Month: April 2020

Running pain free

Running already has one of the largest participation rates of any recreation activity or sport in Australia but with recent restrictions on group training and organised sport, participation has recently spiked.

The idea of heading out for a run is one that will scare some people & inspire others. In this current age of uncertainty, the following tips will hopefully decrease your risk of injury when you’re out clearing your head of the difficulties of early 2020.

  • Always warm up and down before heading out for a run, even if that means starting and finishing at a slower pace than the body of your run. The FIFA11+ is a fantastic structured warm up regime if you’d like something more specific.
  • Hydration is very important pre and post run for the safety of your body.
  • Avoid exploding into your running program with excessive kilometres. If it has been a while since you ran last, gradually build your distance over the coming weeks to minimise your risk of injury (approx 10-15% increase in distance per week is a safe amount to decrease risk).
  • Decrease your load if you are experiencing pain. Pain is a sign that your body is adapting to the running load.
  • Include some lower body strengthening and flexibility exercises to complement your running program.
  • Gradually introduce surface changes.

Most of all, enjoy it!

If you’re suffering from pain that is limiting your function, make sure you visit your physiotherapist to get you back on the right track.

Walking safely

The current world wide situation has forced a huge number of us to think differently about our exercise habits. Now that group training has been restricted, congregations are now no longer allowed and more people are working from home, the incidence of walking has increased significantly.

A few quick walking tips:

  • Wear comfortable clothing that will decrease the likelihood of chafing, blisters and pain with walking.
  • Wear layers so that you can remove or add layers as you need to guided by your temperature.
  • Make sure that footwear fits well and isn’t too old to decrease the likelihood of pressure and overuse injuries.
  • Choose a route that allows safety with traffic and surrounds.
  • Be careful when walking outside of daylight hours. If time only allows you to walk outside daylight hours try to choose a track that has decent lighting and consistent footing to decrease the chance of falling over or causing injury.
  • Listen to your body. If you’re experiencing pain, rest and try again in a day or two time. If pain persists, contact your physio.

All the best getting the most out of your walking in the coming months.

 

Remote Workstation Assessments

So you’re working from home because of old Rona – that’s not as great as it once might have sounded!
Although flexible working conditions are necessary in these strange days, most people are only used to working a few hours at home at night or on the weekend.

Working a full day at home, possibly using a laptop, kids and a dog ripping around, set up on your dining table, coffee table or lap, is an entirely different situation, and one that might continue for months.

 

If you’re feeling hung out to dry because of still needing to get work done but are feeling sore and sorry for yourself because of your workstation set up as well as feeling cooped up because of social distancing restrictions, we are offering Remote Telehealth Workstation Assessments to assist in set up of your home workstation.

 

A poor workstation set-up often leads to an aching neck and back, tight shoulders, headaches or painful arms. The set-up of your workplace plays a vital role in avoiding fatigue and preventing pain that can affect overall productivity.

Our Remote Video Assessment includes:

  • A virtual consultation through a secure video conferencing application.
  • We use COVIU a medical telehealth platform: https://pr.coviu.com/coviu-support-for-patients
  • We will discuss your work role and any current concerns regarding your home set-up.
  • We will then assess the current workstation environment and make immediate recommendations.
  • Upon completion of the assessment we will supply a report with individual findings and recommendations
  • We will also provide suggestions for equipment modifications where necessary.
  • We can also follow-up after the assessment to ensure the changes are working well for you.
  • Where necessary we can also recommend some stretches/warm ups (and provide video-based programs).
All of our assessments are carried out by fully qualified Physiotherapists.
This would fit in normal appointment times of 30 mins.
If you think this can improve your comfort while working from home please book an appointment today.
https://physioplusgroup.coviu.com/app/book/appointment