appropriate care the vast majority of disc strains will reabsorb over time.
One potential source of back pain is the back muscles. Potential causes of pain in muscle tissue include muscle strains (pulled muscles), muscle spasm, and muscle imbalances (a muscle working too little or too much).
Another potential source of low back pain is the joints of the spine (facet joints). In people with spinal pain stemming from the facet joints, one theory is that the tissue lining the joints may become pinched or trapped, and cause pain. Age related wear and tear of the joint surfaces also cause pinch and cause pain.
Management
The first step is to tackle the pain itself. The aim is to restore pain-free movement as soon as possible, through hands on treatment to get the joints and soft-tissues moving normally again, and an exercise programme that complements this process. It may also be helpful to use heat or ice, and take certain medication if needed. The treatment may then progress to a strengthening programme to restore strength to the area. This is done to make the area less vulnerable to further strain. The strengthening phase may include a core stability programme which would be prescribed based on a person’s individual weaknesses. An example of some of these exercises can be found on our blog (http://eastcoastphysio.blogspot.com/2010/11/core-stability-exercises.html).
The rule of thumb with LBP is that if it lasts more than 72 hours get in touch with your Chartered Physiotherapist.
The majority of back pain patients are diagnosed with nonspecific acute back pain which has no serious underlying medical condition (or “pathology”). However, secondary back pain which is caused by an underlying condition accounts for a small number of the cases. The most common underlying pathology in these cases is a herniated disc or a slipped disc.
Disc pain in the lower back is common. Discs are located between the vertebrae (bones) in the back. They have a hard outside layer with a softer inner layer. When people ‘slip a disc’ the jelly like inner disc substance pushes through the outer layer and causes pain. Pain can be caused by a sudden strain on the disc from lifting in the wrong way, or a gradual strain from standing or sitting in the wrong way. For this reason it is essential to have correct posture when lifting and while in sustained positions (sitting or driving). The disc strain can be called a herniated, bulging, or protruding disc. With the appropriate care the vast majority of disc strains will reabsorb over time.
One potential source of back pain is the back muscles. Potential causes of pain in muscle tissue include muscle strains (pulled muscles), muscle spasm, and muscle imbalances (a muscle working too little or too much).
Another potential source of low back pain is the joints of the spine (facet joints). In people with spinal pain stemming from the facet joints, one theory is that the tissue lining the joints may become pinched or trapped, and cause pain. Age related wear and tear of the joint surfaces also cause pinch and cause pain.
Management
The first step is to tackle the pain itself. The aim is to restore pain-free movement as soon as possible, through hands on treatment to get the joints and soft-tissues moving normally again, and an exercise programme that complements this process. It may also be helpful to use heat or ice, and take certain medication if needed. The treatment may then progress to a strengthening programme to restore strength to the area. This is done to make the area less vulnerable to further strain. The strengthening phase may include a core stability programme which would be prescribed based on a person’s individual weaknesses. An example of some of these exercises can be found on our blog (http://eastcoastphysio.blogspot.com/2010/11/core-stability-exercises.html).
The rule of thumb with LBP is that if it lasts more than 72 hours get in touch with your Chartered Physiotherapist.
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