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

The post What is the pelvic floor and how does it impact my exercise? appeared first on GV Sportscare.

The demands of pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period involves big changes to the musculoskeletal system. The body needs time to recover and this will impact readiness to return to high-intensity or high-impact activity safely. This would be no different for a runner sustaining a non-pregnancy related injury – our advice would be to commence running again only after appropriate progression through rehab and ticking off key strength and loading criteria!

Can I get back to running/sport/HIIT straight away?

Current guidelines recommend waiting at least 12-16 weeks before returning to running or high-impact exercise. This is to prevent injury to the pelvic floor, abdominal muscles and other joints and muscles.

But this doesn’t mean you can’t be exercising earlier! Low impact or low intensity exercise is safe in the postpartum period from as early as 3 weeks postpartum when directed by a health professional such as a physiotherapist.

Our Shepparton physiotherapists can assess you in the postpartum period, and get you started with your return to exercise at home or the gym, a walking program, or discuss with you our Mums & Bubs Clinical Exercise classes. We recommend a postnatal assessment at the 3-4 week mark to make an individualised plan for returning to exercise.

What about my pelvic floor?

The pelvic floor undergoes many changes during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatally. Read our blog to learn more about the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor can become weak, which means that it doesn’t function as well as it should – this can lead to pelvic floor symptoms like bladder or bowel leakage, urgency or prolapse.

Running, sport and/or high-intensity exercise are high impact activities that increase pressure in the abdomen, which in turn places more pressure and demand on the pelvic floor.

Symptoms to look out for that may indicate your pelvic floor or core isn’t coping with exercise:

• Bladder or bowel leakage (even just a little!) or difficulty emptying bowels
• Urinary urgency (rushing to the toilet)
• Heaviness/bulge/dragging sensation in the vaginal area
• Bulging/doming in the abdomen through an abdominal separation

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

Return to running or high-intensity training checklist:

✓ Have already completed at least 6 weeks of low impact cardio exercise, such as walking or swimming

✓ You will have done at least 6 weeks of strength and conditioning in the postpartum period prior to running, to get your muscles strong enough for running/sport/HIIT

✓ Timeline wise, at least 12 weeks postpartum (and even up to 6 months), to allow your body time to heal, improve your strength and prevent pelvic floor dysfunction

✓ A pelvic floor assessment and run/sport/HIIT clearance from a pelvic floor physio

✓ Able to pass a series of pelvic floor loading tests without pelvic floor symptoms above

✓ Able to pass general lower body strength tests – this is the benchmark for all runners/athletes to prevent other non-pregnancy related joint/soft tissue injuries!

How can our Shepparton based Physiotherapists help with your postnatal return to running?

– Complete a post-natal musculoskeletal assessment and pelvic floor screening (as early as 3-4 weeks postpartum), and refer you onto a local pelvic floor physio if indicated

– Develop an individualised exercise program including general strength, mobility, pelvic floor and core exercises

– Facilitate safe return to running, HIIT or your chosen sport by testing you against the criteria above to ensure you are ready to return to this level of exercise

– Work with you to set some short and long term goals!

– Emily Wiedemann
Physiotherapist Shepparton

The post Getting back to running, sport or HIIT after pregnancy, where should you start? appeared first on GV Sportscare.

 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

The post 🌟🌟 We are so excited that Zoë is joining us as a full time physiotherapist 🌟🌟 appeared first on GV Sportscare.

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

The post What is the pelvic floor and how does it impact my exercise? appeared first on GV Sportscare.

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!

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

The post Running tips and Exercises appeared first on GV Sportscare.

Why is PREHAB important in ACL injuries?

There are many other benefits:

Opportunity for your Shepparton physiotherapist to assess your strength of your non injured leg. We use this measurement throughout your rehab post operative as part of your testing before you return to sport. We use testing to reduce chance of rupturing your graft. Taking this measurement before surgery gives us a more accurate measure of your strength BEFORE you decondition due to surgery. This gives us a more accurate measurement to aim for before returning to sport.

Reduce swelling before surgery and increase strength to improve your immediate post operative period

Improve confidence and walking pattern

Discuss goals, timelines and expectations

So while you may want to book the surgery and get going, consider and ask your surgeon about the benefits of prehab. As we get better at planning for major surgeries the outcomes continue to improve. Short term patience and effort can pay off in the long term

If you’re unsure, speak with one of our Shepparton physiotherapists before your surgery

The post ACL rupture, why bother with prehab? appeared first on GV Sportscare.

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

The post Clinical Exercise (formerly Clinical Pilates), what’s so good about it? appeared first on GV Sportscare.

Designed and made by a Melbourne company from ‘hospital grade non-permeable,anti-microbial fabric’
✨

Sophie gives a demo on how to lie onto the pillow and is always on hand to help pregnant clients in and out of the pillow safely.
🤩

The Belly Pillow makes it much easier to treat the aches and pains that come along with pregnancy 🤰🏻

The post Pregnancy, Physio and the Belly Pillow appeared first on GV Sportscare.

🥑    🌶️    🥒    🥜    🥓    ☕️    🥗    🧀    🐟

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! 

Books

A Fat Lot of Good, Peter Brukner

Good Calories Bad Calories, Gary Taubes 

The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz

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

Facebook pages to follow

Sugar by half

Dr James Muecke, 2020 Australian of the Year

Diet doctors

MovingDietician

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

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

Image sources:

–Sugar by half FB page

–Fat Lot of Good website

–Diet doctor FB page

–Low Carb Down Under website

The post Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Library  appeared first on GV Sportscare.

🥦🥬🥥🥑🥩🥗 

‍

The post Achilles tendon pain appeared first on GV Sportscare.