Physiotherapy Blog. Sharing knowledge & Encouraging growth.
The aim of this blog is to explore one landmark article in particular published in 2009 titled "Is tendon pathology a continuum? A pathology model to explain the clinical presentation of load-induced tendinopathy". Cook proposes that from the new research on tendon pathology there are three main phases of the process; reactive tendinopathy, tendon dysrepair, and degenerative tendinopathy.
Read MoreI'm so excited to share with you something I've recently come to learn about - the Imprecision Hypothesis in Chronic pain. A paper published in 2015 by Moseley & Vlaeyen explores associative learning and imprecise encoding of danger messages and provides insight into how these changes contribute to the development of chronic pain. It offers a different yet complementing hypothesis to that of central sensitisation in pain.
Read MoreWhen it comes to discussing the diagnosis of low back pain (LBP) there are times when it is really hard to put a label on pain because it is hard to say is it one specific thing. Such a blurry diagnosis. In fact 85-90% of people with LBP are in this category making the blurry diagnosis the majority. The O'Sullivan system is a framework that aims to identify the main drivers and mechanisms of pain and dysfunction. Where movement is associated with pain, the classification considers if the movement is protective or maladaptive? This blog is all about this framework, breaking it down step by step, to help others see how using this classification system makes a complex pain disorder less complicated.
Read MoreThe previous blog explored the research showing how the relationship between pain and sleep is bidirectional. What explains this two-way relationship? Many of the articles suggested it is due to the multiple functions of neurotransmitters. Curious to know more about the overlap in functional areas of the brain involved in sleep and pain, I decided to compare the regions of the brain involved in wake and sleep and the neuromatrix.
Read MoreI came across an interesting article written by Associate Professor in Social Psychology, Naomi Eisenberger, who works in the Department of Psychology at the University of California in LA. Naomi asks a single question which I feel is so applicable to clinical practice as a physiotherapist "Why is it that negative emotions have such a profound effect on our emotional wellbeing?" This blog summaries the key points I learnt from reading her paper "The pain of social disconnection: examining the shared neural underpinnings of physical and social pain". Using this article and an example of a runner' tibial stress fracture, I explore the overlap between social and physical pain, describe how the distress of social disconnection outweighed the physical pain of the injury and how we strategised ways to manage the injury together.
Read MoreIn 2014 I attended a course held by Specialist Physiotherapist Peter O'Sullivan. Peter is at the forefront of research in chronic low back pain and one of his main goals is to reduce the gap between what science tells us and what clinicians and patients know. Peter is from Western Australia and his team continue to drive the revolution of changing how we view and manage back pain, from a pathological model to a conceptual model. I learnt so many tips to make my communication skills better. The aim of this blog is to share with you the key messages I took away from this course.
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