May 12: ME/CFS Awareness Day What is it? Myalgic encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (or ME/CFS) is a complicated and debilitating illness that affects at least 105,000 Australians. It is characterised as extreme fatigue that lasts for more than 6 months. ME/CFS is a poorly understood condition and is diagnosed based on exclusion…
What is Parkinson’s? Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive neurological condition that causes various uncontrollable movements such as shaking/tremors, rigidity, stiffness, slow and reduced movements, and eventually difficulty with balance and walking. Parkinson’s is caused when nerve cells called neurons in the brain which begin to break down and stop producing a chemical called…
Why do shoulders dislocate so often!? There are multiple factors contributing towards that answer… The First and most obvious one is the shape of bones that comprise the shoulder joint. The joint capsule surface is only mildly concave when compared to the hip. This means that it is easier for the head of the humerous…
If its not dislocation, what is shoulder instability? Instability of the shoulder occurs from an insufficiency in a single or multiple structures that contribute to the stability of the shoulder. To understand what instability is, it is important to first understand what contributes to the stability of the shoulder and then how physiotherapy can make…
By Zachary Cronk. Physiotherapist Vertigo can be debilitating and concerning when it comes on suddenly. Although there are many conditions that can cause vertigo, one such is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). It is called benign as there’s no great harm in having the condition/it isn’t life-threatening, paroxysmal as it is episodic and comes…
By Zachary Cronk, Physiotherapist Understanding the vestibular system can be confusing! But it does not have to be. Just remember: Your vestibular system is a main contributor to your sense of balance and provides information about motion, head position, and spatial orientation. It is made up of several nerves, tracts and structures. It is typically thought to have a central…
By Matt Bushell, Physiotherapist Whatever the situation may be; you stepped in a hole, tripped down the stairs, or botched an attempt at a kickflip, the end result is an ankle that is swollen, sore, and doesn’t like you when you try and walk on it… Many of you will be familiar with the…
By Zachary Cronk. Physiotherapist If you have ever woken up in the morning with a painful, stiff neck then you might have experienced a condition called acute wry neck. Acute wry neck is most often associated with muscle spasms and restricted neck movement which will often cause pain. These muscle spasms will often cause…
By Matt Bushell, Physiotherapist Calf pain is a common complaint in the recreational athlete/runner and in the case of an Achilles tendinopathy, it often follows a bout of increased workload. This increased workload can come in the form of distance, speed, or frequency of runs and usually present as pain and stiffness both first…
By Ariana Besse (B.Phty Hons) This is the last blog/video for this mini-series on pain. For this blog, let’s explain what a session with a physio would look like! The main thing we want to do in a session is to become one of your team members – we work with you on the…