Welcome back! If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 or Part 3 or Part 4 of this blog go back and read them so you have some context before diving into today’s blog, which is all about post-op rehab 3 - 5 months post-surgery. Time To Strengthen It was time to get my rehab on...

If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 or Part 3 click the links to catch up. Where were we? Oh yes, that’s right! Like I mentioned in Part 3, I thought I had re-torn my ACL 2 weeks after the surgery. Luckily that wasn’t the case. I had to keep reminding myself that I just...

If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, click the links to catch up. With my first week was behind me, I was up and moving about. Remember when I said the first key goals are to:    1. Reduce swelling and    2. Improve knee range of motion (ROM)? Welcome to my first major...

Calf Muscle Series Part 2: Helpful Stretches & Strength Exercises In Part 1 of our Calf Muscle Series, we looked at the different calf muscles, what they do and some common injuries.  Today we’re expanding on the topic even further with some useful stretches and...

WHAT ARE THE CALF MUSCLES? The calf muscles, as they are typically referred to, make up the back part of our lower leg. They begin at the rear of our knee and insert into the back of our heels. The calf muscles AKA Triceps Surae (yeah bro you have a triceps in your...

A few years ago, an old boxing trainer told me that lying on your back, with your legs up a wall, helps recovery. I never understood why, but I did it. It actually turned out to be the best thing I ever incorporated into my training. Now my training sessions are...

I felt compelled to write a blog about what to expect from your physiotherapist, because I feel it’s a topic not often touched on, yet so important for soon-to-be physios as well as prospective clients. Over the last 5 weeks I’ve been mentoring a Masters of...

 Shin Splints: What Causes Them, How To Treat Them And The Best Ways To Prevent ThemShin pain can be relentless. Ongoing pain that stops you doing the exercise you love. You’ve probably tried to ‘rest up and hope for the best’, which makes the pain go away, but as...

If you missed part one, click here to read about Joel’s ACL injury, confirming the ACL tear, and early prehab before surgery. In Part 2 of our Knee ACL Injury and Rehab series, we follow Joel through surgery and his first week of rehabilitation post-op. Take it away...

Andrew Cloake wasn’t expecting this outcome the day he decided to climb into his locked apartment from the roof: a shattered tibia and fibula and a potential amputation prognosis. Yet that is exactly what happened. Luckily his leg was saved, but the road to recovery...

A Pain In the Knee: Joel Adelman’s ACL Injury and Rehab THE INJURY Let me set the scene. It’s Monday night at my mixed social netball competition. We are currently up by 11 goals in the final stages of the fourth quarter. This game is in the bag. The ball gets thrown...

The other week when I was lecturing fourth year physio students at UTS, a debate started about strengthening versus stretching in treatment, which is of particular relevance for shoulder impingement. A mistake I commonly see with clients that have coracoacromial...

Look at any anatomical photo of the shoulder and you’ll notice there’s a small space between the acromion and the humerus. However, this tiny hole, known as the subacromial arch, isn’t a void space like photos make it out to be. In fact, in real life there are...

The moment clients experience shoulder pain they tend to head to Dr. Google, type in their symptoms and BOOM, shoulder impingement pops up (or if you’re a hypochondriac like me, you’re convinced it’s cancer). Impingement is like the physiotherapy equivalent of...

  That fractured scapula! The scapula is the shoulder blade, it is a triangular shaped bone located in the upper back that is protected by a complex system of muscles. The scapula provides the primary connection between the chest and the arm. Research indicates...

A question that I am frequently asked is do I have tendinitis or a tendinopathy, sometimes just to confuse you I will call it a tendinosis. So all these conditions with tendons, what’s the difference?  Firstly, tendon – itis/ opathy/ osis are often used...

    What are dermatomes? A dermatome is an area of skin that is supplied by a single spinal nerve. Maps like the image above do vary from text to text, but familiarity with dermatomes can be useful in localising lesions to a nerve root or spinal cord. If you...

  What is dry needling? ‘Clinical or Western acupuncture’, where sterilised acupuncture needles are inserted into the skin. It differs from an injection which is “wet needling”. It is used to target and restore muscle function, in conjunction with physiotherapy,...

So you’ve been watching the commonwealth games, you’ve seen the bodies, the records tumble and all the magic moments have inspired you to start training. So how do you train like a pro? Now most busy 9-5ers don’t have time to spend all training, eating and recovering...

  I often get asked questions like what are tendons, what are ligaments, what do they do? So lets get back to basics. Part 1: Bone Bone is the most rigid form of connective tissue, despite this rigidity one undergoes constant metabolism and remodelling . Bone is...