Tag Archive for: gvphysio

🌟🌟 We are so excited that Zoë is joining us as a full time physiotherapist 🌟🌟

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🌟🌟 We are so excited that Zoë is joining us as a full time physiotherapist 🌟🌟

📚 Zoë completed a Bachelor of Applied Science / Master of Physiotherapy Practice at La Trobe University in Bendigo.

🌸 She moved back to her hometown of Shepparton after graduating and joins our team bringing with her a wealth of experience managing a range of musculoskeletal and neurological conditions.


💪🏼 Zoë has also been a Clinical Pilates instructor for the past four years and loves helping people achieve their rehab goals, including the last 12 months taking our evening Clinical Exercise (Pilates) classes.

🏃🏼‍♀️Zoë’s hobbies include running, water skiing, snow skiing and camping – anything in the great outdoors! She also loves sitting down to read a good book.

Zoë will be seeing clients from the first week of October. Bookings are available by phone 📞 5897 7044 📞 and online via link in bio.

#sheppartonphysio #regionalhealthcare #ghealth #pilates #rehab #shepparton #sheppartonhealthcare

 

-Emily Wiedemann

Physiotherapist

GV Sportscare

shepp physio back pain pregnant

Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy

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Pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain is the most common musculoskeletal complaint in pregnancy and nearly half of all pregnant women will experience it at some point 😓(Ceprnja et al., 2021).

Most commonly this affects the pubic symphysis joint at the front (over your pubic bone) and the sacroiliac joints at the back of the pelvis (below the dimples in your low back). This can often be quite debilitating and make simple tasks like taking the stairs or picking up your toddler quite difficult.

shepp physio back pain pregnant🌟 Treatment can include:
* Soft tissue massage/myofascial release
* Taping
* Support garments (belts and leggings)

* Education
* Postural correction
* Footwear
* And of course, EXERCISE 💪🏼

👉🏼One of the most effective ways to manage pelvic gridle pain is via the appropriate exercise. This can be done via a home exercise program or through our Clinical Exercise classes, which is the perfect way to compliment your physiotherapy management.

PHYSIO SHEPP WOMENS HEALTH

 

All of our Shepparton physios are equipped to assist you and our new physiotherapist Jacinta specialises in Women’s Health and can help you manage your pregnancy aches and pains or tailor a home exercise program suitable to you 👏🏼

If you’re pregnant and experiencing pelvic girdle pain book an appointment online via our website gvsportscare.com.au or 📞 58977044

 

#gvsportscare #shepparton #health #fitness #physio #podiatry #clinicalpilates #exercise #pelvichealth #pregnancypain #pregnancy #pelvicpain #womenshealth

Reference:
Ceprnja D, Chipchase L, Fahey P, Liamputtong P, Gupta A. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Pelvic Girdle Pain During Pregnancy in Australian Women: A Cross-Sectional Study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2021 Jul 15;46(14):944-949. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000003954.

What is the pelvic floor and how does it impact my exercise?

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First of all, what is the pelvic floor?

You’ve probably heard the term ‘pelvic floor’ thrown around here and there, but what actually is the pelvic floor and why is it important?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles located in our pelvis that stretch like a sling from the pubic bone at the front of your pelvis to the tailbone at the back of your pelvis, and side to side to each ischial bone (sitting bones).

In the simplest terms, the pelvic floor supports the pelvic organs that sit above it and prevents the pelvic organs from falling through. Above your pelvic floor sits your important organs including the bladder, bowel and the uterus, and the pelvic floor muscles help to control release of urine and faeces from these organs by relaxing and contracting muscles around the openings of these organs (sphincters). The pelvic floor also plays an important role in sexual function in both males and females.

Image source: https://www.continence.org.au/about-continence/continence-health/pelvic-floor

Just like any other muscle in your body, the pelvic floor muscles can become weak. This can happen in both females and males! This means that they are unable to support the pressure coming from your abdomen, or cannot control the flow of urine or faeces out of the bladder or bowel.

