Category Archives for Health and Recovery

What role does an occupational therapist play when working with people to select the best product?

Occupational therapists are interested in helping people to do what they want and need to do, within their individual context. Because of this, we help people to look past the bells and whistles of each individual product and focus on what works for them. We also know a lot about the human body and how things can change with different conditions, which means that we can give suggestions about what item or movement will be easier, or what could lead to pain or fatigue over time.

For home modifications, we look at all the different activities that a person does – or wants to do – at home, and what parts of the environment make those activities difficult. From there, we use our knowledge of accessibility and assistive technology options to recommend the modifications that will work for that person.

How does someone organise a home assessment with an occupational therapist​?

Occupational therapists are interested in helping people to do what they want and need to do, within their individual context. Because of this, we help people to look past the bells and whistles of each individual product and focus on what works for them. We also know a lot about the human body and how things can change with different conditions, which means that we can give suggestions about what item or movement will be easier, or what could lead to pain or fatigue over time.

For home modifications, we look at all the different activities that a person does – or wants to do – at home, and what parts of the environment make those activities difficult. From there, we use our knowledge of accessibility and assistive technology options to recommend the modifications that will work for that person.

How did LifeTec work with Ann to gain freedom and achieve greater independence?

LifeTec uses an evidence based approach to support people we work with. This involved helping Ann ‘IMAGINE’ her goals and ways of achieving these. Ann was interested in being able to independently transport herself and her mobility aid. We helped her identify what was preferred and the ‘must have’ features, based on their abilities.

We then supported her to ‘SEEK’ options suitable for meeting her goals and discussed the benefits and limitations of the assistive technology options. For Ann, this involved discussing a variety of scooter transportation options such as trailers, hoists and lifters either retrofitted or pre-modified.

LifeTec then assisted Ann to ‘CHOOSE’ the preferred option through trying shortlisted options to see how they would really work for Ann to meet her specific goals. For Ann, she chose the Nissan Cube and we assisted her to access government funding (Vehicle Options Subsidy Scheme) to support her to purchase this.

The final phase was the ‘LIVE’ phase where we provided training to help her use the technology safely and as effectively as possible. For Ann, this involved delivery of the vehicle and hand over, where she could practice using the lifter to get her mobility aid in and out of the vehicle.

What are the top technologies used by Ann? What do these offer her?

Ann required an electric scooter to help her travel long distances to visit shops, get her to appointments and other community spaces. This type of assistive technology offered her the ability to leave her home, drive to her location and have the mobility to access the community environment.

What is involved in identifying each individual’s requirements?

This is a process starting with the discussion of goals, assessment of a person’s physical abilities and then trialling assistive technologies. During these different phases, requirements for the individual are  identified and prioritised. This is a collaborative process which involves the person we are supporting, the LifeTec therapist and sometimes additional support people such as other health professionals, family, carers or friends.

In my 31 years of practice as a physiotherapist it has been obvious that there could be a link between obesity and chronic pain. It could be any pain but clinically I have noticed that spinal pain or lower limb pain may contribute more than other areas.

Chronic pain can be classified as pain lasting more than 6 months. Acute pain that has not been resolved will turn into chronic pain. Continuing to exercise through pain without proper modifications or actually doing nothing but complete rest with an injury can mean your pain may turn into a chronic condition.

I am going to focus more on the inactive person in pain. It is essential that after an injury or episode of pain that there is a gradual return to normal movement. Often when we focus on the pain too much we experience a heightened level of pain. Add to that painkillers and our body is unable to resolve the pain naturally. Now I am not saying to not take painkillers if you require them but often people in pain will continue to take painkillers when they should be weaning off. Some painkillers can be addictive and stopping taking them can make us think that the pain returns worse than it was before because we have become so reliant on them.

So you injure your lower back and your GP says to go home and rest, lie down and do nothing. This may be helpful for the first 24 hours but you must get up and move. Resting after injury means Relative Rest and not complete Rest.  Relative rest means that we continue to move as much as the pain allows. This movement actually helps with the healing process. As our pain lessens we then should be learning to activate muscles correctly that may have been inhibited by our pain. Retraining the muscles to work in the correct way and in co operation with other muscles is essential for normalising movement and actually helps to reduce pain.

