Ankle sprains are an extremely common presentation to an emergency department and it is not uncommon for someone to sprain the same ankle more than once. A sprained ankle occurs when you roll your ankle either inwards or outwards and overstretch the ligaments on the side of the ankle. This causes pain and often swelling and bruising.   When should…

There are many reasons why a person may experience urinary or bowel leakage on a regular basis. It could be due to a surgery, a certain illness or condition, after pregnancy, excessive loading as seen in elite athletes, or for no real reason at all. But leakage, despite what many may think, is not normal and is not something that…

Here are some tips and friendly reminders about staying active, that you can take into this Christmas season: Remember that you lose your strength and flexibility faster than you gain it, so its important to stay active! Get outside and play with the kids to work off all the Christmas treats! When you’re going to an event park further away…

  Most of us busy people do not breathe well or correctly. The stresses of life usually take over our thoughts and minds, often manifesting into physical changes in our bodies that can progress to real problems and ailments.  People tend to ‘hold their stress’ in different parts of their bodies and, when stressed, could suffer from a chronic sore…

When people think of ‘doing exercise’, we all may have a different perception of what that is.  To some, it may mean going for a jog along the seashore, for others it may mean sitting for an hour’s meditation.  In this world where everyone is always busy, we are also looking to balance the elements of our lives.  So too…

Pain at the front of the knee is often caused by your Patellofemoral Joint, which is the joint between your knee cap and the end of your thigh bone at the knee. This pain is referred to as Patellofemoral Pain and is caused by stress in the tissues in and around the joint. This tissue stress can be caused by…

The role of our lymphatic system is a most important one, of cleaning our bodies and supporting our immune system.  It consists of tiny, delicate lymphatic vessels that carry the lymph, or non-blood fluids of our body, towards the lymph nodes that essentially help to filter, reabsorb or excrete the water and rubbish flowing through our bodies. Lymphedema is a…

  It is a well-known fact that exercise is good for us, no matter our age, health status or fitness. Regular physical activity is linked to a decreased risk of multiple health conditions including cancers, heart disease and stroke, but how much do we actually need to do? Referencing the Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Adults (aged…

Do you have pain from an old injury that has just never completely gone away? Do you find that your pain stops you from doing things in daily life? Do you avoid certain movements due to being worried it will aggravate your pain?   What if I told you that doing movements that are slightly painful could actually reduce your…

As Physiotherapists, we spend a lot of our time re-educating and retraining how our patients move optimally. Let’s look at the bridge, for example.     The bridge is a great exercise to increase the strength of the strongest muscle in our body – gluteus maximus. This muscle plays a big role in movements like running and squatting, and forms…

Many of you may have heard of Osteoporosis, some of you may even have it. But what exactly is it? Osteoporosis is a loss in bone density (qualified as a bone density below 2.5 SD). After menopause women can lose up to 20% of their bone density in the first 5 – 7 years. This loss of bone density weakens…

  Last month as part of my professional development I attended a dry needling course. Since attending the course I have had lots of questions about dry needling. I love learning new things and I have found it a great new addition to my treatment “toolbox”.  I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce you all to dry needling.…