What is Persistent Pain? The dictionary definition of chronic or persistent pain is “any pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks.” For many of my patients, by the time they come to see me, they have seen numerous therapists, tried many medications and even had surgeries, all with varying degrees of success. And those weeks have become months or years. Is Chronic Pain different? Yes. The difference lies in how…
The hip or acetabilofemoral joint includes over 70 different ligaments, tendons, muscles and bones and is (with the shoulder) the most flexible joint in the body, slightly different in men and women. Where’s the pain? Confusingly, the area that most of us refer to as our hip is actually the pelvis bone. The hip joint itself is deep into the groin. So “true” hip joint pain is usually felt as…
The Griffith University in Australia recently did some research looking at patient satisfaction during musculoskeletal treatment. One of the key factors in making patients feel the most satisfied and the least depressed was having an X-ray. Of course there are now a multitude of investigations available, and while an X-ray might make you feel better it might not give your clinician the information they need. These are some of the…
As a kid one of my favourite games was Charades. Is it a movie. . . Sounds like . . . . Now as a physiotherapist, when doing an initial assessment I play a different kind of game with my patients – Feels like . . . . And I watch the movements of my patients as closely as I listen to the words. Pain is a funny thing –…
I’ve spoken about both of these conditions before and the difficulty in getting a good resolution to both, but there is a common cause to both conditions, one which is often ignored. New research published by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows that “patients with carpal tunnel syndrome are more than twice as likely to have migraine headaches”. The study then poses the question: “Could Migraine indicate a higher…
I was horrified to read on the NHS website (usually a reliable if rather conventional source) that the “cause of bunions is unknown“. What Utter Nonsense!!! We know the cause and have done for decades – excess pressure on the joint at the base of the big toe. This pressure causes the joint to twist out of alignment and swell, causing the typical “bump” as the bones move out to the…
Many runners complain of lower back pain, in the United States this could account for nearly 10% of all running related injuries. As I’ve explained before there is a myth that the shock and impact from running causes joint pain. This isn’t true! Runners actually have stronger bones, healthier joints and are less likely to require joint replacement surgery. It’s not the activity that’s at fault – it’s the mechanics…
Arthroscopy – one of the most common surgical options for arthritic knees. A procedure that most patients with knee pain have been offered at some point in their process. What is an arthroscopy? This is a “keyhole” surgery procedure where an arthroscope camera is inserted through a small incision in the knee, allowing the surgeon to view the inside of the knee. The surgeon can then use other micro instruments…
The knee is the largest joint in the body and one of the most complex, making it a very vulnerable joint! It is made up of 4 bones, more than 20 muscles each with a tendon, 4 major ligaments as well as many little ones, and at least 3 layers of cartilage. Arthroscopy An operation to “clean” inside the knee joint. Results of recent studys report that arthroscopic surgery is…
Again and again you’ve heard me stress the vital importance of a proper clinical assessment when you have knee pain. One of the KEY factors in a knee pain assessment (because we have to check it is a knee problem and not a hip or foot or lower back problem – they all cause knee pain too!) is examining knee extension – basically how straight you can get your knee.…