Physiotherapy Column

The goal of any Physiotherapy is ultimately empowerment and understanding, we want to provide you with the tools to be able to look after your body and to do it well. A one-size-fits-all blanket approach to self-care is not effective and in a lot of cases can do more harm than good. The human body is complex and every single one of us is different which mean our needs differ too. What one body likes, may exacerbate symptoms in someone ...
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Running technique If you ask any running coach or physio how important good technique is, you’re sure to open up a real can of worms. While there are certainly some elite athletes with unusual running technique, I believe that correct form plays a role in both injury prevention and performance enhancement. So what does good running technique look like? Overall posture – typically, we’re aiming for the same optimal alignment that we’d look for in any task. That is, a ...
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Postnatal care is an important part of physiotherapy; as helping a mother regain control of their body and understand the changes that they have undergone is vital to an effective return to their pre -pregnancy self. Empowering people to be their own health champion and live their Barefoot lifestyle is one of the pillars of our physiotherapy approach . If you are experiencing any discomfort post pregnancy, you may benefit from seeing a Barefoot Physiotherapist for pregnancy physio services. Whether ...
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As an expectant mother you may be experiencing various discomforts; whether this is baby number one or three your body will be constantly adapting over the course of your pregnancy. If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort associated with pregnancy or have any questions about your changing body, you may benefit from a prenatal physiotherapy consultation. Barefoot Physiotherapy can help you address your symptoms and be as comfortable as possible throughout your pregnancy with our leading pregnancy physio services ...
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If you are experiencing thoracic pain, you may benefit from a thorough physiotherapy assessment for thoracic pain treatment. Thoracic pain can present in many ways. You may feel stiffness or burning between the shoulder blades; tightness or pain around the mid spine or ribcage; difficulty in twisting side to side, reaching overhead or taking a deep breath. Thoracic pain or stiffness may be involved in neck pain, shoulder pain or low back pain. At Barefoot Physiotherapy we often see client ...
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Rheumatoid Arthritis When considering rheumatoid arthritis physio, there are a number of different types of arthritis, but they all are characterised by inflammation of joints. The type of arthritis most people are familiar with is osteoarthritis (OA). OA can occur in one single joint or multiple joints, is typically experienced in older populations and features loss of cartilage. Past trauma may be a contributing factor, but is not always present. By comparison, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition. Autoimmune ...
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Your health is not dependent on your weight. This may be surprising given the narrative spun from a host of sources including health professionals. Health at Every Size (HAES) is “an approach to public health that seeks to de-emphasise weight loss as a health goal, and reduce stigma towards people who are overweight or obese.” At Barefoot Physiotherapy, we place a lot of value in inclusion and take a non-biased approach to healthcare for our community with leading HAES physio ...
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We are often asked by clients “how does dry needling work?”. Dry needling is a treatment technique that can be used to improve function of a muscle or decrease pain felt in the body. Dry needling can be used to initiate an immune response and change activation of nerve fibres. What Is Dry Needling? Dry needling is a practice used by allied health professionals that have been specifically trained in this technique. Dry needling is named as such to contrast ...
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How to release Jaw Tension is a common question we are asked by clients at Barefoot Physiotherapy. Jaw tension and pain can be a debilitating condition that affects your neck movement, ability to eat and ability to speak. The jaw muscles are utilised every time you eat, talk and smile, and like any muscle if overworked they can become tight causing you pain and discomfort. In some cases, this can result in a locked jaw. The intensity of your jaw ...
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What shoes should I buy? What are physio recommended shoes? One of the most frequently asked questions in the clinic is “what shoes should I wear?”. With the options on the market ever expanding, this is a complex question influenced by a variety of factors. As with most things, there is no “best” shoe and the options are going to vary significantly depending on your personal physiotherapy/injury history and what you need from the shoe. While a shoe on its ...
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Foot intrinsics & intrinsic foot muscles It is a commonly known “fun fact” that the bones of the feet make up roughly 25% of the total bones in the body. What is not as commonly understood is the complexity of the role the foot plays in the overall function of the body and the importance of the muscles that control the foot. A well functioning foot can adapt shape and both generate and dissipate force depending on the demands placed ...
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Chronic Fatigue is a complex disorder characterised by debilitating fatigue which can’t be explained by any underlying medical or psychological conditions. Therefore, it is often referred to as a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms can vary in intensity or range from person to person but often include headaches, nausea, fibromyalgia and sleep disturbances. Physiotherapy for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can help to manage symptoms. If you, or someone you know is suffering from chronic fatigue, get in touch with Barefoot to ...
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Menopause + exercise The importance of staying active across our lifespan is well known. However, menopause results in a number of changes including the body’s response to exercise. A shift in the way we workout can help mitigate the negative impacts of menopause and get the most out of exercise. What is happening during menopause? Estrogen and progesterone are two hormones that play a key role in normal menstrual cycles (along with luteinising hormone and follicular stimulating hormone). They both ...
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Written by: Caitlin Sargent It goes without saying that the respiratory system is essential for life. However it also has an important interplay with musculoskeletal system and stress regulation. Poor breathing patterns can contribute to pain and dysfunction in a number of areas. Likewise, stress, pain and dysfunction can also contribute to poor breathing mechanics. Normal breathing pattern A normal breathing pattern sees the diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles lengthen and drop during inhalation. And naturally elevate and gently contract ...
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Written by: Brittany Johnstone One of the areas I’m very passionate about in Physiotherapy is helping women across the lifespan live their best pain free and happy lifestyle. That is why although this blog helps everyone create a better understanding of their breathing, there will be a particular focus on an introduction into considerations for breathing in post-partum women. Breathing is the foundation of our system. When we breathe, our diaphragm and pelvic floor move together. Breathing does much more ...
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Written by: Brittany Johnstone Physiotherapists will often talk to you about your pelvic floor and its importance to your core. If we think about our core as a cylinder we have the deep abdominal muscles which wrap around the cylinder, our deep back muscles which support from behind, our diaphragm on top and then our pelvic floor muscles which yes are essentially the base. The role of our pelvic floor muscles are: Urinary and faecal continence: The muscle fibres control ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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