We offer assistance in several areas:

• Realignment of the pelvis with gentle mobilisations to the back, neck and pelvis.
• Working with a diastasis/separation of the abdominal muscles.
• Restoring core strength and pelvic floor strength.
• Tummy binding.
• Chi Nei Tsang massage for the digestive and reproductive organs to restore normal position and function.
• Myofascial release to break up scar adhesions following a caesarian section (must wait four months after surgery).
• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for stress.
• Lymphatic draining for post-surgical swelling and after cesarean to eliminate puffiness and swelling around the abdomen, hips and legs.

Caring for infants and young children can create a lot of physical strain on different parts of the body. Repetitive movements, poor posture, tiredness and weakness of muscles and ligaments, as well as repeated lifting and carrying, can all add to the biomechanical strain resulting in pain and loss of movement.

Almost everything that is designed for new babies, are very hard on anyone’s back. Bending over a cot to pick up your baby, trying to bath the baby and getting your baby in and out of a car seat all involve forward bending and twisting which can cause a lot of pain and stiffness.

Physiotherapy and specialised massage techniques can help to eliminate pain and restore movement of the body and the internal organs which can feel compressed or out of place after carrying a baby or two.

One of the most important treatments for mothers who have had a c-section is to have myofascial release of the scar.   Four months following a C-section it is advisable to have the scar tissue released using myofascial massage to prevent future problems of adhesions of the organs including the small or large intestine, which can lead to back pain and possible bowel obstruction.

Lymphatic drainage can also be beneficial to rid the body of excessive swelling around the abdomen and hips, both areas that can back up with fluid following a c-section.

Our skilled therapists can also offer Chi Nei Tsang massage of the internal organs to help restore the position and function of the organs that may have shifted from pressure on the mum during pregnancy.  This type of gentle massage helps to restore functions that include digestion, elimination, reproduction and improved bladder control.

In some cases, the mother may experience an unpleasant experience following the birth of the baby. These can range from disappointment for not being able to have the birth plan she wanted, to other issues around the birth of the baby. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a fast and effective tool to help you release any negative thoughts or feelings quickly.

Contact us on info@thebodygroup.com or 2167 7305 to book an appointment.

Results can be obtained in approximately six sessions and you can get relief after the first session.

Ankle Sprain are the most common acute injury in tennis players. It can lead to significant time lost to injury and long-term disability. If poorly managed, this can lead to re-injury, muscular atrophy, increased stiffness, and reduced competitive capacity. Some may sprain their ankles outside of the tennis court. This may be when walking down stairs, on uneven ground, or by a misstep. Thousands of ankles are sprained daily.

Most people think their sprains are inconsequential, but mismanagement may predispose ankle instability or a missed fracture injury. You need to consult a healthcare professional if there is ankle swelling, pain with fingertip pressure, or difficulty standing or walking. Prevention strategies are proven to reduce the likelihood of acute injury. Appropriate progressive strength & conditioning, balance & proprioception, agility, and cardiovascular training can improve endurance, power, and coordination during play.

Manual therapy can help reduce muscle stiffness and fatigue accumulated in training and competitive play. This helps optimize rest and recovery for athletes. After an injury, optimizing tissue repair and recovery through structured rest, exercise prescription, and manual therapy will reduce overall time spent off-court and improve performance when returning to sport.

Tennis Elbow

Should you have surgery, or conservative treatment?

Although with excellent results, evidence currently demonstrates no additional benefit of surgical excision of degenerative tendon over and above placebo (e.g. incision and exposure of tendon). Manual therapy intervention accelerates your rehabilitation.

Manipulative techniques performed by a trained professional allows for better and faster recovery of the affected tendon. Specific manual procedures improve the tendon and muscle’s capacity to stretch and strengthen. Graded exercise therapy is beneficial in improving outcomes. Most tendinopathies respond brilliantly to progressive, resistance-based training. The intensity of exercise depends on symptom acuity and whether swelling is present. Through incremental training, your tendon will increase its tensile strength, elasticity, and capacity to see you through your matches.

