As some social sports are starting to commence - which is super exciting! It is important to remember if there has been a period off that sport to gradually reload to reduce injuries. Particularly common in netball is chronic ankle instability - where the ligaments have undergone deformation and is susceptible to reinjury due to a lack of passive control. But retraining through proprioception exercises and bracing or strapping to provide control can keep you in the game.
Neck related pain from trauma i.e. from a motor vehicle accident or sporting related injury where whiplash was sustained, can lead to ongoing neck dysfunction and impairments in the future. We know from research that from the sustained injury it can lead to changes in what neck muscles we use and how. The initial change of muscle control is a protective one – good job brain! However, these sustained changes in the neck muscles is what can lead to ongoing dysfunction and pain – not so great, thanks brain! .
Read MoreCervical (neck) proprioception is the ability to know where you are in space and is an important function in movement and posture. It takes into account the joint movement and the joint position.
Proprioception is a critical function for everyday movement such as endurance from sitting at the computer to sport that requires faster movement and coordination of the neck muscles for repositioning.
So, how’s your sleep hygiene? I’m not talking about changing the sheets every week … however, yes that is important but no I’m talking about the effects of your sleeping pattern; i.e. sleep preparation, the amount, timing and quality of sleep. As these all could be affecting your bodies’ ability to recover and hence could be creating a ‘fight-or-flight’ response to your nervous system, thus unhelpful inflammation. That doesn’t really sound restful, restorative or energising does it?
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