Functional Therapy
As our everyday activities are
made up of dynamic movements, it makes sense for this to be reflected in a
therapy programme. Being able to carry
out a static stretch or touch your toes is fine in the sense that it shows what
range you have in a particular muscle but when it comes to our daily lives, how
often do we carry out such a movement?
Surely it is better to work on
enabling your muscles to lengthen, load and unload in every plane of motion
rather than statically. By working our
muscles dynamically, we build up their strength in both short and long ranges
which in turn equips them to more effectively carry out daily tasks.
Whatever your starting point; my
aim is to enable you to move better, stronger, faster and with a greater range
of movement. Functional therapy techniques
will not only enable you to move better but will also balance your whole body,
reduce and possibly even eliminate pain.
Commonly, when someone suffers an
injury, the focus is solely on the structures which have been damaged and how
to rehabilitate them. As a Functional
Therapist I work with the core elements of function and therefore can look
deeper into the underlying problem by assessing and solving the ‘cause of the
cause'. This enables me to construct a
much more effective recovery programme, helping my clients to get the best
results and to prevent repeat injuries.
By assessing the movement
sequences when working with diagnosed injuries, I am able to help my clients
avoid further irritation to the injury whilst at the same time enabling them to
keep moving which in turn further aids their recovery. Quite often in the case of injuries there is
a chain reaction whereby the initial injury causes limitations and restrictions
of movement which in turn leads onto a secondary injury. This is why professional athletes take time
out from their sports (even after a minor injury) to rehabilitate and recover
as the last thing they want is for their initial injury to cause greater
injuries, keeping them away from their sports for even longer.
As a Functional Therapist I use
hands on assessments and techniques to achieve dynamic movements and stretches
in order to help my clients regain their full ranges of movement and remove any
postural imbalances. Once I have
identified the ‘cause of the cause’ I can incorporate a rehabilitation
programme into your training.
My first port of call for the majority of clients is to assess their gait. Gait analysis is a very effective means of finding out how well or badly we move and whether we have any imbalances. Once the movement that is causing your limitation has been identified, I can formulate a tailor-made programme of exercises that will correct the limitation and ensure you reach your end goal.