By Matt Bushell The publishing of the book ‘Born to run’ by Christopher McDougall propelled the barefoot movement and minimalist shoes into the popular running world around 2009. And while the subject tends not to be as all-consuming as it once was, it’s left behind a question that we hear regularly from both experienced and aspiring runners; ‘should I run with a forefoot or rearfoot strike?’. Foot strike can be broken into 3 main categories; rearfoot, where your heel contacts the ground first, midfoot, where you contact the ground with a near flat foot and finally forefoot, where the ball...
Matt Bushell Flexibility is the ability for a joint (or a combination of joints) to move through an unrestricted and pain free range of motion. The amount of movement available is affected by many structures including joint shape, joint capsules, ligaments, muscles, tendons and nerves. Increasing our flexibility can give us many advantages including increased movement options, force generation/dispersion and improving completion of functional tasks. Often it is assumed that an increase in range of motion at a joint after stretching is due to a muscle being lengthened. Interestingly, it may actually be due to an increase in your tolerance...
There are so many good (and some not so good) pain relief and natural anti-inflammatory topical creams on the market at the moment, it can be a bit confusing as to what is right for you. Here at Queen Street Physiotherapy we stock a small range of different natural creams to cover all of your needs and preferences. Antiflamme: An old favourite of everyone who uses it. With a carefully selected range of naturally-derived plant based oils including Arnica, Hypericum, Calendula and Peppermint. It helps to relieve minor joint and muscle pain, reduce mild muscle inflammation, and assist in the...
Acute hamstring strains are common injuries for many popular sports, including various football codes, hockey, cricket and track and field. Hamstring injuries are the most common injury in Australian rules football, constituting 15% of all injuries, with an incidence rate of 6 injuries per approximately 40 players per season, and a prevalence rate of 21 missed matches per club per season. Similarly, in the English Premier League, hamstring strains make up 12% of all injuries. Acute hamstring strains also have the highest recurrence rate of any injury, a rate of 34% in Australian rules football and 12% in the English...
A car accident can not only be a traumatic experience mentally but it can result in ongoing physical injuries. Injuries could include fractures, soft tissue damage (intervertebral joints, disc, ligaments, muscle), spinal or nerve damage, traumatic brain injuries, impaired vision or impaired hearing. Over a 12 month period in 2017-18, almost 40,000 people were admitted to hospital with injuries after a road accident in Australia. In 2020, Queensland accounted for 225 fatalities (or 21% of fatalities across Australia) in car accidents, making it the third most prevalent state. Anatomy and whiplash: The spinal column is made up of vertebrae (bones)...
Nutrition is an extremely essential component of an athlete’s lifestyle for performance purposes. Although overconsumption of food is a common issue in Australia today, it is not uncommon for athletes to under consume the recommended calorie intake for their level of activity. This can cause a serious syndrome called Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S). RED-S is more common in female athletes but can be an issue for both male and female alike. Put simply, an athletes calorie intake requirements often sit higher than a sedentary individual due to the amount of energy they burn to train. If an athlete...
The knee consists of two major joints: the tibiofemoral joint – the main hinge joint of the knee, and the patellofemoral joint – which acts as a pulley mechanism to allow for the smooth transition of knee extension to flexion. To achieve this, the patella (kneecap) sits in a groove in the femur (thigh bone), which is covered in cartilage. The patella glides over this cartilage whenever the knee moves. Injury mechanics: Altered tracking of the patella during knee flexion and extension due to biomechanical changes often results in pain around the knee. This is due to a change in...
Concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces. The brain has the consistency of gelatin. It’s cushioned from everyday jolts and bumps by cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull. A violent blow to the head and neck or upper body can cause the brain to slide back and forth forcefully against the inner walls of the skull. Concussion is currently a major area of study in medical circles, particularly surrounding the wellbeing of athletes’ long term health. Concussion is particularly prevalent in contact sports as it’s mechanism of injury is often associated with...
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) is the compression of neurovascular structures as they pass through the cervicothoracobrachial region. The term ‘TOS’ is a generic term that does not specifically identify the structure being compressed. There are two categories of TOS: vascular (VTOS) and neurological (NTOS). However, NTOS is much more common, making up approximately 95-98% of all TOS cases. A combination of both categories of TOS is also possible. There are multiple locations where compression of structures can occur. One location is a passageway bordered by the anterior and middle scalene muscles (neck muscle) and first rib. These structures can compress...
There are many structures that can be irritated in the lower back that result in pain without any major mechanism of injury or incident. The most simple form of lower back pain comes from overloading the back musculature. This can occur by holding postural positions for long periods of time or pushing the muscle through harder-than-usual activities for its current strength capabilities. The lumbar spinae also consists of multiple vertebral joints (with their cartilage, joint fluid and joint capsules), discs, ligaments, tendons and nerve tissue, all of which can create irritation and pain in the lower back. Acute lower back...