Some of the signs of this include bladder leakage with coughing, sneezing, laughing, running, jumping, urgency to use your bladder or bowels, or in females, signs of a prolapse including heaviness or pressure or the feeling as though something is coming out of your vagina.

Who is at risk of pelvic floor issues?

 Some people have a higher risk of developing pelvic floor problems:

  • Women who are pregnant, recently given birth (regardless of the birth type) or who have ever been pregnant
  • Women who are going through menopause or women post-menopause
  • People who have had surgery on the pelvis e.g. women who have had gynaecological surgery, men who have had prostate surgery, or following pelvic radiotherapy
  • People who participate in high-impact exercise e.g. running, jumping sports or high intensity cardio; or heavy lifting e.g. at work or at the gym
  • People who have a chronic cough or sneeze e.g. due to asthma or smoking
  • People who suffer from chronic constipation

So, what can physiotherapists do about it?

If you can relate to any of these symptoms, just remember you are not alone. 1 in 4 people (males and females) will experience bladder leakage, 1 in 4 women will experience a prolapse in their life, and 1 in 10 young women will experience bladder leakage during sport – but just because this is common doesn’t mean it is normal!

Physiotherapists are experts in managing musculoskeletal problems, and the pelvic floor muscles are no exception! The research suggests that exercises for your pelvic floor which are done for a minimum of 12 weeks can significantly reduce symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, and if started during pregnancy can prevent pelvic floor issues after pregnancy!

Our Shepparton physiotherapists are trained in delivering these exercise programs which we can design for you to complete at home and can make sure that you are completing the exercises correctly. Alternatively, our Clinical Exercise (formerly Clinical Pilates) classes are also designed to target the pelvic floor muscles if this is an issue for you.

I want to exercise – how can I modify my exercise to take care of my pelvic floor?

 If you are worried about your pelvic floor during your regular exercise routine, here are some tips that you can start with to reduce strain on your pelvic floor:

  • Engage the pelvic floor before performing an exercise, if you’re unsure how seek help from your Shepparton physiotherapist
  • Perform exercises in sitting or lying down, rather than in standing
  • Increase the number of repetitions (10-15) or sets (3-4) but reduce the weight you are lifting
  • Avoid holding your breath while completing an exercise
  • Switch from higher impact to lower impact cardio exercise e.g. walking or swimming rather than running
  • Switch from single leg to double leg exercise e.g. skipping on two feet rather than one

Unsure where to start?

Our Shepparton physiotherapists can assist you to form an exercise regime that is safe for your pelvic floor based on your individual needs. We can also help guide if you need to see a specialist women’s health physiotherapist.

 

Helpful Websites:

Continence Foundation of Australia

Pelvic Floor First, Pelvic Floor Safe Exercises

Go Against The Flow (support for young women with incontinence)

 

–Emily Wiedemann

Physiotherapist Shepparton

GV Sportscare

runner injury shepp physio

Running tips and Exercises

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Half marathon prep 🏃🏼‍♀️

Our physio Georgie has been prepping to run her first half marathon!

She shared her top tips to avoid running injuries below and you can also jump onto our instagram @gvsportscare to see her favourite running exercises!

runner injury shepp physio

1. Plan your training. Most injuries come on from creeping your km’s up too quickly. What might seem reasonable increases can result in niggling injuries that slow you down.
2. Seek help early. A grumpy big toe, a niggling Achilles and a stiff mid back have all been little bumps in the road. They haven’t stopped her training thanks to some release work and targeted exercises.
3. Get a training buddy. Especially on longer runs for motivation! Georgie is training with her Dad
4. Consider your nutrition! Prepare for long runs in advance.
5. Training in netball seasons is difficult and it’s so important to listen to your body when it needs an extra day recovery

Good luck to our Shepparton physiotherapist Georgie and all of our clients running in the upcoming Melbourne Marathon 👌🏼👏🏼 🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏼‍♂️

#melbournemarathon #running #runningphysio
#training #runinjuries #gvsportscare #shepparton #health #fitness #physio #podiatry #clinicalpilates #exercise

–Georgie O’Connor

Physiotherapist Shepparton

GV Sportscare

physiotherapy shepp

Clinical Exercise (formerly Clinical Pilates), what’s so good about it?

