Hawkes Physiotherapy Blog

It's incredible the amount of people who are injured at work or are affected at work by injury! The interesting thing is that it's not always what you think. I personally don't see many brick layers but see loads of patients from an office based background. Why is this though? Here are some stats to show what's going on out there: Musculoskeletal pain syndromes are seldom caused by isolated events, but are the consequences of habitual imbalances in the movement system The prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers ranges between 39% & 95%. Erick PN, Smith DR. (2011) Over a third of all three day injuries reported to the HSE are caused by manual handling 1.2 million people suffered an injury they believe was caused or made worse by their current or past job Up to 80% of people will experience a back problem during their working lives In the UK in 2007/2008: on average, each person suffering from an upper-limb diso...

The knee is extremely complicated with many potential structures to go wrong. This article will detail some of the main things that can happen to your knee.  Patella femoral pain syndrome (kneecap) — Anterior knee pain (pain at the front of your knee) — Aggravating factors:   — flexion (bending) activities/sitting/sustained flexion (bending) — Trauma  — Common between the ages of 20-40  — Caused by mechanical/chemical mechanisms   Believed muscle imbalance/ timing can cause it Osteoarthritis — Common in the over 40's — Medial (inside) more than the lateral (outside) compartment  — Instability, buckling or giving way  — Laxity of ligaments  — Malalignment, Stiffness  (usually less than 1 hour in the morning) — X-ray shows degenerative changes  Medial collateral ligament (MCL) — MCL: — most common injury in the knee  — Younger age group due to sport and exercise...

Definition: ‘An umbrella term relating to mechanical and psychological pain and dysfunction of the Temporomandibular joint, it’s associated muscles involved in mastication and other functional mobilisations of the mandible’ Key Points: Pain can be significant / absent and cause functional impairment Pain can be both mechanically and psychologically driven Associated with other symptoms including headache and neck pain Crosses inter-disciplinary boundaries Variety of treatments available Diagnosis can be complex – treatment often difficult Incidence:   20-30% of population estimated to have some symptoms of TMJ   Only 10% will seek medical advice Gender: females > males (4:1) !?!?!?!?!?!?!? Radiology: X-Ray - Changes in 14- 44% of the population (greater in older groups, lower incidence of symptoms)  MRI – high % disc diplacement in healthy Age: highest incidence young adults 20-40 yrs Contributi...

Definition: "Pain over the lateral aspect of the elbow that is aggravated by movement of the wrist, by direct palpation over the lateral epicondyle and by contraction of the extensor muscles of the wrist" (Struijs et al, 2003) "The cardinal physical signs of lateral epicondylitis are pain to direct palpation over the lateral epicondyle and reproduction of pain and weakness during grip strength testing" (Vicenzino,2003) Epidemiology: 1-3% general population affected (vicenzino, 2003) Equal prevalence in both genders but longer and more severe in females ( Vicenzino & Wright 1995)  5% risk in populations performing repetitive manual tasks (Chiang et al,1993) Causes: Repetitive movement of the wrist occupation related injuries  Degenerative changes causing Fibroblasts proliferation, Vascular hyperplasia, Disorganised collagen  Problems with the whole upper limb kinetic chain (posture) (abnormal movement) So...

  Ankle sprain is a common occurrence: 2328 sprains occur in the USA every day! How do you sprain your ankle? The foot rolls into inversion with damage to the lateral structures of the foot and ankle Swelling and pain Ligament injuries are often associated with inversion sprains These may lead to prolonged periods of immobilization or surgery to re-establish stability A high ankle sprain? Injuries to the s yndosmosis can also occur, further complicating treatment and recovery What causes the development of chronic pain? There is an interrelationship between motion and pain! Think of hitting your thumb with a hammer t he immediate response is to SHAKE it to relieve the symptoms The nociceptors (pain receptors)   are the “free” nerve endings and are grouped with the proprioceptive (movement sensing) nerves throughout the body The proprioceptors are the faster c onducting mylenated fibers and the nociceptors are slow non mylenate...