Can we pick the clinical signs of excessive sleepiness & sleep disorders?

September 11, 2015 by Sian Smale

There is a strong bidirectional relationship between sleep disorders and serious medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, depression, hypertension and cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of this blog is to broaden your knowledge about common sleep disorders and to understand what questions can be incorporated into the subjective examination to improve patient assessment and identification of sleep disorders.

Are we underestimating the importance of sleep?

September 04, 2015 by Sian Smale

Sleep is a function of the brain and a behaviour vital to the survival of all mammals. There is no single region of the brain, single neurotransmitter, or single neural pathway that is dedicated to sleep and wakefulness. Recently I completed an online course through University of Michigan on Sleep: Neurobiology, Medicine and Society. It was such a well run course hosted through Coursera. I learnt so much about the importance of sleep, how sleep works and it made me think one thing over and over again “How closely does sleep related to chronic pain disorders?”

Frozen shoulder - to treat or not to treat? What Physiotherapy exercises are used to treat adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder?

August 28, 2015 by Sian Smale

Christine Frith, Senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist at St Vincents Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, shares her ideas about the management of the frozen shoulder. For many years Christine has been a supervisor for both undergraduate and masters students, in fact she played a large role in my training during my masters degree. I've learnt so much from Christine. She has a special interest in shoulder management and heavily involved in the shoulder clinic at St V's. I asked Christine what she would share with Physiotherapists about shoulders if given the chance... and this is her message.

Modic changes & Spinal degeneration

August 22, 2015 by Sian Smale

Dr. Mark Percy, Specialist Radiologist with MIA Victoria, who previously guided me on the topic of VBI and pre-manipulative screening also spoke with me about Modic changes. Previously I didn't completely understand the clinical significance of this term and why as Physiotherapists we need to consider the implications of this word being written on the radiology report. Dr. Percy explains what we need to know about them.

Can the risk of Vertebral Artery Dissection be determined with pre-manipulative screening?

August 14, 2015 by Sian Smale

Cervical manipulation has inherent risks. One of the the most dangerous adverse effects following cervical manipulation is vertebral artery dissection (VAD). For the past two decades, functional pre-manipulative screening tests have been used by Physiotherapists to identify patients at risk of vertebral artery insufficiency (VBI). Many experts in the field of VAD and cervical manipulation have started to question the clinical validity of these tests and currently there is great uncertainty if the tests themselves are potentially dangerous enough to cause VAD.

This blog aims to review the risk of cervical manipulation, the clinical presentation of VBI and the current assessment recommended by the Australian Physiotherapy Association. I'm also pleased to include the thoughts and recommendations of Dr. Mark Percy, Specialist Radiologist from MIA Lilydale, Victoria.

Academic writing - some tips for becoming a better writer

August 06, 2015 by Sian Smale

Academic writing subjects at university taught me about ethics in Physiotherapy and the different traits which distringuish novice from expert Physiotherapists. There wasn't a huge focus on writing skills themselves. After blogging for the past 18 months I decided to enrol in an online course through Coursera on English Composition. It has helped me so much with my writing and I want to share the tools I've learnt with you, in the hope that you too can become a better writer.