A physiotherapist's outlook on low back pain based on research available here. 

• 80% of adults experience low back pain at some point 
• 20% of affected people develop chronic low back pain (more than 12 weeks)
• Most low back pain is musculoskeletal in origin
• Research proves that physiotherapy-guided treatment helps reduce pain and improves function 

At Physio Labs we treat your back like it is ours. Our physiotherapists use a variety of treatment techniques including, mobilisations, massage, trigger point techniques, dry-needling/acupuncture, corrective exercise, pilates, posture & biomechanical analysis, strapping, bracing, muscle energy techniques and home exercises to help you rehabilitate quicker. We pride ourselves in diagnosing and giving you a thorough explanation of your back pain. We tailor every treatment to you to help get you back to normal quicker.

Physio Labs
(07) 5610 1933

A physiotherapists outlook on ankle sprains based on research available here and here.

• Approximately 25,000 people sprain their ankle everyday 
• About 50% of recurrent (2 or more) ankle sprains result in chronic pain or disability
• There is strong evidence supporting physiotherapy led intervention in the first week after ankle sprain improves ankle function and early return to weight bearing activity such as walking.
• Surgery is rarely needed, however, an improperly rehabilitated ankle may develop chronic ankle instability (CAI)

At Physio Labs we specialise in ankle rehabilitation. 
Our physiotherapists use the latest in research to guide their treatment including, mobilisations, massage, trigger point techniques, dry-needling/acupuncture, corrective exercise, pilates, posture & biomechanical analysis, strapping, bracing, muscle energy techniques balance retraining and home exercises to help you rehabilitate quicker. We pride ourselves in diagnosing and giving you a thorough explanation of your ankle pain. We tailor every treatment to you to help get you on your feet again. 

Give us a call on (07) 5610 1933 

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A physiotherapists outlook on recovery based on research available here, here, here and here.

• Up to 12.1 running injuries occur per 1000 hours of running 
• First time marathon runners and athletes who equal or better their best time need more recovery time and more physical therapy than those who didn’t
• Immediately drinking in excess of 2L of fluid does not aid in recovery 
• Recovery can be broken down into 3 phases

Phase 1 (1-3 hours post finish)

1. Keep moving 
2. Change your clothes 
3. Eat
4. Get your feet above your heart 
5. Assess any injuries

Phase 2 (1-12 hours post finish)

1. Take a shower
2. Eat more
3. Celebrate
4. Sleep
5. Re-assess injuries

Phase 3 (12-72 hours post finish)

1. Eat
2. Stay active 
3. Get help with injuries 
4. Start massage/roller exercises prescribed 

We all want to go and party but here a few quick tips that will aid in your initial recovery.
 
Keep moving  

Cross the finish line, celebrate, get your medal, celebrate, have your picture taken, and keep walking. You may feel like dropping to your knees and thanking the gods that you’ve finished, that isn’t the best way to go.

When you’ve just asked your body to run a long distance it’s still in marathon mode when you finish and is in great need of a transitionary phase. Walking helps circulation divert back to its resting state and flushes lactic acid from the muscles. Walk at least 10 to 15 minutes—back to your car, hotel, or cab.
 
Change your clothes

Once you stop our body will almost immediately enter recovery mode. Even on a warm day you'll find yourself getting quite cold and clammy. Help to avoid post race chills by changing into some nice warm soft clothes. This includes footwear, and injuries aside, another pair of running shoes is best (try to avoid thongs) This helps to keep your feet to keep your feet from swelling up and to provide your foot and leg muscles  with much-needed support.
 
Get your feet above your head 

Once you are comfortable try to find a way to lay down and get your feet above your head. After sustained hard work by your lower body, it needs help facilitating blood flow. Besides, this is just plain relaxing. If you are not feeling well please have a friend or “spotter” keep an eye on you, and just lay down. Ideally you'll be able to keep your feet up for 15- to 25 minutes at this first go, and it's recommended you do this several more times during the day.

Eat 

You need Fuel. Eat a recovery meal, ideally something easy to digest quickly (liquid form and containing some protein, for muscle recovery). Avoid processed fruit juices or other sugary substitutes. A good guide is to use what has worked in training but make sure this happens in the first 30 minutes after your event.
 