So we can see that resting completely will not help us to get rid of our pain. If we think about the person who after injury stops moving and rests completely, they never learn how to reactivate the correct muscles and so they cannot possible move efficiently. They become tight and weak in muscles because of their inactivity and so this causes more Pain! It becomes a vicious cycle and starts to affect mental wellbeing also. People with pain as a result of inactivity can often become depressed.

Depressed people often turn to food as it gives them immediate comfort. When being inactive there is not much else to do but eat and sometimes even drinking alcohol can become a problem. Screen time often increases also. You may have heard the term that "Sitting is the new Smoking”. Well it is true. Sitting all day can lead to Obesity!

So if you experience Pain. Make sure that you see a Physiotherapist experienced in not just helping you to relieve your pain but getting your body working optimally again so that you can get back to enjoying your life.

Nobody wants to be Fat and in Pain. Lets make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

Written by Angela Melit of the Pain Slayers at Graceville Physiotherapy

If you have a mobile phone, laptop or tablet and you get neck, upper back or lower back pain chances are you may be a Tech Wreck. I call a Tech Wreck any neck pain that is caused by using these pieces of technology.

In my practice we see many clients showing signs of Tech Wreck.  Susan is a client of ours who comes to mind.  Susan is a Tech Wreck! Susan is a professional in her late 20’s. She spends most of her day on her computer for work. She has deadlines that she has to meet and so can spend up to 3 hours at a time without getting up from her desk.

Susan is also into Facebook, Instagram and Snap chat. She belongs to many Facebook groups for work and to catch up with other special interest groups and loves to post to her friends on Instagram and Snap chat. She texts a lot on her mobile phone as her friends communicate this way also.

When we first met Susan we looked at her posture. She looked overweight, had hunched shoulders and her chin poked forward. We stood her up against the wall and her head did not reach the wall without her tipping her head back. Her stomach poked out also and her knees rolled in.

Susan was getting constant headaches and at the end of the day she was always exhausted and this was starting to impact on her social life. She had pain turning her head and looking up and it was also affecting her sleep. Many of you could be in the same boat if any of this resonates with you.

We decided that Susan would benefit from our “BodyFix” program. We empowered Susan to take her health into her own hands. Susan became the instigator of her program and we became the facilitators. Susan was taught how her body should work so that she could then make important decisions on what she did with her body during the day.

First of all we relieved Susan’s pain and helped her to understand where her pain was coming from. This way she was empowered to eliminate the causes.

Susan asked for a stand up desk that would allow her to stand up while on the computer and because it was adjustable she could lower it to sit for some periods of time also.  She no longer looked down at her screen but looked straight ahead. She used eye drops to help her avoid getting eye strain from too much screen time.

Susan decided to limit her time on her tablet and mobile phone to 10 mins at a time. She used an alarm to tell her when her 10 minutes was up. She could always go back to it later on for another 10 minutes after a short break.

Her life was starting to get back in order and she was feeling strong and confident about her future. We taught her self massage techniques to use when she was starting to feel any strain and she had a list of stretches that she performed daily to counteract the tightness in her muscles. We also gave Susan a strengthening program to start with. Using this as a starting point Susan was then able to find the right exercises for her. Susan was confident in attending gym classes as she now knew what her body could do and what she liked to do.

Susan would come in every 4 to 5 weeks or so for a tweaking of her “BodyFix” program so that we could then teach her more about her body and keep her feeling Strong , Healthy and Active, and also to get on top of any niggles that could potentially turn into problems later on.

Interestingly when we first saw Susan she looked overweight and sluggish. A few weeks into her program she no longer looked overweight. She had transformed into a picture of Health and Vitality. She was actually never overweight at all she just looked it because of her poor posture.

Here are the 6 ways that Susan transformed herself from a Tech Wreck into a person bursting with Health, Strength and Vitality.

As soon as Susan felt any inkling of a headache coming on she would lie on her Neck Tek, which I also call the headache remover. If your headache is a result of neck strain then this simple device corrects the muscle action (BodyFix). It will even work if you just lie in it for 10 minutes and do nothing as it corrects body position and facilitates the correct muscles to work.

