The Problem

Stress. A condition we have all suffered. Stress may be responsible for a significant percentage of all diseases in the Western world including headaches & migraines, neural problems, muscular aches & pains, depression & anxiety.

As the world in which we live becomes increasingly stressful both physically & emotionally we either reduce stress, or we learn how to deal with it effectively. It is impossible to avoid stress completely, & therefore the only real solution is to find ways to manage the stresses & strains we encounter each day.
One of the best & proven ways is the use of massage therapy.

Speed Agility and Quickness or SAQ as it is more commonly known had its beginnings working in the world of professional sport. With SAQ Training, the power of applied sports science can be put into practice by everybody, from beginner level to elite performance, under the supervision of an expert physio.

What do these terms mean?

Speed is the ability to accelerate in a straight line. If I play a team sport for example soccer in a 50/50 contest when the ball is 10 meters away, the person with the greatest acceleration or speed wins the ball for their team.

Cycling, while lots of fun is prone to all types of hideous injuries caused by falls and incorrect bike set up!

Whatever mode of cycling eg: MTB, track or road, cyclist brake bones, tear muscles, dislocate and injure joints.

Here is a list of some of the injuries incurred by cyclists:

A recent research study published in the Journal Of Physiotherapy has found that 30 minutes of aerobic exercise combined with walking, stretches and relaxation is highly beneficial for quality of life in pregnant women.

Even if you have not exercised prior to pregnancy, supervised moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise is a safe and effective way to increase your physical functioning, general health and vitality.

They say prevention is better than a cure. This certainly rings true when it comes to low back pain. Despite most low back pain resolving in 6 weeks this costly condition still causes huge amounts of lost time at work, healthcare costs and unnecessary suffering.

Research data has found that only 1% of 7 year olds have experienced low back pain. However only a few years later and a huge 40-70% of our children aged 12-15 say they have experienced low back pain. Over a lifetime 80% of the population will experience low back pain.

Your knees play a big role in many of your daily activities such as walking, getting in & out of cars, using stairs, & getting up from sitting in a chair. If you have problems with them then they can even make it hard to sleep or sit for long periods. Medical research shows that doing the right exercise can help keep your knees healthy by protecting them from injury & can also significantly improve many common problems that you may already have.

Between 50-80% of pregnant women will report SIJ (pelvis) or lumbar spine pain throughout their pregnancy. This pain is associated with the biochemical and structural changes during pregnancy and throughout postpartum (ie after giving birth) while the mother is still breastfeeding.

When  you are pregnant the hormone relaxin is produced and it continues to rise during the 1st trimester and in the final weeks of pregnancy. This hormone as the name suggests relaxes or loosens the muscles, tendons and ligaments in the body in order to allow the body to accommodate the growing baby. This hormone also breaks down collagen and prevents it from being synthesized.

Summer is rapidly approaching, and with global climate changes, the summers are getting hotter and what better way to cool down than to hit the beach or pool for a swim!

Unfortunately though, as with many sports there are always associated injuries and in swimming it is often the shoulder. One of the most common conditions that can occur is shoulder impingement.

Lets have a quick chat about the muscles and their function in the shoulder. There are 4 major muscles which make up your rotator cuff. Theses 4 muscles work to stabilise the shoulder as it moves through range.

Whiplash is the action of a person's head moving forward and back very quickly and is commonly associated with car accidents. It can occur during any activity that involves a similar forceful movement such as a dive or a fall. Injury results when neck structures are overstretched - these include ligaments, discs, blood vessels, nerves, muscles and joints. More severe cases can involve broken bones.

Getting your bike ready for spring cycling!
As the warm weather comes through there is no greater way to soak up the sun and enjoy spring but on your bike.
Cycling is a great way to get active for the recreational or competitive cyclist whether it be around the bay, through the park with your kids, through the bush or up and down dirt tracks on rugged terrain.

But before you get started here are a couple of tips on how to pedal and set up your bike properly to minimise injury and maximise your effort!

Shoulder pain can be one of the most debilitating injuries for people to live with. If you are experiencing a sharp catch of pain when taking you arm above your head you may be suffering from a shoulder injury known as rotator cuff tendinopathy.

The rotator cuff muscles are a group of muscles that sit around the shoulder. Their primary function is to stabilize the shoulder in its socket. If a person is participating in regular overhead activities such as swimming or tennis and these muscles are not properly conditioned the shoulder loses it overall stability and the tendons of these muscles can become pinched against the bony surfaces. Over time this leads to the tendons becoming inflamed, thickened and weakened. If shoulder pain is left untreated the symptoms can increase in both severity and frequency.