Author: Cumberland Physiotherapy

 Keeping active while at home for long periods can be challenging. For many people, going out for a run or taking time to perform a full workout can be daunting, especially if this is not a part of their usual routine. 

There are a few quick and easy ways to add some movement to your day, starting with something as simple as boiling the kettle. As the average kettle takes 2-3 minutes to boil, challenge yourself to see if you can complete these five exercises while waiting for your cup of tea. You can focus on one each day, or work through one different one each time. 

1. Challenge your balance. 

Standing on one leg is something many of us assume we can do, yet rarely take the time to check. This is an essential skill that can deteriorate without being noticed until everyday activities, such as getting dressed, are impacted. Being able to stand on one leg is important for putting on shoes, trousers and reduced balance can be a risk factor for falls. 

Start by seeing if you can stand on one leg with your eyes open for the entire time the kettle is boiling. Test both legs and if this is too difficult, make sure you are close to a bench that you can use to support yourself. To increase the difficulty, try balancing with your eyes closed, then progress to balancing on your tiptoes. If you can balance on your tiptoes, with your eyes closed, then you may need to ask your physio for more suggestions.

2. Heel Raises

Start by keeping your knees slightly bent and lift both heels off the ground at the same time. You can begin with repetitions of 5, have a quick rest then repeat. Challenge yourself to increase the speed of your heel raises and see how many you can fit into your waiting time. As you bend your knees, aim to keep your knees over your second toe. If you feel this is a little too easy, you can progress to single-leg heel raises, which will also improve your balance!

You can start a daily competition with the people in your household to see who can complete the most. 

3. Squats

Squats are a great exercise to keep your large muscles working. You can start with small squats and reps of 5, aiming to slowly increase your number and progressively squat to a lower position. As with heel raises, when you start to find squats to be less of a challenge, you can move to single-leg squats. 

Don’t hesitate to ask one of our physios for tips on how to stay active while at home. The information in this article is not a replacement for proper medical advice. 

 Over the next few months, many of us will be spending more time at home. For each of us, this will mean something different; however, regardless of your circumstances, there are a few things you can do to make your time at home a little easier and healthier. 

Maintain a routine.  

A new routine may take a while to develop and will depend on the demands placed on you by your work or children, however, some things can help with both mental and physical health when staying at home for long periods. Waking up and going to sleep at the same time every day can have a significant impact on wellness, ensuring that you have a better sleep and also feel more settled when you wake up. 

Use screens thoughtfully. 

Technology can help us to connect with those who are not there, yet can also take us away from things happening around us. Delete the apps that you find distracting, such as news or social media and schedule in quality catch-ups with friends and family via video.  

Take time to adjust your home workstation.

If you will be spending hours at a time on your computer, it is essential to take the time to ensure your workstation is set up optimally to reduce stress on your body while working. You can chat with your physiotherapist for some tips on how to set up your home office.

Stay in touch with your physio.

If you are struggling with pain at home, your physiotherapist can offer a variety of online treatment solutions, even if you can’t make it to the clinic. Reach out to your physiotherapist if you are in pain either via email or telehealth sessions to see how they can help you – you might be surprised at how much they can help.

Join an online fitness group and workout with others.

Joining a daily online workout session is one way to keep active and also stick to a schedule. Many of the videos allow you to join in live, helping to increase commitment and a sense of community with your fellow athletes.  

Stretch before bed. 

Start with just three simple stretches, calf, hamstrings and triceps and slowly build up your repertoire. Stretching before bed can help to prepare your body for rest while also improving flexibility. Try to hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds for optimal effect.  

 When you tear a muscle or wake up with a stiff neck, your physiotherapist is often the first person you think to call. While aches and pains are indeed the bread and butter of physiotherapists, there are many conditions that your physiotherapist can help with that you may not be aware of. Physiotherapists have a broad skill set that encompasses many areas of healthcare from childhood to old age. Here are a few surprising conditions physiotherapists can assess and treat.  

1. Vertigo

The dizziness and spinning sensations created by vertigo can drive you to distraction. There are specific kinds of vertigo that respond very well to physiotherapy treatment. 

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is a type of vertigo caused by small loose crystals in the inner ear, resulting in dizziness when the head is turned in different positions. Your physiotherapist can give you exercises to relocate these crystals and regain your balance. 

Physiotherapists can also help with habituation exercises for other types of vertigo. If in doubt, have a quick chat with one of our therapists to see if they might be able to help you. 

2. Neurological Conditions

Strokes, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and head injuries are all conditions that your physiotherapist has been trained to treat. In the private practice setting, they are particularly helpful at stretching the tight muscles affected and providing specially tailored strengthening exercises. 