Susan did not sit or stand at her computer for more than an hour at a time. She had an alarm to tell her when to get up and/or move . This then stops the accumulation of stress in certain muscles.

Susan limited her mobile phone and tablet usage to 10 mins at a time

Susan performed specific neck stretches gently every hour to stop accumulation of tension in muscles

Susan performed specific posture strengthening exercises every morning and night which only took her 5 minutes to do. This then got her muscles ready to take on the load she was going to put on them during the day.

Susan made the decision on which exercise she would do because she knew her body better than anyone else.

In this day and age every single person needs their own “BodyFix” program because everybody deserves to have a Strong, Healthy Active body.

Come and see a Pain Slayer for your BodyFix program.

Watch this video to get a simple foam roller technique to trigger point your neck, to relieve neck  pain, fast!

You will also learn how to loosen your midback which is another key element to relieving pain in your neck and upper back.

Stay tuned to the end where you will be shown some simple ways to loosen the muscles in your legs which ties in for an all over body massage maintenance

Learning to foam roll is a fantastic way for self-management of those tight and painful muscles all over your body and relieving those stiff and sore joints in your upper back. Its such a simple tool that you can take with you anywhere and use whenever you want. Use it when you are travelling or strapped for time. You can roll as part of a daily regime or get benefits for 2-3 short session a week.

It is so simple you can miss the benefits so give it a go today!

I am sure that if you are a runner or were a runner and have recently had a baby you would be aware that a high profile trainer (Michelle Bridges) was back running just 3 weeks after having her first baby. Michelle seems like Super Woman and all of us would like to be like her! Why would her pelvic floor be different than ours? Surely we can all run 3 weeks after giving birth also.

Let me introduce you to a client of mine. Her name is Michelle also. Michelle had her first baby at 30 years of age. She used to run for fitness a couple of times a week and play touch football once a week. Michelle ran while she was pregnant up until she was about 6 months, however she stopped because she started to get some lower abdominal pain and started to get some leakage after running more than 2kms. She always found that other forms of exercise just didn’t do it for her so after having her baby she was keen to start running as soon as she could. Michelle had no complications during the birth except for a small vaginal tear which needed 2 stitches and healed quickly. She had some urinary incontinence immediately after birth which lasted about a week. She noticed it when she laughed, coughed or sneezed. Because she had no problems with any leakage after a few weeks Michelle thought that her pelvic floor was back to normal.

Michelle had her abdominals checked for separation after birth and was told that she had only one finger separation between her muscles. Because she only had slight separation she was told that there was no need to wear any form of support garment.

Our Michelle decided if Michelle Bridges could start running again so soon after giving birth, so could she. She was fit and healthy and so decided when her baby was 4 weeks old that she would start running just 2km.

After her first run Michelle felt a little “weird” in the lower back but did not think much of it. Two days later she went for another run, however once again she felt a little uncomfortable. With Michelle Bridges as her motivation she decided to keep going however during her third 2km run she started to get some lower back pain and felt that weird sensation come around into her abdominals. She also noticed that she had some leakage. She started to realise that the running may be causing the pain.

Michelle was really disappointed as she really wanted to be able to run. It was an exercise she loved doing and importantly it a great stress reliever for her. With worries about her lack of fitness, weight gain and the stress of being a new mum, it wasn’t long before the whole family unit suffered. She felt unhealthy, unfit and fat.

Michelle happened to see one of our posts on Facebook about getting back into shape after having a baby and thought that one of our “Body Fix” programs could work for her. Michelle booked in for an appointment. We helped Michelle develop a plan which directed her towards her end goal of being able to run again without damaging anything in the process. She could see that there was light at the end of the tunnel!

Initially we were able to work out that Michelle needed to strengthen certain muscles, relax other muscles and allow her pelvic region to heal before embarking on an exercise program involving running. We gave Michelle a step by step program and educated her so that she was empowered to make decisions about her plan that suited her best.

 It may not be running, it might just be getting Strong Active and Pain free.

You can book an appointment with a Pain Slayer online or call 32781186. 

We don’t need to explain the phenomenon of near-misses.

They happen far, far too often on our roads.

We often hear stories of people too afraid to get back on the bike after a near miss.  

