Blog

Hamstring strains occur when your hamstrings muscle or tendon is stretched beyond what they can withstand or torn when substantial stretching of the muscle occurs. Hamstring strains are fairly common in sports activities requiring the athlete to forcefully run or jump. A hamstring strain is also called a pulled hamstring or hamstring tear. An inflamed hamstring…

An Olympic sprinter tears a hamstring. An AFL footballer suffers an ACL injury. A junior gymnast sprains her ankle. A toddler bumps his head. Our instinctive response in each of these cases is to apply an ice pack. But why? What sort of ice is best? How long should we apply it? How often should…

Knee pain or knee injuries are extremely common, and there are many causes. The knee needs to function properly to provide flexible mobility while bearing considerable weight. While walking down the street, our knees bear three to five times our body weight. Many jobs, sports and recreation activities, getting older, or having a disease such…

The secret to preventing overuse injuries is simple, yet surprisingly it is often overlooked. My Physio Perth would like to clear things up for you. Load management is a critical concept to understand for anyone participating in physical activity, whether it be gardening, housework, physical work, gym training, general exercise, social sport or even professional…

Nothing annoys Physiotherapists more than when a patient explains that they have a ‘slipped disc’ in their back or neck. This is by no means the fault of the patient. Incorrect diagnoses by medical professionals and a general lack of community awareness is to blame. Unfortunately, this catastrophic belief of severe structural damage can lead…

When you’ve got time – at your desk, driving the car, cooking food – do some deep breathing. Inhale and count up to 5 seconds, hold it for a few seconds, and release slowly. Exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide is one of the best things we can do for our blood and cells.

Here’s a relaxing way to stretch one hamstring at a time. Lie on your back. Raise your left leg as high as you can, keeping your pelvis flat on the ground. Hold your lower thigh and encourage the leg to move toward your head. Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides.

Australia is today ranked as one of the fattest nations in the developed world. The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years. Australia has become accustomed to sitting down – at work, on the couch, in the car – and it’s taking a major toll on the health…

What is dry needling and how does it work? Physiotherapists are asked these questions over and over again and unfortunately, they are very difficult to answer. The theory behind acupuncture and dry needling is very different and the scientific evidence is far from conclusive. If you Google ‘dry needling’, you will be confronted with various complex…

If you haven’t got time for anything else in the morning, make time to drink a big glass of water. We lose a lot of oxygen through the night and to rejuvenate our cells, we need to supply them with water and oxygen. Drink a glass of water and within a week you’ll begin to…