Physiotherapy Blog. Sharing knowledge & Encouraging growth.
Spending 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 MorePart 2 reviews the definition and diagnosis of seronegative spondyloarthropathies and inflammatory low back pain. It then continues to explore aspects of assessment, treatment and medical imaging more deeply. What drug therapies are involved? What is the gold standard for medical imaging? How should we adjust our treatments for this spectrum of low back pain disorders? All are valid questions to consider.
Read MoreHeading into my first assignment through the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA), with the Para Alpine team, so it is important to know how to best prepare myself for the experience ahead. The role of a Physiotherapist travelling with elite teams can vary greatly compared to our role in the private practice or hospital setting. Peter Hogg has been working with the OWIA for the past 20 years with their elite winter athletes and this week Peter shares his guidance and tips for making the most of travelling with sporting teams.
Read MoreLast week Dr. Peter Selvaratnam shared his thoughts behind the origins and mechanisms of dry needling compared to acupuncture. Having an extensive amount of training and experience in both modalities allows Peter to present a great comparison between these techniques. This week Peter shares his thoughts about patient selection, contraindications & precautions, possible side effects and ways to reduce the risk of adverse effects with both treatments.
Read MoreThis blog compares different approaches for scapula rehabilitation. It has been interesting reading about the research which explores which exercises promote certain muscles around the scapula. This blog also introduces a contrasting approach, which focussing on retraining upward rotation rather than isolated muscle strengthening. While the focus has been on scapula dyskinesis relating to shoulder impingement, the principles in this blog are generalisable to some extent to many shoulder problems.
Read MoreShoulder impingement has been described and researched for many years and some of the original work was described by Neer in the early 1980’s. As our understanding of impingement has expanded we have come to realise that there are many types of shoulder impingement i.e internal and external, and primary and secondary. For some the word can be daunting and if not clearly specified, it can leave the clinician and patient without knowledge of what structure is at fault, where it is occurring and why. This is the first of three blogs looking at shoulder impingement, the role of the scapula, and different approaches to the treatment of scapula dyskinesis in shoulder impingement syndrome.
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