Healed wrist and a Goal on my Return.

It has been a frustrating six weeks or so for myself. I fractured my left wrist (Scaphoid bone) in a fall during a game for AFC Hornchurch in mid September. Since then I have been limited to watching games and moderating the amount of clients I see due to the cast I was wearing.
Last Thursday the cast was removed and with fracture healed I started my somatic exercises upon the injured wrist as it was feeling pretty stiff. In no time at all the wrist has started to resume an increased range of motion, so much so that I played in my first game on Saturday just two days after its removal.
We won 4-0 to remain top of the Ryman Premier division and I was lucky enough to contribute to the scoreline by scoring a free kick in the final minutes.
My daily somatic exercises kept my body supple and fit enough to resume football just TWO DAYS after the cast was removed. Now, I turn 40 this week and in some quarters would be considered as "over the hill", but I am comfortably able to keep up with weekly training and games and team mates half my age.
I attribute this to my daily somatic exercises which I choose to increase around the time of games to reduce the risk of injury as they keep my muscles lengthened and relaxed.
Take a look at my returning goal

Two wins and a fractured wrist.

Hello all.

You may or may not be aware that I continue to play football after my professional career for AFC Hornchurch of the Ryman Premier League (semi-pro).
Being 40 in November I am by far the oldest member of my team, but feel as fit and flaxible as ever thanks to my somatic exercises.
I really would not be playing football any longer were it not for these magical exercises that help my muscles and joints to recover from the pounding it gets during 90 minutes on the pitch twice a week.
That was until I fractured my left wrist during a game on Monday at Aveley our closest rivals.
We won the game 3-2 coming from 2-1 down in the second half for our third win in a row but at a cost to myself. My bone will heel and my somatic exercises are helping to keep the muscles of my affected arm and shoulder loose as its easy to tighten other areas of the body in compensation to an injury elsewhere.
Follow this link for SOMATICS FOR FOOTBALLERS
Also a great article by Lawrence Gold Certified Hanna Somatic Educator - Free your hamstrings, improve your performance and save your knees.

You can follow mine and AFC Hornchurch's progress this season at http://www.afchornchurch.com/
Also. see my latest goal direct from a corner. GOOOOOOAAL!

PANDICULATION - AN ALTERNATIVE TO STRETCHING

Somatic exercises involve a process called pandiculation.
Pandiculation involves a symmetrical and coordinated contraction and release of muscles.
Picture a dog or cat rising from a sleep state. They will immediately embark on a series of what look like stretches on the service. What they are actually doing is stiffening tight areas and then slowly letting them relax. It gives a sense of muscles relaxing and lengthening and prepares their brain for voluntary actions. Humans have the same capabilities.

Performed slowly, pandicular movements can lower the resting levels of tight/sore muscles by engaging the higher levels of the brain (motor cortex) which is where voluntary control resides.
The emphasis is on control and awareness of muscles as opposed to stretching them.

Follow the link below to get a more in depth look at the difference between stretching and pandicular movements - Pandiculation and stretching.


http://www.somaticliving.com

Somatic Book Review - The Sustainable You, By John Loupos.

Book Review: The Sustainable You, by John Loupos

In The Sustainable You, John Loupos (Somatic Educator) expands on the methods and legacy of Dr Thomas Hanna who pioneered Somatics, a revolutionary approach to healing and wellness through his own book Somatics: Reawakening the minds control of movement, flexibility and health.

Somatics entails non-invasive holistic methods for resolving pain and stiffness and restoring optimal mobility. Loupos provides clear insights into theories, principles and scientific underpinnings of this unique self-healing method. 

I highly recommend this book to any chronic pain sufferer out there, or to people wishing to defy the aging process and continue to be able to use their physical body t its fullest potential.

 

Somatics in You Magazine (Sunday Mail)

Health Notes - Get your back on track.

Read the following article on how somatics helped You Magazine editor to overcome chronic back pain and return to aerobics, dancing and long walks - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1381202/Health-notes-Get-track.html

Somatic exercise for resolving scoliosis

WHEN THE BODY TILTS - 

Do this at home - Stand in front of a mirror and notice if your shoulders are symetrical or is one higher than the other. Also, do this for your hips, are they at the same level or is one higher. To closer inspect this place a hand on each waist just above the pelvis to get a sense.
Finally, does your head rest in a central position or is it pulled to the left or the right.

If any of the above are apparent you are in the grip of The Trauma Relfex.
The trauma relfex is a reaction of the sensory-motor system meant to gaurd against pain.
If the body is injured, a muscular cringing takes place to hold a tight protective pattern around the point of injury. This protective holding pattern can occur anyhwere in the body but most commonly it can be seen on one side of the body.

In my 1-1 somatic practice many clients visit me having been told they are suffering from scoliosis.
To some degree this is true, they do have a spinal curvature but it does not answer how they ended up in this state unless they were born with the issue which is very raer.

Chronically contracted muscles will pull the body in the direction they are tightest.
For example, if the right oblique (waist) muscles are held in a tight contraction the body will be pulled that way. Spinal curvatures, leg length inbalances, asymetrical shoulders/hips and heads off centre originate from the trauma reflex. Releasing the tight and often painful muscles associated with this pattern is the key to sufferers standing straight and with comfort again.

Click on the link for a video of a specific somatic exercise that helps to relieve/resolve symptoms associated with scoliosis.
Somatic exercise

Somatic press releases.

I am very interested in reading about new modalities for pain/movement related issues launched via the press. I believe a growing number of people are consciously moving away from the manipulative approach, and more towards the self-help kind of modality that promotes self-sufficiency.
I myself was once a chronic pain sufferer (low back) who had exhausted all kinds of "treatments".
My pain had manifested from injuries as a professional footballer. My issues were never resolved the treatment way, only kept in check for a short while.
But then I discovered Hanna Somatic Education (HSE).
HSE goes deeper promoting a healing from within (brain/nervous system) and offers the client a self-help route to resolving their pain. "Somatic exercises" can be practiced by anyone/anytime, no fancy equipment is required to become reconnected and released from stiff/painful muscles.

The press is starting to become more aware of HSE's ability to resolve pain and restore effortless function. Read my press coverage and find out more about the healing power of somatics