Physiotherapy Blog

Is your kid complaining about a persistent knee pain under their knee? Does it bother them the most after physical activity, especially basketball, volleyball, soccer player or other sport? If so, they might be dealing with a condition called Osgood Schlatter’s Disease. Dont’ worry, it sounds scary but it’s very common and manageable with Physiotherapy! What is Osgood Schlatter’s? To put it in simple terms, Osgoode Schlatter’s is the inflammation of a part of the tibia (shin bone), right where the tendon attaches. Repetitive and high force contraction of the tendon puts pressure on the growth plate, causing irritation over…

It’s a dull, aching pain around your kneecap that you can’t quite touch. Runner’s knee, or clinically known as patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), is a very common cause of knee pain. The good news is, it us very treatable especially if you catch it early. In this blog, we’ll break down what runner’s knee is, how it happens, and tips to avoid it whether you’re gearing up for a marathon of just getting into running. What is runner’s knee? Runner’s knee isn’t as specific of a diagnosis as say, a hamstring strain. It is an umbrella term for pain where…

Most of us have experienced a muscle strain at some point in our lives. It might have been after running too fast, changing directions quickly, picking up something too heavy. Muscle strains, especially in the hamstring, groin and calves, are common occurrences for soccer players. What about soccer stretches these muscles to and beyond their limits? Why do soccer players experience muscle strains? Muscles are composed of many different fibres that work together as a unit. Muscle strains occur when muscle fibres get overstretched or experience too much force. Due to the nature of soccer, these movements happen regularly. For example, the quick starts, stops, and pivots all require muscles to be firing at full blast to generate and resist huge amounts of power. As these changes have to occur in split seconds, the muscles have to absorb then create this power in a very short amount of time, and…

With the World Cup in full swing, the soccer season is in full swing. Even if you’re not a professional athlete, whether you’re playing in a league, drop in, or registering for a friendly tournament, you should always be on the lookout for overuse injuries. Most of us are familiar with that bone-deep fatigue after the final whistle blows or the timer hits 0, and the adrenaline comes to the end. It’s that legs shaking feeling, a pain that you didn’t notice or were able to ignore before that we call a post-tournament or post-game fatigue. In this blog, we’ll…

Pediatric Physiotherapy is a specialization that focuses on infants, and children. It is widely recognized that the bodies and brains of our children are vastly different than an adults. From the way they learn, heal, and constantly are developing, we need to treat them differently as well. While the average sports injuries, strains, sprains, fractures and more are all still present in this age group, there are also unique conditions that are managed by pediatric physiotherapists. In this blog, we will discuss the more specialized situations that are unique to a pediatric population, and how Pediatric Physiotherapy is uniquely configured…

With the World Cup starting imminently, soccer fans are waiting to see their idols perform. One of the big stories going into the tournament is Brazil’s star forward, Neymar, experiencing an injury that could affect not only his performance, but even his participation in the upcoming games. This injury was a grade 2 calf strain, a pretty common injury all things considered. Today we’ll go over what the injury is, what recovery is like, and how to prevent similar injuries from happening to yourself. What is a calf strain? Everytime we push off with our toes, we are using the…

If you’re awaiting a total hip replacement (THR), you probably have a lot of questions. Surgeries are nerve-wracking events, but the more you learn about a THR, the more at ease you will feel. Research and developments in the medical surgery field have made THRs easier than ever. If you’ve heard about previous surgeries you may have heard some scary things, spending long times in a bed or unable to move your leg in certain ways. Now, thanks to improved techniques and knowledge, movement and rehab start on day 1! What happens during a THR? The left shows a normal…

If you’ve ever had that nagging pain during or after your runs, or if you find yourself having to change how you’re running, this guide is for you. For many of our patients that are passionate runners, it can be hard to know when to push through and when an injury might be serious. In this blog, we’ll go over the most common injuries we see, and how to overcome them. First, let’s start with how they develop. How do running injuries develop? Trail running is easier on the tissues due to a softer landing. With running injuries, running surfaces,…

In a world where we have a wealth of information available at our fingertips, it can be hard to know what is real and what is just gossip. This is true for many things in Physiotherapy as well, and a lot of what we do in clinic is educating our patients on what the science actually says. Today we’ll go over 5 common things we hear from our patients, and what the truth actually is! Hopefully, you can use this information to make more informed choices about your health. Physiotherapy Myth 1: Physiotherapy is going to be really painful The…

Getting help from your back pain can feel very scary. Namely, words like x-rays, MRIs, surgery, disc bulges degeneration, and nerve impingement are extremely common when going to the doctor. It’s easy to get the wrong idea and feel like your issue can’t be solved, or is permanent. In Physiotherapy, we see people with imaging everyday, who have no clue what any of it means. In fact, it often makes them feel worse, and more scared to move. Today we want to clear up the misconceptions with disc bulges and what a realistic treatment program actually looks like. What is…