Physiotherapy Column

Sal was contacted by a student doing research into musicians and muscle/back pain. Here’s her answers to some of the questions: What experience have you had with cellists/musicians with back and muscle pain? I am the Principal Physiotherapist at Barefoot Physiotherapy and have treated musicians with back/muscle pain (as well as rehabbing musicians post traumatic injury) over my 10+ years of being a physio. Of note I used to play quite a lot of music in Orchestras and Percussion Ensembles ...
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Hi everyone, here's part 2 to my acute ankle blog. If you didn't catch the first part, you can click here. As I mentioned in my first blog, I've had my fair share of acute ankle injuries and have also seen plenty! So I hope you find this second blog informative and helpful. After the first week Once you’re past the first week or so of that acute ankle injury, we are looking for more ways to get it moving ...
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Hi all, Sal here. Tying in with Caitlin’s blogs on being active in pregnancy I would like to share 5 great tips for once you’re home with bub. We love providing antenatal and postnatal musculoskeletal physiotherapy, keeping you in the best musculoskeletal state means you can enjoy this great time as much as possible. It is such an amazing part of your life and these tips have helped quite a few of the amazing women that we have taken care ...
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Hi everyone, Hannah here again.  You might not know, but I'm a huge soccer fan.  It's my sport and as a soccer player, I’ve had my fair share of ankle injuries and have also seen plenty! The great thing is that they don’t have to be an issue forever, or every time you play. Working together to create a management plan and rehab program, you can forget about needing an ankle brace or tape and be confident in your ankles! ...
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Hi everyone! Catherine here.  Some of you may, or may not, know that I studied Dance and aspired to be a professional dancer. I studied it at Uni and have performed countless times.  So I thought I would put together a BLOG to discuss what the life of a dancer is like, and more relevantly I guess, how Physiotherapy and looking after yourself works for a dancer. Dancer Life The life of a professional dancer isn’t the easiest or most ...
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Hi everyone! It's me, Caitlin. Those who know me well, know that I really enjoy cooking. As an athlete, nutrition is a key part of my training and preparation – ensuring that I recover well and fuel myself optimally. However, as a physio, I am even more concerned by posture in the kitchen and how to take care of your body while cooking! Here are some of my hot tips for looking after yourself in the kitchen Chopping/food prepping Often ...
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Driving can be an aggravating thing for anyone’s body. Depending on your car, your seat, how long you’re in traffic and how long you’re driving can all affect how much strain it contributes to your body. Here’s a couple tips to help you on the road: Tip 1 – Your body can tell you what it likes – so use it to set yourself up for success: Muscles when they’re at rest feel like raw steak. When you’re sitting driving ...
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What is a squat? When people think of a squat, often it is of a person struggling underneath a barbell loaded with weight, as they make their way down, ass to grass, and then pushing back up. A squat is so much more than that – a squat is sitting down on the toilet, sitting down at your dinner table, getting yourself down to the floor level to play with the kids, or pick up a coin you dropped, a ...
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There’s no doubting that a good night’s sleep is integral to overall good health. However getting a good night’s sleep can be difficult if we are uncomfortable. It’s no surprise then, that a question we often get asked is “How do I choose a good pillow?”. While there is no one best pillow for everyone, there are some simple guidelines you can keep in mind, to best help you pick a pillow that will keep your body happy (unfortunately we ...
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Hi everyone, Catherine here! It’s almost time for the Easter break and I know so many of us are making the most of the extra days off and getting away from the usual routine!  While a holiday is always exciting for rest/adventure/relaxation (insert your preferred holiday type here!), we want to help you make the most of it. Often holidays find us doing activities that are unusual, sleeping in different locations and using our brains in different ways.  All of ...
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Hi all, Sal here. For those of you that know the team at Barefoot you know one of our highest values is Inclusion. And in alignment with that is the belief that all bodies are deserving of equal professional care. We do not jump to conclusions or make any assumptions based on weight or body size. Recently we had an inservice with Non-Diet Dietitian Kate Gough (who spoke at our Summit last year) covering Health at Every Size (HAES) so ...
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Hey everyone, Hannah here again.  I thought I'd put a blog together to give people the idea on how we can help out with training and getting your body fully prepared for your training or sport.  You might not know, but I'm a very passionate and competitive Soccer player, among the other fitness things I do.  For this reason, I love to treat sporty people, especially when I can help them with injury prevention, performance enhancement, or simply repairing wear ...
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Explaining Injury to Family and Friends I think we can all understand that explaining injury can be a delicate subject depending on the type of injury and the relationship you have with the person who you are telling/who is asking. So, I’m going to break it down into pieces that I hope will be helpful to you. Understanding what is going on yourself We all know that the best way to test if we truly know a subject is to ...
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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 ...
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Hi everyone, Caitlin here. At Barefoot we've treated a lot of pregnant, soon-to-be Mum's. While I haven't had the benefit of going through that magical mystery tour as yet, I have had extensive training to assist our pregnant clientele.  I've learnt a lot and want to share how staying active through during pregnancy can help you. Pregnancy is usually an exciting and slightly anxious time. There is lots of anticipation of what is to come and all the changes along ...
