I don’t think it will surprise anyone who’s met me or read my blog that in my opinion surgery is to be considered the last resort, the thing you do when you’ve tried everything else or things have got so bad there just isn’t another option. But if you are at that point then I think it’s important to get the BEST results possible. These points apply for all kind…
In my first post about chronic pain I explained the difference between chronic pain and acute pain and how pain functions in the body. In my second post I talked about central sensitization and how this complicates treatment for patients with chronic pain – making them, quite literally, feel more pain, more easily with less stimulation. So now I want to put this in a real life context. Knee Surgery…
Most of us are familiar with sciatica, when the discs in the lower spine (specifically L3) get compressed and start to press onto the sciatic nerve. This causes pain and tingling in the leg and buttock as well as leg weakness and pain into the foot. In fact sciatica is often used as a “catch all” term to describe all kinds of nerve issues coming from the lower back and…
In my first article about chronic pain I started to explain a little about why chronic pain is different and needs to be treated differently. I talked about the science behind it and how pain works. Now let’s start to put that into context of how chronic pain affects you and how it makes you feel. One of the terms we often use when talking about chronic pain is “central…
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 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…
If you’ve come to see me about knee pain, or recently had knee surgery, or even just have knee pain, then the chances are that you need these. I’ve spoken before about how important it is to get your knee straight. Not exciting but absolutely critical to getting better. Whenever possible, all exercises should be done 3-4 times a day. At first they may be hard work and you may…
I’ve just been reading a really fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal of all places! Not my usual paper by any means but this particular article caught my eye. Edit – my apologies, it seems that for some people this article might be behind a pay wall. I’m not quite sure how I was able to view it for free but I do apologise for any frustration! I have…
There are many daily activities which can cause or aggravate back pain. Before you rush off to the doctor for pain medication or treatment try these simple tips to make your daily life more comfortable. I realise my accountant will disagree but I firmly believe that there’s a lot that we can do without treatment to reduce pain. TIP If back pain lasts longer than 24 hours always seek professional…
As one of the many options that I offer my patients is orthotics or prescription insoles, I’m often informed by my patients that “they won’t work as I have one leg shorter than the other”. To which I reply as nicely as possible, “I doubt it! Did they check you?”. The answer is No depressingly often. True leg length discrepancy is rare, but what is common is a tilted pelvis…