Beat persistent Tennis Elbow – tendon month at Physiologic

Have a look at our latest Video on How to Beat Pesky Tennis Elbow

It’s designed for people who have had tennis elbow that’s persisted for months and is giving them pain with

  • Gripping
  • Lifting
  • Pulling
 It shows you
  • What tennis elbow is
  • Where you will get pain
  • What to do about your elbow pain

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy and don’t forget its tendon month here at Physiologic – we are doing GAP FREE initial consults on people with tennis elbow, side of hip pain and achilles pain!!

Call 5578 7155

Muscle Decay – What Aging does to our muscles and how to stop it

Muscle Decay – What ageing does to our muscles and how to stop it – Strength training tips

  • Having trouble getting out of a chair?
  • Can’t life things the way you used too?
  • Cramping at night OR aching legs in the evening?
  • Slower to recover after exercise?
  • Losing your balance or unsteady on your feet?

 

Answering YES to any of these means that you are experiencing the effects of ageing and specifically the loss of the muscle strength associated with it.

We start to lose muscle mass after 30 years of age with this really accelerating after the age of 50 with 1.5%-5% loss of muscle mass per year naturally.

Obviously if we place disease, obesity and sedentary lifestyle on top of these numbers then it is easy to see how we will begin to struggle with even simple tasks as we get older.

Seniors-knees

There is a big push at the moment to combat bone weakness and osteoporosis but not many of us consider the effects of ageing on our muscles which is often more of a problem than people realise.

It leads to :

-Tendon Degeneration

-Excess Load on our Spine

-Poor posture

-Increased risk of falling

-Overload on our joints ( Knees/ Hips etc)

These problems cost the healthcare system millions each year and it makes sense for us to try and prevent this problem as much as we can .

SO, how do we beat this I hear you ask ?

Strength Training is key!

If you are over the age of 30 and are not particpating in any exercise at all then you need to rethink how much you are going to struggle as you get older.

crossfit testingIf you are only doing cardiovascular exercise , then this is good but you need to substitute this with x 2 or more strength training sessions weekly. You wont keep the necessary strength in your muscles and tendons to avoid injury as you get older if you don’t do this.

If you are only doing strength training then great work and keep it up but dont completely neglect your cardiovascular exercise.

 

Strength Training Tips as Follows:

  1. Research gym equipment or gym membership – the bigger gym chains usually have manageable membership fees and have a great variation in equipment and classes.
  2. Begin Slowly- Too much too soon will leave you sore and possibly injured and you wont want to return anytime soon.
  3. Get Checked before you start – a screening or physical testing session with one of our physios is a good idea to measure how at risk you are of injury and which exercises are better for you
  4. Get a Program specific to you- don’t use your friends program or one that you see in a magazine. Your needs may also be different to other peoples needs and it is better to do exercises that relate to this. Our Physios at Physiologic can help with this.
  5. Frequency – Start at 1-2 days weekly and aim to progress to 3-4 sessions weekly as you recover faster and become used to it.
  6. Reps/Sets – Start at 3 x 8- 12 Reps for each exercise . This is the most basic way to get adaptions in your muscles recover and adapt.
  7. Recover- Allow 1-2 days between your workouts to let your muscles recover and adapt.
  8. Know the difference between pain and soreness- You will be sore after your workout, this is OK and it will settle in a few days. Pain is NOT ok and is a sign that is aggrivated – get it checked with us before continuing on.

Get your muscles moving and keep them strong as you get older.

We are in the business of preventative medicine at Physiologic and even though we are happy to help you when  your injured  we would rather see you happy and injury free as you get older.

This month is muscle and tendon month at Physiologic – GAP FREE SESSION with your private health insurance for one of 3 tendon conditions. They are Tennis elbow, achilles tendon pain, pain in the side of the hip (glut tendon)

Ring 55787155 for more info

Biggest mistakes in management of muscle strains

Biggest mistakes in managing muscle strains:

The New Year has started with a bang – literally! So many patients through my door have had muscle strains and tears relating to their holiday festivities.

A muscle strain is usually felt as a “pop”, “snap” or sudden acute pain in a muscle (as opposed to in a joint). We grade you on a 1, 2, or 3 severity based on the level of disability you may have afterwards. Pain, swelling, limited movement and loss of function are the key characteristics. Anyone from athletes, amateur sports people, club level sports people or weekend warriors may get one.

Almost all of my patients have made some crucial mistakes in the immediate management of their muscle strains. Subsequently, most people go on to make mistakes in the mid-longer term management of these injuries also.

Because of this I wanted to share with you the 5 biggest mistakes people make when managing their muscle strains and tears.