So much so we decided to ask for some expert advice on the matter.

Brisbane Psychologist Romana Bowd has put together a quick article on the mental impact near misses can have on cyclists.

Discover how to identify psychological trauma and what your next steps should be.

As a driver of a car, bike rider or even pedestrian we can be involved in a significant accident that can leave not only physical injuries but also psychological injuries.

However we can suffer psychological injuries due to a ‘near miss’ or even witnessing an accident. These injuries can leave emotional scars that are as traumatic as physical ones.

We refer to these emotional problems as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) if a person’s emotional state remains unstable many days or months past the original incident.

A person is diagnosed with PTSD if there are any emotional or environmental triggers that can bring back memories of the trauma accompanied by intense emotional and physical reactions.

Symptoms may include nightmares or flashbacks, avoidance of situations that bring back the trauma, heightened reactivity to stimuli, anxiety or depressed mood.

It also can include:

Often people do not consider themselves to be suffering from PTSD because it is often associated and most commonly reported in war veterans and just witnessing an accident or being involved in a ‘road accident’ is under-estimated by most of us as not serious enough to seek help.

However, health professionals consider that anyone subjected to severe or sudden stress needs to be treated seriously just as if they had a physical injury.

PTSD can occur in anyone of any age, gender, culture and socioeconomic background.

If you are suffering  from symptoms, then it is recommended that you go and see your GP.

Your GP and you can assess whether it would be helpful to see a psychologist, psychiatrist and/or start medication.

If PTSD is severe it does not just ‘go away’ often our brain cannot erase the memories of the incident and it is very important to seek help.

Romana is a qualified psychologist based in Brisbane. For any questions relating to this blog post, psychological trauma or other related issues, please contact Romana using the details provided below.

Dr Romana Bowd PhD, BSc(AppPsych), BSc(Hons), MAPS, CHP, Assoc. CCounsP

Taringa 7 Day Medical Centre

Phone: 3830 5999

Email: [email protected]

If you need immediate help, please contact emergency services on 000 or LifeLine on 13 11  14

​The key to assisting your rehab after surgery is to have your knee as strong as possible prior to surgery. Some hospitals now provide “get fit for surgery” programs as this greatly assists with achieving the goals in the post-operative protocol.

Your Physiotherapist can help set this up and will usually need information on the type of surgery and your Surgeons post-operative protocol

Follow instructions. 

Usually you will leave hospital with specific instructions and advice on when it is appropriate to commence your rehabilitation and when you will have a follow-up appointment with your Surgeon.

This will depend on the specific surgery and your Surgeon’s protocol. 

The general principles of rehabilitation are to regain range of motion and strength as soon as allowable (depending on the type of surgery).

Your Physiotherapist in conjunction with the Surgeon’s post-operative protocol can guide you on the specific exercises you need to do for your particular surgery.

You should see your Physiotherapist as soon as possible after the Surgeon gives you the green light to commence rehabilitation.

Physiotherapy modalities may include massage, mobilisations, and specific exercises to help regain mobility and strength.

Furthermore, gait re-education is usually required to ensure a normal gait pattern is returned. 

Often an altered gait pattern can place undue load on the hip and back and be difficult to correct if the compensatory pattern is not corrected in the early phases of rehabilitation.

Stay tuned for more articles from Martin and the Brisbane City Physiotherapy team. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions related to this article, surgery or other mobility issues, please contact Brisbane City Physiotherapy on (07) 3301 2345 or click the button below. 

Injury healing involves processes that (1) fill in, (2) seal and (3) shrink the wound or injury. 

These characteristics of healing vary in importance and duration dependent on the different types of injuries. 

Injury healing, following the inflammatory response, involves a process known as the migration or proliferation phase.  This phase begins 3 – 4 days after injury and continues from between 2 – 10 weeks dependent on the type and severity of injury. 

For example, a paper cut or sutured surgical wound will heal within a couple of weeks because the edges of the wound are in close proximity and the injured area has suffered minimal tissue loss. 

A fracture, on the other hand, can take up to 10 weeks in the migration phase as there are more complicated processes involved in an attempt to restore bone tissue and strength.  

