Tag Archives: Sports Injuries

acupuncture, Exercise, General Category, Health and Wellness, Massage Therapy, Sports Injuries, Sports Physiotherapy, Sports Taping

Golfer’s Elbow

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Golfer’s elbow

Golfer's Elbow Treatment

The muscles that help to bend the wrist and fingers are called flexor muscles. These muscles form tendons and get attached at the elbow level. When you develop Golfer’s elbow, it becomes painful and inflamed at the attachment point on the inner elbow. Golfer’s elbow tends to occur after a period of repeated overuse. The bone of your elbow is like a boney bump at the end of the bone where the muscles get attached. Golfer’s elbow may be acute or chronic. Generally when it is acute, there will be pain, swelling, redness and warmth. Some of the symptoms involve pain in the elbow that spreads up or down the forearm. You may also feel weakness in the forearm. Pain may start suddenly or develop gradually over time.

Treatment for Golfer’s elbow

Treatment varies depending on the stage of inflammation. The best way to reduce the problem is to treat the symptoms with Registered physiotherapy. A good physiotherapy treatment program should begin with pain reduction. This can include ultrasound, laser, interferential treatment, acupuncture, and/or registered massage therapy. Sports taping can be used as an option. Physiotherapy treatment should include briefly reducing the activities that caused the pain. Physiotherapy treatment for Golfer’s elbow should also include a proper brace such as the “Bandit” brace that takes the pressure off the injured tissues. The “HAWK” tool is another option. It can be used to break down any scar tissue that has developed. This speeds up the healing time! The final stage of physiotherapy treatment should include strengthening the forearm muscles, and showing you stretches to do prior to activities.

PhysioNow provides full physiotherapy programming to treat Golfer’s elbow at both Mississauga locations.

We can help! Give us a call if you would like to book an appointment today!Golfer’s elbow

General Category, Health and Wellness, Manual Therapy, Physiotherapy, Shoulder Injuries, Sports Injuries, Sports Physiotherapy

Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga

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Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga

Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga are health professionals who specialize in recovery of the body from an illness or injury to the highest level of function possible. Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga can also be called physical therapists. This means the same thing.

Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga

Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga

To become a registered physiotherapist you must attend a university and graduate with a physiotherapy degree. The degree has changed over the years. You may meet some therapists who have an occupational and physiotherapy degree. These therapists are called POTS.

Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga that graduated before the late nineties have a bachelor of science (physical therapy). After the late nineties and more recently, physiotherapist graduates are awarded with a Masters of Science. Regardless of the degree they earned, all Registered physiotherapists in Canada must pass a licensing exam. This allows them to use the term Registered Physiotherapist (RPT). Make sure when you are seeking help, you ask for a Registered Physiotherapist Mississauga.

If you are interested in becoming a Physiotherapist of Physiotherapy Assistant, check out this link.

After Physiotherapists graduate

After graduating, registered physiotherapists will choose to specialize in a certain area. All the Mississauga Registered Physiotherapists at Physionow are orthopedic therapists. This means that they are experts in examining how bones, joints and muscles work. When you arrive for an assessment, they will look at specific movement patterns and strength to determine the best possible treatment program for you. As everyone has different goals, and different injuries, each program is created individually with your needs in mind.

Some of our Mississauga Registered Physiotherapists have secondary specialities including sports, vertigo, acupuncture and sports taping. A sports therapist has extra training to maximize performance including fitness protocols, concussion treatment and nutrition. Acupuncture treatment can be very effective for certain types of injuries such as Tennis elbow, Golfers elbow or Rotator cuff pain. Sports Taping can reduce the load on injured muscles to allow proper healing. Vertigo treatment focuses on reducing dizziness and nausea caused by inner ear and eye problems.

If you have any questions or are wondering if we could help you, please feel free to call our office and ask to see one of our highly skilled Registered Physiotherapists Mississauga.

