Monday 27 January 2014

Structural alignment

Do you ever feel your body is out of balance or alignment?  Many years ago I played or coached tennis 6 days a week. This was long before the expertise and knowledge that exists today where players have a team of experts working on them.  The right side of my body was bigger than the left by quiet some margin. The result of this is my body always struggles to be aligned as the muscles on the right side are bigger than the left and this pulls my spine out of line or my pelvis isn't sitting properly.  This can create all sorts of problems.
Every 6/12 months I go visit my chiropractor, Gill Dingwall in Blafron and Kirkintilloch - she's a real professional and very thorough! But I had let this slip recently so today was the day. Recently I hadn't felt good when running anything over 13 miles. My hips and lower back didn't seem right and it wasn't comfortable.  My yoga was a big help but this was a structural problem and I needed some realignment from Gill. 20 minutes later I walked out her practice at least an inch taller! It's critical that if you are putting your body through a lot of training that you get it checked to make sure you are not building up a long term problem. My yoga and regular sports massage will keep me going but an "MOT" every six months is essential. So I listened to my body and it was creaking!  This will improve my swimming, cycling and running. If in doubt, get is checked!