Category Archives: Physiotherapy Articles

Benefits of Shockwave Therapy for Tendinopathy

Shockwave Therapy is a pressure disturbancethat moves through a medium. The medium in this case being the tendon. When the wave enters the tissue it will be reflected and refracted around that area. There is clear evidence of an increase in blood flow with Shockwave Therapy, even in tissues with little blood which occurs in chronic tendon injuries. The shockwaves also create an inflammatory response. When a tendon is in a chronic stage of injury the shockwave will create an environment where the tendon can be at an acute stage. This acute stage will then set the tendon up for self-repair, leading to decreases in pain and increases in function. Continue reading →

What is Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS)?

As part of my assessment and treatment of clients here at MyPhysio, I use a concept called DNS. This concept has been developed by Researchers and Practionner’s in the Czech Republic. The basic premise focusses in on babies posture and how they learn to move, how they can keep segments of their body in the appropriate place to allow optimal function. DNS calls this ‘Joint Centration’. Continue reading →

Types of Muscle Injuries

In 2013 the most respected Sports Physicians and other Healthcare Professions such as Physiotherapists, were given a questionnaire on muscle injuries and how to classify such injuries.

Why is this even important?

Firstly, if all Healthcare professionals can have the same criteria for diagnosing injuries then this makes it a lot easier when deciding on treatment and prognosis. For example, if a footballer has a Grade I injury to the Hamstring, then you can predict with some accuracy that they will be out of action for about 7-10 days. But what if after an MRI and Physical Examination another Physiotherapist or Doctor decides that in their opinion it’s a Grade II injury. Since their criteria is different to diagnose the injury, the incorrect time frame for return to play or treatment may be given. The only person who loses out is the injured person in question. Continue reading →

Increasing Weekly Running Mileage to Avoid Injury?

The old 10% rule doesn’t hold up any more unfortunately, if you are looking to increase your Weekly Mileage and aiming for longer running races then don’t leave it to chance and continue reading.

In every Physiotherapy Clinic in the world, the injured runner presents with an increase in something…intensity, other types of exercise or mileage. It is so common for even the experienced runner to fall foul of increasing weekly mileage incorrectly. Continue reading →

Why have I got Patello-Femoral Joint Pain?

Some brief anatomy first…

The knee joint is comprised of the femur (thigh) and tibia (shin), on top of these you have the patella (knee cap). The patella sits in a groove on the femur, thus creating a joint called the Patello-Femoral Joint.

As the knee bends when walking, running, going from sit to stand, the patella slides up and down the groove. If for whatever reason the movement is a bit off to one side or not moving as much as it should or too much then this can lead to Patello-Femoral Joint pain. Sometimes it is referred to as Runners Knee in those who run. Runners Knee is just an umbrella term for several types of knee pain. Continue reading →

The Tendinopathy Continuum

The term tendinitis is not used so much now as tendon pain has moved away from an inflammatory model where large amounts of inflammatory chemicals are present. The current thinking is that the tendon is in a state of degeneration.

What is a Tendinopathy?

Put simply, it is an Injury to the tendon. If the tendon is overloaded and continues to be overloaded it will not have the appropriate rest period to heal. This can lead to a Tendinopathy. There are changes within the structure of the tendon and these can often be irreversible. Tendinopathies can occur where the tendon has become overloaded or in fact unloaded (stress-shielded) and where a direct blow is involved. Continue reading →