Shoulder Health

Shoulders

Get Your Head Around Your Shoulders this Summer!

With summer fast approaching, many of us are jumping back into one or more of our favourite fair weather activities, be it golfing with an orchard view, volleyball on the sandy beach, swimming in the crystal clear Okanagan lakes, playing tennis with friends or a little extra gardening for all of you green thumbs! Whatever the summer activity of choice, we all hope this warm weather finds us ready to tackle the ‘fun in the sun’ at full steam without having to worry about those pesky aches and pains that often set in over the winter.

One aspect that many summer activities have in common is that you will undoubtedly require a pair of healthy shoulders to fully enjoy them. As a practising physiotherapist treating patients with various conditions and injuries for almost a decade, I must say that shoulder pathology and dysfunction are some of the most common conditions walking in and out of our clinics on a daily basis.

When you dissect this shoulder issue further, there are a few key things that make the shoulder one of the most biomechanically impressive but also one of the most vulnerable regions to injury in our body.

First of all, the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the human body. The ‘ball and socket’ anatomy of the shoulder allow for movement that we see in no other body region. Whether it be flexing the shoulder 180 degrees overhead to smash a beach volleyball or fully externally rotating your shoulder during your golf swing follow-through, the shoulder girdle demonstrates phenomenal flexibility.

This fantastic mobility in the shoulder girdle however comes with a price. In order for this flexibility to be functional when teeing off with your driver on 18 or lifting heavy pot of flowers up on your deck, the shoulder requires a significant amount of dynamic stability. This dynamic stability is accomplished by work of a few important muscles that surround the very flexible shoulder joint…most notably, the rotator cuff as well as other scapular stabilizing muscles.

For our shoulders to remain healthy and function at the high levels required for our summer fun, this balance between flexibility and stability must be maintained.
Some common conditions and injuries that we as physiotherapists assess and treat where shoulder flexibility and stability become compromised include; Shoulder Impingement, Tendinitis/Tendinopathy, Bursitis, Rotator Cuff Tears, Shoulder Dislocations/Separations, Frozen Shoulder, and Scapulothoracic Dysfunction.

If your summer involves getting or staying active and you want your shoulders to be ready for the action, book a consultation and some treatment with your physiotherapist to ensure your shoulders are ready to shoulder the load!

DeQuervain’s Syndrome and Physiotherapy

DeQuervain’s Syndrome and Physiotherapy

Elbow, Wrist and Hand

DeQuervain’s Syndrome and Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy Can Help with DeQuervain’s Syndrome

Do you experience pain in your wrist near the base of your thumb? Did it come on gradually? Is it sore when you move your thumb or wrist? Does it hurt to grip, write, garden, hold a cup of coffee, cut vegetables or pick up a baby? If so, you may have a condition known as de Quervain’s syndrome.

DeQuervain’s syndrome involves the abductor pollicis longus tendon and extensor pollicis brevis tendon. These tendons connect muscles in your forearm to bones in your thumb. To help reduce excessive friction, these tendons travel in a tendon sheath. When a high load is placed on these tendons, such as a repetitive movement of the thumb or wrist, it can result in a thickening of the tendons and the sheath. Initially, symptoms are usually only present with certain aggravating activities, but if this injury continues to worsen you may experience pain at rest, swelling and tenderness at the base of your thumb and wrist.

Rest is the first step to treating de Quervain’s syndrome. This is often difficult when we use our wrist and thumb dexterity for so many daily activities. For this reason, it is not uncommon to see people who have had this condition for weeks to months at a time, with no significant change in symptoms. As a general rule, try to avoid any positions or movements that cause pain. A protective splint may provide some benefit in the initial stages of healing to help immobilize the wrist and thumb.

Physiotherapy can help treat this injury using a combination of education, modalities, manual therapy, soft tissue techniques and a progressive home exercise program. Since the tendons and sheath are often aggravated by repetitive movement or prolonged positions of the thumb and wrist, it also may be necessary to address your home or work ergonomics. When possible, modify to a neutral thumb and wrist position and take frequent breaks from your activity.

De Quervain’s syndrome usually begins with a gradual onset of symptoms, often when a new movement or activity is introduced that places increased demands on the tissue. An example is a mother with the new task of repetitively picking up a newborn baby. Physiotherapy can be quite helpful in the management of this condition. If you experience pain at the base of your thumb as the result of a trauma, such as a fall on an outstretched hand, it is advisable that you follow up with your doctor to determine if further investigations, such as an x-ray, are required prior to starting physiotherapy.

Sun City Physiotherapy Locations

Downtown

1468 St. Paul Street, Kelowna, BC
Phone: 250-861-8056
reception_dt@suncityphysiotherapy.com
more info

Glenmore

103-437 Glenmore Road, Kelowna, BC
Phone: 250-762-6313
reception_gm@suncityphysiotherapy.com
more info

Lake Country

40-9522 Main St., Lake Country, BC
Phone: 250-766-2544
reception_wf@suncityphysiotherapy.com
more info

Lower Mission

3970 Lakeshore Road, Kelowna, BC
Phone: 778-699-2006
reception_lm@suncityphysiotherapy.com
more info

Bike techniques to race fast and remain injury-free.

