Covid update- 5/6/2020

By | |
Comments Off on Covid update- 5/6/2020

We’ve been getting a few more questions recently as to when we are going back to face to face consultations. Just to make things clear- We are *still* seeing patients- and have done since the beginning of lock down, but on an online basis- Skype and Zoom, so physio and training are still going on. Face to face is a different matter. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) had a series of online seminars over the past week involving private practice physios on the subject about returning to getting people back in the treatment rooms. I was not one of … Continue reading →

Tissue adaptation- overload and recovery

By | |
Comments Off on Tissue adaptation- overload and recovery

As biological organisms we adapt. That is pretty much what enables us to survive. As individuals, we don’t necessarily evolve as such, but individual adaptations certainly show a wide range of ability to specialise in specific things. It could almost be said that as an organism, failure to adapt is an indication of something going wrong with the system- or that the system has been overloaded somehow. Rate of adaptation to an external stimulus is moderated by a number of things. How fast we learn, how mobile the tissues are, how much recovery they need etc. If the stimulus exceeds … Continue reading →

The girl with the titanium back

By | |
Comments Off on The girl with the titanium back

Another one from the annals. Yes, I know that the plural of anecdote is not evidence, however, hearing others stories can be empowering to  people. This one starts with a girl of 17 who had had a number of years of back pain, a diagnosis of congenital scoliosis and, following a prolonged period of deliberation, a fairly large operation where titanium rods were inserted into her spine to make it straight. It was only after this that I met this patient – someone going through A-levels, looking at universities, and also looking forward (with some apprehension) to a post school … Continue reading →

Recovery from Covid 19?

By | |
Comments Off on Recovery from Covid 19?
Physiotherapy in Glossop, Hadfield and Padfield.

There has (quite rightly) been a massive amount of energy and column inches expended on the initial response to this Coronavirus and the acute medical problems that it throws up. Huge temporary hospitals have been set up, current ICU wards have overflowed to newly set up specialist areas and those on the front line are working some ridiculous hours in not-ideal situations in order to keep people alive. As a physio who is not up to date with skills to assist on the front line, my thoughts recently have turned to the problems that will come after the acute infection. … Continue reading →

RED-S – what?!

By | |
Comments Off on RED-S – what?!

This is something pertinent, as in the past year I have gone from not having heard of RED-S, to suggesting that patients really start thinking about it as a cause for stress fractures, and enabling them to swerve a downward spiral into long term injury and depression. Where has this come from? You may have heard of the Female Athlete Triad. Effectively it is a combination of Low energy availability, Menstrual disruption and Poor bone health. It was originally seen as a rigid structure – a diagnosis, which was not particularly useful when you have someone turning up with a … Continue reading →

Oooh- don’t run, it’s bad for your knees.

By | |
Comments Off on Oooh- don’t run, it’s bad for your knees.

They look at you as if you’re mad and say: “Oh I wouldn’t run, you’ll ruin your knees” or “I wouldn’t lift weights – it’s bad for you back”. …. And so they sit down in front of the tv with a “sharing” size packet of crisps and proceed to devour the lot. Before heading to the shops in a car, to buy more food- making sure it is low-fat, of course – because it is healthier while trying to stop you from doing the thing that might drag you out of a hole. People feel guilty for not engaging … Continue reading →