Assess any damage

If you have sustained any injury from a blister to a muscle strain to something you cant put your finger on begin assessing the true extent of what you have done and seek out help ASAP. For information on common running injuries click here.

Your brain will be much clearer, and if you need to go somewhere or wait in line at least your basic needs will have been met. 

If you have any questions regarding your injuries you can give us a call on (07) 5610 1933 to schedule in with one of our physiotherapists 

Physio Labs
(07) 5610 1933

‪#‎PhysioLabs ‪#‎physio ‪#‎physiotherapy ‪#‎anklesprain, ‪#anklebreak #sport #sportinjury  #‎pain ‪#‎Massage ‪#‎Acupuncture ‪#‎Dryneedling ‪#‎Rehabilitation‪#‎Ormeau ‪#‎Pine Rivers

​Plantar Fasciitis

What will I feel?
·       Pain under your heel, in your foot arch in the morning or after resting.
·       Your heel pain will be worse with the first steps and improves with activity as it warms up.
·       Worsening plantar fasciitis may change 
              o   Heel pain after exercise. (bad)
              o   Heel pain before and after exercise. (very bad)
              o   Heel pain before, during and after exercise. (Terrible)
              o   Heel pain all the time. Including at rest! (oh no)

Achilles Tendinitis

What will I feel?
·       Swelling and pain close to the heel
·       Achilles tendonitis usually causes pain, stiffness, and loss of strength in the affected area.
·       The pain may get worse when you use your Achilles tendon.
·       You may have more pain and stiffness during the night or when you get up in the morning.
·       You may notice a crunchy sound or feeling when you use the tendon

Illio-Tibial Band Friction Syndrome

What will I feel?
·     Sharp or burning pain just above the outer part of the knee
·     Pain that worsens with continuance of running or other repetitive activities, especially when going down hill
·     Swelling over the outside of the knee.
·     Pain during early knee bending 
·   Gradual onset of symptoms which if they persist for greater than 4 weeks can cause major sport or activity interference. 

 Shin Splints (Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome[MTSS])

What will I feel?
·       Shin splints cause dull, aching pain in the front of the lower leg. 
·       Depending on the exact cause, the pain may be located along either side of the shinbone or in the muscles. 
·       The area may be painful to the touch.
·       Worsening Shin Splints may change 
              o   Discomfort that disappears during warm-up.  
              o   Discomfort that may disappear during warm-up but reappears at the end of activity.
              o   Discomfort that gets worse during the activity.
              o   Pain or discomfort all the time.

 Runners Knee (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome)

What will I feel?
·     The onset of your kneecap pain is normally gradual rather than traumatic.
·     Pain during weightbearing or shock activities that involve knee bending. 
·     Other painful activities include stairs, squatting, kneeling or hopping. 
·   As your patellofemoral pain syndrome progresses your knee will become painful while walking and then ultimately even at rest. 
·       You may experience pain in your knee when your knee is bent eg. sitting in a chair (theatre knee)

Hamstring or Calf Tear

What will I feel?
·       Sudden and severe pain during exercise, along with a snapping or popping feeling.
·       For hamstring 
              o   Pain in the back of the thigh and lower buttock when walking, straightening the leg, or bending over.
              o   Hamstring tenderness (back of your thigh).
·       For Calf 
              o   Pain in the back of the lower leg when walking, straightening the leg, or bending over.
              o   Pain with coming onto your tip toes
              o   Calf tenderness (back of your lower leg above your ankle but below your knee)
·       Bruising may appear within 24-72 hours with either of these.

Give Physio Labs a call to schedule an appointment on (07) 5610 1933 

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OK, time for a rant!

Posture retraining, alignment, and functional movement is the new rage in the fitness industry. Although this is a great thing for the awareness of a growing problem there is always a problem when the masses get a hold of something that they think they can make money off with no accountability being held for actually fixing a problem. (there is no posture Degree or Association to minimise the standards of practitioners). There are literally millions of posture articles, YouTube videos and E-books telling you the secrets of great posture etc.

