Gluteal tendinopathy

As the term lateral hip pain has evolved from greater trochanteric pain syndrome and trochanteric bursitis, to gluteal tendinopathy, we too have seen a growing amount of clinic trials published sharing what is known about this condition and evaluating the effectiveness of our current treatment methods. 

I was thrilled to see a paper recently released in the BMJ by a powerhouse group of researchers on the effectiveness of three different treatment approaches for this condition. Mellor, Bennell, Grimaldi et al (2018) conducted the first RCT to evaluate the effect of: education about tendon loading & exercises specific to stage of tendon pathology, versus a single CSI, versus a wait and see approach, on pain and functional outcomes with gluteal tendinopathy.

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Turning down TFL

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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Assessing Hip Strength...Validity and Reliability

It is expected we assess every aspect of a patient's condition, yet how often do we assess specific muscle strength around an affected joint? It is challenging to use valid and reliable tests in the clinic, so what clinical tests are available and how reliable are they in measuring hip muscle strength?

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Motor control impairments associated with hip osteoarthritis

During the disease process of hip osteoarthritis muscle weakness is often observed. But not all muscles surrounding the hip are affected equally. This blog outlines the research by Grimaldi and colleagues that investigates which muscle atrophy and which remain unaffected during the stages from early to late osteoarthritis. 

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