Our therapists @ The Body Group can help.
Physiotherapy can help manage your pain, improve your strength and flexibility. We can provide a variety of treatments and help you understand your problem. We may recommend a series of exercise that help reduce your elbow strain, improve tendon healing, to accelerate your return-to-play.
Osteopaths assess the functional biomechanics of your upper limb and their interrelationships. We ascertain the structural integrity of the joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles surrounding the injury. Our comprehensive treatment will help optimize your movement efficiency and recovery.

Improve your performance. Up your game.

Book your appointments at The Body Group for Treatments & Assessments.

Look at the difference in these two pictures, taken seconds apart. Observe the way the tissue changes in the face and neck. In the first photo, you see a face ageing as gravity pulls down the soft tissue that has no support structure, resulting in jowls, while in the second photo the soft tissue is balanced on the facial bone structure, helping to redefine the loose jaw line.

Slouching when sitting also causes the abdominal organs to push forward, simply because when you slouch, your rib cage and pelvis are closer together and the intestines have to move out – in some cases onto our laps.

A hunched back and shoulders also cause us to look older because this kind of condition is often associated with elderly people who have heart or lung disease.

Sadly, we are now seeing younger and younger people coming to us with poor posture. Contributing factors include heavy school bags and sitting with the hips too low while doing homework on a laptop or other device. I recently saw a girl under the age of 8 who had both scoliosis and a rib hump due to her poor sitting posture while watching YouTube cartoons much of the day.

Poor posture causes many changes that occur from the inside, including :

• • Compression of the spinal cord (the largest bundle of nerves in the body)
  • Forward head posture, which decreases blood flow to the brain, contributing to brain fog
  • Headaches
  • Arthritic changes in the joints of the entire spine
  • Shearing of the vertebrae, so that one vertebra starts to slide forward of the one below it (spondylosis)
  • Compression of the roots of the nerves that run from the spinal cord to all areas of the body, resulting in loss of muscle strength, loss of sensation and impaired bodily functions
  • Compression of the blood vessels and nerves in front of the shoulders and in the armpit areas. This can create thoracic inlet and outlet dysfunction (i.e. arm and hand weakness, or symptoms such as burning, tingling, numbness and pins and needles).
  • Poor digestion and elimination
  • Back and neck pain and loss of motion

For more information on what happens to your body when you slouch, and also how to find the correct chair and custom adjust it for your particular needs, please read the article on Sitting Posture.

Our therapists are available to assist you with:

• • Spinal alignment assessment and treatment
  • Advice on how to modify your work station or home environment
  • A stretching and strengthening programme for all levels of fitness
  • Treatments using Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Active Isolated Stretching (AIS), joint mobilisation, and various types of massage, from releasing muscle spasms to restructuring your alignment

Contact us at +852 2167 7305 or email info@thebodygroup.com.

The incidence of limping in children is 1.5 to 3.6 cases per 1,000 children, with some variations in children from different countries.

The cause of a painful limp needs to be evaluated and diagnosed by a general practitioner or pediatrician by means of physical exams, laboratory testing, blood work and imaging studies. However, if the limp or gait disturbance is not painful, but still persists, then a hands-on manipulation approach can be very useful to reduce the limp.

Physiotherapy and osteopathy employ a multitude of muscle and fascial/connective tissue release techniques that can lessen the connective tissue distortions that result in a limp or gait disturbance.

A sprained ankle with weak ankle ligaments is one of the most common causes for a limp in children. The other common cause is a pelvic tilt that leads to a limp and gait disturbance.

Ankle issues can usually be improved with strengthening of the ligaments that allow for ankle movement and release of the muscles and ligaments attached to the ankle joint. While pelvic tilt is usually improved with pelvic, hip and sacrum leveling techniques using hands-on muscle and fascial release techniques performed by physiotherapists and osteopaths.

If you are concerned about a limp, bring your child in for an evaluation and assessment. Treating a limp will improve your child’s gait and allow him or her to be more active in sports and lead a more full and healthy life.

It is important to fix any facial bone abnormalities in newborns early. So much can be accomplished to lessen developmental deformities as it relates to the teeth, if done early.  Cranial specialists can note any asymmetry in the palate (the roof of the mouth) of the newborn, or developing child. If proper gentle mobilization of the facial bones and the palate (the roof of the mouth) are done early, it can help prevent the need for lengthy orthodontics repair in the future.

