Calving it up

The first aim for this blog was to highlight how we can break down the components of a dynamic balance test such as the SEBT, or understand the requirements for normal gait and stair navigation. The second is to emphasise the importance of making sure that our early stages of rehabilitation allow for sufficient time to help our patients develop the range of movement, muscle length and neuromuscular control to allow them to be successful when integrating these components together. I recognise that these exercises aren't radically new or fancy, heck they can be just down right boring, but when done right and combined with the education as to why, they can be hugely impactful. 

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Cervical Motor Control Part 4 - Rehabilitation Principles

The forth and final blog covers the rehabilitation principles for retraining cervical motor control. Aside from discussing the initial two phases of rehab (activation patterns & coordination) we also compare the final stages of training for an office working, painter and athlete based on their functional requirements. 

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Cervical Radiculopathy Part 3 - Physiotherapy Treatment

The third and final blog for this series covers the treatment modalities available for cervical radiculopathy. It is important to consider what the goals of your treatment are and how you are going to implement strategies to improve both the health and the movement of the nerve. 

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Hip: Retraining mobility & dynamic motor control in Pilates

Recently I published a blog about current approaches to treating chronic pain and in that blog I discussed the Explain Pain approach to managing pain and used my personal story of chronic hip pain as an example. This blog is a follow up post to outline what current rehab I am completing for my hip. It is not a program for acute hip pain but an outline of long-term rehab goals. It is a fusion of Pilates, Yoga, Functional strengthening and more physio-centric exercises. We all know the initial exercises for restoring function at a joint in the acute phase of injury, however when thinking about managing the regions above and below that joint, I would encourage you to use exercises that link these regions rather than addressing them in isolation. Everything is connected to everything. 

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Turning down TFL

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TFL pain and tightness is a common problem in hip/knee injuries. Recently I asked a group of Australian Physiotherapists what their tips for reducing TFL overactivity were. Precision of technique and quality of movement was the message that came from every therapists. 

The aim of this blog is to briefly discuss why TFL becomes overactive, review the literature behind minimising TFL activity and then to share some addition clinical tips that I use to progress rehabilitation into all planes of movement. 

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Being specific about functional exercises

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Recently I had the opportunity to observe Michael Vadiveloo, a Specialist Sports Physiotherapist, as awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2011. Michael shared with me his tips for retraining the lower limb kinetic chain for knee, hip and foot/ankle injuries. One unique aspect of these way he taught exercises was his focus on the entire lower limb. This blog explores some of these exercises and provides tips for getting the most out of each one. 

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