Again, this is wonderful that posture is being talked about so much and everyone now thinks about posture as being important, but not all the information being handed out is helpful or correct, and not all the information is consistent, and some of this information can be damaging or harmful to a person's posture or worse yet their structure. This creates issues for the people who actually need help.
These are some of the most common things I hear that a so called “expert” has told a patient of mine when they come into my practice.

• Myth 1
  • This is the way I was born; It's just the way I am.
  • Truth
    • Postural alignment is not in our genes. (DID you know We are born with a "C" shaped spine?)
    • As much as you'd like to blame your parents for your hunched shoulders  bowed legs, pronated feet, rounded upper back, or forward head, that argument just doesn't carry any weight.
    • Your postural alignment is a reflection of how you've moved throughout your life, the mechanical stress you have put on your body and the adaptations you have created, not your DNA.
• Myth 2
  • All you need to do to improve your posture is strengthen your core.
  • Truth
    • Your core is a part of your posture; however your body is a complex machine that has multiple levers, pulleys and hinges of different variations that work in a 3 dimensional world.
    • Strengthening your core will strengthen or "lock in" your current postural alignment – which (if you are reading this) is probably not very good. Most people with poor posture and who are looking at core strengthening as a way to improve their posture have some pelvic shifting, Thoracic kyphosis, rib cage compression and shoulder rounding, So… strengthening these individual's core will only cause these imbalances to get worse.
    • The most important thing about postural alignment is placing your joints into a neutral position where the muscles can act together in the most efficient fashion.
    • Core strengthening is best left for after you have good postural alignment, not before. Stand before you walk, walk before you run!
• Myth 3
  • Everyone has a different natural posture.
  • Truth
    • Yes, almost everyone you look at around you probably looks much different posturally from each other, but that does not mean their posture is designed to be different. We all share the same bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and nerves and they are designed to align themselves in the same way. The differences you see in people's postures are environmental (how they use their bodies) not genetic. ​

• Myth 4
  • If something is "bad" the opposite must be "good"
  • Truth
    • Research and many experts have been talking about the dangers of valgus knees and medially rotated femurs and how that increases the chance of an ACL tear. I am not saying that this is incorrect; however many of these experts then reason that if valgus and medial rotation is bad, varus and external rotation must be good. This is in fact a false dilemma...apparently many posture experts skipped philosophy class! Knees that are vertically aligned with the ankles and hips and that point straight ahead are natural and function best and any misalignment can and will cause inefficiency in movement, tissue damage, and pain eventually. ​(if you bend a coat hanger to the right and that is wrong do you bend it all the way over to the left to make it right?)

 

• Myth 5
  • To align your pelvis, pull your stomach in and tuck your butt under.
  • Truth
    • This may be correct; however if your pelvis is not tilted forward into an anterior tilt with no other abnormalities, then yes this idea might make sense. Postural alignment should come naturally and your stomach should be relaxed. What happens if you give this advice to someone whose pelvis is already tilted backwards into a posterior tilt? You make their posture even worse and greatly increase the chance of low back, knee ankle or neck injury, among other things.
• Myth 6
  •  Good posture means squeezing your shoulders blades.
  • Truth
    • Good posture means your shoulders are npt back or forward but in the correct position. If you are consciously pulling your shoulders back  you'll create excessive fatigue in your upper back muscles which can cause more pain. Your shoulders should be in a non contracted state when standing or sitting and naturally in place. If you have to pull your shoulders back to get them aligned with your hips, you need to address the postural imbalances you have throughout the rest of your body, and then your shoulders will be in place naturally without effort. Any tightening of muscles will lead to poor movement patters and can lead to pain and injury. 
•  Myth 7
  • Thinking about your posture is enough.
  • Truth
    • Our posture is a learned skill it is based on the unconscious competence quadrant of skill acquisition of which muscle memory is a large part. Thinking about your posture is not enough to correct your imbalances and even if you could, what happens to your posture when you get distracted?

