Tag: Parramatta Physiotherapy

Easy Ways to Stay Pain-Free While Travelling

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The holiday season is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, with many people taking to the skies, roads, and rails to visit loved ones or explore new destinations. While the excitement of travel is undeniable, the long hours spent sitting can lead to common complaints such as lower back pain, neck stiffness, and headaches. To ensure you arrive at your destination feeling refreshed and pain-free, here are some essential tips to reduce travel-related discomforts.

Lower Back

Lower back pain is a leading issue for travellers, especially those spending hours in cars or airplanes. Try these simple adjustments to stay comfortable:

  1. Adjust the seat angle. If possible, tilt the seat slightly down toward your feet rather than your hips. Ideally, your knees should be level with or slightly lower than your hips. Using a footrest can help achieve this alignment.
  2. Modify the seat back. To reduce strain on your lower back and pelvis, keep your seat upright rather than tilted backward. This upright position aligns your spine and pairs well with the previous tip.
  3. Raise the seat height. Elevating the entire seat can prevent excessive hip bending, making it easier to sit upright for extended periods.
  4. Use lumbar support. Many modern car seats come with built-in lumbar supports, but they may not suit your specific needs. A lumbar pillow or a rolled towel can better support the natural curve of your spine, easing pressure on your discs and muscles.

Neck

Once your lower back is supported, addressing neck discomfort becomes easier. Here are a few simple strategies:

  1. Use a travel pillow. For airplane travel, consider wearing the pillow backward or sideways to support your head and reduce neck strain during rest.
  2. Practice chin retractions. Every hour, perform 10 “chin tucks” by sitting tall and gently pressing your chin straight backward, lengthening the back of your neck. Avoid tucking your chin to your chest. This exercise helps relax tight postural muscles at the base of the skull.
  3. Incorporate gentle neck movements. Keeping your eyes forward, rotate your head side to side and tilt it gently to the left and right. These movements help release tension from holding a still posture for too long.

General Tips for Long Trips

To further minimize discomfort, on car journeys, take a 15-minute break every two hours to stretch your legs and walk around. On planes, follow the airline’s recommendations for preventing deep vein thrombosis, including frequent movement and stretching exercises.

These tips are general suggestions and may not work for everyone. If any of them cause discomfort, consult a physiotherapist for personalised advice. By staying mindful of your posture and incorporating movement into your travel routine, you can make holiday travel more enjoyable and pain-free.

Five Holiday Challenges from your Physio

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With the approach of the silly season, many people begin to consider their New Year’s goals. Unfortunately, we all know what the success rates are for the average new years resolution – most goals have been abandoned by the first day back to work. 

One way to improve your health and start your year strong is to get started right away, rather than waiting for the new year to start. Here are five challenges from us to help you get the best start in the new year.

  • Set up a daily exercise challenge from home. 

Staying active doesn’t require a gym membership. You can maintain your fitness and develop strength with simple at-home workouts such as skipping rope for three rounds of two minutes, completing two sets of 10 push-ups and squats, holding a plank for 30 seconds to one minute (twice), and doing two sets of 10 burpees. 

  • Explore the outdoors

Engaging in outdoor activities can improve both physical and mental health. Aim to walk at least 20 minutes a day to increase your daily step count while enjoying fresh air and new scenery. If you prefer cycling, dust off your bike and hit the trails.

  • Improve your balance. 

Improving balance is an underrated way to boost overall fitness and prevent injuries. Start by standing on one leg for 30 seconds and gradually increase this time to two minutes. If this 

becomes easy, challenge yourself by closing your eyes while maintaining balance. It can be surprising how quickly you can make improvements to your balance and how many other benefits this can lead to. 

  • Have all of your health appointments ready to go

The post-holiday rush can make it difficult to schedule necessary health appointments. Take proactive steps now to secure appointments for the new year. Staying ahead ensures that your health remains a priority, even during busy periods.

  • Journal your gratitude and goals

The holidays are an ideal time to reflect on your achievements and set new goals. Journaling can help solidify these intentions. Write down three things you’re grateful for each day and three goals you want to focus on. Research suggests that habits can be formed in as little as 21 days, making this a great time to begin.