3. Incontinence

Pregnancy and childbirth can cause significant damage and stress for the pelvic floor and pelvic organs. Incontinence can have a huge impact on quality of life and cause substantial emotional distress. Fortunately, with treatment, many people see significant improvements. Physiotherapists who have specialised in women’s health can assess and provide education, support and treatment for a range of women’s and men’s pelvic floor issues. 

Balance and falls prevention. 

Falls are one of the leading causes of injury, especially as we age, our bone density begins to decrease, and our ability to prevent falls gradually declines. Physiotherapists can detect reductions in balance that can predict your falls risk and help you to regain your confidence through balance and strength training.

The information in this article is not a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for an assessment of your condition.

 What Are They?

Muscular trigger points are better known to most of us as muscle knots and can feel like painful, hard lumps located inside muscles. These knots can both be painful to touch and refer pain in surrounding areas. It is thought that trigger points form when a portion of muscle contracts abnormally, compressing the blood supply to this area, which, in turn, causes this part of the muscle to become extra sensitive.  Trigger points are a common source of pain around the neck, shoulders, hips and lower back. 

What Causes Trigger Points?

Many factors can cause trigger points to develop; repeated stress, injuries, overuse and excessive loads are common examples. Inflammation, stress, nutritional deficiencies and prolonged unhealthy postures may also contribute to the formation of these painful areas. Generally speaking, muscular overload, where the demands placed on the muscle mean that the fibres are unable to function optimally, is thought to be the primary cause of trigger points. This is why you might notice trigger points in weaker muscles or after starting a new training program. 

Signs and Symptoms

Pain caused by trigger points can often be mistaken for joint or nerve-related pain as it is often felt in a different location to the site of the trigger point. Trigger points feel like hard lumps in the muscles and may cause stiffness, heaviness, aching pain and general discomfort. They often cause the length of the affected tissues to shorten, which may be why trigger points can increase the symptoms of arthritis, tennis elbow, tendonitis and bursitis. 

How Can Physiotherapy Help?

Your physiotherapist will first assess and diagnose trigger points as the source of your pain. If they feel that treatment will be beneficial, there are a variety of techniques that can help, including dry needling, manual therapy, electrical stimulation, mechanical vibration, stretching and strengthening exercises. While these techniques may be effective in treating trigger points, it is important to address any biomechanical faults that contribute to their development.

Your physiotherapist is able to identify causative factors such as poor training technique, posture and biomechanics and will prescribe an exercise program to address any muscle weaknesses and imbalances.  If you have any questions about how trigger points might be affecting you, don’t hesitate to ask your physiotherapist. 

The information in this article is not a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for an assessment of your condition. 

 The shoulder is a fascinating joint with incredible flexibility. It is connected to the body via a complex system of muscles and ligaments. Most of the other joints in the body are very stable, thanks to the structure of the bones and ligaments surrounding them. However, the shoulder has so much movement and flexibility that stability is reduced to allow for this. Unfortunately, this increased flexibility means that the shoulder is more vulnerable to joint dislocations.

What is a dislocation and how does it happen? 

As the name suggests, a dislocated shoulder is where the head of the upper arm moves out of its normal anatomical position to sit outside of the shoulder socket joint. 

Some people have more flexible Joints than others and will, unfortunately, have joints that move out of position without much force. Other people might never dislocate their shoulders unless they experience a traumatic injury that forces it out of place. The shoulder can dislocate in many different directions, the most common being anterior or forwards. This usually occurs when the arm is raised and forced backward in a ‘stop sign’ position.

What to do if this happens

The first time a shoulder dislocates is usually the most serious. If the shoulder doesn’t just go back in by itself (spontaneous relocation), then someone will need to help to put it back in. This needs to be done by a professional as they must be able to assess what type of dislocation has occurred, and often an X-ray needs to be taken before the relocation happens. 

A small fracture can actually occur as the shoulder is being put into place, which is why it is so important to have a professional perform the procedure with X-Ray guidance if necessary. 

How can physiotherapy help?

Following a dislocation, your physiotherapist can advise on how to allow the best healing for the shoulder. It is essential to keep the shoulder protected for a period to allow any damaged structures to heal as well as they can. 

After this, a muscle-strengthening and stabilisation program can begin. This is aimed at helping the muscles around the shoulder to provide further stability and prevent future dislocations.

The information in this article is not a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for an assessment of your condition. 

 

 Nothing can ruin your enthusiasm for a new workout program faster than the pain and stiffness that sneaks up on you the day after. This delayed reaction from your muscles, known as DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness, has affected almost all of us at one time or another. While there is no sure-fire cure or prevention for DOMS, here are a few tips to help reduce your symptoms next time you hit the gym

• Understand what it is. 

