Posts Tagged ‘physiotherapy help’

It’s Raking Season! How to Get Through It Safely

Posted on: October 18th, 2021 by physioathand

For many, fall means raking season! While the seemingly endless yard work can feel overwhelming at times, it’s also the perfect opportunity to get outside and get active!

Raking leaves uses muscles in the arms, chest, upper back, lower back, core and even the legs, which makes it an excellent total body activity. It can also be considered a cardiovascular activity because it raises your heart rate – so it’s cardio and strength training all in one!

Don’t skip the warm-up
A proper warm-up increases blood flow to your muscles and joints. This improves flexibility and reduces the risk of injury and stiffness after an activity. Start by walking around the yard a few times to get the blood flowing. Then try the following stretches.

Shoulder circles
Arm across chest
Side bends
Leg swings to front
Leg swings to side

Posture is key
Raking can be an activity that involves a lot of repetitive bending and twisting so posture is important.

Try not to hunch or slouch over.
Stand up as straight as possible using a wide base of support and hold the rake closer to the end of the pole.
Use your entire body to move so to avoid twisting from your spine on a repeated basis.
Wear good shoes to support your feet and ankles to reduce the risk of slipping and twisting your ankle or knee.

Tips to rake by

Raking leaves can require you to look down at the ground for an extended time, give your neck muscles periodic breaks by looking up and turning your head from side to side.
When raking, consider changing directions with your arms to ensure a balanced workout and to prevent overworking one side of the body.
In terms of your lower body, squat a little and stand with your feet hip width apart. Slightly bend your knees and rake small batches of leaves into a pile.
Take breaks! We tend to fall back on bad habits, such as slouching or bending over when we are tired.
If you can rake your leaves to the road, go ahead and do it!
Consider using a wheelbarrow to transport leaves. Even a full wheelbarrow of leaves is more lightweight than carrying a heavy bag of leaves.
Try to bag and lift leaves when they are dry and not when they’re wet as that will increase the weight.
Don’t overfill bag so you can be done more quickly. You may end up lifting something that’s too heavy for you.
Always use good lifting technique: squatting down, using your legs and contracting your core and pelvic floor to lift (vs. using your lower back muscles).

If you have any questions on how to warm up and stretch or if you’re sore after doing these activities, send us a message or book an appointment with us and we can treat you on-site!

4 Tips for a Pleasurable and Healthy Gardening Season

Posted on: July 5th, 2021 by physioathand

Working in the garden should be a pleasure, not a pain!
Knees and backs typically get all of the focus when it comes to working in the dirt, but cultivating a whole-body approach is key. Here are our top 4 tips for a pleasurable and healthy gardening season.

Switch it up – Bending, kneeling or overusing one part of your body for long periods of time can cause injury. Be sure to vary tasks in the garden and switch up activities to give specific parts of your body a rest.
#ExerciseIsMedicine – Stretching before and during your time in the garden can reduce the risk of injury. Don’t forget to stretch your arms, shoulders, wrists and legs.
Remember your pelvic health! – Lifting and straining can cause issues in women like prolapse and incontinence, which may not be immediately obvious.
Know your limits – They don’t give out prizes for pushing beyond your physical limitations. Listen to your body, take breaks when you need them and drink plenty of water to hydrate your joints and connective tissues.

Interested in having us develop a physiotherapy plan to keep you in your garden all season? Book an appointment with us and we can treat you on-site!

What is Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?

Posted on: January 14th, 2021 by physioathand

Pelvic health physiotherapists have specialized training in treatment of the pelvic floor.

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, joints and nerves that contribute to bladder, bowel, and sexual function. The pelvic floor muscles are like a hammock or sling that support the bladder, uterus, prostate and rectum. In women they also wrap around your urethra, rectum, and vagina.

Pelvic physiotherapy is becoming more established in the literature as a first-line defence against incontinence and pelvic pain. Research has shown that physiotherapists with specialized training in pelvic floor rehab should be the first line of defence, before surgical consultation for stress, urge and mixed incontinence in women.

What can you expect at a Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Assessment?

Like any other muscles, the muscles of the pelvic floor can be weak or tight, resulting in pelvic floor dysfunction. When you attend a pelvic health physiotherapy assessment a detailed history is taken and your breathing patterns, the spine, and hips are observed and assessed. Assessment and treatment of the pelvic floor is done with external as well as internal assessment. The pelvic floor is like a sling and a full assessment of both the front (via the vagina) and back (via the rectum) is completed to provide a comprehensive treatment plan.