By implementing these steps now, you can create a healthier foundation before the New Year begins. Speak to our physio Matthew for more suggestions on how to make your holidays a healthy one this year. 

Achilles Tendon Tears

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 What is it?

The Achilles tendon is a band of fibrous tissue located at the back of the ankle. Its main role is to connect the calf muscles to the heel of the foot. This tendon is the largest tendon in the body and when it tightens, as the calf muscles contract, it pulls the heel allowing you to stand on tiptoe or to point your foot. 

Achilles tendon tears commonly occur in athletes, however, this injury can affect anyone and surprisingly, a complete tear is actually more common than a partial tear.

These tears are commonly located at the part of the tendon where there is poor blood flow approximately 6cm above its attachment to the heel. Since there is poor blood supply, this part of the tendon is both vulnerable to injury and slow to heal. 

What are the Symptoms?

Primarily, an Achilles tendon tear will cause difficulty in activities such as walking, running and jumping. Other signs and symptoms of an Achilles tendon tear include:

  • A loud pop or snap is heard 
  • Sudden and severe pain at the back of the calf or ankle
  • Feeling of having been kicked in the calf
  • There is a gap between the tendon and the heel (about 2 inches above the heel)
  • Swelling and stiffness followed by weakness and bruising
  • Difficulty walking particularly during push off
  • Standing on tiptoe may be impossible

What Causes It?

Anyone can tear their Achilles tendon if the tendon is subject to excessive force or overstretching, however there are some factors that can increase your risk of injury. The most common activities that cause this injury are running and jumping.

The Achilles tendon can thin and weaken both as we age and also if it is not used. As a result of this weakening, it becomes prone to injury like tear or rupture with less force or stretching required before an injury occurs. A tear of the Achilles is often observed in people with pre-existing Achilles tendinitis. Other factors such as certain medications including antibiotics and steroids and some illnesses like diabetes and arthritis can also result in weakness of the tendon, increasing injury risk. Being obese is also a risk factor as excess weight puts additional strain on the tendon.

How Can Physiotherapy Help?

Treatment for Achilles tendon tear will depend on the patient’s age, how severe the injury is and the patient’s activity level. For young people especially athletes, they opt to have surgery while older people choose conservative treatments including physiotherapy.

Physiotherapy treatment for an Achilles tendon tear will involve exercises to strengthen the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon and exercises for stability. Many people are able to return to their normal activities within 4 to 6 months. Functional rehabilitation is also part of the program as it focuses on how you coordinate your body and how to move it. The aim of functional rehabilitation is to help you return to your highest level of performance.

None of the information in this article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your individual injury. 

Tips for Finding Your Perfect Exercise Match

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 Exercise is such an essential part of mental and physical wellbeing, however many of us find it difficult to make time to stay active. 

Often, when we think of exercise we imagine jogging or the gym. Exercise can be anything that gets you moving, and the trick to reaping the long term benefits is to find an activity that you love and do often.

Exercise can offer more than just physical benefits, a new activity can be a way to join a new community, improve self-esteem and can even improve brain function. By learning new skills or movements, your brain is laying down new neural pathways, a process known as neuroplasticity. Physical exercise has also been shown to help to improve learning and memory, in some cases even having a slight protective effect against age-related dementia. Here are a few tips to help you find the right exercise for you. 

1. Do a quick personality assessment.

Are you a competitive person? Or do you prefer to focus on your personal improvement of technique? The type of activity that captures your attention and focus will be easier for you to commit to. Matching your activity to your personality will also mean that you meet people who have similar interests to you.

2. Work with your injuries.

Injuries that stop us from participating in an activity we love can be devastating. However, you can often find another activity that doesn’t aggravate your injury, either as a replacement or to maintain fitness while rehabilitating.

If you are struggling with hip or knee pain with impact sports such as running, switching to swimming or cycling are great options. If you like a little adrenaline, then mountain biking can be more of your style. Physiotherapists are able to advise you on which activities will be suitable for your particular condition.

Capitalise on your natural ability. 

Throwing and catching might not be your thing, but your balance might be exceptional. We all have natural abilities, finding a sport that challenges and develops areas that you find to be strengths is key to enjoying a hobby.