DOMS is thought to be a result of micro tears in the muscle tissues during eccentric exercises in particular. While DOMS is not a sign of a serious injury and usually goes away on its own within 48 hours, it can be very uncomfortable and be a deterrent to continue exercising. It can also leave you at a higher risk of injury, and for athletes who are competing in a tournament and need to recover quickly, DOMS can be particularly problematic. 

• Warm-up and cool-down.  

By taking the time to let your muscles warm-up, your muscles can operate at maximum flexibility and reducing the tension on muscle tissues during exercise. A cool-down allows effective blood flow to muscles after exercise, so that any waste products such as lactic acid and calcium can flow back into the bloodstream rather than staying in the muscle tissues. 

• Get a massage or use a foam roller

By massage tight and sensitive muscles, you can improve blood flow and promote tissue healing and reduce pain. Both massage and foam rolling can help to relax tight muscles and enhance tissue recovery in the first 24-48 hours. 

• Stay hydrated.

Keeping hydrated allows your body to remove waste, stay flexible, and help tissues heal optimally. The trick is to maintain hydration throughout your day, not just when it’s time to exercise. It’s also essential not to wait until you are thirsty, as you could also already dehydrated at this point. 

Other advice includes gentle exercise, such as 20 minutes on a stationary bike, and mild stretching. If you are particularly brave, ice baths have recently been shown to have mild benefits in pain reduction and ingesting caffeine before exercise has been shown to reduce DOMS, however it is important to consult your GP first to ensure this is a safe option for you. 

 Running is a great way to stay in shape, manage stress, and increase your overall wellbeing. However, it’s not without its drawbacks. While being a low-risk activity, there are a few injuries that commonly affect runners. As running is a repetitive impact activity, most running injuries develop slowly and can be challenging to treat. Here are three of the most common conditions faced by runners. 

1. Runner’s Knee: 

Runners’ knee is a persistent pain on the inside of the knee caused by the dysfunctional movement of the kneecap during movement. The kneecap sits in a small groove at the centre of the knee and glides smoothly up and down as the knee bends and straightens. If something causes the kneecap to move abnormally, the surface underneath can become damaged, irritated, and painful. The pain might be mild to start with; however, left untreated, runner’s knee can make running too painful to continue. 

2. Shin Splints:

Shin splints is a common condition characterised by a recurring pain at the inside of the shin. While the cause of this condition is not always clear, it is usually due to repeated stress where the calf muscles attach to the tibia (shin bone). Why this becomes painful is likely due to a combination of factors that can be identified by your physiotherapist to help you get back on track as soon as possible. 

3. Achilles Tendonitis: 

The Achilles tendon is the thick tendon at the back of the ankle that attaches to the calf muscles. The amount of force that this tendon can absorb is impressive. It is vital in providing the propulsive force needed for running. If the stresses placed on the tendon exceed its strength, the tissues begin to breakdown and become painful. Treatment is focussed on helping the healthy tendon tissues to strengthen and adapt to new forces while allowing the damaged tissue to heal and regenerate.

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

 Pain is one of the most complicated processes in the human body. You may have experienced this is you ever saw a physiotherapist for pain in one part of your body, and they started to treat an entirely different area. Some people are born with no sensation of pain at all, and amputees sometimes continue to feel pain where their limbs used to be. The complexity of pan is one of the reason’s why physiotherapists conduct such a thorough physical examination before being able to determine the exact source of your pain.

Why is pain so complicated?

Unfortunately, we are still don’t understand everything about the way pain is processed.  Usually, when an injury or damage occurs to body tissues, a signal is sent to the brain, which begins to interpret this signal and creates the sensation of pain. Pain is thought to be a warning signal to let you know to avoid danger and pay attention to the injured body part. Occasionally this system goes a little haywire, and pain signals are sent when there is no damage or the location of the pain is misdirected. 

Referred pain is the term used when pain is felt at a different location to the source that is sending the pain signal. There are many kinds of referred pain, and some are easier to explain than others. 

What are the different types of referred pain?

In some cases, if it is a nerve that is sending the pain signal, then pain can be felt all along the length of the nerve. Patients often describe this as a sharp burning pain along the skin. One of the most common examples of this is sciatica, where the large nerve that runs down the back of the leg is irritated around the lower back. The source of the pain signal is near the spine. However, that pain follows a distinctive pattern down the leg. In other cases, it is the muscles and not the nerves that are referring pain elsewhere. Muscular trigger points are taut bands that develop within muscle tissue that is undergoing abnormal stress. Poor posture, lack of movement, and overuse can cause muscles to develop areas of dysfunction. These trigger points can cause pain that radiates out in distinctive patterns. Trigger points are diagnosed as the source of pain if symptoms are reproduced when a therapist presses on a specific point. 