The timing of evaluation is critical, in that the mid-incisors (front teeth) interval of development is significant and affected directly by the height and symmetry of the palate.

Many situations can affect the alignment of the jaw and the proper growth and position of teeth to include chewing habits, absence of teeth, thumb sucking, poor fitting crowns (replaced teeth), sleeping only on one side of the face, or leaning on your chin, to name a few.

Both adult and children that are requiring teeth alignment adjustments to include braces, palate separator) with the dentist or orthodontic should be evaluated for correct positioning of the jaw (mandible) bone, the arch of the mouth (the palate), and the muscles below the jaw to ensure the most painless and time efficient correction of the teeth.

Periodic follow up to do gentle manipulations to correct the palate and the jaw bones are often necessary while clients are undergoing dental bracing adjustments.  We help adults and children, undergoing braces treatment too!

Being a mom I have seen first hand the dilemma of congested sinuses caused by colds and seasonal allergies. It takes about a week or so to fully recover from sinusitis without antibiotics. To manage symptoms of sinusitis, osteopathy can be a useful complementary treatment. Treatment includes working around the face, sinuses, neck, thoracic inlet and upper back to help with the drainage of the sinuses.

I learned that treating my son with cranial osteopathy techniques early in a cold scenario helped lessen the chances of the cold turning into an upper respiratory or ear infection. At The Body Group, Hong Kong, our Osteopathic Practitioners takes a holistic approach that will help you breathe easier and reduce your risk of sinusitis.

Proper alignment of the bones of the head is needed for ideal health. There is subtle, delicate, deliberate motion between the various bones that make up the sinus cavity. This is very minimal movement but it allows us to blow our nose and sneeze with success. Sinus congestion can be worsened if the bones that make up the nasal passageway are not moving freely and correctly.   If the bones that make up the sinuses become jammed together, for example, then the sinuses can get clogged. If the sinuses become congested, they might be more prone to infection.

Cranial Osteopathy can help clear your sinuses

The walls of the sinuses are made up of the bones of the cranium. Cranial osteopathy helps assess the mobility of these bones and detect where the bones are not moving well which restricts the vitality, size and motion of the sinus cavity. This treatment encourages the release of stresses and tensions throughout the head and gives relief to the general stresses in the body.

Bring your child or family member in early in the case of a cold or runny nose. Cranial osteopathy can help lessen the severity of the nasal congestion, and the risk of infection.

Book your appointments at The Body Group for Cranial Osteopathy.

The plantar fascia is comprised of three bands of dense connective tissue that originate at the back of the heel, called the calcaneus. The primary goal of the calcaneus is to provide support along the medial longitudinal arch. Basically it acts as the shock absorber for the arches of the feet and transmits the force between the heel and forefoot during the late toe-off phase of the gait.

Components that contribute to plantar fasciitis are the height of the arch, tightness of the calf and the state of the Achilles tendon. First line treatments include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, focused stretching, footwear modifications and over the counter orthotics.

Osteopaths and Physiotherapists can treat the tight Achilles tendon, ankle mobility restrictions, calf tightness and pain, as well as correct the placement of the tibia and fibula. Adjustments to these structures affect the crucial toe-off phase of the gait. We are also trained in stretching the plantar fascia and can teach our clients focused stretching of the Achilles tendon, plantar fascia and the muscles of the feet, so they can accelerate recovery time. We can help get you back on your feet as quickly as possible and feeling pain free!

Contact the Body Group to book an appointment for an assessment and treatment for Plantar Fasciitis.

But what causes snoring? Weakness and loss of tone in the muscular lining in the upper respiratory tract and neck can be a contributing factor. In addition, many of us spend hours slouched at a computer, which results in a ‘chin forward’ posture. This can cause the skull to be pushed back and the upper airways to be compressed even further, making snoring considerably worse over time.

Osteopathy can help alleviate the muscular tension and realign the bones and muscles, reducing sinus congestion. It is necessary to improve bad posture with muscle strengthening exercises and release the muscles at the front and side of the neck with manipulation. It is also important to release the diaphragm, ribs and upper thoracic area with manipulation. All of these manual adjustments will lessen the restriction in the upper airways, decrease snoring and improve your sleep!

