Running retraining to treat common injuries: Is it time we all started using it?
The majority of runners who seek health care for their injuries do not receive any form of running assessment and advice on their running technique. If it is assessed, it is either done so with the view of prescribing foot orthoses, most commonly in podiatry, or by ‘that guy’ in the shoe store to determine […]
A lot of patients I see with patellofemoral pain who have failed to improve following exercise rehabilitation have spent substantial time trying to activate their VMO (Vastus Medialis Oblique) muscle. The questions we need to ask are: 1. Why have they focussed so much on exercising this little muscle? 2. Why hasn’t it worked? So […]
Is it ‘all in the hips’? Treating patellofemoral pain
Patellofemoral Pain Patellofemoral Pain affects people of all ages, from adolescents through to the elderly. Unfortunately, prognosis is often considered poor, although this may be the result of clinician’s poor understanding of how best to manage the condition. There are many factors to consider including quadriceps strength and function, foot motion and mobility, muscle flexibility, […]
When I assess injured runners at the clinic, I see a number of common features including excessive and/or prolonged foot pronation, heavy foot strike and over striding, poor knee function, poor hip function, poor pelvic control, and the list goes on. Attempting to change any particular feature of someones running action may help reduce stress […]
Recently I discussed the potential detrimental effects cycling can have on your running technique. This seems to have resonated strongly with clinicians, runners and triathletes alike, which is great to see. Ky changes to running mechanics after cycling appear to be an increase in anterior pelvic tilt and hip flexion, both of which increase stress […]
A new patient from earlier this week has prompted this blog. He is a 43 year old presenting with persistent hamstring pain during running. The pain had not responded to other treatment over the past few months including stretching, massage and dry needling. When talking to him, there was clear frustration, especially considering the patient […]
Recovering from chronic knee pain – occlusion training
Recently, our clinic was asked to help out with a research study being conducted by Lachlan Giles, a PhD candidate at La Trobe University. Our role is deliver a quadriceps rehabilitation program for patients with patellofemoral pain (anterior knee pain), something we see a lot of at the clinic here. This is not your regular […]
If you are frustrated with a long term tendon injury that does not seem to be getting better, hang tough, there are things you can do. In this post we will discuss top tips for managing Achilles tendinopathy. 1 = Take away ‘bad’ load Achilles tendinopathy is often caused by or at least made worse […]
The importance of technique in managing running injuries I treat runners everyday in our Richmond physiotherapy clinic. Many of these have had pain which has impacted their ability to run for many years. Often, when they come to me, I am not the first clinician they have consulted with for their running injury. However, too […]
Minimalist Footwear I am a clinician who sees running injuries every day. In recent years I have seen many runners turn to minimalist footwear. This popularity has been driven by many in the health and fitness industry pushing potential benefits related to injury and performance. I acknowledge there is much debate of what constitutes minimalist […]
