Tag: Physio Parramatta

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. 

Can Stress Affect my Pain?

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 A common fear for patients when discussing pain is the idea that their symptoms are ‘all in their head’ or that they won’t be believed either by friends, family, therapists or workplace. This fear can be worse when there appears to be no obvious cause for their pain or it has been present for a long time. 

What is pain?

Many of the models used in the past to explain pain lead us to believe that the intensity of pain will always be proportional to the severity of an injury. The experience of pain is always real and usually distressing. However, pain is a warning system used by our nervous system to alert us to danger, not a direct indicator of damage done. This is a subtle, yet important distinction meaning that the experience of pain can be influenced by many different factors and not exclusively tissue damage.

How can stress impact pain?

Part of the role of your nervous system is to sort through a huge amount of sensory input and interpret it in a meaningful way. When pain is considered to be a serious threat to the body, the intensity of the pain will be worse. 

This can happen in many situations, for example:

-The source of the pain is not well understood, leading to fear that the pain might be something very serious.

-The nervous system is in a state of hyper-arousal, such as when you are stressed or tired.

-The pain or injury could have a significant impact on your quality of life, career, relationships or hobbies.

-The injury occurred through a traumatic event such as a car accident.

What does this mean for my treatment?

Along with all our more traditional treatments, we also know that stress reduction strategies, mindfulness and addressing any emotional trauma associated with pain can all help to aid recovery and improve quality of life. Your physiotherapist is a great person to speak to about pain management strategies so you can get the most out of your life while dealing with long-term pain.

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. 

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. 

Focus: The Broken Collarbone

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA:

What is it?

A broken collarbone, also known as the clavicle, is one of the most commonly broken bones in the body. 

The collarbone connects the front of the ribcage to the shoulder and is the only bony connection the arm has to the rest of the body. Many muscles attach to the collarbone, including the Deltoid and Pectoralis Major.

How does it happen?

The most common way for this injury to occur is through a fall onto the shoulder. This can happen from a simple fall or sports such as mountain biking or rugby. It is a very common childhood injury but can happen at any age.

What are the symptoms?

Usually, a broken collarbone will cause moderate to severe pain over the broken area. The patient may have heard or felt a popping or cracking at the time of the injury and there may be an ongoing grinding or creaking with movements of the upper arm. If the skin is not broken there may be bruising and swelling over the painful area.

What is the treatment?

While very severe cases can be surgically fixed, more often a broken collarbone will be allowed to heal naturally with rest and monitoring. By supporting the arm in a sling and providing pain relief the arm will mend on its own. As with most fractures, there are also often other injuries that may need to be dealt with at the same time. There are many important structures near the collarbone that can also be damaged

including muscles, nerves and blood vessels. In very severe cases, the lung tissue under the collarbone can be damaged causing the lung to collapse.

Physiotherapy and recovery:

Once a treatment plan has been decided by your medical team, your physiotherapist can help you to return to your pre injury strength and mobility with a full rehabilitation program.

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. 

Where is Your Pain Really Coming From?

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA: Have you ever been to see a physiotherapist for pain in one part of your body and when they treated you, they focused on a completely different area? While this can be a strange experience, it can be even more puzzling when the treatment actually works. So what is going on, shouldn’t pain be treated where it is being felt?

When pain is felt at a different location from where the pain is being caused, this is called ‘referred pain’ and is actually more common than you think. Exactly why this happens is a little complicated, and in fact, we don’t yet understand everything about the way that pain is processed. 

Pain is usually felt when something causes damage to the body, sending an electrical impulse to the brain. The brain receives this information and process it to make sense of which part of the body the signal is coming from and what kind of pain it is. When the brain thinks that the pain is coming from a different area than where the damage or signal is actually coming from, this creates the phenomenon of referred pain.

Sometimes referred pain is easy to explain, such as when a nerve becomes injured or irritated, causing the pain to be felt along the length of the nerve. This often feels like a sharp, burning pain that runs in a strip, along the skin. Other examples of referred pain are more difficult to explain and in some cases seem to defy explanation. Perhaps you have heard about the strange phenomenon of phantom pain where amputees continue to feel pain as though it was in the place where their limbs used to be. 

Muscular trigger points can also cause referred pain. The mechanism behind this is a bit trickier to understand, but is thought to be explained by tight bands of muscle tissues that cause pain to be felt in predictable patterns around the body. 

Adding to this, we know that other tissues of the body can cause pain to be felt in a different location, including discs of the spine and internal organs. Many times the internal organs can refer pain in peculiar patterns and this can actually lead to serious illnesses being mistaken for muscular aches and pains. Kidney pain can be felt in the lower back and tragically, some people fail to recognize that they are having a heart attack because they feel pain in their neck and arm, not in their chest. 

We also know that not understanding or being afraid of pain can make pain feel stronger. In rare cases, people who have pain in one hand can feel pain just by seeing their other hand moving in a mirror. There are many other fascinating aspects to pain, and understanding how it works is an important part of managing your symptoms.  

To understand how referred pain may be affecting you, chat to your physiotherapist who can help with any questions. None of the information in this newsletter is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your individual condition.