 

• Myth 8
  • I can change my posture overnight
  • Truth
    • Your bad posture did not happen overnight so will not be fixed that way. 
• Myth 9
  • When standing your knees should be slightly bent.
  • ​Truth
    • Your knees should be straight when standing relaxed, not bent. Keeping your knees bent while standing increases the pressure on meniscus of the knees and patellar tendon and can cause pain. Hyperextending your knees (locking your knees) by tightening your quads is also stressful to your knees and can create damage to the underside of your patella (kneecap). ​​​

 
If you have heard these myths please disregard them and the “expert” who gave them to you!
 
Sean Yates | Physiotherapist | Doctor of Physiotherapy | Bachelor of Exercise Science |
ASCA level 1 | AWF Level 1 coach | Functional Patterns Level 1, 2, 3 | Human Biomechanics Specialist | Dry Needling | Clinical Pilates Level 1, 2, 3 | APA sports Level 1 | Watson Headache Level 1 | IASTM - Smart Tools Instructor | 

​Sean Yates | Physiotherapist | Doctor of Physiotherapy | Bachelor of Exercise Science |
ASCA level 1 | AWF Level 1 coach | Functional Patterns Level 1, 2, 3 | Human Biomechanics Specialist | Dry Needling | Clinical Pilates Level 1, 2, 3 | APA sports Level 1 | Watson Headache Level 1 | IASTM - Smart Tools Instructor | 

​For more infomration on finding a new graduate physiotherapy job, starting your career and graduate programs follow the links below:

Click here for our
GRADUATE PROGRAM
Click here for our​
NEW GRAD GUIDE TO PRIVATE PRACTICE PHYSIOTHERAPY 1 
​Click here for our
​NEW GRAD GUIDE TO PRIVATE PRACTICE PHYSIOTHERAPY 2

The plank, if done correctly can be very beneficial to your strength, posture, pelvic position, and core. But…any exercise done incorrectly has the potential to hurt you.
​The plank (one of the simplest exercises) is being performed and taught incorrectly and being allowed to be performed incorrectly by the vast majority of health and fitness professionals (just search your social media account).

This month I have failed to see anyone perform a plank 80% correctly let alone perfectly. In the great words of Vince Lombardi “practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”
​
These are the most common mistakes I find… and yes I often see multiple of them, and the stresses it places on your body.

Your hips are anteriorly tilted (the top of your hips are forward)

• This places your transverse abdominus (TA or TVA) into a lengthened state and basically turns off your core!
• If the core is not working this places an increased or abnormal stress on the joints in in the back of your spine (facet joints or Zygoapopheseal joints) and can cause a mechanical stress which leads to early onset osteoarthritis.
• This places your hip flexor complex into a shortened position which can affect your pelvic position.
• Read more about this in my post about “why your hamstrings aren’t tight"

​

​

• Your transverse abdominus (TA or TVA) is not held on.
• This is generally a by-product of incorrect positioning.
• This can also be not active in a percentage of people who have suffered low back pain or have had damage during pregnancy.
• If you are unsure please seek a professionals opinion.

I often have clients who also report that when they do their plank they add weight on their back to make it harder.

YES THIS HAPPENS!

This is the first image I found on google when searching "plank with weight".

It is featured on multiple sites including plus.google.com, pinterest.com, sportsscience.com, wiki-fitness.com, topme.com, bodybuildingadvisor.com, 

Why are we listening to people who are not actually experts!

Now if you remember from my post on why your hamstrings aren’t tight an injury occurs when you place a normal force on an abnormal structure or an abnormal force onto a normal structure, by performing any exercise incorrectly then adding weight you are placing an abnormal force onto an abnormal structure which increases the risk of injury.  This exercise can be performed (if done correctly) but the negatives outweigh the positives if the foundation of the exercise is being performed incorrectly to start with. This will take you down the road to inury which you may not recover from. 

After reading this article please take a look through any picture on your Facebook and Instagram accounts where someone is TRYING to perform a plank correctly and try to find one that doesn’t have one, if not multiple of these errors. If you want help with your plank or you know someone that does please don’t hesitate to post on facebook, instagram or contact me at the practice.