Custom Knee Bracing, General Category, Physiotherapy, Sports Injuries, Sports Physiotherapy

Knee Arthroscopy

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Knee Arthroscopy

knee arthroscopy

Custom Knee Bracing


Knee arthroscopy done by orthopedic surgeons “clean up” or repair the cartilage or meniscus in the knee. Typically, knee meniscus injuries will happen one of two times. A large bucket handle tear is one that creates a three cornered flap. This is much like if you catch the sleeve of your coat on a nail. This flap can be stable or unstable. After the initial swelling and pain heals, a stable flap rests in place and does not interfere with your daily activities and use of your knee. An unstable tear will flip up much like the handle of a bucket. If this is occurs, often your knee will lock and you will have very limited movement in your knee. The second type of meniscal damage is wear and tear, or degeneration. This will consist of tiny tears, called microtears, which create a fraying of the cartilage.
All of the different types of meniscal damage can be treated by knee arthroscopy surgery. There are two small incisions used for this surgery. In one, the surgeon will place a scope, or a small camera. The other incision is used for a tool which will trim or shave the meniscus depending on the damage that has occurred. This procedure is typically a day surgery and you should be able to walk immediately after it is over. Some people prefer to use crutches or a cane, but if all heals well, you should be able to stop using these after a day or two.
Regardless of the injury, researchers are now suggesting that a course of physiotherapy focusing on strengthening and balance, or proprioception, is critical before knee arthroscopy surgery. Studies are indicating such a physiotherapy treatment program can reduce pain and increase function to the same degree as surgery in most cases. This can in some cases eliminate the need for surgery altogether. It also can eliminate the risk of infection and reduce the chances of future osteoarthritis.
Lastly, sometimes, custom knee bracing can be effective to offload the side of the knee that has a meniscus injury.
If you have knee pain, see a physiotherapist today. They can help!
knee arthroscopy

knee arthroscopy

Ankle pain, Exercise, General Category

Ankle Sprains – Causes & Treatment

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Ankle Sprains

Stretching before a walk or run

Ankle Sprains

Ankle sprains are very common.They occur in many of our favourite sports like soccer and running. They can also occur from simply stepping on tree root. The most common way that ankle sprains occur is by rolling the foot so the sole faces the opposite leg. This is called an inversion sprain.

Ankle Sprain

There are three ligaments, or thick bands of tissues, that join the outer leg bone, the fibula, to the bones of the foot. When you get ankle sprains, you can stretch or tear all three of these ligaments. This results in stiffness, swelling and pain!

What should you do? If you are unable to walk on it immediately following the injury, try again 5 minutes later. If you are still unable to walk on it, seek medical attention immediately. It is important that you make sure you did not break a bone.

If you can walk on the foot, even with a limp, then the treatment for the first 48 hours is rest, ice, compression and elevation.

Although there has been a lot of discussion lately regarding ice, it is still the best option for a new injury, especially a new injury that swells. If discomfort, stiffness and limping lasts more than three days then a referral to a physiotherapist is appropriate.

Physiotherapists will use modalities to decrease swelling. They should also use manual or hands on techniques to increase movement of the foot and ankle. Exercises are critical. Strengthening will help to build muscle around the foot. Balance exercises will help to restore the balance reflexes of the foot and leg. This is a critical component of preventing a second injury to the ligaments.

If you are an athlete (even a weekend warrior), proprioception exercises will also help you return to sport earlier. Physiotherapists can also help you to determine if bracing would be helpful, and if so, which one.

Exercise, General Category, Health and Wellness, Physiotherapy, Sports Injuries, Sports Physiotherapy

Medical words

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Medical words

Tendonitis of the Shoulder

What does it all mean?
As a physiotherapist, I spent 4 years learning how to talk using medical words. And sometimes we forget that our clients do not understand these special medical words. In fact, we forget that we often sound like an adult from a Peanuts movie….. Waa Waa Waa.
So what do all these medical words mean?
First some basic anatomy: a joint is where two bones come together. That is a pretty simple one. But most joints are surrounded by a capsule. This is a leather-like sac that holds fluid that works to lubricate your joint – much like WD40 on a rusty hinge. This fluid is called synovial fluid. This capsule has reinforced and thickened areas called ligaments. The ligaments hold bones together. Finally, joints are controlled by muscles. We have big ones most people know – like the biceps and hamstrings. But there are hundreds of little muscles. These little muscles help us with precision and posture. In order to cause movement, muscles need to be connected to bones. The tissue that makes this connection is a tendon.
So what are the most common injuries? Some of the most common words heard are strain, sprain and tendonitis. A strain is a pull or tear of a muscle and a sprain is a pull or tear of a ligament. Sprains and strains can be graded one, two or three. Imagine that the ligament or tendon is like a rope. Grade one – you have pulled the rope tight, and made it sore. Grade two – you have pulled it hard enough to fray the rope. Grade three – you have pulled the rope in two. Tendonitis is when there is swelling and irritation in the tendon. This is usually due to overwork or poor positioning while doing an activity.
Remember that as physiotherapists, we are there to help you and it is very important to us that you understand what is happening to your body. Please ask any questions that you have, we will be happy to explain any medical words.