  1. Failure to follow R.I.C.E in the early stages

  • R – REST – avoid stressing your injury further

  • I – ICE – a necessary pain relief and swelling reducing technique – 4-5 x 20-30 min bouts in the first 48 hours. DO NOT APPLY HEAT!

  • C – COMPRESSION – apply bandage or tubigrip stocking around the injured tissue. A necessary reducer of swelling

  • E – ELEVATION – lift the injured region above chest level – aids with swelling reduction and improves general limb circulation

R.I.C.E Image

  1. DO NOT use anti-inflammatories in the initial stage of injury

Do not use topical or oral anti-inflammatory medications. There is a natural inflammatory reaction that occurs in your body when you sustain a muscle tear. This process underpins the eventual healing phase. You don’t want to interfere with this!

  1. Failure to get diagnosis/management

Most muscle strains improve a lot in the first few days – thus people make the mistake of leaving the problem to mend itself. Diagnosis and an appropriate management program can achieve pain relief, faster muscle repair and improved function.  Please Contact Us  if you have an injury that requires management. In severe cases diagnosis is important as it may mean more suitable management such as injection or surgery.

  1. Poor attention to rehabilitation

In the event that you have a rehab program it must be carried through till your physio is satisfied. In general pain does not equate well to function – meaning you can still have a muscle that doesn’t work well but have no pain associated with it. Full strength and flexibility must be regained before you progress back to sport/higher level function

  1. Return to sport too early

This is the classic cause of a recurrent muscle strain. Even after a severe strain most of the pain can be gone in under two weeks but it will take a further 4-5 weeks of correct rehab to get the muscle to a point where it is ready for high level function. General guidelines for return to sport are as follows

Grade 1 strain – 2 weeks

Grade 2 strain – 2-4 weeks

Grade 3 strain – 4-8 weeks

I have some great ideas on short – mid term strengthening for muscle strains also. If you guys need any help with this shoot me an email and I will help out.

 

Regards David Coombs

Headaches ? It may be in your neck – 5 steps to treat neck pain/headaches

 

  1. Realise: when am I experiencing a neck related headache or another type of headache?

Headaches come in many forms. Nausea, vomiting, numbness of the face, neck or arms, dizziness, speech or swallowing difficulties, visual disturbances, and episodes of fainting are indicators of a more severe headache. Medical attention is appropriate for some forms of severe or rapidly worsening headache. Seek out a professional opinion if in any doubt.

A neck related headache will always show one or more of the following symptoms

  • tenderness at the top of their neck and base of the skull
  • neck pain and headache usually on one side of your body
  • neck stiffness or movement restriction of your neck
  • aches or pain that radiate from the back to the front of your head
  • symptoms that are provoked or eased by a neck movement or a sustained posture or position

2. Identify: what causes my neck pain and headache?

Neck pain as a cause of headache always has some key activities or positions that drive your symptoms – these include

  • Poor posture giving you stiff upper neck joints and neck muscles – especially if you sit at a computer a lot
  • Lack of activity – too much sitting in front of the TV (see the sitting disease)
  • repeat positioning putting too much pressure on your neck (lifting incorrectly etc)
  • occupational tasks related to your work

 3. Initiate: treatment for your headaches and neck pain

A good program will address

  • your symptoms by addressing the structures responsible, for example: ‘loosening’ stiff neck joints 
  • the muscles that are working ‘too much’ or ‘too little’
  • your postural habits and give you better ideas
  • the idea of you becoming more active and less sedentary which almost goes hand in hand with headaches
  • your knowledge of the condition 

   4. Compliance: To your program 

To get rid of pain you have to be compliant to your recommended plan. We always set a plan for treatment with your goals in mind. If you are not compliant with this plan then your outcome will be affected and you risk recurrence.

   5. Prevent: I’m feeling better now, how do I avoid a repeat?

Comprehensive and long term planning will reduce the chance of a repeat condition. When you 

  • are symptom free
  • have addressed all the contributors to your condition
  • understand the nature and underlying cause of your neck pain and headaches

You should be left with an ongoing plan to avoid recurrence. This should involve

  • advice
  • exercises
  • possible check ups

Call us for more info on 55787155 or feel free to email on admin@physiologic.com.au

The 3 min lower back pain reliever

The 3 min lower back pain reliever

Our focus point this month is lower back pain. We see so many people who injure their back bending forwards and decided to put together this FREE video to help.

Its called  “the 3 min back pain reliever” and is perfect for 

  • people who get back pain with prolonged sitting (office workers)
  • people who get back pain with bending (aroud the house)
  • people who get back pain when lifting (weight lifters, tradies and manual labour workers)

Check it out below

 

Note: You should see us immediately if you have, pins and needles, sharp radiating pain into your legs or back pain that is not improving.

The Physiologic  Team