None of the information in this article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your individual condition. 

Shoulder Labral Tears

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 What is it? 

A ring of flexible, fibrous connective tissue, known as the glenohumeral labrum, surrounds the shoulder joint. This labrum increases the stability of the shoulder while allowing for the required flexibility of one of the bodies’ most sophisticated joints. One well-known muscle of the arm, the biceps, has an attachment directly into the labrum and is a common site of injury. A tear of the labrum can occur in many locations, however the most common is at the point where the biceps tendon attaches to the labrum. Usually, this tear follows a typical pattern and is referred to as a superior labrum tear, anterior to posterior (SLAP tear). 

What causes it?

SLAP tears can be caused by trauma such as a fall onto an outstretched hand or a dislocated shoulder. Tears can also develop over time with repeated throwing actions or overhead activities as the labrum is weakened and eventually injured. Traumatic tears are more likely to be symptomatic than tears that develop slowly. 

What are the symptoms?

As mentioned, SLAP tears can occur suddenly, through trauma or develop slowly through repeated stress. Often if the injury develops over time, patients can be unaware they have sustained a tear and the injury doesn’t have a significant impact on their pain or function. Preexisting SLAP tears can however, place more tension on the long head of biceps tendon, leading to overuse disorders as a secondary complication. 

When the tear occurs through a sudden action or trauma, symptoms can be more marked. Sufferers often notice pain deep in the shoulder joint with overhead shoulder movements, a feeling of weakness, loss of power and/or accuracy with throwing activities. Some people may notice a popping or clicking sensation and occasionally the shoulder may give way. In severe tears, the shoulder might feel unstable and even be at increased risk of dislocation.

How can physiotherapy help?

Your physiotherapist is able to help diagnose a suspected SLAP tear and send you for further imaging if needed. SLAP tears are often graded by severity from I to IV as a way to guide treatment. Physiotherapy is usually recommended as a trial for all tears before considering surgical repair and in many cases can effectively help patients return to their previous activities, symptom-free.  

If physiotherapy is unsuccessful, surgical repair with a full rehabilitation program is recommended. Surgery will usually either repair the tear or reattach the biceps tendon to the humerus (tenodesis). Following surgery, a period of rest in a sling is required before rehabilitation can begin. 

None of the information in this article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your individual injury.

Physio Tips for Better Running

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Distance running can be a surprisingly complicated sport. In this article, we offer some words of wisdom from our physiotherapists to help you get the most out of your training and avoid injuries. 

 Choose your shoes carefully:

Repeated stress from running long distances will show up any biomechanical flaws in your body relatively quickly. Choosing the wrong shoes can exacerbate an existing problem causing pain and injury. Your physiotherapist can guide you on what style of shoe will best suit you. 

Don’t neglect your upper body:

While running can appear to be a purely leg based activity, increasing the strength and mobility of your upper body can have a surprisingly large impact on your posture, running style, breathing and overall performance. 

Find time to train strength as well as endurance:

Your body is great at finding ways to compensate for weak muscles, however, over time this can lead to overuse injuries of tendons and muscles. Identifying any areas of weakness early and specifically strengthening these muscles can both improve your running and help keep you injury-free.

Pace your progress: 

Entering an event is a great way to set a specific goal and keep you motivated. While trying to increase distances and speed, it is easy to forget to include rest days as a part of your routine. Your body needs time to recover and restore itself, just as much as the active portions of your training program.

Increasing your speed and distances gradually also allows your body to adapt to new demands without breaking down. 

Enjoy your training and listen to your body:

Your body will guide you as to when you need to rest and when you can push a little further. Training will be more enjoyable when you are well-rested and pain-free. Most importantly, if you are able to enjoy your runs, this will help you maintain motivation over a longer period of time, so you can continue for many years to come.

Ask your physiotherapist for more tips on how to reach your running goals while staying injury-free. None of the information in this article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for assessment of your individual condition. 

Focus on Shin Splints

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 What is it?

Shin splints, are a painful condition of the lower leg, also known as Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, it is an overuse injury that causes pain along the inside of the tibia or shin bone. It is a common condition in runners, hikers and soldiers who march long distances.

What are the symptoms?

