Jon Ford
Prescribing drugs of dependence for pain management is a complex (and sometimes controversial) topic, particularly when it comes to chronic pain. Read more…
Frozen Shoulder
Cervicogenic Headaches
Mathew Foreman
Headaches can occur from many sources, a common source of headaches is inflammation or dysfunction of the muscles, ligaments or joints of the upper part of the neck known anatomically as the upper cervical spine. Headaches arising from this source are called cervicogenic headaches. Read more…
Treatment Options for Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis
Aidan Rich
In a previous blog, we looked at many of the treatment options for knee and hip osteoarthritis. There was one that we left out and it’s the big one - exercise!
People are often told to rest with hip and knee osteoarthritis, to avoid ‘wear and tear’, however an appropriate amount of exercise can be the exact thing your joints need. Remember, ‘motion is lotion’!
Treatment Options for Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis
Aidan Rich
Hip and knee osteoarthritis are very common conditions, affecting up to 5-15% of all people. Osteoarthritis can cause symptoms including pain, morning stiffness, loss of joint flexibility, swelling and reduced ability to undertake occupational and sporting activities.
There are a variety of treatment options available for treatment of hip and knee osteoarthritis, these are in three broad categories
Occlusion Training
Aidan Rich
It’s been a while since our previous look at the mechanisms and benefits of blood flow restriction (or occlusion) training. Since then there has been some more research evaluating the effect of blood flow restriction for both knee pain and quadricep strength. Today we will have a look through these recent publications.
Plyometrics for Runners
Aidan Rich
Plyometric exercises generally involve body weight jumping, hopping and bounding activity.
The aim of plyometrics is to make the muscles in the leg more efficient at storing and releasing energy (the “stretch-shortening cycle”) which is very important for efficient running. Often with age, or with high volumes of low to moderate-intensity running, the ability of the muscles to act in this way is decreased, leading to more ‘sticking’ on the ground with every step. Incorporating regular plyometrics in your running program can assist with slowing down, or even reversing these changes.
Lateral Hip Pain
Shay Mcleod
A common complaint amongst female peri/post menopausal women is an onset of pain over the outside of the hip. Researchers in this area believe that this issue is most common for this demographic population due to the width of the female pelvis, hormonal changes that occur affecting the homeostasis of the tendon, weight gain which is common during this stage and overload to the tendons around the outer hip due to activity changes and poor biomechanics.
Self-compassion With Persistent Pain
Charles Ruddock
Self-compassion has become a key strategy used within modern psychology treatments. Dr Kristin Neff and Dr Paul Gilbert (known for Compassion Focused Therapy – CFT) and many others have helped to develop and research the use of self-compassion and bring it into the practices of many psychologists for treating people with a range of psychological conditions.
What is research going to do for my Low Back Pain?
Jon Ford
To answer simply - a lot! At Advance Healthcare we pride ourselves on our evidence-based approach to our clients’ care. We are passionate advocates for evidence-based practice. We are widely involved in research projects and many of our therapists are PhD graduates and published research authors.
In relation to your low back pain, the Advance Healthcare team, with the clinical director Dr Jon Ford as the research lead, published a landmark study called the STOPs trial in the internationally respected British Medical Journal in 2015.