Anatomy: FemoroAcetabular Impingement (FAI) is a hip condition that is characterised by pain with hip motion as a result of premature contact between the femur (thigh bone) and acetabulum (hip socket). The hip joint is a ball and socket joint, which enables a large range of joint mobility. The acetabulum has a ring of cartilage called the labrum, which deepens the socket and provides stability to the hip joint. FAI involves an alteration to the anatomy of the hip joint due to bone thickening around the ball of the femur. There are two types of morphology associated with FAI: Cam...
Ligaments are short, tough, flexible bands of tissue that hold together two bones in a joint. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (or ACL) is an important ligament that is structurally integral to the knee joint. Primarily it prevents the tibia (shin bone) from translating too far forwards in relation to the femur (thigh bone) when the foot is planted. Full thickness ACL injuries to the knee are often catastrophic to an athlete’s season, and in some cases, their sporting career. Recovery times from this injury are usually long term – for most athletes 9-12 months of rehabilitation are required to return...
Functional exercise has been becoming an increasingly popular form of exercise as the health and fitness industry continues to grow and expand. For the purposes of this article, functional exercise refers to free-weight loaded exercise (barbell or dumbbell) that uses multiple joints to accomplish the movement; for example squats, lunges, power cleans etc. Conventional exercise refers to machine based exercises or free-weight loaded exercise that uses a single joint to accomplish the movement; for example the quad extension machine or dumbbell bicep curls. Principles of Training – Specificity You and/or your trainer want to consider specificity, overload and progressive overload...
A common complaint we get from people in the clinic is foot pain. This may be in the form of burning through the arches of the feet in the morning, heel pain when pressure is applied, or aching throughout the foot. The most common cause for such foot pain is a condition called Plantar fasciitis. According to Health Direct Plantarfasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia, a piece of strong, thick tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. It connects the heel bone to the toes, creating the arch of the foot. Symptoms often include: Pain under...
Tennis elbow, which is properly known as lateral epicondylalgia, is a type of overuse injury that causes pain around the outside of the elbow. This happens when a similar movement is repeated again and again, leading to inflammation or microtearing. It is the most common cause of elbow pain. SymptomsIn most cases, symptoms present gradually and worsen slowly over weeks or months. Most people experience a burning or aching pain which can also spread into your forearm and wrist. It can be aggravated by movements of the wrist and hand, such as holding your coffee cup or shaking hands and...
Rotator cuff tendinopathy is the most common type of shoulder pain. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that assist with stability of the shoulder joint and and movement of the arm. The bellies of these muscles are called supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis, and they sit around your shoulder blade. Each connects to a tendon which travels to attach onto the ball of the shoulder joint. These muscles work collaboratively to lift and rotate your arm. Causes Injury most commonly occurs in one of two ways: trauma/acute or degeneration/overuse. Traumatic events can cause a tear in...
By Megan Kelly One of the most common complaints we hear from people is that they have a sore neck, back, shoulders or arms from sitting at their desk all day. This is much more common now due to Covid-19 causing people to work from home, with very little notice to correctly set up their workstation. A poorly set-up workstation can include any of the following: A faulty chair or a chair that you are unsure how to adjust A desk too small or cramped for the job Poor layout of equipment. This can include things such as the screens...
Achilles tendinopathy is the term used to describe an overuse injury of the Achilles tendon which usually involves structural changes to the tendons collagen fibers and can involve inflammation surrounding the tendon. Anatomy: Tendons attach muscle to bone. The Achilles tendon is one of the largest tendons in the body, attaching both calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) onto the heel bone (calcaneus). This band of connective tissue, mostly made up of collagen fibers, can become painful when subject to repetitive changes in load. Typically tendons do not have a good blood supply in comparison to other tissues in the body;...
Training for a triathlon is not an easy task. The repetitive stress can lead to pain, weakness, inflammation and injury. Cycling is most commonly linked to low back pain, neck pain and Achilles injuries. Whilst running can result in knee injuries or overuse hamstring and calf strains. Swimming is commonly linked to shoulder injuries. What can you do to prevent injury? The traditional view for training has often been more-is-better, however we now know this isn’t always the case. While training too little can result in not being prepared, training too much can lead to plateaus in strength and speed...
A women’s health physiotherapist has vast experience in treatment through the different stages of a women’s life, including throughout the trimesters of pregnancy. As your body changes, it is common to experience pain in your low back, pelvis, hips or groin. There are other conditions that can present during your pregnancy including carpal tunnel syndrome, abdominal separation or thumb/wrist dysfunction (de Querveins). Physiotherapy treatment offers education on lifestyle modifications, pelvic belts, massage and manual therapy to help manage this pain. It is really important to maintain a level of exercise throughout all trimesters of pregnancy. The current Australian guidelines recommend...
