How do I know I need a Biokineticist? - Bianca Bunge (Paladin Biokineticists)

• Have you been suffering from lower back pain for the last month, year, or all your life?
• Have you recently sustained a sports injury?
• Have you undergone any Orthopaedic surgery?
• Are you planning on undergoing any Orthopaedic surgery in the near future, and need to do some strengthening and conditioning beforehand?
• Do you suffer from any joint pain or niggles?
• Do you suffer from daily headaches?
• Does your whole body feel tight and tensed?
• Have you recently undergone any Cardiac surgery?
• Are you unhappy with your weight and want to shed a few kilograms?
• Is your posture worrying you?
• Are you an athlete looking to enhance your performance?
• Do you Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes?
• Do you have High Blood pressure or Cholesterol?
• Do you experience knee pain when running and/or squatting?
• When you embark on your ab challenge workout, do you seem to feel every exercise in your lower back instead of where you actually need to feel it, uhm, your abdominals?
• Do you occasionally feel numbness and tingling down your legs?
• Do you suffer from any chronic conditions such as Parkinsons, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Hypertension, Metabolic Syndrome, to mention a few?
• Have you sustained a Neurological or Spinal injury?
• Do you just generally feel tight, tired, tensed and weak

Have you answered yes to any, or even a few of these questions? Well, then chances are you need a Biokineticist!! And we can help you!!

Bianca completed both her BA in Human Movement Science as well as her Honours degree in Biokinetics at the University of Pretoria. 

Bianca has a keen interest in various sports, particularly Netball and Running. She loves working with individuals and athletes of all levels and assisting them in achieving their desired goals. It’s all about the comeback! 

She’s passionate about the human body, movement, and working with different people and has a special interest in Orthopaedic Rehabilitation, in particular knee, hip and back rehabilitation. 

Bianca can be contacted on 082 8297 438 or biancabunge@kinetics.co.za

“How sick is too sick to exercise?” - Michael Irvine

With flu season around the corner, many of you exercise “fanatics” are probably wondering “how sick is too sick to exercise?”

The general public commonly believes that if you are sick, exercise will boost your immune system and speed up the rate of recovery.  Yet, when speaking to medical professionals, they will disagree with this understanding. There is strong evidence to support that if you are experiencing flu like symptoms (fever, severe aches in joints and muscles, pain and tiredness around the eyes, weakness or fatigue, warm flushed skin, red watery eyes, head ache, dry cough, sore throat and runny nose), exercise will more than likely make you feel worse.

There is a fine line when it comes to exercise and your immune system. Research has discovered there to be a strong link between regular and moderate exercise’s to a strong immune system, and a link between too much intense exercises’ and decreased immunity. These links should be a guideline to the type of exercises’ one should be doing with flu season just around the corner. It is recommended that regular and moderate exercises’ should be performed as opposed to high intensity exercise.

There is a general rule to consider when you have the flu: “Neck up or neck down rule”.

If you are experiencing symptoms from the neck up (head aches, runny nose, and a mild cough), you can perform moderate exercise with caution.  While mild exercise can help boost your immune system, if you already have flu it is suggested to cut back on your workload. Physicians suggest that you cut back to one third of your normal work rate.

It is of the utmost importance to watch out for warning signs.

1.      If you are having difficulty breathing during or after exercise, cease what you are doing and take a couple days off to recover.  

2.      If you feel worse following the exercise bout, you should give yourself a couple days rest to recover.

If your symptoms are neck down (deep cough, fever and/or muscle and joint pain) you should cease to partake in exercise.

A fever is a warning sign from your body that you are battling a viral or bacterial infection, and exercise may put additional stress on your body resulting in dehydration. This will most likely prolong the length of the infection and delay your recovery process. When it comes down to making good life choices, sleep and rest is considered the best choice.

The bodies immune system functions best when it is not stressed or in overdrive. The best advice to give someone is to “rest your body when you have the flu”. This will speed up your recovery process, as you need to allow your body to adjust to the additional stress of the infection.

Michael completed his BSc Sports Science undergraduate degree at The University of Stellenbosch and his BHSc honours degree in Biokinetics at The University of the Stellenbosch. 

Michael has a passion for waterpolo and many other sports such as rugby, soccer, tennis and golf. 

Michael has an interest in orthopaedic rehabilitation, in particular the shoulder. As well as a keen interest in chronic disease management. 

Michael can be contacted on 072 929 1309 or mikeirvine@kinetics.co.za