Dab Physiotherapy

A pain in the butt

We hear the name sciatica branded around when we have pain in our back that can radiate to our buttock. But have you ever seen the sciatic nerve?
The sciatic nerve is the biggest nerve in our body so you can see why it would be so easy to irritate it.

If you are suffering from what you feel could be sciatica then give us a call and book to see how we can help you.

Although I specialise in lower limb injuries. I still daily get upper body injuries. This week I am focusing on bringing should and scapula injuries which will become more popular in the months leading upto the tennis season.

Has anyone heard of the SICK scapula?

Has anyone ever had a snapping scapula ? Where you hear a snapping noise when moving your arm?

Scapula instability or poor scapula control will often lead to shoulder pain.
In the painful shoulder the scapular position will often be different from the non painful side. You may notice that the scapular is downwardly rotated and the movement is different to the non affected side. As in the previous article you may notice a droopy shoulder and the wings may be sticking out.

Therefore with any shoulder injury the scapular position and control should be assessed together with the shoulder joint. Today I have had two patients in presenting with poor scapular control and positioning.

In both I have had to correct postural issues, remove some tightness in the locator scapular and rhomboids and help to retrain the muscles surrounding the scapular. Next stage is to get back the correct movement pattern to stop the current poor action of the muscles.

If this sounds like you then get in touch.

A pain in the neck

Pain in the upper trapezius and side of neck can stem from many things. Over the years I have noticed that a lot of it is due to posture. Looking at the shoulders you may notice one shoulder slipping longer than the other instead of a nice geometric 90 degree angle.
Upper trapezius cannot elevate the scapula past neutral that’s your wings in your back. So rarely is this muscle
Short. You can get this type of aching from the way you are sitting at work or hunched forward posture , strong neck contractions of neck extensors. Eventually neck muscles atrophy from over work caused by this forward head posture and possibly muscle strains tHat never heal. Then you moving your neck because it aches. All of which makes recovery even more difficult.

Persistent hunching of the upper back combined with rounding forward shoulders also causes stretching and weakness of the upper and mid back extensors in rib cage and Thoracic spine region. The bits in between your wings. It also causes shortening and tightening of your chest muscles. Focal points of activity are felt as trigger points or knots.

You may need to see me if any of this is the case to assess your posture and muscle imbalances and to remove your trigger points.

Thoroughly spoilt today by my lovely patients. Thank you holly standing and Frankie for my coffee and cake with fruit and for my haribo s. And to Kaitlin for my chocolate brownies.

The joys of Physiotherapy for a career is that you get to help some very lovely people restore some normality and movement back into their lives. This young lady came to me after an RTA and in a lot of chronic pain she has left today with a restored amount of energy and vigour after having two sessions a week for the past 6 weeks. She’s actually ecstatically happy. Just camera shy

Enlarged fat pad under the toes preventing the toes from touching the floor.

Looking at your foot wear Can help to decipher how you are walking

Community rehab possible pcl injury.

Breaking down scar tissue in a hand post tendon repair op.

This patient I put up on here a while ago. She was told her frozen shoulder which was painful and very stiff with loss of range of motion was ok and was given some cream by her gp to rub int her shoulder. After various correspondence and ultrasound/ MRI she was diagnosed with bilateral tears supraspinatus and posterior delt on the left.
After treatment she can now self manage with her activities of daily living independently.
Frozen shoulder / adhesive capsulises can be caused by several issues. It is considered primary if the onset is idiopathic whilst secondary results from a known cause or surgical event. I.e Post operative, tendinitis, fracture, rotator cuff pathologies, calcification tendinitis , at joint arthritis sudden onset , those with systemic conditions such as diabetes , hypothyroidism and arthritic conditions.
It is also most prevalent in women between 40-65 although I have seen many older patients and those in the diabetic population. Other associated risks are trauma, prolonged rest, thyroid disease, stroke myocardial infarcts and the presence of autoimmune disease. There are three stages that it progresses through
Acute / freezing/painful can last 3-9 months
Adhesive / frozen/ stiffening can occur 4 months and last upto 12 months
Resolution / thawing. Can last 1-3 years post as recorded.