Christmas Break and the New Year

As we draw near the end of 2020, our team at Pain Free Physiotherapy & Allied Health would like to thank everyone for their perseverance, support and trust in us throughout this tough year.

With Christmas coming up, we will be taking a break on the following days into the new year.

25/12/2020 – 28/12/2020      CLOSED
29/12/2020 – 31/12/2020       OPEN
01/01/2021 – 03/01/2021       CLOSED
04/01/2021 onwards    OPEN

From everyone at Pain Free Physiotherapy & Allied Health, we hope you have a fantastic Christmas and a wonderful new year!

Feeling tired but can’t sleep?

In a bad mood because of your headache?

Got tight muscles but won’t stretch out?

Acupuncture & Dry Needling:

What’s the Point?

Acupuncture is traditionally a Chinese medicine technique that involves the use of fine needles to stimulate points on the body to help alleviate pain and treat a variety of medical conditions.

In Western Medicine, we use a couple of different variations both still using needles but targeting different points on the body.

It is one of the many skills that your therapist might use as part of an integrated approach to the management of your pain and inflammation.

How does Acupuncture Work?

Acupuncture works through the belief that the human body has 12 major pathways called meridians – each linked to specific internal organs and organ systems.

Acupuncture involves fine needles inserted at certain ‘acupuncture’ points to restore the balance of energy (also known as Qi – pronounced ‘chee’) which when unbalanced is believed to cause pain and illness.

Benefits of Acupuncture

How does Dry Needling Work?

Dry Needling is based on the theory that when trigger points develop in the soft tissues, they lead to neuromuscular dysfunction, which results in pain, decreased function and increased stress on the surrounding soft tissue structures.

Studies have shown that needling deactivates the trigger point and facilitates the muscle to relax and lengthen, alleviating the original problem as well as the secondary, referred pain area.

Benefits of Dry Needling

What does it feel like?

As the needles are inserted you may feel a slight pin prick, some patients feel nothing at all, followed by a deep ache, tingling, warmth or mild discomfort.

The warm heavy sensation at and around the needle is referred to as “De Qi” and is a sign that the body’s inbuilt pain relieving mechanisms are being stimulated.

For dry needling, if the therapist is needling into a muscle trigger point, there is often a ‘twitch’ response (the muscle jumps), which is a good indication the needle is in the affected area.

Ask about our Acupuncture services (available Thursday to Saturday) or our Physiotherapists who are qualified to perform Dry Needling.

Shoulder Impingement Syndrome (SIS)

Shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) refers to the trapping of the rotator cuff muscle tendons that pass through the shoulder joint in a narrow bony space called the sub-acromial space. Impingement means to impact or encroach on bone, and repeated pinching and irritation can lead to injury and pain.

This type of injury can vary from mild tendon inflammation (tendonitis), bursitis (inflamed bursa), calcific tendonitis (bone forming within the tendon) through to partial and full thickness tendon tears (full tears may require surgery).

Over time, the tendons can thicken due to repeated irritation, progressing the problem as the thicker tendons battle to glide through the narrow bony subacromial space.

What causes Shoulder Impingement?

Generally, SIS is caused by repeated, overhead movement of your arm into the “impingement zone”, causing the rotator cuff to contact the outer tip of the shoulder blade (acromion).

You may have heard of Swimmer’s Shoulder or Thrower’s Shoulder, since the injury occurs from repetitive overhead activities.

Shoulder impingement has primary (structural) and secondary (posture & movement related) causes.

Primary Cause:

• Structural narrowing in the space, e.g. from osteoarthritis, bony spurs

Secondary Cause:

• Instability of the shoulder
• Combination of excessive joint movement, ligament laxity and muscle weakness
• Muscle imbalance from overuse, e.g. swimming, throwing sports

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms commonly include:

• An arc of shoulder pain approximately when your arm is at shoulder height and/or overhead
• Shoulder pain extending from top of the shoulder down the arm to the elbow
• Pain lying on the sore shoulder, night pain and disturbed sleep
• Muscle weakness or pain when attempting to reach or lift
• Pain when putting your hand behind your back or head

Pain reaching for the seat-belt, or hanging up clothes

How can Physiotherapy help?

Our physiotherapists at Pain Free Physiotherapy & Allied Health are experienced at using a holistic approach to assess the body as a whole to look for all contributing factors to your shoulder pain.

Early stages of treatment may include:

• Hands-on manual therapy
• Strapping/taping techniques
• Specific rehabilitation exercises

Some shoulder impingement cases may be more stubborn and frustrating, taking between 3-6 months to resolve. However, shoulder impingements will usually respond positively and quickly to physiotherapy treatment.

If you are suffering from shoulder pain or impingement, visit your physiotherapist to get your shoulder checked and become pain free!

Preparing for Hip Replacement

Preparing for Hip replacement surgery

Dos and don’ts following Hip Replacement surgery

The hip replacement procedure before and after

Hip Replacement Rehab Stair climbing

COVID-19 Update

In light of recent events surrounding COVID-19 in Brisbane, we would like to inform you that Pain Free Physiotherapy & Allied Health is still OPEN during our normal operating hours.

We would like to assure you that we are still taking extra precautions for infection control procedures for the safety of your visits.

This includes:

• Screening questionnaires for our clients over the phone and in person
• Temperature measured for everyone that walks in the door, including every client, our staff and any visitor
• Maintain social distancing with every chair spaced out 1.5m
• Limit the number of people allowed at one time in the waiting area
• Keep all doors open for better ventilation
• Hand sanitiser station every 3m around the clinic
• Sterilisation of all common areas and treatment beds
• Our staff are hand washing with soap after each client
• Our staff will wear masks as an extra safety measure – please do not be alarmed by our precaution. Our staff are all healthy and we have strict internal policy in place in the unlikely event that our staff should feel unwell.

Remember: It is important that you let us know if you have any flu-like symptoms, in self-isolation, or have contacted suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday    8:30am-12:30pm
2:00pm-6:30pm

Saturday                      8:30am-12:30pm (physiotherapy and podiatry only)
2:00pm-4:30pm (acupuncture only)

Sunday &                     Closed
Public Holidays