First appointment in physiotherapy, you do not know what to expect … A massage, a torture session … both at once? In reality, depending on the case that need to be treated, physiotherapists usually use manual techniques, machines, tapings and many other tools, but one thing still remains the same, once the session is done, homework will have to be done at home!
WHY ARE THE EXERCISES SO IMPORTANT?
Indeed, your physiotherapist should be considered as a guide and not a miracle cure. So in addition to treating you, he will give you tips and exercises to improve your problem and prevent it from coming back.
In the majority of cases, the physiotherapist will see you for about 30 minutes to an hour a week to initiate the assessment; which is very low for a 168-hour week! Yet it is necessary to do some home exercises daily to gain improvements quicker and more efficiently.
Although these tips and exercises can sometimes seem trivial, they account for much of the effectiveness of the treatment and therefore the speed of healing. In fact, following a home exercise program would almost double the chances of getting a positive treatment outcome in patients with chronic back pain.
Many studies also show that a properly following your treatment plan in conjunction with your physiotherapist’s advice given directly correlated to faster healing.
THE “TIPS” THAT WILL REMIND YOU TO EXERCISE
- Include them in your routine
Whether it’s the first thing in the morning, if you are a morning person, arriving at the office or during your breaks, exercises are relatively short and easy to incorporate into your routine. For example, if you’re given an exercise that requires you to balance yourself on one leg, you can do it while you brush your teeth!
- The use of a logbook
Just like at the gym, the fact of using a logbook and checking the exercises performed at each sitting will allow you to remember them and to control their frequency. This only takes a few seconds and will help you track your program.
- Use a reminder
Whether using an alarm on your phone or by posting your exercise program on your fridge, a reminder will be beneficial to meet your daily routine.
- Share your goals with your physiotherapist
Talk to your physiotherapist about an activity or a sport that you want to continue practicing in the near future or other objectives that are dear to you. It may lead you to more specific exercises that have a direct link with your goals.
Physical activity improves our cardiovascular & respiratory systems, our strength, muscular endurance, and many other physiological components. However, it is still possible to suffer injuries If you’re tired while training, when the intensity is higher than normal or at a new sport you’ve never practiced. Muscle strains & tears are frequently encountered. This type of injury occurs an overloaded stretch & force is applied to the muscle or tendon.
THE MUSCLES THAT ARE THE MOST AFFECTED
Muscles at risk of being torn are mainly those passing through two joints (bi-articular muscles), for example the calf and the hamstring (rear thigh muscle) or the rectus femoris, one of the four portions of the quadriceps (front thigh muscle).
There are three degrees of severity in a muscle injury: a simple muscle overstretching (grade 1) a partial tear (grade 2) or a complete tear (grade 3). All three grades will evolve differently during the recovery period and require more or less medical care.
WHAT IS THE OPTIMAL THING TO DO WHEN THIS TYPE OF INJURY OCCURS?
1- Immediate cessation of the activity is needed in order to avoid aggravating the condition.
2- Apply a pressure bandage to limit the swelling, support the injured muscle and facilitate mobility within the movement.
3- Keep the injured body part elevated as well as frequent icing to prevent edema increase.
It is important to be evaluated by a physiotherapist to determine the degree of damage and treat the condition for optimal recovery.
HOW LONG CAN YOU EXPECT OPTIMAL RECOVERY AFTER AN INJURY?
A period of 6 weeks is required in order to achieve minimum recovery of a muscle strain or tear. During those six weeks, the physiotherapist will guide you in determining what treatments & exercises are needed and especially when to start with each phase of the recovery. The recovery time can vary depending on the severity of the injury. The physiotherapist will guide you in a safe return to sports/hobbies & to help you prevent re-injuries.
The primary objectives will be to regain the flexibility of the injured muscle, eliminate any restriction of movement in the adjacent joints and progress the strengthening exercises to regain its initial force.
Many individuals are suffering from back pain, which is usually caused by a false movement, heavy lifting or long sittings at your desk. Physiotherapy can help cure chronic back pain, however, there are a few exercises you could try at home to alleviate the pain. The back reinforcement exercises are the most effective when it comes to reducing back pain.
There are many exercises you could do for your back but here we will focus on some of the most important workout routines that helps you get rid of your back pain in the shortest amount of time.
Some of the most important backbone exercises, which are necessary for an individual suffering from back pain, are mentioned below:
Breathe Expansion:
When you inhale more oxygen, then it is good for you, especially when you’re lengthening the body at the same time. Breathe deeply and keep your spine strong and straight at all times. Stand with your toes touching while your heels are slightly apart. Then, you will need to shift weight into your heels, unlock them, and slowly pull them towards each other.