Why can’t you just do Kegels?

Kegels are not always recommended for pelvic floor problems – in fact, they can do more harm than good in some instances and often they are not performed correctly. Internal examination to teach these exercises ensures correct performance of them. Having a pelvic health physiotherapy assessment can help determine what exercises or stretches are appropriate for you!

What types of problems can Pelvic Health Physiotherapy treat?

Incontinence and Organ Prolapse
Pelvic floor dysfunction can be caused by weak pelvic muscles which can contribute to incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Incontinence is not a normal part of aging nor after childbirth. It is common, but it’s not normal. Prolapse can cause a heaviness or pressure in your pelvic region.
Urgency, Pain with Intercourse and Pelvic Pain
Tight pelvic floor muscles can also contribute to incontinence, urgency, pain with intercourse and pelvic pain. While pelvic pain and pain with intercourse is common post partum, pain is not normal and physiotherapy can help.
Mastitis and Blocked Ducts
Pregnancy-Related Pelvic Girdle Pain
Post-Prostatectomy in men

Your footsteps and gait tell us more than you might think!

Posted on: October 30th, 2020 by physioathand

To a physiotherapist, footsteps and walking are how we analyze how a client walks or their gait pattern. They tell us a picture about a client. As a physio, I watch how people walk and I find myself doing this all the time (inadvertently)!

The Role of Gait in Physiotherapy

Human gait depends on a complex interplay of major parts of the nervous, musculoskeletal, and cardiorespiratory systems. Gait or walking is influenced by age, personality, and sociocultural factors. Your preferred walking speed is a sensitive marker of general health. In fact, there are outcome measures and tests that we as physiotherapists use, such as the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and the Timed Up and Go (TUAG).

The 6MWT is used as a performance-based measure of functional exercise capacity in populations, including healthy older adults and people undergoing knee or hip joint replacement.
The TUAG is used to determine fall risk and measures the progress of balance, sit to stand and walking. It is a simple screening test that is a sensitive and specific measure of probability for falls among older adults. An older adult who takes ≥12 seconds to complete the TUAG is at risk for falling.

Disorders of walking lead to a loss of freedom, risk of falls and injuries can result in a significant decrease in the quality of one’s life.

What Do Physiotherapists Look At?

In my other role as an advance practice physiotherapist with the hip and knee arthritis program, we assess patients for hip and knee replacement. The way someone walks gives us clues into what the problem or injury may be. We look at

how someone walks
how they compensate
and whether they walk with a limp, a stiff knee, a hitched hip, a rotated leg, a trunk lurch or a flat foot, etc.

We also observe

the length of someone’s step
the stride
the speed at which someone walks
the base of support with which someone walks
the angle of the foot and the angle of the hip
how the sole of the shoe is worn

An analysis of each component of the different phases of ambulation is an essential part of the diagnosis of various neurologic disorders. It also allows the assessment of a client’s progress during the rehabilitation phase when recovering from an injury, surgery, or disease process.

Ultimately as a physio good knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics is the foundation of understanding the different parts of walking – when you know what’s normal you can see what’s going wrong when a patient presents with an abnormal gait and this allows us to provide the correct treatment.

Shoulder bothering you? The rotator cuff could be to blame.

Posted on: September 8th, 2020 by physioathand

Hurts when you throw a ball? Reaching into the back seat of the car? Swinging a racket? Reaching for the top shelf?
All of these aches and pains could be caused by an injury to your rotator cuff.

What Is the Rotator Cuff?

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles around the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint that are responsible for centralizing the humeral head in the glenoid. That is keeping the shoulder joint in its optimal position so that the arm can move away from the body to do the tasks it needs.

The four muscles of the rotator cuff are: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor. These muscles all originate on the scapula (shoulder blade) and attach to the humerus (just below the shoulder).

Causes of Rotator Cuff Injuries

Rotator cuff injuries can occur with everyday wear and tear of the shoulder especially with occupations or sports with repetitive use of the arm and age-related degeneration. You can also sustain an injury to the rotator cuff by falling onto your arm or by heavy lifting.

These injuries can disturb your sleep, make it difficult to care for your family or make it hard to do your job. Physiotherapy can help these injuries by reducing inflammation and pain, increasing range of motion, increasing strength and facilitate a return to sports or work.

If your shoulder is bothering you, give us a call.