Exercise shouldn’t hurt or cause injury - if it is you are doing it wrong!
 
Sean Yates | Physiotherapist | Doctor of Physiotherapy | Bachelor of Exercise Science |
ASCA level 1 | AWF Level 1 coach | Functional Patterns Level 1, 2, 3 | Human Biomechanics Specialist | Dry Needling | Clinical Pilates Level 1, 2, 3 | APA sports Level 1 | Watson Headache Level 1 | IASTM - Smart Tools Instructor | 

​
Between the skin on the surface and the bones, the body is substantially composed of muscle, tendon, ligament and fascia.

These structures serve to stabilize and empower your body as a whole.
 
If you have knock knees, flat feet or chin poke this could be a result of your Deep Front Line not functioning correctly.

The Deep Front Line/ DFL is a collection of muscles and fascia responsible for maintaining your core alignment and stability in static (stationary) and dynamic (moving) positions. Though other muscles and myofascial meridians have a role to play in maintaining your core alignment, the DFL has a major role. 


Getting to the basics, Myofascia is the name given to the part of the connective tissue system (fascia) that separates and contains every muscle of the body. it is a dynamic network of tissues which covers and connects all the muscles present in your body. Myofascia is scaffolding for muscles, keeping them separate or together when needed for movement (conscious or unconscious)  A Myofascial meridian is a proposed dynamic lines of force related to the myofascial network. Myofascial meridian/ myofascial force transmission has a significant effect on the adjacent muscles and connective tissues. 

The DFL is the deepest of all myofascial meridians and it forms your myofascial axial core. Thus, a thorough understanding of DFL in three dimensions is useful for both manual and movement therapies. 

​In the coronal plane, DFL lies in between the right and left Lateral Lines; in the sagittal plane, DFL is sandwiched between the Superficial Front Line and Superficial Back Line. Functional Lines and helical Spiral also surround DFL

From your thigh, another branch of DFL reaches the floor of the pelvis and from there goes up to your lumbar spine and joins the major branch of DFL there. From lumbar spine, DFL moves above through your ribcage. Few branches of DFL, also surround the rib cage. Thus, DFL reaches the base of your brain. ​

DFL is responsible for the right shape/ position of legs, which create an appropriate inner arch. DFL and Lateral Line/ LL act in reverse directions. The lateral line is a myofascia which begins from the foot and runs on the side of the body. DFL and LL counteract each other. For instance, if DFL falls short around the ankle, the feet turn supine and inverted, whereas if LL gets shorter over a period of time, feet get everted and pronated. Together DFL and LL stabilise tibia and fibula over the ankle and maintain the inner arch.
At the knee joint, DFL and Lateral Line/ LL counterbalance each other like a bowstring. If DFL is short, legs are in the O pattern, and LL is under stress, whereas in the X shaped legs/ knock knees, it’s the other way which means LL is short and DFL is strained.
 
If there is pain or an imbalance work with your physio to correct this to be able to function without pain. 
​
The good news is that these things can be corrected with the right treatment and exercises!

Findley, T. (2009) Second International Fascia Research Congress. International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork: Research, Education, & Practice. 2(2) pp. 1-6.
Ingber, D. (2006) Cellular mechnotransduction: putting all the pieces together again. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 20 pp. 811-827.
1 Juhan, D. (2003) 3rd ed. Job’s Body. Station Hill Press, Barry Town, USA.
Myers, T. (2009) 2nd ed. Anatomy trains. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. & www.anatomytrains.com
Levin, S. & Martin, D. (2012) Biotensegrity. in Schleip, R., Findley, T., Chaitow, L. & Huijing, P. (eds.) Fascia, the tensional network of the human body. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.
https://www.anatomytrains.com
https://www.functionalpatterns.com
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11780782
http://healingartsce.com/advancedanatomymyofascialpg4.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4107879/
https://www.pilates.org.au/myofascia/#
https://www.pilates.org.au/about/
http://www.psmgroup.com.au/what-is-myofascia

Hamstring tightness (or any type of single muscle tightness) is being thrown around the web as being the way to cure back pain, knee pain, ankle pain etc. If your hamstrings are shortened then lengthening them may be part of process of relieving your pain; however if this muscle is normal length or long then this may add to your dysfunction and long term may cause a small injury to become a large one.
​
This common misconception that there is a quick fix for everything is one that is becoming more and more common. Embarrassingly to me this is being led by both health and fitness specialists who give blanket information to everyone to try to boost their social media following to make more money!

