This article will discuss some of the most common pathologies presenting in dancers that involve the foot and ankle joint. Injuries to the lower extremity in dancers are more common than upper limb injuries due to the amount of range and force required to perform particular movements.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition defined by generalised, chronic musculoskeletal pain for more than three months duration. It is present in four or more different areas of the body (widespread pain) with hyperalgesia (heightened sensation) and psychosomatic symptoms such as fatigue, non-restorative sleep, anxiety/depression, cognitive deficits, headaches, and digestive disturbances. Fibromyalgia primarily affects women between the ages of 20 to 50 years old. It is estimated that 3-6% of Australians suffer with fibromyalgia, as many as one million people.
Read more
Stretching is a great way for our bodies to keep moving and prevent stiffness in joints and muscles. Stretching can increase our range of motion (ROM), maintain our activities of daily living and preserve muscle length for sports/activities. Stretching has been debated in regards to its efficacy and who it is most appropriate for. This article aims to discuss the idea of dynamic stretching vs static stretching for warm-ups before sport or exercise.
There are 4 different types of stretching including; dynamic, static, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and ballistic.
Read more
We’ve all been there – you get up from your desk at work, you bend over to pick something up, or you go to do that one thing you do at work over and over. Even though it seems like a simple, routine thing, this time you feel an intense pain. Did you do something wrong this time? Maybe. Or maybe this has been the result of a long line of little mistakes?
The solution?
Ergonomics.
Just about everybody has to deal with pain at one point in their life or another. However, some of us have to deal with pain on a regular basis.
There are any number of conditions that can cause pain and it comes in many different varieties. Some people deal with constant, burning pain. Others deal with occasional dull aches. Whatever the cause of your pain, there are a number of treatment options available.
It has become common knowledge that in this 21st century our society is battling rising rates of obesity. Over the years there have been huge amounts of research that links higher obesity rates with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer and… the list is endless.
However it is less commonly known that being overweight and carrying even a little bit more weight than we should can be linked to experiencing pain.
Read more
Physiotherapists have a reputation for brutally digging into trigger points (or ‘muscle knots’, as they are colloquially known) with their hands, thumbs, fingers and even sometimes elbows, leaving their patients feeling battered and bruised (temporarily, of course!).
If only there was a technique that could treat trigger points without inflicting the same amount of pain, and without causing grown men to weep. There is, in fact, such a technique and an increasing number of physiotherapists are becoming trained in it, sparing their precious hands and their patients’ pain thresholds at the same time.
Read more
Historically, physiotherapists have been known mainly for treating back and neck pain or running onto a football field when a player has sustained an injury. However, the emerging practice of “gender health” or “pelvic health” physiotherapy and, specifically, Women’s Health has recently garnered increased publicity. Many patients with pelvic dysfunction are suffering in silence, not aware that help is available. So we think it’s time that we devoted a little more space to the problems that no one wants to talk about.
Tendinopathies are an incredibly common type of injury, yet they are often poorly understood by the general public. In this article, we take a look at deeper look at tendinopathies – what they are, where they occur and what can be done about them.
Read more
One in every 200 people suffers from lymphoedema. Given that lymphoedema is such a common side effect of cancer treatment and several other conditions, why is it that most health care professionals don’t know anything about it?