Tag Archive for: physiotherapy victoria bc

Physiotherapy Can Help Your Back Pain

Lower-Back-Pain-Treatment-NewmarketAccording to the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, four out of five Canadians experience at least one episode of low back pain at some point in their life.

Physiotherapists focus on exercise, mechanics and posture, through customized treatments that work to increase your flexibility, strength, and endurance. Physiotherapists are effective in  helping to reduce acute and chronic pain.  There are three main types of back pain.

Localized pain is felt in the lower back and is restricted to a particular area on the body.

Radiating pain occurs when there is pain in the back and pain down the leg or foot, and is a sign that the nerve or nerve root is under pressure from either an injury or inflammation.

Referred pain is felt not only at the injured site, but also on different body areas, which is due to the fact that nerve signals from several areas of the body share the same nerve pathway leading to the spinal cord and brain.

Physiotherapists are skilled in manual therapy using precise hands-on techniques to relieve stiffness and improve movement of the joints and muscles. They incorporate movement exercises (Active physical therapy)that help restore motion and decrease radiating or referred pain; as well as progressive strengthening exercises that focus on increasing muscle strength, and function, while helping to increase core stability and endurance.

The physiotherapist may also use Passive physical therapy (modalities) including heat, ultrasound, eToims, Shockwave therapy, spinal decompression, class IV K-Laser therapy and trigger point dry needling, also referred to as intramuscular stimulation (IMS).

Health Link BC offers some helpful information on the different types of exercises you should try, depending on your symptoms:

Exercises to try if your back pain is eased by standing or lying down:

 Alternate arm and leg / Backward bend / Hip flexor stretch / Press-up / Relax and rest

Exercises to try if your back pain is eased by sitting down:

 Double knee-to-chest / Piriformis stretch / Single knee-to-chest

Exercises to try when no position eases your back pain:

Cat-camel / Curl-ups /Front plank /Hamstring stretch / Pelvic tilt / Walking

As with any medical advise, please contact your health care practitioner before starting any treatment or exercise regime.

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Choose to Move – Inspiring Stories

Check out part two of our Choose to Move campaign, which highlights the difference physiotherapy can make, and the positive role it plays in helping people live fuller, more active lives.

 

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Moving with Arthritis – How Physiotherapy Helps

One in eight Canadians currently suffers from some kind of arthritis, and over the next 20 years, this number is expected to rise to one in four (the result of a less active population, obesity and other factors). For young people –almost 20% of all osteoarthritis patients – the condition develops after an injury or trauma to joints.

One of the major concerns arthritis patients have is the fear that there’s nothing they can do to treat their arthritis. Physiotherapists want patients to know that it doesn’t need to be that way – and that those living with arthritis can get moving for life again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Modified Sleeper Stretch

Welcome to our video series hosted by Shadi Flefeil where he discusses stretching and strengthening your body. This time we’re discussing shoulder stretches.

The sleeper stretch is a focused stretch of the posterior shoulder capsule. This stretch is excellent for overhead athletes such as pitchers and tennis players to help prevent injury.  It is also an essential part of the rehabilitation plan for many shoulder injuries.

Shadi is passionate about sports rehabilitation; and with his years of clinical knowledge, excels in treating “everyday” injuries, including neck and back pain, overuse injuries, and acute musculoskeletal injuries.

 

Dealing with shoulder pain? Our physiotherapists in Victoria can assess your shoulder and build a rehab plan with you.

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The Superman Exercise

Welcome to our video series hosted by Shadi Flefeil where he discusses stretching and strengthening your body. This time we’re discussing  The Superman.

Shadi Fleifel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology at Western University in London Ontario, before going to Perth, Australia to complete his Master’s degree in Physiotherapy in 2008.

For more information on this series of exercises, please contact the clinic at 250-382-0018.

 

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Shoulder strength exercises – Internal rotation

Welcome to our video series hosted by Shadi Flefeil where he discusses stretching and strengthening your body.

This time we’re discussing caring for your shoulder, specifically you rotator cuff.  Stretching and strengthening exercises can help you properly use your shoulder to minimize over use of the rotator cuff.

For more information, please contact Shadi at 250-382-0018

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Exercise for Shoulder Rotator Cuff

Welcome to our video series hosted by Shadi Flefeil where he discusses stretching and strengthening your body. This time we’re discussing caring for your shoulder, specifically you rotator cuff.

Shadi will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Please contact him at 250-382-0018, during clinic hours.

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What is Dry Needling or IMS physiotherapy?

Trigger point dry needling, also referred to as intramuscular stimulation (IMS) and/or intramuscular therapy (IMT) is an invasive procedure in which an acupuncture needle is inserted into the skin and muscle. 

It’s actually considered part of physiotherapy, and is not acupuncture.

IMT treatments at Diversified. Read more about here.

What is Trigger Point Dry Needling?

