Do you have back pain some days and can’t think of ANYTHING you’ve done to aggravate it? In fact, it’s sore when you’ve spent a day sitting on your bum doing nothing? One of the most common ways to get a passive pelvic sprain is… Read more »
Post Pregnancy Swelling
Women who are recovering from child birth often worry about the little pouch of swelling that remains in the lower abdomen. This is caused by a combination of slackness in the poor, over-stretched abdominal muscles, coupled with some internal swelling from the trauma of the… Read more »
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
If you’re waking up with numbness in your hand(s), find difficulty grasping objects due to weakness or stiffness, and have pain in the palm side of your wrists (often with a shooting quality), you may be suffering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is caused by swelling… Read more »
To Heat or to Ice?
For acute injury management (first 72 hours after tear/sprain/bruise/fracture), conventional wisdom says that ice will slow the rate of blood flow, meaning less bruising and swelling. This is preferable to heat which increases blood flow, meaning worse bruising etc. However, if you’ve hurt your back,… Read more »
Heel pain in the Morning
If you have heel pain when you first put your feet to the floor in the morning, or when you go to stand after sitting, you may have Plantar Fasciitis. This is a painful inflammation of the bony attachment of the plantar fascia that supports… Read more »
Summer Support
During summer we see many people presenting or re-presenting with knee pain or foot pain. If you have flat feet or excessively high arches, and tend to wear thongs, sandals or bare feet during summer holidays, you will be putting excess load on the supporting… Read more »
Activating the Core
These days everyone has heard of “activating their core” before lifting anything heavy, but this is often poorly understood. It doesn’t just mean pull in your tummy. Often what people pull in is actually the diaphragm (hollowing under ribs) which doesn’t support you back. Correct… Read more »
Better Vacuuming and Raking
One of the most aggravating activities for those with a lower back injury is vacuuming, or similar activities like raking, mopping, digging. This is because most people have one dominant leg in front and rock back and forth while they vacuum. This causes excessive loading… Read more »
Posture at the PC and iPad
Computers are bad for your posture (duh!), we all tend to slump after sitting at them for a while. Set your Outlook or equivalent program to remind you every hour or so to sit up straighter. Laptops are worse for your posture, since the screen… Read more »
Cracking your Knuckles
Mums often ask us to tell their children that cracking their knuckles will give them arthritis. Sorry mums, it doesn’t. However, it may really annoy your mums, so kids – Don’t do it!