Physiotherapy Column

Written by: Caitlin Sargent What is Low Energy Availability? Research is coming to understand more and more about Low Energy Availability (LEA) and its wide-ranging implications on almost all systems of the body. Physiotherapists are well placed to help pick up on these signs to assist in early intervention. As with most conditions, prevention is better than a cure and the earlier treatment starts the better. So what is LEA? Energy availability is very self-descriptive! It is measured using the ...
Read More

At Barefoot Physiotherapy we utilise techniques from multiple learnings all combined into our unique Barefoot Physiotherapy Plan. These techniques include; LJ Lee's training in The Thoracic Ring Approach™all of our Bachelor/Masters degrees, Mulligan, Maitland and Ridgway Methods, Western Acupuncture, Dry Needling, and Pain Science/Graded Motor Imagery. We are continually learning and evolving our Framework and an essential part of it is the Thoracic Ring training we have had. The Thoracic Ring Approach™ is an innovative assessment and treatment technique for ...
Read More

Written by Catherine Mullins What is Neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity is the lifelong ability of the brain to undergo structural and functional changes in response to experiences. The medical world once thought that the brain stops developing in childhood but we now know that ongoing changes occur right up until death. Information in the brain is transmitted from neuron to neuron via synapses (spaces). This is done through action potentials sending electrical signals along the neurons causing neurotransmitters (chemicals) to be released ...
Read More

Written by: Catherine Mullins Chronic pain is defined as the presence of painful sensations that have lasted for more than 3 months and persist without the presence of physical tissue damage or pathology. Up to 20% of the population experience chronic pain at any one time. What happens in the brain with chronic pain? Part of the transition from acute to chronic pain involves neuroplastic changes in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) (see previous blog on Neuroplasticity ...
Read More

At Barefoot Physiotherapy we have noticed a recent influx of pregnant ladies seeking us out for the aches and pains associated with pregnancy and for guidance remain as healthy and strong as possible throughout their pregnancy. One thing I often get asked is what positions are going to be best to feed their new baby in; whether that is breastfeeding or bottle feeding. As a higher percentage of our pregnant mum’s develop discomfort and pain in the mid to lower ...
Read More

Why is it important? When getting back into an activity after injury or a flare up we want to go slow and steady! What we often see is a “boom-bust” cycle, where a person completes an activity at a higher level than what their body is currently capable of and then has an extended period of rest to recover. This can be short term (i.e doing 15km run straight from 5km walks) or long term (e.g. starting gym classes 5 ...
Read More

With the increasing popularity and availability of the massage gun, one of the most common questions we get asked in the clinic is “Do those massage guns really work?”. So we thought we would break it down for you all. What does a massage gun do Massage guns aim to provide percussive or vibration therapy. The idea being that as the massage gun head oscillates in and out, small vibrations occur in the muscle, replicating the percussive techniques that massage ...
Read More

As the weather warms up, many of us are looking for cooler exercise options. Water running is a great choice as it can be scaled up and down for fitness and experience level. With the added summer benefit of being in the water. There are a few different ways you can engage in water running – each with varying technique, intensity and muscles used. Since water provides resistance to movement, all forms of water running will load the hip flexors ...
Read More

Let’s talk knee injuries. The knee joint is relatively simple and moves as a hinge joint (i.e bending and straightening). The joint itself is an articulation between our femur (thigh bone) and our tibia (shin bone) for the hinge movement and patella (kneecap) sitting over the front to increase our quad strength. There are a series of ligaments, articular cartilage and muscles that are involved in this joint. Ligaments and Meniscus Collateral Ligaments: attach between the femur and the tibia ...
Read More

Shoulder Joint Anatomy The shoulder is known as a ball and socket joint and is made up of three bones: the humerus, scapular and clavicle. The humerus is stabilised in your shoulder socket through your rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that merge together as tendons to wrap around the head of the humerus . As the tendons assist in the rotation of your shoulder they are therefore named the rotator cuff. The four muscles ...
Read More

Hip muscles When people think of the hip muscles or buttocks, they often think of “the glutes”. What is often underestimated, is just what exactly “the glutes” incorporates. There are 3 main muscle groups (and functions) in the gluteal region. 1 - Hip abductors Made up of gluteus minimus and gluteus medius, they do hip abduction (ie taking the leg away from the body). One of their most important roles, is in hip and knee stability. They prevent the hip ...
Read More

Years of full-time dance, hip surgery as a teenager and a semi-recent auto-immune diagnosis means that every so often my body goes a little bit haywire and throws out a variety of physical symptoms (a flare up) that impact my day to day activities. Yes, your physio can be sore too! The nature of our work means that we are physically and mentally active for the majority of the day. Which all adds to that accumulative strain we talk about ...
Read More

At Barefoot Physiotherapy we love meeting new clients and helping kick start them of their health journey. For most clients it is important to be completing their own exercises and muscle releases between appointments to maintain improvements. In a session with a Barefoot Physio we will do a head-to-toe assessment to work out what muscles need to be released to help improve your movement quality and reduce muscle tension. Completing these muscle releases daily is ideal as this will help ...
Read More

By Caitlin Sargent: As a physio I, along with many of my clients, expect I would rarely suffer injuries. As an elite athlete though it is kind of considered part of the deal. While it would be nice to always prevent all injuries, the nature of everyone’s lives is that at some point we are often going to accumulate too much strain and experience some degree of stiffness, pain or injury. It may be a slow gradual onset of tightness ...
Read More

Treatment Direction Tests and Individualised Treatment Every body is different in its experience of movement and load. People have different postures, different exercise/activities, different injury history with different compensation strategies and different daily load from life, based on occupational demands, sleeping positions and much more. As a result, no two bodies are identical or present in the same way. In fact, two people can present with the same symptoms but with very different tight muscles and joints. Consequently, they improve ...
Read More

