in 1996 Pope R et al (proceedings of the 1996 National Physiotherapy
Congress p193 - A RCT to determine whether pre-exercise stretching prevents
injury ) did an RCT with 1538 male Australian army recruits and showed that
there were no benenfits of pre-exercise stretching in preventing injury
(presumably this would also apply to the weight lifters and mm in the
lumbopelvic region). Injury was more closely correlated with aerobic
fitness.
Linda K
----- Original Message -----
From: "Henry Tsao" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 09 October 2000 21:48
Subject: Re: TA & Stabilisation?
> Dr Siff and others,
>
> I was talking to friend who worked at the olympics as a Physiotherapist
down
> in Sydney in the last 2 weeks, and briefly touched upon the issue of low
> prevalance of back pain in weightlifters. He offered me a different
> alternative on why back pain was limited in weightlifters:
>
> 1. They stretched their muscles always before they compete, hence they
have
> length and strength in their muscles. This means that the TrA and
multifidus
> muscles will not be inhibited and can be used to stabilize the lumbar
spine.
> This is in contrast to a worker who does not stretch at all before heavy
> lifting, tightens muscles in the lumbopelvic region, which in turn
inhibits
> the TrA and Multifidus muscles and hence are more prone to injury as a
> result of reduced lumbar stability.
>
> 2. Most sport people will have physiotherapy, chiropractic and other
therapy
> intervention during their training (I know for a fact that Maurice Green,
> the 100M champion has both Physiotherapy and chiropractors work on him 4-5
> times a week. These will not only free up their joints, but also help
> stretch their muscles. It is like having treatment regularly - hence
> reducing the prevalence of back pain.
>
> 3. The diet that sports people are on usually is very beneficial for
> healing. Diet is a big part of the human body. Therefore, even if they
have
> an injury, they will heal a lot faster than compared to the average worker
> who strains their back.
>
> 4. Psychologically, it is known that if you are under a lot of stress,
such
> as the stress of work, your muscles will tighten. Most sportman (and I
mean
> most) are motivated and so focused in what they do that their normal pain
> threshold would be high, especially in weightlifters. They need to block
out
> the aches and pains in their muscle and simply focus on what they are
doing.
> I know as a soccer player I have had times where I would play a game and
be
> so focused in the game, not realizing that my legs were bleeding from a
> previous tackle until I slow down.
>
> We both agree that there is a lot of factors involved, and we can not
simply
> pinpoint a single factor on why weightlifters and most sport people don't
> have back pain. However, it does show us that other factors such as
> nutrition and psychology play a big part in the overall presentation of
the
> human being.
>
> To answer some of the questions posed by Dr Siff:
>
> >5. Are TrA methods definitely superior to most other methods of
addressing
> >back pain?
> ***Definitely not, TrA, like any other Physiotherapy method, is always
used
> in conjunction with other Physiotherapy techniques, and it is always
> difficult to say which methods are the best simply because every patient
is
> different. This is probably why Physiotherapy has lacked so much evidence,
> because research is not easy to do, since we do not use a single technique
> in our treatment(eg, it took Physiotherapists down in Sydney 6 months to
> examine the effectiveness of AP glides on the AC joint in the shoulder).
>
>
> >6. How does one non-invasively check for TrA 'miseducation' or
'laziness'
> >during full ranges of dynamic or ballistic 'functional' movement (such as
> >running, lifting and jumping)?
> ***This is still to be shown, but the TrA theory offers us a way of
thinking
> and an explanation to what is happening in the lumbar spine. With
> advancements in technology, I am sure they will soon be able to check
> non-invasively TrA activation during functional movements.
>
> >7. Why do some cases of back pain, even among those with apparently
'weak'
> >or 'lazy' TrA muscles, spontaneously resolve themselves without
repeatedly
> >recurring?
> ***Is there any research on the percentage of back pain patients who
resolve
> spontaneously and NEVER get back pain again. It would have to be a very
> extensive longitudinal study to show this, and would be a very interesting
> topic of discussion.
>
> Henry***
>
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