Shin splints are typified by persistent leg pain, usually the inside of the shin, halfway down the lower leg. The pain might be felt during exercise or directly after. Some people experience a dull ache over their shin that lasts for quite a while after exercise stops, while for others the pain may be sharp and fade quickly. The pain is often progressive, becoming worse with shorter distances. Eventually, shin splints can severely impact activity levels as the pain becomes too severe to continue exercising. 

Shin splints can be extremely painful and very disruptive to activity levels. As the pain usually starts gradually and progresses many people find themselves unable to continue 

training, shin splints may also progress to stress fractures if not diagnosed early and managed effectively. 

How does it happen?

Shin splints are predominantly seen in runners who increase their distances quickly, often while training for an event. Activities that require repetitive weight-bearing of any kind, such as marching or high impact sports have also been shown to cause shin splints. Although the pathology of shin splints is unclear, studies have been able to identify certain risk factors that may predispose someone to shin splints. These include; 

·An abrupt increase in activity level

·Improper footwear and support

·Higher BMI 

·Training on hard or uneven surfaces 

·Tight calf muscles 

·Flat feet

·Increased external rotation range of the hips

·Females are more likely to develop shin splints than males.

·Prior history of shin splints

·Wearing or having worn orthotics

How can physiotherapy help?

The first step for your physiotherapist will be to address any contributing factors and help to adapt your training program to a level that is optimum for you. A period of relative rest may be recommended along with a targeted strengthening and stretching program for any tight or weak muscles. Switching to low-impact activities such as swimming, cycling and yoga may also help to maintain fitness during recovery. Your running technique will be analyzed and any training errors may be corrected. When getting back into your training routine, it is usually recommended that distances are not increased by more than 10% per week as this allows the tissues of the body to react to the increased demands and adapt accordingly. 

None of the information in this article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your injury. 

Four Surprising Reasons Why Your Pain Is Not Improving

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA: Most tissues in the body have healed completely in six to 12 weeks following an injury, however, many people have severe pain that lasts much longer than this. We know that the intensity of the pain you feel is not always associated with a similar amount of damage. In some cases, there can be a severe amount of pain with almost no detectable damage. With this in mind, we explore some reasons why your pain might not be getting better, long after the tissues have healed. 

You’re afraid of the pain. 

Pain can mean many different things, for some of us pain can affect our ability to work or can be a symptom of a serious disease. What you believe about your pain can either amplify or reduce the symptoms you experience. If you feel that every time you experience pain you are causing more damage, you will naturally pay more attention to this and your nervous system will amplify the signals in an attempt to keep you safe. 

If you understand the cause of your pain and know that while there is discomfort, you are not in danger of causing more damage, often the pain will feel less severe. This is one of the benefits of seeing a physiotherapist after your injury as they can help you to understand your pain, giving you more control over your recovery.

You started moving differently after the injury.  

Immediately after an injury, it’s natural to change the way you move to avoid painful movements. After a while, these changed movement patterns can become maladaptive and actually begin to cause pain and discomfort on their own due to the altered stress patterns placed on your body. 

Correcting these adaptive movement patterns can often go a long way in reducing pain after an injury. You might not have noticed these changes and might need a physiotherapist to identify and help you to return to your usual movement pattern.

You have lost muscle strength since the injury. 

While a certain amount of rest following an injury is always helpful, if we stop moving altogether, our muscles can lose strength. This can mean that our posture changes, we fatigue easier during our usual activities and that we are more susceptible to further injury. Less movement also means we actually focus on the pain more when it does happen. Physiotherapists are able to advise you on the right types and amounts of excercise for you in the period following your injury.

The pain has affected your lifestyle.

When pain affects your ability to sleep, work and even concentrate, it’s not surprising that this can have a negative affect on your overall wellbeing and mental health. This can create a negative cycle of anxitey and depression that perpetuates and increases the experience of pain. If your pain is really getting you down, speaking to a mental health professional can actually be a valuable part of your physical recovery.  

 

Tibialis Posterior Tendinopathy

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA The tibialis posterior muscle sits just inside the shin, halfway up the lower leg. The muscle travels downwards and runs along the inside of the heel, with the tendon attaching at the base of the arch of the foot.    

