Relieve your chest tightness
Believe it or not, tight pec muscles can cause the feeling of chest tightness. Follow this 30seconds exercise to relieve it.
BY: Alice Chiang
Chest / Massage Ball
Glute Tightness
Glute Tightness
Your sitting muscle can often become tight if you find yourself sitting for long periods of time. Bottom soreness or tightness is very common in drivers and office workers. Try these self muscle releases to improve your muscle tension. If these exercises worsen the pain, please cease the exercise and seek professional help.
BY: Alice Chiang
Hip, Leg and Calf / Massage Ball
Physio hurts his wrist?
Physio hurts his wrist?
As a physio and a regular gym goer, I am not immune to wrist injuries when pulling weights in the gym.
I remember that sharp pain that shot through my wrist every time I put weight on it. Is my career at stake?
What did I do to make my wrist hurt? After COVID restrictions had eased, I realised that it was from suddenly returning to sports that increased my risk of injury.
Not only that, but suddenly increasing the weight that I was not used to. That forces my wrist to be in awkward positions and then injury happens.
What did I do then?
Changing wrist positioning to stop my wrist from bending too much took most of the pain away. I could do push-ups on bars or dumbbells keeping the wrist straight. But I could still feel that wrist pain slowly creeping in.
I also found that using wrist wraps helped to secure my wrist which also helped me with getting back to heavier weights.
Away from the gym, I made sure to keep the wrist safe from sudden twists or bends. Rest was a major factor to allow my wrist to recover.
It’s not just exercise that you can get wrist pain from, but it could be from other work related tasks, repetitive movements or trauma.
So if you suffer from wrist pain and aren’t able to manage it yourself, contact our clinic on (07) 3273 8887 or book online at www.painfreephysio.com for a detailed assessment.
BY: Alice Chiang
2. Health Advice / 4. Common Sport Injuries
Hip Bursitis – what is it?
Hip Bursitis – what is it?
Bursitis is a condition that occurs when a bursa becomes inflamed.
A bursa is a small sac, usually filled with fluid, that acts as a cushion/shock absorber between bones and soft tissues like muscle and ligaments.
Inflammation of the bursa over your bony part of your hip bone is called trochanteric bursitis, this is considered one of the most common types of bursitis. A lesser common site of bursal inflammation is of one located towards the inside of the hip and often referred to as iliopsoas bursitis.
The bursa can become inflamed due to repetitive irritation which may be caused by a sudden increase in training, but also due to incorrect biomechanics around the hip joint leading to abnormal irritation of the bursa.
Symptoms:
- Hip pain
- Pain extending through the thigh area
- Early-stage, more sharp and intense pain
- Later stage, ache feeling & more spread over the hip
- Night pain
Functional Limitations:
- Lying on the affected side
- Standing up from sitting
- Prolonged walking, stair climbing, or squatting
What do the doctors say?
To provide a diagnosis, doctors will perform a comprehensive assessment around the hip. Often, they will refer for additional tests such as medical imaging to confirm and/or rule out other conditions.
Management and Rehabilitation
Despite having local pain around the hip, other areas outside the hip need to be considered to determine any contributing factors that may lead to further injury.
Treatment needs to address the cause by prescribed a specific stretching program for hip flexors and other surrounding muscles to support the hip joint. That way, the hip joint can play its part in maintaining the stability of the pelvis when performing activities such as cycling.
Physiotherapy treatments may include:
- Manual Therapy
- Taping
- Acupuncture or Dry Needling
- Exercise Therapy & Home Exercise Programme
- Advice on ice therapy
If you are anyone you know is suffering from hip pain, or have been diagnosed with hip bursitis, contact our clinic on (07) 3273 8887 to have a detailed assessment with our physiotherapists.
BY: Alice Chiang
6. Clinic Announcement
Have you got tight muscles?
Have you got tight muscles?
Have you ever thought to yourself: “I’m feeling really tight here…”. Or do you feel that you can never relax? Or maybe you’re not sure what to do with that muscle tightness?
“Tightness” is a word that we use to describe what we are feeling. This can be interpreted in different ways, such as reduced range of motion, or an area not feeling relaxed.
This means that this “feeling of tightness” is very much just “a feeling” and that it is very different to physical or anatomical properties of actual muscle tension, stiffness or shortness.
Why do we get this “tightness” feeling?
Let’s use pain as an analogy. Pain is created by our body as a WARNING saying there is something wrong. Our body can process the threat and produce PAIN even if there is no damage to our body yet.
The feeling of tightness can be used the same way. When our body perceives something is wrong with our body or our movement which needs correction, we can get “that feeling”.
But what is threatening my body?
Although there may be actual muscular tension, this is not the main threat to our body. Instead, the absence of adequate blood flow or rest of our body is the threat, as this can cause metabolic stress and activate chemical nociceptors.
What can I do for Muscle Tightness?
Many muscular tightness can be related to movement or posture. If a certain movement or posture is giving this “tightness” feeling as it is the main cause.
There are many different ways to target muscle tightness through a clinical setting. This can include:
- Stretching
- Soft tissue massage
- Dry needling/Acupuncture
- Heat therapy
- Exercises (motor control & strengthening)
Keep in mind that there may be complex cases where the cause of tightness can be caused by other factors such as sleep, emotions such as stress, diet or any other unknown factors. In this case, movement or posture changes may not provide relief.
If you are experiencing tightness in your body, or know anyone who is suffering from tightness, contact our team on (07) 32738887 for further advice on your case.
BY: Alice Chiang
6. Clinic Announcement