MANUAL THERAPY Figure 1: The Cool Pool

tem which was quick to set up, was com- pact when packed up and provided good insulation qualities. Another factor which became obvious was the issue of ambient temperature, temperature control and also water quantities required. This is relevant if sessions take place in extreme climates (both from a heat point of view but also from an availability of water aspect) or where temperature is artificially influ- enced eg. indoor pools.

Ideally the

system would have some sort of self-cool- ing function in order to be able to provide accurate temperatures.

So as you can imagine the research and development on this project began to grow, and the twists and turns through the excitement of solving an issue, to the disappointment of hitting another snag or running into a brick wall, were certainly an experience!

Innovation in practice When I travel with the Australian Triathlon team, I usually try to incorpo- rate three ice bath recovery sessions in each athlete's weekly routine, and despite the post competition rush and bustle, we do usually manage to get the majority of athletes to do a recovery session in the following 2 to 3 hours after competition.

A typical recovery session with the triathlon squad might include 3 sets of a 45 second plunge in the ice bath, rotating through a swim/water running activity component, lasting around 3-4 minutes. This protocol is now quite common among many elite teams throughout the world. Since the inclusion of the new equipment we have really been able to develop new

These pools are now being used exten- sively by most leading Sports Institutes in Australia, and Asia including our biggest and most highly regarded client the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. It's a great feeling when the product you sat up and drew in the middle of the night, and slaved over for 4 years, turns out to be the only recovery pools at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

GREAT RACK The second product which has been slightly less challenging, but just as much fun, is the portable Thoracic Extension Rack which is used to restore extension through the mid and upper back. The development of this product has taken me through a journey of various forms of production including aluminum extru- sion and polyurethane mould making.

As most of you are undoubtedly aware, the average person's posture is deteriorating and causing increasing numbers of muscu- loskeletal problems. My own brother had suffered from migraines for many years, and was never once alerted to his poor posture as a possible contributing factor.

Figure 2: The portable Thoracic Extension Rack 22

The idea of the rack is to allow the tho- racic spine to stretch over the structure while supported with the aim of reversing the poor postural position which results from tight muscles in the anterior part of

and innovative protocols within this sport, but one of the keys to this has been the flexibility to do what I wanted. Most of the protocols were not able to be prac- ticed in a real situation, as there really hasn't been a lot of research to date on what protocol should be used eg. how long? how cold? is hot water a better component for increasing blood flow than activity etc?

An athlete is most vulnerable in a travel- ing environment, but we would only con- duct good recovery while in the safety of our institutes, or sporting bases and clubs. Having a portable pool means we can reproduce a session as accurately as possible with respect to timing, hygiene and temperature, to ensure a parallel in training and recovery strategies, at appro- priate times.

the upper body. This creates a multi- segment fulcrum for adjoining thoracic vertebrae. The rack that we ended up developing considered weight, size of arch, thickness and head position and feedback from clients has been excellent, the next stage is to organise some clinical trials.

IN CONCLUSION My personal experience of developing these products is to have broadened my horizons immensely. So if you see a gap for a product that seems obvious, remem- ber that the simplest ideas are often the best. Take stock, talk to a few trusted friends and if you think you're onto some- thing, then have the courage to follow your instincts.

THE AUTHOR Warren Lowry is a soft tissue therapist who has spent the last 8 years traveling exten- sively with sport on a national and inter- national level. He has spent six years with the Australian Capital Territory Academy of Sport and has attended the 2004 Athens Olympics as well as three world champi- onships with the Australian Triathlon Team. His particular area of interest is athlete recovery and many of the products he has developed are now used by Australian sporting teams for their recovery purposes.

This article has been

provided by Soft Tissue

Therapy.com.au

The website covers a range of topics relating to soft tissue therapy

include reviews of the latest research. For more information visit www.softtissuetherapy.com.au

www.sportex.net

Soft Tissue Therapy eMag Soft Tissue Therapy eMag Issue: 2 Issue: C O N T R IB U T O R S

D R S T EWA RT CO N D IE D R Y N E E D L IN G S UMMA R Y

K A R E N L U C A S

D R Y N E E D L IN G R E - S E A R C H U P D A T E

WA R R E N L OWR Y D E V E L O P IN G P R O D U C T S

S TE P H A N C L U N E Y

U K S P O R T S MA S S A G E C O N F E R E N C E WR A P

A U S T R A L IA S T A T E O F A N A T IO N S T T A DMIN

WE IG H T L IF TI N G JIM S T E V A N O V S K I

Dry Needling Focus Dry Needling Focus

Dry Needling has swept across the Health Industry and has been embraced by one and all. From General Practitioners to Chiropractors, Dry Needling has become a staple treatment modality.

But has it’s implementation been done in haste? Do the different health industries, includ- ing Soft Tissue Therapists, truly understand it’s potential, it’s indications and most impor- tantly, it’s contraindications? Have you ever seen a policy regarding this skin penetration technique?

Next Issue Tri

Trigger Poigger Points +

Referred Pain Referred Pain 1 www.softtissuetherapy.com.au

Clinically, what research do we have to support this technique? What case studies can we draw from to apply clinical relevance?

To answer these questions we have sought the knowledge and experience of some promi- nent professionals within this field to explain the very basics, through to current research. For more advice or direction, the STT forum has plenty of dialogue to get involved with.