Trigger point dry needling is physical intervention that uses dry needles to stimulate trigger points, diagnose and treat neuromuscular pain and functional movement deficits. 1

As the name implies, dry needling is primarily directed at myofascial trigger points, which are defined as “hyperirritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with a hypersensitive palpable point in a taut band”.2

Physical therapists around the world practice trigger point dry needling as part of their clinical practice and use the technique in combination with other physical therapy interventions.  A high degree of kinaesthetic perception allows a physical therapist to use the needle as a palpation tool and appreciate differences in the density of those tissues pierced by the needle.3

Although some people refer to trigger point dry needling as a form of acupuncture, it did not originate as part of the practice of traditional Chinese acupuncture. The difference being that there are distinct anatomical locations of myofascial trigger points within muscle tissue, whereas acupuncture points have point specificity on the body.

There is substantial medical literature on IMS and dry needling that has been subjected to peer review. Trigger point dry needling has been used following a variety of different schools and conceptual models.  According to these models, when the flow of nerve impulses is restricted to an area of the body, all innervated structures, including muscle, spinal nerves, sympathetic ganglia, adrenal glands, sweat cells, and brain cells become atrophic, irritable, and supersensitive.4,5

Many common diagnoses, such as achilles tendonitis, lateral epicondylitis, frozen shoulder, chrondromalacia patellae, headaches, plantar fasciitis, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), and others, might in fact be the result of neuropathy, and associated myofascial trigger points.4

Intramuscular therapy has been very successful for patients with chronic low back pain and sciatica symptoms. Shortening of the paraspinal muscles, particularly the multifidi muscles, can lead to disc compression, narrowing of the intervertebral foramina, and/or cause direct pressure on the nerve root, which subsequently would result in peripheral neuropathy and compression of super sensitive pain receptors, resulting in pain and dysfunction. 4,5

In layman’s terms, the treatment uses acupuncture needles, to target specific muscles that have contracted and become shortened. These shortened muscles compress and irritate the nerves. This treatment can greatly reduce tightness and pain, while increasing flexibility and range of motion.

The treatment involves dry needling of affected areas of the body without injecting any substance. The needle sites can be targeted at the site of taut, painful muscle bands, and/or can be near the spine where the nerve root may have become irritated and super-sensitive.

An important note is needling  of a normal muscle is painless. In contrast a shortened, muscle will ‘grasp’ the needle and produces a  cramping sensation. Intramuscular dry needling can reduce pain and soften these trigger points, while increasing flexibility and range of motion.

  1. 1.Dommerholt J, Mayoral del Moral O, Grobly C.  Trigger point dry needling. The Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy 2006; 14(4): E70-87.
  2. Simons DG, Travell JG, Simons LS. Travell and Simons’ Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual. Vol 1. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1999.
  3. Mayoral del Moral O. Fisioterapia invasiva del sindrome de dolor myofascial [Spanish; Invasive physical therapy for myofascial pain syndrome]. Fisioterapia 2005;27(2):69-75.
  4. Gunn CC. Radiculopathic pain: Diagnosis, treatment of segmental irritation or sensitization. J Musculoskeletal Pain 1997;5(4):119-134.
  5. 5.  Cannon WB, Rosenblueth A. The Supersensitivity of Denervated Structures: A Law of Denervation. New York, NY: MacMillan, 1949.

 

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Hamstring Stretches Help with Low Back Pain | physiotherapy victoria bc

Hamstring Stretches Help with Low Back Pain | physiotherapy victoria bc:

One of the most important stretches someone with low back pain should be performing is a hamstring stretch. When your hamstrings are tight, it places a lot of stress on your low back, leading to more pain and can actually cause more difficulty for you.

One of the easiest ways to stretch your hamstrings is lying on your back. Bring your knee toward your chest and straighten out your knee and try to push the bottom of your foot up towards the ceiling.  The opposite leg should be flat. Then rest and repeat. This should be performed on each side.

Hamstring Stretches Help with Low Back Pain | physiotherapy victoria bc

Hamstring Stretches

An important aspect to stretching is being able to relax while you are doing the stretch. If you find yourself not relaxing with the first stretch, try lying near a door jam or a corner of a wall and place one leg up on the wall. Now drop the opposite leg and you’ll begin feeling the stretch in the back of the hamstring. This is a nice stretch because you can just relax and it doesn’t place as much stress on your low back. The object here is to work your leg up the wall to try to get a ninety degree angle. Now once your leg is straight, simply return to the starting position, slide your hips closer to the wall, and repeat.

Since hamstring stretching should be done at least twice a day, finding other positions which you can incorporate into your daily routine is crucial.  Another way to stretch your hamstring is sitting on the edge of a chair, so it can be done almost anywhere. Sitting in the chair, scoot to the edge of the chair, straighten out one leg, and point your toes toward the ceiling. Simply sit up straight and roll your pelvis forward and you should feel a light stretch up the back of your leg. This can be held for approximately thirty seconds, and repeated on each side.

 For more information on stretches that you can do at home or at the office please contact our physiotherapists.

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