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What is the difference between Clinical Exercise and Clinical Pilates?

Clinical classes are run by fully trained physiotherapists. Physiotherapists spend 4-6 years studying in depth anatomy and biomechanics in order to learn why and how the body should move. We then use these skills to assess injuries and how best to rehabilitate them.

Pilates has been well studied as a successful mode of rehab in particular for those with neck and back pain, but can be used for most injuries. Our Clinical Exercise classes are capped at a maximum of 6 participants, meaning that each person will be closely supervised in order to prevent poor quality execution of exercises and prevent further injury.

Each participant will perform their own individual program that has been designed by our Shepparton physiotherapists, in order to address areas of weakness or correct poor movement patterns.  The tailored program is progressed once quality of movement has been achieved. It is important to understand that at different stages of your life that your body adapts to increasing load differently and therefore progressions are carefully thought out by your physio.

Physios are also able to account for recent relapses or ‘flare ups’ of injury and alter your program accordingly to prevent further irritation. Physios are also able to manage multiple injuries and find a way to keep you exercising safely. We also have many clients who just like to exercise for general fitness under the supervision of a physiotherapist. For those who fall into more vulnerable groups eg pregnant, returning to exercise post pregnancy, returning to exercise post major surgery or illness, we can also account for changes in your anatomy, physiology and load tolerance to design an appropriate program.

For these reasons group physio classes is one of the only classes that are still funded by private health insurance companies as per the new government regulations.

What is a reformer and why is it so popular?

Joseph Pilates was the inventor of Pilates and one of the machines he developed to practice Pilates is called the Reformer. A Reformer has a carriage which is flat platform and rolls back and forth on a frame. The carriage is attached to one end by springs that provide differing levels of resistance. The reformer also has straps that you can use to push or pull with your arms or legs.

You may have heard that Pilates is a great way to train your core. With the Reformer the carriage which rolls along the frame and the springs that can be changed to provide more or less support which will challenge stability and core strength. The Reformer is designed in such a way that muscle is built but joints do not feel the same type of load that traditional exercise can place in them. Therefore people find that they can challenge their body more in Pilates and build strength easier. Our Shepparton physios can change how much of your body is supported by the Reformer which will change how much support your body will need to provide to perform the exercise.

One of the great advantages of the Reformer is that due to it’s versatility and design you can exercise is many different positions and it is adjustable for individual body types an

To summarise reformers are popular for a few reasons:

-it’s versatility means exercises can be tailored to many different fitness levels

-it’s gentle, many exercises can be performed lying down, sitting or standing. They are generally low impact however still count as ‘weightbearing exercise’ in most instances.

-it can also be really challenging, as your awareness and core strength improves the more challenging exercises you can master.

-there is much research to prove that Clinical Pilates is very beneficial in many musculoskeletal injuries, particularly neck and low back pain.

 

-Sophie Woodhouse

Physiotherapist Shepparton

GV Sportscare

gv podiatry gv health achilles

Mapping your weekly runs

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We have seen an increase in running injuries over the past few months in both experienced runners and those new to running.

running sheppShepparton Podiatrist Tom explains in this video how to map out your runs and think carefully about the amount of rest in between each run. He also explains why rest days, strength and conditioning and cross training are all great ideas.

When it comes to running injuries, Tom will often help his clients to write out their weekly routine and look at what can be added or adjusted to allow the individual to continue to run while rehabbing an injury.