Within 48 hours after an injury, a process called angiogenesis takes place in which new blood vessels begin to form from surrounding soft tissue which increases the blood flow to the site of injury.  Any dead red blood cells are cleared away and other cells known as fibroblasts infiltrate the injured area and start laying down collagen.

This is a vital component of this process as collagen is the most abundant protein found in our bodies and acts as the ‘glue’ that holds together the tissues of our:

• joints,
• muscles,
• tendons,
• bones,
• blood vessels,
• hair,
• skin,
• nails, and
• Digestive system...

…the list goes on.  

During the migration phase you will probably find that you are exercising less so your appetite decreases. 

Although your energy requirements during recovery are less than when you are consistently exercising, they are still higher than your day to day energy requirements when sedentary (your basal metabolic rate).  This is due to the work your body is undertaking to repair injured tissue.  Failing to meet these energy requirements by not eating enough coupled with lack of exercise may result in a loss in muscle mass as well an increase in fat stores.  

Proteins are the building blocks for all of the cells in our body so consuming adequate protein is vital during recovery.  The minimum amount of protein that should be consumed in a day is 0.8 gm of protein per kg of body weight. 

So, for a 70 kg person this equates to approximately 56 gm of protein each day. 

The needs of athletes are higher and they should be consuming closer to 1.5 – 2 gm of protein/kg of body weight each day. 

Your protein intake should be broken up over the course of the day and will ideally come from a variety of different sources. 

The main considerations during this period are ensuring you are eating enough each day to meet your energy requirements.

This may mean that you ensure you eat every 3 – 4 hours even though you may not be feeling that hungry. 

Avoiding inflammatory foods such as high amounts of animal protein, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and highly refined or processed foods will also support the recovery process. 

It is also important to include variety in your diet to ensure you are obtaining a wide range of different nutrients to optimize your health and functioning of the body. 

If you missed Kate's first article in this series, be sure to check it out below. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions relating to this article or more general questions around nutrition, don't hesitate to contact Kate on 0423 493 330 or click the button below. 

If you have a neck injury which may have resulted from a motor vehicle accident, a fall or an injury at work you will know how persistent the pain and symptoms are and how encroaching they are on your daily life.

The pain and other symptoms, including headaches, can feel like it's ruining your life.  

If you have these issues you should be seen by a health professional for in depth assessment, treatment options and self-management information (including your own exercise programme).

While you are waiting to see your health professional or if you are searching for some more options to help yourself relieve the pain and symptoms of your neck injury this simple exercise from Sean McCoola of Maximize Health Group can kick start your return to normal life without symptoms.

In sitting or standing position, while stationery or travelling all you need to concentrate on is tucking your chin in.

That’s it! It’s so effective because it addresses the 3 major issues that continue neck pain and symptoms: poor posture, stiff neck joints, spasmed and irritated muscles and nerves.

Watch the video below for a demonstration.

Sit or stand tall to begin. Check out Sean's video on how to perfect your posture and prevent postural pain here.

Concentrate on gliding chin straight back, as if dragging your chin on a flat surface. Use your pointer finger to push chin backwards. Leave pressure on for the whole hold times below if it helps.

Hold for 10 seconds at a time initially, build to 10 x 10 second holds and build this to complete repeatedly throughout the day. Aim to make this position your new “normal” over weeks and months

• Accept there will be symptom changes, this is normal. However, do not let pain increase by more than a further 2 points on the 1 to 10 pain scale (eg if pain is at 4/10 do not go past 6/10). Do not let other symptoms, including headaches continue to increase after the initial positioning.
• Accept that a double or triple chin may also arise. An added benefit of this exercise is that it will reduce the appearance of double chin as it is toning muscles around that problem area. Bonus!!

To help relax into this position, breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds and out through your nose for 6 seconds. Yes, this lasts almost the whole 10 seconds of the hold of position and can be repeated as you are able to hold the position for longer.

To improve the stretch and joint movement tilt head to one side and hold initially for 10 seconds

Stay tuned next month for another article from Maximize Health Group.

Check out Sean's other articles below. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding these tips, whiplash injury recovery or other health issues please do not hesitate to contact Sean on +61 7 3343 5494 or [email protected].