Tag: Parramatta Physio

Tips for Exercising when You have Pain

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 One of the most challenging aspects of living with an injury or chronic pain is how it can quickly impact your exercise routine. If you have been working towards a fitness or weight goal, this can be extremely demoralising. Here are a few tips that can help to keep you on track while you recover. Staying as active as possible during this time can mean you’re in the best position to reach your goals again once your injury has healed. 

1. Try a new activity. 

When injury strikes, it can be tempting to stop exercising altogether and rest while you recover. An injury can be frustrating, but it can also be an opportunity to try out a different sport. If you’re a runner with an ankle injury, you can keep up your fitness by swimming instead. Cycling can be an excellent option for people for dealing with knee pain, and if you’re a swimmer with shoulder pain, maybe switch to running for a while. Check with your physiotherapist for some ideas to keep you moving. 

2. Exercise within your limits. 

If you’re getting pain at 5km, this doesn’t always mean you should give up running altogether. Your physiotherapist can help you monitor your symptoms carefully and plan an exercise routine that keeps your fitness up while reducing symptom flare-ups. Staying as active as possible throughout your recovery can also mean that you a better placed to get back to your best performance once symptoms reside

3. Take the opportunity to improve your footwear and equipment. 

Injury and pain can be a great prompt to look at your equipment and technique . For example, with hip and knee pain, the type of shoes you wear can have a significant difference. Often pain has more than once cause, with technique and equipment more often than not having a substantial impact on the stress placed on your body. Your physiotherapist is an excellent source of advice in this area, don’t hesitate to ask for an assessment. 

4. Take to the water

Hydrotherapy has long been used to help patients with joint pain or muscle weakness exercise. The water helps reduce joint stress and provide extra sensory input that can reduce pain. Exercising in water can be especially helpful for sufferers of chronic pain or those who have pain with weight-bearing. Speak to your physio for a hydrotherapy program if you’re not sure how to approach exercise in water. 

Our physiotherapists are happy to discuss your condition with you and share their tips to help you stay pain-free. None of the information in this article is a replacement for proper medical advice. Always see a medical professional for advice on your condition.

Common myths around MRI and Back pain

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA:If you’ve been unlucky enough to suffer from chronic or ongoing back pain, chances are that at some stage, you’ve had other investigations to capture what is happening inside your spine. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an incredible technology that can provide essential insights into tissues that otherwise can’t be seen.

Unfortunately, there are some common misconceptions around what that information means, which can sometimes be unhelpful and even harmful to recovery. Here are a few things you might not realize that can help you understand your MRI:

Not all tissues show up on every scan.

Muscle, fascia, or other irritable tissues may not show up on your scan, meaning you may experience a lot of pain but have a completely normal scan. Not all parts of your anatomy will show up from every scan’s perspective and some tissue changes might only be evident in certain postures.

Age-related changes are normal and may not be related to your pain.

Results such as arthritis, disc bulges, and small tears can be concerning. However, it’s helpful to note that people who have no painful symptoms can have similar, if not more, age-related changes, and these signs may not be related to your pain at all.

Severe pain may not be related to severe changes on MRI.

Pain is a complex experience, influenced by multiple factors including the sensitivity of the tissues involved, what the brain believes about the pain and what it means, and how long it has been present. MRI is helpful for ruling out severe pathology such as infection, fracture, or malignancy; however, it is not always an accurate guide to the source of symptoms. The results of an MRI should always be taken into account as a small part of a bigger clinical picture when guiding treatment.

Talk to your physiotherapist for advice on any imaging results you have and what they might mean for your treatment and prognosis. None of the information in this article is a replacement for professional medical advice. Always consult a medical professional for advice on your condition.

Fibula Fractures

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA:

What are they?

The lower part of the leg, from the knee down to the ankle, consists of two long bones that sit side by side: the thicker Tibia and the thinner Fibula. The bones are joined together by thick fibrous connective tissue called a “syndesmosis” and are firmly adhered to each other with just a small amount of movement between them, allowing for a small amount of rotation of the ankle.

A fracture of the fibula occurs when the bony tissue is disrupted or broken. It is a common injury and can occur at any part of the bone, depending on the mechanism of injury or the state of the bone.

How does it happen?

A fracture of any bone can occur when the force applied to any point exceeds the strength of the tissue at that point. However, as with all fractures, there are common patterns that are seen based on structural points of weakness in the bone and common patterns of movement. A few common ways that the fibula is broken are;

Blunt force: 

If something hits the bone hard enough, it will break on impact. This could include being hit by a ball hard enough or being hit by a car, as this is the site where a car’s bumper would reach. Impacts like this that have enough force will often break both the Tibia and the Fibula at the same time. Skiing accidents where skis hit something suddenly or get stuck can also cause the bones to break at the level of the ski boots.

Ankle Sprain: 

When it comes to the fibula, the most common reason for the bone to be broken is during a severe ankle sprain. The ligaments that attach the outside of the foot to the fibula are so strong that when you twist your ankle badly enough, sometimes it is the bone that breaks. This is one of the most commonly missed injuries, partly because the fibula is not a weight-bearing bone. This means that after the initial pain and swelling have subsided, you can still walk on your foot without pain stopping you. It is important to have any severe ankle sprains imaged by X-ray to rule out any fibula fractures.

What are the symptoms?

In some cases, the symptoms of a fibula fracture will be unmistakable, with severe pain. Sometimes the skin will be broken and there will be bleeding. If the bone has been moved from its usual position, there will be a deformity under the skin. For smaller, displaced fractures, there will be pain over the bony aspects and a constant, deep pain that is worse when weight-bearing.

What is the treatment?

