Patient rated outcome measures (PROM) in Chronic Pain

February 26, 2020 by Sian Smale

As our knowledge of chronic pain broadens, we are beginning to appreciate that there are modifiable risk factors that contribute to the development of long term pain and disability. Fear avoidance, negative beliefs, anxiety and depression are just a few. Several outcome measures are currently available to clinicians to help guide their clinical reasoning by identifying these risk factors. The purpose of this blog is to look specifically at outcome measures and explore how they guide our patient management.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome - clinical assessment

January 23, 2020 by Sian Smale

Recently I listed to a fantastic podcast by Jo Gibson through Clinical Edge on Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and was thrilled to learn some advances which have taken place in our knowledge of this condition since I first published a blog on the topic in 2013. Seven years later and I am excited to share a revised piece that includes the latest ideas around clinical assessment, and in particular sensory testing in the differential diagnosis of this challenging condition.

Kinesiophobia...What? Why? How?

December 28, 2019 by Alicia Rayner

Kinesiophobia is often mentioned when discussing persistent pain, but what is kinesiophobia? And how is it relevant to physiotherapy? This article discusses the definition, relevance to physiotherapy and assessment techniques.

Screening for VBI & CAD in patients with cervical spine pain

December 18, 2019 by Sian Smale

In 2018, the Australian Physiotherapy Association published revised clinical guidelines for safe practice of manual therapy on the cervical spine. This topic of “safety” and in particular, identifying patients presenting with signs of VBI and CAD (vertebrobasilar insufficiency and cervical arterial dissection) is a topic I’ve come back to many times throughout my career. This blog is a revision of the current recommendations for the identification of CAD and VBI.

Managing patients with musculoskeletal pain disorders

November 02, 2019 by Sian Smale

In 2018, a group of highly skilled Physiotherapists in Western Australia, collaborated to produce a very special ebook. It is a framework that helps teach physiotherapists how to assess and manage patients with musculoskeletal pain disorders. I was so excited to hear about this book being published and couldn’t wait to read it. This blog is a review of this ebook.

Exercise-based ACL & knee ligament injury prevention

July 13, 2019 by Sian Smale

In 2018 Arundale, Bizzini, Giordano et al published a CPG reviewing the current injury prevention programs for ACL and knee ligament injuries. The results were extremely positive and state that “there is strong evidence for the benefits of exercise-based knee injury prevention programs, including reduction in risk for all knee injuries and for ACL injuries specifically, with little risk of adverse events and minimal cost” (Arundale, Bizzini, Giordano et al., 2018, p. A7).