Tag Archives: Goal Setting

January 12 – Issue 16

Welcome to 2012

Hello, Happy New Year and best wishes for the year ahead. I hope the Christmas festivities were full of fun, laughter and plenty of good food!  A lot of people now have set their New Year resolutions and I wish you all of the best with them. I would guess a few have aimed to lose a few of the Christmas pounds but on, so exercise is probably on the agenda in the near future. This issue deals with Goal Setting with activity so take a look, it may give some handy hints on how to do it in a safer and more beneficial way. There is also an article on low back pain, highlighting possible causes of lower back pain, how to deal with it and where help may be found for it.

Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain (LBP) does not have a specific cause and can occur in a number of scenarios. It could be an isolated incident, such as a fall, lifting something incorrectly, amongst other. It may be building up over time as well. This could be caused by bad posture, being overweight, smoking, or excessive time in a constant position (such as sitting on a chair or in a car).¹

These scenarios could cause sprains andd strains in muscles and ligament, a disc prolapse (slipped disc) or a damaged spinal facet joint. The majority of cases of LBP get resolved pretty quickly, but if it becomes a problem after a month or so, it would be advisable to visit your GP for advise on further treatment. Short term treatment may include heat packs or heat cream, anti-inflammatories or simply a bit of rest. Longer term solutions may involve a stretching programme, physiotherapy, massage or acupuncture. These treatments need to be advised and discussed when visiting your GP. Very severe cases may require surgical procedures to alleviate the problem.

Recent research has suggested that massage along with a suitable exercise programme and knowledge given to the injured individual showed significant benefits in the decrease in pain and discomfort in the individuals with LBP². Whether the problem is acute or chronic LBP, it is important that the injured individual has a specifically designed programme to follow as each person and injury are different.

Goal Setting

Activity or rehabilitation has to have an aim and goal setting in the right way will help achieve those aims in a realistic manner. Following the acronym SMART, it can be a planned and easily manageable process³.

           SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and Time-managed. Each step should be followed correctly.

  • SPECIFIC – You must know exactly what it is that you want to achieve. Its not worth saying “to get fit” as that is too general, so something like “to run continuously for 30 minutes” is better.
  • MEASURABLE – Have an end target which can be worked towards. The example above is also suitable.
  • AGREED – This could be by yourself or with a trainer/coach or therapist. Get it in writing so if you forget it will be there and is a good tool to motivate yourself.
  • REALISTIC – Smaller achievable goals are better then 1 large one. Breaking down a large goal is the best way to achieve this as each small realistic target improves motivation when achieved. An example is if you wanted o run 30 minutes as the final goal. Breaking it down into 10 weeks, in which 3 minutes per week can be added, is easier to achieve then running 30 minutes all at once straight away.
  • Time-managed – Have a suitable time frame for your specific goal. Using our previous example, you could make your aim “to run continuously for 30 minutes by March”. This shows that from January to March, you can have sub-goals that can involve each month or week, going as far as days in the week as well if desired.

Remembering the important parts mentioned above will help achieve any goal for any individual. Seeing a health professional is advisable when planning goals as they can help advise the individual of a safe and suitable programme to follow.

 Quick Facts

1.  “1% fluid loss during exercise effects maximal performance, so keep as hydrated as possible.”

2. “Outdoor activity improves muscle stability better then when indoors.”

3. “Caffeine can reduce the onset of ‘muscle burning’ during an exercise session.”

References

 1. Www.backcare.org.uk

2. Furlan A.D., et al., (2008), Massage for Low-back Pain, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (online), 4:CD001929, Source: PubMed

3. Heaney C., Thought for Sport, International Therapist, Issue 98 (October 2011), pp. 10-12.

July 09 – Issue 6

Summer Sun, Will We Get Some?

With summer approaching, everyone is thinking the same thing, how much sun will we get in England? There are predictions for a hot summer with heat waves, so hopefully that is the case. This in mind, make sure you have topped up the supply of sun cream you have, keeping you safe from the rays we love. If there are moments of temporary forgetfulness and sunburn gets the better of your skin, have a try of aloe vera gelly, its been thoroughly recommended by many people to help sooth the burn. Properties of aloe vera help relieve pain and provide nutrients and vitamins to assist with the repair process of the skin.