• Pain in the front of the ears, especially on waking.
• Persistent pain in the muscles of the face, on one or both sides.
• A click or ‘popping’ sensation in the joint when opening the mouth.
• Difficulty opening the mouth because it seems ‘stuck’,
• An episode when the jaw was stuck open
• Pain with chewing
• Recurring headaches
• Chronic neck and shoulder pain and stiffness
• Ringing of the ears

If you answer yes to any of the questions above, you may have Temporal Mandibular Joint Syndrome/dysfunction.

Anatomy

The temporal-mandibular joint is a structure that connects the lower jaw to the paired temporal bone on the side of the head with the joint located in front of the ear. This joint is unusual in that there is one jaw bone with two joints on either side, so that one side can influence the other. The large temporal muscles, together with other muscles and ligaments, allow the joint to move properly while chewing and speaking. If any component is adversely affected due to muscle tension, arthritis, a head injury, or incorrect mastication or opening too wide, the movement of the joint becomes restricted, resulting in pain.

Description

Because of our need to speak and eat, humans have a jawbone with a wide range of movement. The joint that connects the lower jaw, or mandible, to the temporal bone of the skull is like a hinge with a small disc of cartilage that protects the contact surface between the two bones and allows for easy movement. TMJ syndrome is the term that indicates pain or some other disorder in this area.

Almost everyone experiences some discomfort in the temporal-mandibular joint at some time. Simply yawning widely or eating something in an incorrect way can result in pain or a clicking noise when the jaw is moved. This situation is usually temporary and often resolves itself spontaneously without treatment. In some cases, however, the patient feels pain radiating throughout the face, even reaching down to the neck and shoulders. This is a chronic case of TMJ that could be linked to other disorders.

Causes

In most cases, TMJ syndrome results from excessive effort in using the jaw muscles; dislocation of a disc in the joint, whiplash when the head is snapped back, fall injury to the face or chin, a degenerative joint disease; or sometimes a combination of these and other elements. The most common cause, however, is simply an excess of effort used in the repetitive motion of opening and closing the jaw or opening the mouth too wide, which has resulted in ‘wear and tear’. This effort may result from clenching the jaw or grinding the teeth, but it can also result from structural misalignment, such as a protruding jaw, misalignment of the teeth, or badly fitting dentures. Other factors can include chronic poor posture because when someone slouches for long periods of time, the head is moves forward resulting in the lower jaw hanging from the skull and not allowing the jaw to be in a normal resting position.

The dislocation of one or both discs in the articulation of the jaw can be caused by a sudden blow or trauma to the head or simply by chewing intensely or yawning too widely. Usually the displaced disc returns to its correct position without causing any permanent damage to the jaw but if the displacement happens frequently, the jaw may make a clicking sound with opening and closing indicating the disc is not in the correct position. Over time, the bony surfaces of the joints start to wear down because the disc is not protecting the two surfaces which results in a grinding sound called crepetus. These symptoms are similar to those of other degenerative joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, where inflamed articulation gives rise to pain and stiffness.

Treatment

Taking painkillers reduces inflammation and relieves pain, but this does not solve the underlying cause of the problem. Patients with TMJ need to comprehensively assess their lifestyle, from everyday stresses that cause tension to eating foods that cause an excessive load on the jaw. In cases where the alignment of the dental arches is incorrect, a dentist knowledgable in treating TMJ syndrome should be consulted. Besides advising the individual to chew properly, an osteopath can also use manipulation techniques to increase the range of motion of the head, neck, shoulders and upper back.

Prevention

To prevent involuntary muscular effort or an unbalanced pressure on the jaw, do not sleep with the head turned to one side, or with the entire weight of the head on the chin, a position common in people who sleep prone. Try to sleep on your side, or on your back, without a pillow. Ideally a soft diet is recommended especially when you are having discomfort. If you feel tension in your jaw when waking up, clenching the jaw or grinding the teeth, something that can happen involuntarily while sleeping may cause it. Consult a dentist or an orthodontist regarding the use of a night guard that protects the bite and seek treatment for stress reduction such as meditation and EFT.

The resting positon of the jaw is slightly relaxed with the tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth. Effort should be made to try to find this balance. Correct sitting posture is also essential because when the alignment is balanced all the joints in the body are relaxed, including the jaw joint.