Physiotherapy Blog. Sharing knowledge & Encouraging growth.
In September I attended the lower quadrant course run by Michael Shacklock in LA. This course covered well known tests such as the slump test, straight leg raise and it’s variations. It was great to review these tests, improve my specificity of handling and then apply the results to treatment scenarios. The aim of this blog is to share a few of the many tips that I took away from the course.
Read MoreSpending time deciphering and interpreting the meaning of MRI and CT scans for our patients is a difficult task. How do we know what is normal and what is related to pathology? This blog explores a recent systematic review that provides evidence about the prevalence of normal age-related changes on spinal imaging of the lumbar spine and MRI changes in the cervical spine .
Read MoreDisc bulges are often associated with negative thoughts about prognosis and recovery and it can be challenging to educate our patients about their ability to recover. A systematic review was published in 2014 that shows how extrusions and sequestrations have a higher probability of spontaneous regressions. The bigger the bulge the better.
Read MoreSpondyloarthropathies are a group of related, but phenotypically distinct inflammatory disorders, including ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, enteropathic arthritis (also known as irritable bowel disease), and undifferentiated arthritis. One of the main clinical features of each of these conditions is inflammatory low back pain. This 2-part blog discusses the difference between the seronegative spondyloarthropathies and what features are indicative of inflammatory low back pain.
Read MoreThis blog aims to explore how the science of clinical anatomy combined with our clinical assessment and decision-making process can be used in diagnosis and management, including referral for a spinal surgery consultation. For this Dr Lynn Bardin, who lectures and tutors clinical anatomy at Melbourne University and works as a consultant spine physiotherapist at SUPERSPINE and at Austin Health, Melbourne, was invited to contribute a clinical commentary.
Read MoreWhen it comes to discussing the diagnosis of low back pain (LBP) there are times when it is really hard to put a label on pain because it is hard to say is it one specific thing. Such a blurry diagnosis. In fact 85-90% of people with LBP are in this category making the blurry diagnosis the majority. The O'Sullivan system is a framework that aims to identify the main drivers and mechanisms of pain and dysfunction. Where movement is associated with pain, the classification considers if the movement is protective or maladaptive? This blog is all about this framework, breaking it down step by step, to help others see how using this classification system makes a complex pain disorder less complicated.
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