The role of the tibialis posterior muscle is to move the foot and ankle downwards and towards the midline of the body. The tibialis posterior also helps to support and maintain the arch of the foot. Tendinopathy is a broad term that refers to painful pathologies of the tissues in and around a tendon, usually related to overuse. 

What are the symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of tibialis posterior tendinopathy can include pain and/or stiffness over the tendon, clicking or ‘crepitus’ sounds with movement and swelling. Pain can be felt both when you touch the tendon or with movements that involve contraction of the tibialis posterior muscle, such as when going up on to your toes, hopping or running.  

As the condition progresses, the tendon might be come weaker and elongated, providing less support to the arch of the foot. This might become more noticeable over time as the lack of support in the foot further aggravates the damaged tendon.   

Pain may become so severe that eventually running becomes too painful to continue and even walking may be sore. In some cases, the affected tendon may be weakened but painless. For some, a complete tear of a weakened tendon can be the first sign that anything is wrong. 

What are the causes?

Like most tendinopathies, overuse and biomechanical errors are the main cause of tendon pathology. Prolonged or repetitive activities that place excessive strain on the tibialis posterior tendon can cause degeneration and disorganization of collagen fibres within the tendon.   

Excessive pronation or rolling in of the foot while walking can place the tendon under extra stress as it acts to support the arch. Unsupportive footwear can exacerbate this process as it allows the foot to roll inwards. Often, a person may not have any issues until they begin to increase their training. If tendons are subjected to too much load too quickly, they can begin to breakdown, developing into a tendinopathy.

Being overweight, muscle weakness or tightness, poor warm up and insufficient recovery periods can all contribute to the development of tendinopathy. As you might expect, runners are most affected by this condition, along with other athletes of sports that require lots of running. Non- athletes can also be affected with day-to-day activities causing tendinopathy.  

How can physiotherapy help?

Your physiotherapist can help by making an accurate diagnosis in clinic, which can be confirmed by MRI or ultrasound. Your physiotherapist can also identify which factors may be involved in the development of this condition, helping to address them and reduce pain as quickly as possible. 

For most tendinopathies, a period of relative rest is required and a graded training program to help strengthen the tendon has been shown to have the best evidence for recovery. Other interventions such as ultrasound, ice or heat treatment, soft tissue massage, stretching and joint mobilization may be used. Arch support taping, biomechanical correction, bracing and footwear advice may also be added.

None of the information in this article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your individual injury.  

Ten Surprising Facts about Tendons

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA:Tendons are found all over the body and while you may know a little about them, you might be surprised to learn a few of these facts. 

1. Tendons can be found at the ends of muscles. Tendons are simply connective tissues that attach muscles to bone and help them move our joints when they contract. 

2. Tendons come in many shapes and sizes. While the most recognisable shape is the long thin kind (such as the Achilles tendon), they can also be flat and thin or very thick, depending on the shape of the muscle and attachment of the bone. A thin flat tendon is also known by the name aponeurosis.

 3. Tendons are able to act like elastic bands, they can stretch and bounce back into shape. Like elastic bands, if too much force is applied they can stretch or tear. 

4. Unlike elastic bands, tendons are living tissue and their properties are affected by many different factors. Seemingly unrelated things such as hormonal changes, autoimmune disorders and nutrition can all affect a tendon’s ability to withstand load. 

5. Tendons don’t only attach muscles to bone, they can attach to other structures as well such as the eyeball. 

6. Tendons can tear however; more often they are injured through overuse. Healing of tendons can be quite slow as they have less blood supply than other tissues of the body, such as muscles. 

7. Tendons are mostly made of organised collagen fibres. Areas of tendon degeneration have been shown to have collagen fibres that are disorganised, with this area having less strength and elasticity. 

8.The Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the body. This connects the large calf muscles to the back of the heel to point the ankle away from the body. Most tendons are simply named for the muscle they attach to, however the Achilles has it’s own name, named for the mythical Greek character who’s heel was his only point of weakness.

9. The smallest tendon is located in the inner ear, attaching to the smallest muscle in the body. 

10. Tendons and muscles work together to move your joints and are called a contractile unit.