Physiotherapists are often the first to notice fractures caused by ankle sprains. Once a fracture has been confirmed, your medical team will decide on the best course of action to allow the bones to heal. This might include surgery to pin the bones together, casting or the use of a moon boot. Following a period of immobilisation, your physiotherapist can help you rehabilitate the surrounding tissues. This will include muscle strengthening, joint mobilisation, balance and control retraining, and a stretching program.

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

Tips for Optimal Stretching Results

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 How do you stretch properly?

CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA: While there are many benefits to be gained from effective stretching, employing an improper technique can actually result in injury. Here are some tips and guidelines for you to follow when stretching: 

·Warm up first with an activity such as walking (at least 5 -10 minutes).

·Stretches should be pain-free. You should only feel tension or a tight feeling when stretching. If you feel a sharp pain, this means you’re stretching too far and should relax a little. 

·Don’t hold your breath while stretching; keep breathing to ensure the muscle tissues remain oxygenated during the stretch.

·Stretch both sides. But, if one muscle is tighter than the other, focus on it more until they’re both in the same range.

·Avoid bouncing at the end of the stretch because it may lead to injury.

·Hold stretches for 20-30 seconds, if not longer. A 10 second stretch is not always enough to achieve a lasting effect.

·Repeat the stretch 3-5 times with intermittent rest periods in between.

·Make sure your body is aligned properly and observe good posture.

When to Stretch?

Traditionally, stretching has been encouraged before and after any kind of physical activity. However, recent studies show that there is no discerning difference between whether you stretch before exercise/sports or not, both-in terms of performance and injury prevention. In some cases, researchers say that it’s okay to omit the pre-event stretch since the post-event stretch is much more beneficial. 

Some of our everyday postures and activities can lead to certain muscles becoming tight while the others sit in a lengthened position. These habitual postures that lead to muscle imbalances then become more and more difficult to correct over time. Many therapists will suggest that stretching all muscles generically isn’t as beneficial as identifying which of your muscles are abnormally tight and developing a targeted stretching regime. 

Talk to your physiotherapist for advice regarding the best stretching program for your body type, posture and activity levels. 

Focus on Metatarsalgia

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What is Metatarsalgia?

CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA: Metatarsalgia is a medical term used to describe pain that occurs in the ball of the foot. This occurs due to rubbing of the long bones of the foot, called metatarsals, causing inflammation. Build-up of inflammation in the ball of the foot compresses the small nerves that run between the toes and along the foot. Inflammation and compression of these small nerves is painful. 

The pain can involve one or more joints of the foot including the big toe, second toe and third toe. It is unlikely to include the fourth or fifth joints. On occasion, the pain may involve the entire foot, or larger parts of the foot. The pain or symptoms may be made worse when bearing weight through the foot, such as walking or running. In severe cases, just standing or even wearing tight footwear can affect the foot.

How does it happen?

Metatarsalgia can be caused by a number of things. An abrupt change in the posturing of the lower back or pelvis may alter the way the foot is loaded, and cause rubbing of the long bones. Altered loading of the foot may also be caused by arthritic conditions that affect the knees, hips or pelvis.

Unavoidable factors, which may lead to the development of metatarsalgia, include increased age, and the physical shape of the foot and toe. As your body ages, the ligaments of the foot may loosen or weaken. Therefore, the bones of the foot move differently leading to altered positioning and loading of the foot.

Avoidable factors, which may lead to the development of metatarsalgia, include wearing inappropriately fitting footwear, and the type of exercise performed. Metatarsalgia is more highly associated with high-impact-type exercise such as running or gymnastics.

How can Physio help?

Your physio will determine the cause of the metatarsalgia pain and assist you with adapting your posture or improving the loading pattern of your foot. You may be advised to unload the foot by reducing or stopping exercise, changing the shoe you wear, or strengthening certain muscles in your legs.

Electrotherapeutic modalities such as icing, ultrasound or interferential therapy may be of assistance to reduce pain and inflammation in the beginning stages of treatment as well.

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

Should You Have a Joint Replacement?

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CUMBERLAND PHYSIOTHERAPY PARRAMATTA: One of the most impressive healthcare developments in history is the humble joint replacement. Many people are able to take a joint that is extremely painful and dysfunctional and give it a whole new lease on life. 

The improvements in this surgery over the last few decades have meant that success rates for joint replacement surgery, particularly hip and knee replacements are even higher than ever. If you are struggling with joint pain related to arthritis, it can be difficult to know when to make the move. Here are a few things to consider before going for that surgical consult.

Don’t assume pain is permanent once you hear the word arthritis

Pain is a complex beast and is usually never caused by one single thing. Most people will have some amount of arthritis in their joints past the age of 50, whether or not this is what is causing your pain will be unclear without first seeking physiotherapy treatment. 

Many people have some level of degeneration in their joints without experiencing much discomfort at all. It’s possible that an analysis of biomechanics, strengthening and manual therapy could all improve your symptoms significantly, even if osteoarthritis is present. A trial of physiotherapy treatment is recommended before surgery in most cases.

Pre-surgical strength and fitness are important

This means two things, first of all, your strength or exercise program before surgery will set you up for much better results. The second thing is that choosing when to have the surgery means not necessarily waiting until the pain is unbearable before going ahead, as time spent in significant pain can reduce your overall strength and fitness while also putting more stress on other joints. 

Research the risks and side effects 

While surgical outcomes are continually improving, no surgery comes without risks and some people will have ongoing pain and stiffness even after their surgery. It is important to make an informed decision about when and if you should have a joint replacement. 

If you are considering a joint replacement, speak to your physiotherapist about all the ways they can support you through your journey and help you come to an informed decision about what is right for you.

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.