Once that’s done, you will need to reach your arms over your head while standing, and slightly press your fingers together. Doing this exercise when you inhale, make sure you lift your ribcage away from your hips. And once you exhale you should tighten the core to support the lengthened spine. You should repeat this routine about 3 to 4 times or until you feel tall and supported.
The Adductor back extension:
This is an aided back extension technique, which is performed over the muscles in the lower back portions. You can use a little support with the help of your inner thighs. You should lie on the ground on your stomach join your legs and feet together and slightly bend your knees, then press your hips and knees to the ground and keep your elbows up and then pull the shoulders down to your hips. Hold on to this position for about 20-30 seconds and then release.
8-point plank exercise:
A plank is the position, which helps you exert pressure on your upper and lower back portion of your body. This position is very simple to perform, you just have to stretch your body in the same way the image portrays it above and lie down on the ground, then you should push your elbows up and then join your legs while pushing your body up on your toes. When you are in position you should hold on for about 30 to 60 seconds.
According to the Pew Research Center, 91% of Americans own a mobile phone and 60% of them keep track of the world with the help of their smartphone. There is a high probability that even the readers of this post are reading it through their smartphone, and currently have their head tilted down to stare at the screen of their phones. Nobody might have even thought about it but this is turning into a massive health problem.
The sad fact is that everybody tilts their heads down once they look at their phones. Whether it is reading or sending text messages or emails, checking the weather, reading something on the web or even updating your Facebook status, you will have your head tilted down for long periods of time. As this problem is becoming more common than usual, the medical industry has even given it a name called “text neck”.
Several medical resources along with the University of Nebraska Medical Center call it “text neck” which was in fact named by a physiotherapist from Florida. It is a syndrome in which the head, neck and shoulders of an individual put the spine in strain due to continuously looking down, holding your smartphone or even other gadgets in hand such as tablets, e-readers or mp3 players.
If you spend most of your time looking at your smartphone, you are putting excessive strain on your cervical spine. This can cause pain in your upper back and neck.
A research was published in Surgical Technology International by Kenneth Hansraj which stated that a human head weighs dozens of pounds. However, as the neck keeps on bending the head down and forward, the cervical spine does not come under much pressure. When the head is at the angle of 15 degrees, the weight on the spine is about 27 pounds, when it is at 30 degrees, the weight increases to 40 pounds and so on.
The research also said that on average, users spend 2 to 4 hours on their smartphones each day to read their emails, send texts or check their social media profiles. In a year, this sums up to about 700 to 1,400 hours spent at tilting your head down and putting an additional weight equivalent of an 8 year old child on your spine.
As for high schoolers, the time spent on smartphones is usually more. Therefore, their condition might be worst. Although the younger individuals can handle stress in a better way than older individuals but constant bending can lead to massive problems which even includes arthritis.
The question now is what’s the alternative to reading your smartphone? How do you reduce the text neck condition? The best way to reduce text neck is to start with prevention. You must improve your posture with yoga and even isometric exercises. However, the best possible way to avoid text neck is to change the way you look at the screen of your smartphone. Instead of tilting your head down, try lowering your eyes to see the screen.
You can also hold the phone to the level of your eyes. This will help you stay away from text neck. If you’ve already been past that stage whereas your neck is constantly in pain, you should visit your nearest physiotherapy clinic to take care of the pain, that text neck has caused you.
Giving birth can cause various pelvic floor dysfunctions, such as incontinence or “leaking”. These dysfunctions can however be eliminated through physiotherapy.
To treat these problems, the best solution is pelvic floor physiotherapy. Pelvic floor physiotherapy has been practiced in Canada for many years. Women who suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction, such as incontinence, after child birth feel that it is something normal due to it being a common problem found after labor. They might take this lightly but it can have diverse effects on their health. Some women even cut back from their social activities just because they are embarrassed to go out.
It is recommended that women, who go through labor, should get pelvic floor physiotherapy 6 weeks after giving birth to determine whether there are any related problems to be addressed.
What is pelvic floor physiotherapy? Pelvic floor physiotherapy deals with the muscles that start from the pubic bone to the end of the spine, the sacrum. These muscles play an important role in supporting the pelvic organs (bladder, uterus, prostate & rectum). In women, they also wrap around their urethra, rectum, and vagina). The treatment helps strengthen, stretch and/or tighten the pelvic floor muscles. Strengthening workouts and several physiotherapy exercises are used to improve the pelvic floor muscles.