If that wasn’t confusing enough, we know that our internal organs also refer pain.  Pain referred by internal organs is frequently described as a deep, ache, and usually not influenced by movements of the limbs or back. 

Organs often distribute pain in patterns that are very obscure and sometimes don’t even create any pain at their location. For example, kidney pain often feels like lower back pain. Tragically there have been patients who have failed to seek treatment in time as they mistook a serious condition for a simple backache.

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 article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your individual injury. 

 Better health isn’t just about looking better. It can also help you to feel stronger, more flexible, reduce pain and feel happier overall. If you’re an inactive person, it can be challenging to change your lifestyle. Here are a few tips that might make it a bit easier.

Sign up for a race or event. 

Fear is a powerful motivator, and having a challenge looming can create a sense of urgency to improve your fitness. You don’t need to sign up for a marathon straight away, but something that lies just outside your current fitness level is a great place to start. 

Join a team.

You may not feel committed to your exercise routine, but being part of a team can get you out of the house when you’d much rather be a couch potato. Joining a team can have added social benefits by increasing your sense of community and expanding your social circle. 

Make it a habit.

Upgrade your daily exercise to be a non-negotiable part of your routine, increase the priority level and refuse to reschedule. In the long run, you’ll be grateful that you have created a habit that’s difficult to break. If you can also keep track of your attendance, set yourself the added challenge of not missing a day to put the habit in place.

Be honest about what you enjoy and what you don’t.

We all have different preferences when it comes to activity, and taking the time to identify which sport is right for you can be the secret to long term success. If you’re a thrill-seeker, you might find mountain biking infinitely more rewarding than an hour at the gym. For others, the peacefulness of a yoga session can be just what they need after a stressful workday. There are many options other than a gym membership, and many come with added benefits of improved self-esteem as you learn a new skill and are an easy way to make new friends.

Reward yourself.

Many of us respond better to positive reinforcement than punishment, or at least it is a nicer experience. For example, rather than restricting calories when you miss a day of exercise, reward yourself with a massage when you have reached a small goal. Choosing a reward that is also beneficial for your health can help avoid a boom/bust attitude towards your health. 

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

 Osteoporosis is a widespread condition characterised by low bone mass or density. It is primarily a metabolic disorder related to age and general health with a variety of risk factors and causes. The most common and well-known consequence of osteoporosis is weakened bones that can break from small forces that would usually be harmless.

In osteoporosis, both the matrix of the bone (similar to scaffolding) and the density of the bone are affected. While bone seems like a static part of our body, bone is continuously laid down and removed by our bodies. In osteoporosis, there is an imbalance between the growth and reduction in the bone where the bone becomes progressively weaker. As such, it is a progressive disorder that worsens with age, and while the disease process might begin much earlier, symptoms are usually only noticed over the age of 50. 

What are the signs and symptoms?

Often called a silent disease, many people with osteoporosis will have no idea that they have the disease, as there are no visible symptoms. Sometimes the first sign that an individual has osteoporosis is when the first bone breaks; unfortunately, these bones are also slower to heal than healthy bones which can lead to ongoing complications. Broken bones are not the only symptom of osteoporosis, as bones lose density and strength, they can also become compressed and develop wedge fractures under the weight of the body. 

When the spine is affected by osteoporosis, people may develop a hunched or stooped posture, which can itself lead to respiratory issues and places pressure on the internal organs. Osteoporosis can severely impact a person’s mobility and independence, which can have a distressing impact on their overall quality of life.

What causes it?

As a metabolic disorder, osteoporosis can be caused by any process that interferes with the body’s ability to maintain bone density. This includes gastrointestinal conditions that prevent adequate absorption of calcium, required for bone growth, lack of dietary calcium or low levels of vitamin D, which are essential for the absorption of calcium. Some medications can contribute to bone loss as an unfortunate side effect, especially if they are taken for a long time or in high doses. A well-known example is the long-term use of steroids which are prescribed for long periods to reduce inflammation.

Inactivity can also predispose a person to osteoporosis as bones respond to force and weight-bearing by building more bone. Having a sedentary lifestyle or choosing activities with low levels of impact can mean that without the weight-bearing stimulus to make bone, bones are less dense over time. Osteoporosis is a common issue for elite cyclists and swimmers, who are more likely to develop the condition if they don’t also include weight-bearing activities such as jogging in their training program.

How can physiotherapy help?

Physiotherapy can help you to improve your overall bone health, avoid or recover from fractures. Physiotherapy exercises can direct you to safely increase your weight-bearing, which can help build bone mass. Balance training is also an important factor as this can reduce your risk of falls. Your physiotherapist can also help you to adjust your lifestyle, at home or at work, to protect your bones and improve your posture.

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