Can you really use a sandbag to fix an injury??

Cam Ward, DVRT Master Australia (4EVERfitness)

Can you really use a sandbag to fix an injury??

As we sink our teeth deeper into the health and fitness industry it becomes more and more noticeable that it takes a team to fix a problem.  Having an issue looked at from all angles and levels goes a long way to educating your client to a better outcome.

About two months ago I wrote a blog telling my story of how I over came major knee surgery to running a marathon (Read Here).  Well the story continues with a success story about my wife and best friend Bec.

Brining two beautiful children into our lives and setting up a functional training centre from home was the best decision we made.  Not easy but a great way to watch the kids grow up and allow them to see what it took to get mum pain free and moving.

Two years ago!!!, Yes two years, Bec is now on track to getting back to her passion of running.  Without getting to gory Bec had a dislodgment of her pubic bones and would find it hard walking or even moving around to complete her day to day activities.

Working with Bec’s Chiropractor we took to the studio and worked through the DVRT system using the Core and PowerUltimate Sandbags.  Now keep in mind kneeling or putting any asymmetric load through the pelvis was painful, which is why we started with glute bridging movements.  We wanted to fire the connection between the lats and the glutes to allow us to progress to more powerful movements later on.

Once we could achieve fluid movement through bridging patterns we advanced to cross pattern loading with one of the movements the bird dog. What we found interesting about this movement was when executing the traditional bird dog pain was experienced through the lateral hip.  However when introducing the lateral drag bird dog using the Core Ultimate Sandbag the pain disappeared.  

 

Huh! No pain! There must be a trick and why would this take away the pain.  Well what we did different is by dragging the Ultimate Sandbag along the ground it light up the lats and connected with the opposite glute giving us the cross pattern connection.  

BOOM follow the make and design of the body.  Like our walking or running patterns we move in cross patterns with the opposite arm and leg tracking forward as we move. Training the body as it is designed to move, not shockingly, improves strength, movement, and pain-free actions so much faster! 

This is different than how most people perform a Bird Dog. They create the same motion, but the intent is quite different. There isn’t the tension and connection to this chain that automatically “turns on” the right muscles!

Having an understanding of movement and how the body connects and communicates will go a long way to achieving your clients goals of pain free movement.  It’s a very humbling feeling when your client once struggled to stand on one leg to moving through the below patterns. 

I slept in a bean bag for 10 days

Cam Ward, Dip RM,PT

I slept in a bean bag for 10 days until I found relief!

Seeing people in pain or discomfort is not something I like to experience because I remember when I did my knee what it felt like.

Down on the coast if you don't ride a bike, run or walk the tracks you'll probably be one of the 100s that hit the surf for hours on end most days of the week.  A gift we have to head out into the surf clear the head and set up our day.

'Unfortunately that gift, if not maintained can be taken from you even at an elite level.'

"Maintained"....... What we mean is when surfing for hours on end, over time rolls the your chest muscles tighten and begin to round the shoulders and over stretches your back.  What you will then find is your back and neck begin to cause pain.  On top of the chest and shoulder issues because the body is all connected by our fascial system, we are also seeing hip, hamstring and calves issues.

Below is a story of a busy mum and former pro surfer that one morning woke up and could not move her arm or shoulder.

Hi Cam

I am 39 years old and a Mother to two boys ages 12 and 10.  I started surfing around that age and often spent hours and hours in the water at a time.  Through my teen years I went on to surf at an elite level.   After having kids and helping them learn to surf I was back surfing with them often hours on end to keep their pace …but probably not in the same body as I had in my teens!

I started to notice I was getting sore in the shoulders, I was having trouble sleeping and felt like I had no power in my arms.  I let it go for a few months as I thought it would get better! But it didn’t…it got a lot worse until one morning I woke up and could not move my arm even an inch. I was in excruciating pain I couldn’t sleep let alone drive , cook dinner etc.

'The doctor told me I had frozen shoulder.'

By chance I met someone that had fantastic results with Cam and she said go and see him even if he just helps you get some sleep.  At that stage I had been sleeping in a bean bag upright for 10 days even on pain relief.  After the first visit I was sleeping 6 hours straight lying down which I thought was very impressive.

Over the next 6 weeks we worked with his specialised massage technique that slowly let the adhesions in my shoulder break down and allow me to complete a very simple strength and stretching program that I would do at home which took about 10 minutes a day.

I could not be happier with where I am now which is full range through my shoulder and no pain at all (that all went by week 2).  I have purchased an ultimate sandbag and now complete my rehab program at home.  I love the USB AROUND THE WORLD'S and haven’t felt so good through my shoulders in years.

There are lots of different health practitioners out there that do lots of great things... but I think you would be hard pushed trying to find someone like Cam.  Cam has a seamless approach with specific massage that does not hurt. He then brings in the strength phase at the right pace which cements everything in place.

Often you would need to see multiple practitioners to achieve this which can become very expensive and time consuming and you can drop away before you are 100 percent.  Cam is very caring especially if you are in a lot of pain like I was and guarding the pain.  He is also extremely knowledgeable on the human body and will quickly refer you on to someone else if it is something he can’t help you with.

I was amazed on the result in just one visit You won’t find many... if any practitioners that could achieve this result in the first visit considering it has been building for years.

If you want lasting results to see you you to the finish line go and see Cam…he has an infectious motivation that is hard not to catch

Anna Zanoni

It took us several weeks to undo and release all the tightness and tension before we could move into our strength program.  Our biggest gains came when we combined two functional training tools together the Ultimate Sandbag and the TRX Suspension Trainer.  

Anna's success has allowed her to continue onto our Better Backs, Necks and Shoulders program starting Wednesday 13th July. 

What's behind the name?

For years I worked in both hospitality and corporate sales positions and branding had always been drummed into me. Cam it's about creating a brand an image that has purpose and meaning, it needs to be bold and have people thinking 'What's behind the name'.......

Taking the previous 12 years of my working career on board I had an opportunity to do what I enjoy most, helping people achieve results.  Results...not just six packs and big guns but getting people over fears both mental and physical.  Hearing and seeing client's at 65 years old jumping on a trampoline with their grand daughter for the 1st time and watching an 80 year old lady move freely and fill everyday with excitement and LIFE.  That's RESULTS, that's the meaning of 4EVERfitness.

The purpose of this blog is to introduce you to how I came up with the name 4EVERfitness and show you there is more to a healthy and fitness business than what the scales read.

Coming up with the name was easy but complicated at the same time.  I tossed up multiple names but what I kept coming back to was my meaning of healthy and fitness 4EVER.  Making health and fitness apart of your life is what we are trying to accomplish when working with clients.

With so many health and fitness professional now in the market, we understand how hard it can be to decide what path you will take.  Building trust, building a relationship and ultimately having someone take your investment seriously can be really hard to find.

Spending the past two years completing a Diploma in Remedial Massage, travelling to New York City in Feb 2015 for a certification in DVRT Ultimate Sandbag training and then being invited back to Arizona in October 2015 to become a Master Instructor shows how committed I am to investing in clients health and fitness.

Having said this.... why wait get in contact with us today and take the leap towards improving your health and fitness.

Yours in health and fitness

Cam Ward

Health and Fitness Director 4EVERfitness www.4everfitness.com.au