Pelvic-floor physiotherapy is a treatment for weakness, malfunctioning and tightness of muscles. It deals with pelvic floor dysfunctions such as: pelvic pain, stress/urge incontinence, dyspareunia, vaginismus, etc.
If some kind of weakness or tightness is sensed in the pelvic floor then pelvic floor physiotherapy is what is used to help strengthen, tighten or relax the pelvic floor muscles.
People may think that what they are experiencing is rare and might only happen to them, but in reality these issues are quite common and receiving treatments is very important.
If you are currently experiencing any of these symptoms, don’t hesitate to contact your physiotherapist to ask about pelvic floor physiotherapy and how it can help you.
As professional physiotherapists, people always ask us if there are any proven methods that would help reduce the chances of injuries while working out. Well here are five ways that can help them do so.
- Proper Warm-Up
Before starting your exercise routine, make sure you warm up properly so you can exercise safely. The warm up exercises can vary such as jogging on a treadmill or even bike pedaling for a few minutes; these exercises will help you increase blood flow in your body. The progression of the warm-up should be from low to high intensity. A proper warm-up will help reduce the risk of injuring your muscles during your physical activity.
- Avoid Over Working Your Muscles
Adding different exercises such as sprinting, aerobic, lifting and plyometric into your workout routine is an effective way to change up things. The best way to perform an injury free routine is to try out a heavy weight exercise one day and then perform a lighter exercise the next day. This will put less stress on your body & give your muscles time to recover.
- Conditioning and Strength Ideologies
The strength and conditioning ideologies should be followed in order to improve and empower the body. Keep yourself up to date with the new researches & guidelines concerning these type of exercises in case you don’t have a coach. Getting advice from a professional physiotherapist would be beneficial to start this off. The conditioning and strength program is created by professionals so you need to make sure you know all about it. Avoid lifting extremely heavy weights as they increase the risk of getting injured.
- Proper Techniques For Your Workouts
Performing Squats is not difficult at all, but the quality efforts you put into it can affect it. If knee caving is prominent while lunging then the gluteus muscles are said to be weak which enhances chances of getting injured. When you know the proper techniques of your workout you will be able to reduce your chances of getting injured.
- Focus on the Right Recovery
It is very important after a vigorous workout to give your body the right amount of rest & the needed nutriments to recover. Without this you put your body at risk of injuries. Make sure to consult a registered physiotherapist if you experience any pain or discomfort working out. The earlier you seek professional help the quicker the recovery & the less chances of causing further injuries by means of over compensation.
In Canada, there are many people suffering from arthritis in which pain and stiffness of leg muscles become unbearable. Massage therapy can help relax the leg muscles and reduce the arthritis symptoms. A massage therapy session is different than a simple prescription from a doctor. By getting massage therapy, your leg muscles relax which result in the improvement of movement of joints and help stimulate the blood and lymphatic system.
There are many research studies showing that massage therapy has various health benefits and it can help with alleviating arthritis symptoms. According to a recent study, 68 people suffering from knee arthritis were provided with a Swedish massage therapy for a period of 8 weeks. They were compared with a group of individuals who were not provided with massage therapy but were on medication. The group of individuals who had the therapy sessions for 8 weeks recovered quicker; and problems like stiffness, movement of joints and knee pain reduced significantly more than those who were on medication.
Another survey was conducted which included individuals suffering from wrist and hand arthritis. Their pain was relieved by just receiving massage therapy for 15 minutes a day. Even if you are suffering from any other muscle fatigue, a physiotherapist can also treat it with different treatment options such as manual therapy, electrotherapy, and a customized exercise program.
One of the main questions that arises is, how does massage therapy work? By getting a massage, the pressure in the nerves under the skin is reduced. A massage can break down the tissues which are created when a joint is swollen. After getting a massage, the pain in joints is relieved. When you are going through a massage therapy session, the soft tissues are stimulated and the drainage in the lymphatic system is increased. Due to this, the toxins which are present in the body are eliminated. When all this is done, you can move more freely. A massage therapy treatment can even soothe the swollen body parts and increase the circulation of blood. This in turn helps to improve the joint movements.
Arthritis can also cause a person to become stressed due to pain, limited functionality, and other symptoms. An individual suffering from this stress can benefit from massage therapy treatments. With the help of this therapy, the release of hormones is increased and the stress level is decreased which soothes the whole body. Furthermore, anxiety is decreased and the patients suffering from arthritis can feel better. Make sure to contact a certified massage therapist or a registered physiotherapist to help you treat such a problem before it’s too late!
