January Newsletter 2014 - Hours, Give-Aways & Tennis Elbow

Exciting Year for Vital Body
Welcome to 2014! I expect by now most of you would have returned to work and I hope it’s treating you well. We have some exciting changes, events and opportunities planned this year for Vital Body. Get involved through our newsletters and Facebook page, starting with our Good Sort.

Good Sort
I have had the privilege of working with hundreds, if not thousands of people over my years as a therapist and I know that for many people 2013 was an especially tough year. I would love to create a positive start for 2014 for a deserving person by giving them 6 one hour treatments on the house over 2014. Treatments will be with me at a time that suits them and as with all my sessions, will be individualised to what the recipient needs on that day.

This is about giving back, so the winner and / or nominees name will not be publically released, unless they are happy for me to do so. So, how to nominate? Think of someone deserving you know (you can nominate yourself) and drop me a line in the strictest confidence, through info@vitalbody.co.nz or private message me on Facebook, outlining why they are a good candidate. This is open to anyone, so feel free to share this newsletter and Facebook link to spread the word. Nominations will be accepted until Friday the 21st February 2014, and the winner selected Friday 28th February 2014. 

This Month's Topic
You would have to have been living under a rock not to notice all the exciting tennis that is being played at the moment. In light of this I thought it was a perfect opportunity to write a piece about tennis elbow. As many of you that have suffered from this know, you don’t have to be a tennis player to experience this condition. In fact most are not. I have put together some information below on the causes of tennis elbow, how our treatment can help in the resolution of this painful condition and how you can help yourself to speed up the process.

Tuesday Tips
This is a new addition to our Facebook page. We will be sharing effective stretches and tools to help resolve conditions we commonly see, as well as other snippets of information we think you will love. Like our Facebook page to expand your mind.

Mandy’s Hours in January and February
I am fortunate to have January and February off University and it is already proving a lovely opportunity to catch up with some clients I haven’t had the time to see in a while. I will be working extended hours over this time, so if you are unable to find the time you need online give me a call on 021 023 16267 and I will fit you in where I can.

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Mandy

The Vital Bits
Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is one of the most common upper body work-related disorders.  Symptoms include pain over the outer elbow, and pain and weakness when performing activities requiring gripping, such as shaking hands and holding a glass of water. 

Once identified as an inflammatory condition tennis elbow is now recognised as a complex process, of which inflammation is just its beginning stage. Contributing factors include faulty biomechanics of the cervical and thoracic spine, shoulder, elbow and wrist joints; occlusion of the radial nerve; and a mechanical overloading of the common forearm extensor tendon (specifically extensor carpi radialis brevis).

In light of this, it is not enough to simply rub the area that is sore. This can be a difficult condition to treat and extremely painful so it’s important you have therapists, like the team at Vital Body, with an advanced knowledge of this condition who know how to treat it effectively. If you are suffering from tennis elbow or know someone that is, share this information with them or book a session with us to get it sorted.

Vitality Tips
Caring for Tennis Elbow
There are many things you can do to help ease the pain of tennis elbow. Here are just a couple of tips we have found really effective.

Ice Pack 
Especially useful in the early stages, apply the ice pack directly over the affected area. Aim to leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes at a time.

Brace
The purpose of a brace is to create a false insertion for the overloaded common forearm extensor tendon. This stops the muscle from pulling directly on its boney attachment at the elbow, allowing it time to heal.

Stretch
This stretches the common forearm extensor muscles and as above, helps to unload the muscles attachment site at the elbow.