Small Health Checks

Getting regular checks on your health is very beneficial and helps endlessly. Checking on what your weight is like can help with weight management, whether it be for weight gain or weight loss. It is also easy to find you Body Mass Index (BMI) from this. Your BMI indicates what weight range you fall in, whether it is a normal range or going to either extremes, which are morbidly obese or severely underweight. These extreme conditions can cause very serious health problems such as anorexia, and heart disease amongst others. If you know your height and weight and wish to know your BMI, just enquire at your  appointment. You may also wish to find out your body fat count or your hip to waist ratio, and what they mean for you.

Goal Setting in Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation after an injury is a frustrating time, especially for active individuals and athletes. The biggest problems is taking steps that are too big for the body to adjust to and further damaging the injury. This is why goal setting is so important in rehabilitation, with the final goal being a full return to the level of activity required before the injury occurred. The first thing to do is to have a thorough talk to a therapist on how serious the injury is and how long this injury will realistically take to overcome with proper rehabilitation. From there, a rehabilitation programme can be devised for the individual, so that the quickest return to exercise may be possible without the risk of re-injury to the individual. Lots of small, achievable targets help individuals as they are clear to see and show a clear link to the final goal. Without these small steps, the individual would only see the finish and try to reach it too quickly. You can use your stairs at home as an example. You would not be able to get to the top of your stairs in one jump. You must take each individual step, though occasionally you may be able to skip a step to get to the top. Psychologically it is much more rewarding for an injured individual to achieve each small step, as they will be more motivated to progress to the next step. When setting these small goals, you must consider a few things. They are how challenging the steps are and if they are realistically achievable. The programme must also be specific to the individual and the activity and exercise that they wish to perform. 

Summary

1. Make goals specific to the individual.

2. Set lots of small targets to get to the overall goal.

3. Make the goals achievable.

4. The targets should be realistic.

Enjoyment and fun is key to motivate individuals to achieve goals

Foot Care in Sport

Feet are a very important part of the anatomy, often neglected by athletes, leading to injury. Sometimes they are serious ones as well. The majority of sports are weight bearing sports, which means foot contact with the ground whilst performing. Good trainers are essential in preventing injuries. A good cushioning in the trainer will prevent problems with the heels and can also have implication with arch problems, such as flat feet. Getting the right size trainers is also essential. Blisters are always a concern when shoes do not fit. The small space left causes friction leading to the blisters. Feet swell with exercise so it is important to bear that in mind as normally well-fitted trainers will be small with exercise. This may also mean the individual curls their toes, which may lead to tight toe muscles. Nails should be regularly cut to prevent any broken toe nails from the movement of the foot against the end of the footwear. When washing make sure feet are dried thoroughly as many infections can develop, such as Athletes foot. This is a fungal infection which can be easily treated by products available at the chemist. Corns and calluses can also be problematic if not prevented or treated well. They are a build up of dead, hard skin in areas of increased pressure, maybe from weak footwear support or maybe due to direct pressure on the ground². Using a foot scrub after a bath or shower on any developing areas of hard skin will prevent corns and calluses developing. The skin will be of a yellowish nature and are predominantly found around the ball of the foot, which is below the joint of the hallux (big toe). These are just a few of the conditions that may arise from a lack of foot care. The feet may cause problems higher up in the skeleton and other tissues around it and the first area to be affected after the foot is usually the ankle, then the knee, and working around the body if not prevented and adjusted. If you are concerned with your feet and think there may be something wrong, check for your local podiatrist and enquire on whether an appointment may be of benefit to assess the concern at hand. 

Quick Facts!!!

“Pound for pound, bone is as strong as steel and 3 times stronger than the same amount of reinforced concrete.³”

“The skeleton makes up 15% of the bodies weight. Bones are made of half water and half solid matter.³”

“The solid matter in bones contain around 2 pounds of calcium and a pound of phosphorus, which is enough for 2000 matches!³”

 References

1. Arvinen-Barrow, M., Back to Basics: Using Goal Settings to Enhance Rehabilitation, SportEx Medicine, Issue 37 (July), pp. 15-19.

2. Barlow, A., Foot Care for Sport, SportEx Dynamics, Issue 20 (April), pp. 11-13.

3. Biel, A., Trail Guide to the Body, 3rd Edition, Books of Discover, London.