 

Tom Davey

Podiatrist Shepparton, GV Sportscare

shepp podiatry health diet

Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Library 

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As health professionals we have an interest in diet as we believe diet, exercise and sleep to be the most important modifiable factors impacting your health. We first came across the low carbohydrate high fat diet (LCHF) in 2018. We felt an overall improvement in our health, energy levels, weight and sleeping. Since this stage we have gone on to learn more and more about LCHF and how the food industry has lead us astray. 

🥑    🌶️    🥒    🥜    🥓    ☕️    🥗    🧀    🐟

Dr Peter Brukner, the ‘founder of sports medicine’ in Australia, creator of Olympic Park Sports Medicine, left his lucrative role as sports doctor for Cricket Australia and became a full time advocate to reduce Australia’s sugar intake by half. Sophie was lucky enough to watch him evolve through this process, seeing him lecture on the topic 4 times over a number of years. Peter has joined many other top doctors around the world to look at the impact of high carbohydrate (high sugar) diets on obesity, type two diabetes and overall health. The LCHF diet is essentially returning to how we used to eat, before obesity was rampant and is not a diet so much as understanding what is healthy food and what is not. Learning from science, not from what the food industry markets to us. It is about understanding that starch breaks down to sugar and it doesn’t matter if that is found in your white bread or your banana, it still breaks down to sugar.

We are particularly interested in the LCHF diet as it also aligns with a low inflammatory diet and this can have a large impact on musculoskeletal and arthritic conditions. Excessive weight has been proven to negatively impact your joint health and therefore we find it important to talk about your weight and diet as part of your injury management. It also impacts the health of a diabetic and Dr David Unwin, your friendly local GP from the UK has had huge success with reversing type two diabetes via diet alone (ie drug free reversal of type two diabetes). This again links to Tom’s work as a Podiatrist providing skin and nail care for diabetics who are more at risk of ulcers and sensation/circulation complications. We had the pleasure of hearing Dr Unwin speak and he is a gentle and thoughtful Dr that has changed how he practices and truly listens to his patients. We highly recommend his content, particularly his youtube videos if you are a type two diabetic. 

As we are not dieticians or nutritionists we have put together a library of resources to read and learn from. We also have close contacts of people in these industries and can point you in the direction of a helping hand. It’s also important to note that different people have different food tolerances and this will impact what food is right for you. Chose your medium, don’t try to read/listen/watch to them all! 

food gv health

Books

A Fat Lot of Good, Peter Brukner

Good Calories Bad Calories, Gary Taubes 

The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz

shepp podiatry diabetes education

Websites and links

Low Carb Downunder, this website also has a list of Australian LCHF health professionals.  If you are looking for a particular health professional please feel free to also speak with us.

Sugar by half

Fat lot of good: website links, podcasts

Diet doctor: A low-carb diet for beginners 

Intermittent fasting for beginners

Detailed guide to fasting

podiatry shepp physio

 

Facebook pages to follow

Sugar by half

Dr James Muecke, 2020 Australian of the Year

Diet doctors

MovingDietician

diabetes

Videos

Dr David Unwin: HOPE on the horizon. Type 2 diabetes.

Dr. David Unwin & Dr. Jen Unwin – ‘Behaviour Change ‘In a nutshell’ & Picking our low carb battles’

Dr David Unwin: Explaining low carb in a simple way

Low Carb Down Under

diabetes shepp podiatrist

Podcasts

The Fat Lot of Good website has a great list of podcasts

GP Podcast: Low carb for diabetes: Part 1, Part 2

 

🥑    🌶️    🥒    🥜    🥓    ☕️    🥗    🧀    🐟

 

-Sophie Woodhouse

Physiotherapist Shepparton, GV Sportscare

-Tom Davey

Podiatrist Shepparton, GV Sportscare

 

shepp physio GV Sportscare facebookshepp physio GV sportscare instagramShepp podiatry physio

 

Image sources:

–Sugar by half FB page

–Fat Lot of Good website

–Diet doctor FB page

–Low Carb Down Under website

physio shepp pregnancy

Exercise in Pregnancy

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Exercise during pregnancy 🤰🏻🤰🏿🤰🏼

 

Exercise can come in many different forms during pregnancy, the most important aspect is that we are diligent and safe with our choices. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) recommends that ‘Women without contraindications should participate in regular aerobic and strength conditioning exercise during pregnancy…. Importantly, there is no evidence to suggest that regular exercise during an uncomplicated pregnancy is detrimental to the woman or fetus’

 

It is important to speak with your GP, midwife or obstetrician about your pregnancy and whether there are any reasons for you not to exercise during your pregnancy. For some women it is not possible due to complications in their pregnancy.

shepp physio pregnancy

For those that can exercise, there are many benefits to exercise during pregnancy, some of those include:

-improved maternal psychological and physical health (particularly cardiovascular health)

-reduced musculoskeletal pain and discomfort (including back, pelvic or leg discomfort)

-reduced depressive symptoms

-decreased lower limb oedema (swelling)

-evidence is growing that exercise prevents or helps manage gestational diabetes and pre eclampsia

-some evidence for reduced length of labour and fewer neonatal complications

-lower incidence of operative delivery of baby

-increased birth weight to normal range of baby

-lower rate of prematurity

Our Shepparton physiotherapist will consider when advising you on exercise programs:

-baseline level of fitness and previous exercise experience

-physiological changes in pregnancy and what type of exercise and positions are safe for the pregnant women. (Please note after week 16 there is a strong recommendation to avoid lying on your back to exercise!)

-previous injury or new pregnancy related pain

-pelvic floor, consider pre-existing weaknesses and aim to include pelvic floor exercise in all programs

physio shepp pregnancy

If you are unsure please feel free to speak with our Physiotherapist Sophie who can help guide you on safe exercise prescription. This can be a program to do within your own home or for those who want to continue in the gym we can help modify programs for here as well. If you are unable to exercise due to complications and you are experiencing back or pelvic pain we are also trained to treat these types of conditions safely at our Shepparton clinic. 

exercise pregnancy gv physio

Helpful info:

Exercise during Pregnancy guideline, including warning signs during exercise. 

PARmed-X for PREGNANCY: a guideline for health screening prior to participation in a prenatal fitness class or other exercise, used by our Shepparton physio.

References:

Field, T. (2012). Prenatal exercise research. Infant Behavior and Development, 35(3), 397-407.

Melzer, K., Schutz, Y., Boulvain, M., & Kayser, B. (2010). Physical activity and pregnancy. Sports Medicine, 40(6), 493-507.

 

Sophie Woodhouse

Physiotherapist Shepparton, GV Sportscare

gv physio tennis elbow

Tennis elbow

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Tennis Elbow 🤔

Did you know that this condition is seen commonly in desk workers, golfers and weekend gardeners? 👩‍🌾👨‍💻🏌️‍♀️

The extensor muscles and tendon in the forearm can be overworked by repetitive wrist extension or gripping. You might notice pain when trying to lift the kettle, open doors, lifting moderate to heavy loads or after long days on the computer. This pain can radiate up into the bicep or tricep and all the way down into the wrist or the hand.

gv physio tennis elbow

Our physiotherapist Sophie can give you the tools and education you need to avoid continual overload and get you going on exercises to strengthen the tendon.

Quick tip: ‘Don’t poke or rub the elbow when it is sore, tendon’s hate to be compressed and although it may feel like the right thing to do, you are continuing to aggravate the tendon!’ 🙅‍♀️

shepp physio elbow painshepp physio

Image source: https://www.knoxorthopedic.com/f-s-t-cure-tennis-elbow-lat…/

Sophie Woodhouse

Physiotherapist Shepparton, GV Sportscare

CONTACT US

Shepparton Physio & Podiatry

03 5897 7044
1/164 Welsford St, Shepparton, VIC 3630

AHPRA Certified