Lets start by addressing the basic principles and then the anatomy.
Basic Principle 1
Our skeleton is moved by a system of muscles, ligaments and fascia. It uses lots and lots of pulleys to do this. This is an example of a simple 2D pulley.
As seen below the load is affected by gravity:

​When you pull the rope labelled 'effort' the load moves against gravity.

​​The hamstring group attaches (anchor point) to the back of the pelvis and then travels down the back of the leg and attaches (anchor point) below the knee:

​Often the hamstrings feel “tight” or “short” when in reality the pelvic position is just giving us this illusion as we have moved one of the anchor points away putting that muscle on stretch, as seen below:

​As mentioned in my rant about posture retraining we know the body adapts to mechanical forces that cause stress to be placed on the body. In this example we have a lengthening force applied on the hamstring and a shortening force applied on the hip flexor and quad complex causing a stress. This will cause adaptation. As seen above you can also notice that the low back (lumbar spine) is then placed in an extended position and a mechanical force is placed upon the spine leading to adaptation.
​
Please don’t stretch things that aren’t shortened and if you are unsure please seek a professional’s help that you trust...
​
...And If you are not getting change its probably the wrong treatment.

Sean Yates | Physiotherapist | Doctor of Physiotherapy | Bachelor of Exercise Science |
ASCA level 1 | AWF Level 1 coach | Functional Patterns Level 1, 2, 3 | Human Biomechanics Specialist | Dry Needling | Clinical Pilates Level 1, 2, 3 | APA sports Level 1 | Watson Headache Level 1 | IASTM - Smart Tools Instructor | ​

We have all rolled our ankle at some stage in our life but how do we know if it is more than just a very mild sprain?
​Every year in Australia, hundreds of thousands of people visit the emergency room with ankle injuries.
​Of these, the majority are sprains and fractures, and in many cases, it can be hard to tell the two apart at first.
While a fracture refers to a break in one or more of the ankle bones (tibia, fibula, talus or calcaneus), a sprained ankle refers to damage to the ligaments of the ankle due to overstretching beyond their normal range of motion.

Both of these conditions can be very painful and occur as a result of similar injuries, but may require a very different management. Some of the most common causes of ankle pain include sports injuries, walking on uneven surfaces and car accidents. So, with the symptoms being so similar, how can you tell a broken or sprained ankle apart? The  Ottawa Ankle rules are the best predictor of requiring X-rays. 

The other indications with your ankle having something more serious wrong with it are 
if there was a sound when you were injured. A “cracking” noise may be a sign that the ankle is broken while sprains may be associated with a “popping” sound. Second, check if the ankle appears deformed or crooked in addition to being swollen as this may be a sign of a fracture. 
Third, the presence of numbness is indicative of a fracture. Moreover, if you cannot move the ankle joint at all, are in extreme pain, and cannot put any weight at all on the ankle, it is likely that it is broken.

To be sure, it is important that you have a thorough physical examination by a health professional specialising in the musculoskeletal system. (this should include looking for bony tenderness as well as multiple special tests, This is usually done by a physiotherapist, a sports doctor or surgeon, If warranted further scans may requested including an X-ray, an MRI, a CT or an ultrasound. 

If, after 24- 48hours your pain is not getting better or getting worse or your swelling is not getting better or getting worse please seek a health professional in your area. 

Sean Yates | Physiotherapist | Doctor of Physiotherapy | Bachelor of Exercise Science |
ASCA level 1 | AWF Level 1 coach | Functional Patterns Level 1, 2, 3 | Human Biomechanics Specialist | Dry Needling | Clinical Pilates Level 1, 2, 3 | APA sports Level 1 | Watson Headache Level 1 | IASTM - Smart Tools Instructor |