When patients present with non-specific neck pain, most physiotherapists will start off by assessing spinal joint stiffness in order to treat this problem. This evaluation process has been widely used by many manual physiotherapists. However a relationship between spinal joint stiffness and non-specific neck pain has not yet been proven.
A clinical study was performed in order to determine if the level of spinal joint stiffness is different in patients suffering from non-specific neck pain and if the extent of stiffness is associated with disability or pain intensity.
As per the study, spinal joint stiffness was objectively measured at the C7 spinal joint level in twelve patients all presenting with non-specific neck pain. The stiffness, at C7, of these patients was compared to an asymptomatic control group matched by age and gender.
It was demonstrated that participants that presented with non-specific neck pain had a greater amount of stiffness at their C7 spinal joint compared to the asymptomatic control group. The study also showed that the magnitude of the stiffness in the patients with non-specific neck pain had no link to the level of disability or pain intensity.
In conclusion, the preliminary results of this study suggest a relationship between cervical spine stiffness & non-specific neck pain. Suffering from non-specific neck pain? Make sure your physiotherapist in Ottawa evaluates your cervical spine joint stiffness.
Did you get in a fender bender, or worse? Even in a minor accident like being rear-ended can make you feel sore & stiff; even the next morning. A bruise on your neck/chest from the seatbelt, some pulled or torn muscles and a sharp pain in your back; they’re all psychical injuries that can be sustained from a car accident.
Often times the injuries are not major such as broken bones, so it might seem like there is no cure for such ailments other than taking it easy and icing. However physiotherapy has been universally accepted by the medical community as an effective treatment for muscle strains and joint dislocations caused by an automobile collision.
Physiotherapy following a car accident uses range of motion exercises and muscle specific weight training exercises to strengthen the damaged muscles and joints. Such equipment might be elastic bands for resistance, body-weight, which is using the weight of your body to weight train muscle groups; various low impact cardiovascular machines like a hand bike, or elliptical for leg injuries.
Coming from a personal standpoint after I separated my shoulder in a car accident, I went to my general practitioner who referred me to a physiotherapy clinic. I met with the physiotherapist and he asked me some questions about my accident, where the pain was and if it was more of a dull, muscular pain or a sharp, shooting pain generally associated with skeletal injuries; whether it hurts to move or not, then had me run through a range of special tests to help determine what treatment approaches to take.
The second day arrived and he had a list of exercises to do and although lifting a soup can might not sound so strenuous, with a separated shoulder it was difficult to say the least and agonizing at the worst.
The approach may seem raw, however, after a month of range of motion & strengthening exercises, I felt like I was back to normal and maybe even better.
Unlike most forms of treatment like healing a cut, physiotherapy can actually take an area of your body that might be underdeveloped and weak, and then transform it into something that is of perfect or better working condition.
A simple referral to a specialist like a physiotherapist can make all the difference after a car accident leaving your body in shambles from the jarring forces experienced during the collision.
It is important to keep your knees healthy for a better quality of life. They are one of the most important parts of our body that allows us to stand tall as well as upright. Damage to the knees can hinder your daily life activities. If you have chronic knee pain due to arthritis or if you are suffering from any knee injuries, you should get your knees assessed by a registered physiotherapist.
Knee pain can lead to serious damages in the future. Whether you are feeling chronic mild pain or occasional knee soreness, you should consult a physiotherapist, as soon as possible, in order to get rid of your knee pain. Physiotherapy is a proven way of managing body pains – it is safe, harmless and side effect free.
A physiotherapist gives you tips & suggests a treatment plan to keep this important part of your body healthy. We will consider some of them here:
- Massage and Heat or Ice: This is a temporary solution that will not have any direct effect on the problem. It will calm your knees after your activities. Stretching & using a hot water pad will help keep the knees flexible.
- Strengthening of the quadriceps: The quadriceps affects the knees to a huge extent. The reason behind this is the enormous amount of pressure exerted by the muscle group on the knees. A good exercising routine from a physiotherapist will make wonders.
- Stretching exercises: Hamstrings, quadriceps & calf muscles need a good amount of stretching for flexibility. A physiotherapist will help you set up an exercise routine to prevent your muscles from tightening up over time.
- Importance of muscle balance: Muscle balance is an important aspect of healthy knees. Imbalanced & tight muscles can lead to knee cap mal-tracking. Over time this problem will cause pain & arthritis.
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