At Barefoot Physio we treat the whole person, not just the specific injury that brought you in. In physio we are often told to “look at the joint one above and one below”. This means if you come in with knee symptoms, your hip and ankle will also be assessed and potentially treated. The Barefoot Treatment Plan goes one further and assesses your whole body in our 'full body assessment' in order to find where the restriction and cause of ...
Read More

At Barefoot Physiotherapy we utilise a variety of techniques to help reduce pain and decrease muscle tightness. One of these techniques is called Dry Needling. Why we choose Dry Needling? It has numerous positive immune effects: It helps stimulate local endorphin release (which helps relieve pain) and it can increase blood flow to the symptomatic area. It has a pain gating mechanism – which essentially helps to introduce a new sensation to a painful area, over riding the original painful ...
Read More

A common question we hear after a pain flare up or acute injury is “so, should I rest for a while?”.   The exact answer will depend on the injury but usually it’s either “no” or “yes, but only for a few days”.  Using a back flare up as an example – we’ll recommend to our clients to take it easy for a few days, resting in comfortable positions (but changing positions every 45-60 mins), using anti-inflammatories and heat as appropriate, ...
Read More

Written by Catherine - Yoga Physio As both a physio and a yoga teacher I can honestly say one of the best things you can do for your yoga practice is to use props!  It’s a legitimate game changer. It’s common for teachers to make suggestions of using a block or bolster throughout a yoga class, but often it’s a bit more difficult to work out exactly how or why you should be using them, especially as we have more ...
Read More

More time for running With gyms closed and exercise options somewhat reduced compared to normal, a lot of people are turning to running for their endorphin dose. Running is a great form of exercise, with the added bonus of getting some vitamin D and some seeing some fresh scenery. However, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. A sudden rise in running volume can lead to injuries, so I’ve put together my suggestions for how ...
Read More

More time at home can mean more time for hobbies With many of us spending more time at home, we’re seeing people able to engage more with their hobbies (or even taking up new ones). It’s great to see creativity and passion being nourished like this. While the brain loves being engaged in an activity to the point of losing track of time, often the body feels otherwise. Awkward positions and long periods of sitting are just some of the ...
Read More

Barefoot’s 10 step plan Client’s will often ask us how we will best determine the cause of their symptoms or ask us what sets us apart from other physiotherapy clinics. Our answer is simple, our Barefoot Physiotherapy Treatment Plan. Every client we see at Barefoot Physiotherapy is always approached with the same treatment plan, a 10 step process to help you get back to living your Barefoot Lifestyle. Now 10 steps may sound like a lot but I’m going to ...
Read More

Corticosteroid Injections To get a Corticosteroid injection or not is a common question we as Physiotherapists are often asked by clients. As health professionals we always respond in a way that provides our clients with all the details and facts they need to know to help them make an informed decision. Corticosteroid injections are essentially a very strong form of anti-inflammatory medication. They are administered by a medical practitioner and can be given into either a painful joint or muscle ...
Read More

It is a common complaint One of the most frequent problems we see in the clinic, is people with tight shoulders. Given the prevalence of desk jobs, many consider tight shoulders just a fact of modern life. However we often find that tight upper traps are rarely the real issue and rather they are a symptom of the body being unhappy. In particular, we find that tension in the upper traps is often present when there is neural irritation. Nerves ...
Read More

Old injuries and Accumulative Strain Remember that incident from years and years back? The one has completely healed and doesn’t give you any pain, but it was a pretty big deal at the time? It may not seem related to a pain you are currently experiencing, and maybe it isn’t, but no matter where or what the injury was, it DID cause load and strain on the body. This load and strain causes other muscles and nerve pathways to fire ...
Read More

Our rib cage is an essential for protection of our organs, having a strong trunk and is involved in our everyday movements, like breathing or turning our bodies. Our rib cage rises and falls with each breath using the muscles between the ribs and our diaphragm. Just like any other joint and muscle, these areas can be loaded and irritated. Rib pain is frustrating and can be treated with Physiotherapy. Symptoms Sometimes rib pain is hard to describe because there ...
Read More

Nerve pain is a common contributing factor to a person’s overall pain presentation. It can cause tight muscles, stiff joints and restricted movements. Sometimes this pain is harder to describe and localize making it a difficult condition to understand. Nerve pain can be also be described as nerve irritation or nerve inflammation. When specific branch of a nerve is involved, it will often be named after that nerve. Here are some common examples: Piriformis syndrome – involving the sciatic nerve ...
Read More

Hi everyone! Hannah here again. This time I'm going to be taking you through one of my favourite exercises to do - the Squat.  It's a lot more complex than you think and I've spent considerable time trying to get mine right, so I can become stronger and also lessen the risk of injury as I increase weights in the Gym.  Here's what I've got to share with you: What is a squat? When people think of a squat, often ...
Read More

So what is a return to walking program? We have great evidence to support gentle activity/movement being beneficial to our bodies. And the current recommendations are 30min x 5 days a week + 2 strength based sessions. So what if you can’t physically manage to walk 30min most days of the week? And you’d like to? Now if you can play a soccer game or run 10km this may not interest you… BUT you may know someone that you can ...
Read More

I'm getting into exercise, but I haven’t exercised before. Where do I begin? Our Barefoot plan brings our clients to step 10 which is ‘Living your Barefoot Lifestyle’, this includes being able to start new activities and try new things! You can also bring this up with us at any other step in the plan. Exercise can be anything that you find enjoyable, that is the first step. Let’s find out what it is you like to do! That way, ...
Read More