Sports

Cycling is considered a low impact activity but some cyclists do experience pain the the back, knees, feet, saddle region, neck, wrists and hands.

The Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia (PABC) recently outlined some simple steps, call the Physio-4, that cyclists can use to reduce their chances for injury, prevent pain, and cycle more effectively.

The Physio-4 for Cycling:

Select a bike that fits. An ill-fitting bike causes pain. A bike that fits – frame size, pedal alignment, handlebar position and saddle height – promotes good posture. Your physiotherapist can provide tips on correct bike fit and can correct poor mechanics before pain and injury develop.

Choose cycling if you have osteoarthritis in your hips, knees or feet. The non-impact, rhythmic motion helps reduce joint pain and stiffness and keeps your muscles strong. Your physiotherapist can prescribe a cycling program and help you choose the right bike.

The aerobic benefits of cycling help to manage high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Cycling builds stamina. Your physiotherapist can help determine the right level of aerobic exercise and develop a program to meet your goals.

Stretch and strengthen off your bike to improve on-bike performance. Your physiotherapist can create a program to treat muscles that are prone to tightness as well as help you strengthen areas such as your core to dramatically improve your cycling efficiency.

It’s also important to remember to always wearing a helmet and fluorescent clothing by day and reflective clothing at night. After dark and in the rain, cyclists should ensure they have lights that work – white for the front and red for the back. Cyclists should also be vigilant about what’s on the road and be on the lookout for car doors being opened by motorists.

Running techniques to race fast and remain injury-free.

Sports

This is the time of year where you are starting to ramp up your training for triathlons and running races. It has been shown that as many as 80% of runners sustain a running-related injury in a given year. So what are the reasons for so many running injuries? And how can they be avoided?

Training schedule, running technique, and tissue strength/tolerance are three major determinants as to whether or not you will be sidelined with an injury this season.

Here are more detailed explanations of the three common causes for injury:

Too much too soon. An overly ambition training schedule is a classic mistake. It is believed that as much as 80% of running injuries occur because of training errors. An easy to follow guideline is the 10% rule: avoid increasing your running mileage more than 10% from the previous week.

Poor or inefficient running technique. A potential cause for injury is technique, or rather, a poor technique. It can result in too much impact too quickly (vertical loading rate) as you land. A high vertical loading rate can be caused by any of all of the following: heel striking with your foot too far in front of your hips (over-striding), a lack of bend in your knee or hip during landing, a lack of strength in core/hip musculature to help absorb impact. Instead, gradual increased training in a flatter/minimalist shoe (to reduce heel striking), increasing step cadence to approximately 180 steps per minute, and aiming to land softer or ‘quieter’ are all ways of reducing tissue overload.
Core and hip muscle weakness. It has been shown that a lack of gluteal muscle strength can lead to increased stress on the knee and foot, resulting in a greater chance of tissue breakdown. Taking part in a consistent individualized strengthening program throughout the year can be a key component to avoiding injury.

Remember, don’t wait until minor aches and pains turn into significant injury. Every runner is different, so book an appointment with Sun City Physiotherapy to determine how best to avoid injury this season.  Call 250-861-8056 to book your appointment today.

Swim techniques to race fast and remain injury-free.

Sports

Swimming has a relatively low risk of sport related injury, yet, swimmers often complain of shoulder pain. This can be caused by muscle overuse and incorrect technique. By making stroke adjustments, you can not only minimize pain and prevent injury, but also improve performance.

The Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia (PABC) recently outlined some simple steps, call the Physio-4, that swimmers can use to reduce their chances for injury, prevent pain, and swim more effectively.

The Physio-4 for swimming:

Be mindful of body rotation. Never swim with a “flat body” as this limits the rotation of the shoulder along the axis of the spine. Develop a symmetrical way to rotate your body for an efficient breathing pattern and this will greatly reduce the risk of shoulder injuries.

Enter the water with a flat hand. A hand directed outwards when entering the water leads to unhealthy internal rotation.  This is one of the most common causes of acute pain in the shoulder as it overuses the muscles.  It is best to enter the water with a flat hand, fingertips first.

Maintain good posture. The saying “shoulders back, chest forward” applies both in and out of the water. Hunched or rounded shoulders can lead to a wide arm recovery that causes shoulder injuries and “cross-overs” in your stroke. Strengthening the muscles at the back of the shoulder and stretching those at the front will help prevent injury, and help you to swim faster.

Incorporate bilateral breathing into your swim workout. Breathing only on one side will develop the muscles on that side more than the other.  This can eventually lead to shoulder problems.  By breathing on both sides with every workout you can prevent this from happening.

Aside from these injury-prevention techniques, there are important things to remember when swimming outdoors. Never dive head first into water unless the depth is known. When swimming in lakes or oceans be aware of any natural hazards such as tides and rapids, never swim alone, and always let someone know where you are training. And always be mindful of boaters – because they may not always be looking for you.

If you are injured or in pain during or after swimming, or require an exercise program to help avoid or overcome shoulder injury, Sun City Physiotherapy can help. Call 250-861-8056 to book your appointment today.