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Moving on from basic 'core' exercises Hi everyone, Hannah here again.  As you know, I love movement and how we can assist clients improve it. From basic awareness, to flexibility and strength, I'm really interested how we can build all that, safely, productively and more importantly to assist our clients in their day to day. In this BLOG, we're considering this ‘basic core’ as the foundation for when we take clients through activation of their deep ab muscles. We initially ...
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Strategies to manage back pain Hi everyone, Alistair here. Over my time here at Barefoot Physiotherapy, I've seen dozens and dozens of people for back pain.  It's so prolific that I've really taken up an interest in not only wanting to know more about how it's caused, but delving deeply into how to self manage back pain, so that I can adequately educate my clients.  So I put this little blog together, so hopefully if you are experiencing back pain, ...
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Supporting staff – setting up a Health Professional clinic for your people to thrive Hi all, Sal here (Director and Head of Physio at Barefoot Physiotherapy). There is quite a lot about Barefoot that I am proud of and one of the most important is the environment we have created for our team. In fact, we have won awards and been featured in magazines because of the ‘out of the box’ way Barefoot operates compared to other businesses and Health ...
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Hi all, Sal here – physio and avid paddler. No, not the K1 or K2 kayaks and not those crazy river rapid ones either. The type of kayaking I do is relaxed, non-competitive and something everyone can have a go at if they’re keen. I have been kayaking/surf skiing since I was 10 and have managed to accumulate a few water toys over the years to share with friends and family. So how much do kayaks weigh? And can you ...
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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, ...
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It's all happened to us, even from the most innocuous of activities: picking up my keys. Does our body really start to fall apart as we age? I just jumped in my car, and as I went to grab the door handle with keys in hand, I dropped my keys.  While seated, I twisted and bent over to pick them up - then I felt it - a tiny twinge in my lower spine. Not enough to hurt, but just ...
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If you have been to a Physiotherapist before, there is a good chance you have been prescribed a muscle self-release (Usually performed with a ball) or a muscle stretch of some kind as homework. At Barefoot Physiotherapy, both are prescribed, and for slightly different reasons. Below, we will go through the benefits of Self-Releases vs Stretching and when each are appropriate. Benefits of both self-releases and stretching: Decrease in tension/discomfort in the muscle Potential to lengthen the muscle and increase ...
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Here at Barefoot, a lot of our clients present to us with an injury they sustained during sport. From dance to yoga and football to power-lifting, there is nothing more frustrating than having an injury prevent you from doing the activity you love. The most common question in returning to sport after injury, is how long should I wait? or get treatment for? Other questions such as: How long until I can get back to running? How long until I can ...
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Do you suffer Fat Ankles from Flying? With both domestic and international flights having become cheaper over the years, more and more of us are flying. Sometimes these trips can be longer than 2 hours, reaching 13 hours for a long-haul flight, which also might be followed by even more flying.  Prolonged sitting, lack of movement, dehydration, pressure on the hips and hamstrings can all contribute to fat ankles from flying. Sometimes no matter how much you try and move ...
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Anyone can, and does fall at some point throughout their lives, for most of us it is multiple times. Unfortunately, the older you get the more impact these falls can have. As we get older we need to take further precautions in order to stay safe. We can do this by putting in place some falls prevention techniques. Here are some falls prevention quick tips for either at home or in the community. Stay active and participate in group activities ...
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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 the body (treating through ...
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Whatever sport you do you’re no doubt putting in endless hours of specific training, along with maybe some alternative recovery and rehab sessions like yoga and stretching. However, like most people, there’s even one more activity you’re probably doing more of than even sleeping – sitting! It's the new epidemic. We all spend too much time sitting. Whether it’s in the car, at work, at home or at the dinner table – you always find yourself sitting.  This situation gets ...
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Here's a great article from our Industry Body explaining the current situation with Codeine becoming prescription only, and how Physiotherapy for Pain Management can be an effective treatment option. With codeine becoming a prescription only drug from February, a large number of Australians will be seeking alternative ways to manage their pain. National President of the Australian Physiotherapy Association, Phil Calvert said, ‘The good news is that physiotherapy is proven to provide effective pain relief, which treats rather than simply ...
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Easy exercises to keep you healthy and active as you age. For many people, aches and pains have become a normal part of their life, especially as they age. However, it doesn’t matter if you’re 7 or 77, pain is not a normal part of life, and should be something that you take seriously. This includes general aches and stiffness from your daily life! Here are some easy exercises and body management tips to keep you happy, healthy and moving ...
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If you’ve never had physiotherapy, or if you haven’t been in a while, it can be good to know what to expect and how best to prepare. Appointment Preparation Once you have decided on which Physiotherapist you’re going to go to, you can give the clinic a call or jump online and book an appointment through their website. When you’re on the phone some clinics will have a couple of questions for you about what the issue is, don’t be ...
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