Health and Exercise, Physio Articles
What is scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a deformity of the spine, usually diagnosed in adolescents; often without a known cause.
What is Scheuermann’s Kyphosis?
It is a (hyper)kyphosis; a spinal deformity that leads to a more rounded appearance of one’s upper back (sometimes referred to as a “roundback” or “hunchback”)
What does this look like; and what does that mean for me or my child?
It means that you may have noticed some differences in the appearance of your child or yourself as compared to peers: uneven hips, waist, and/or shoulders, a “sticking out” spot on the ribs and/or back, a shoulder blade that doesn’t match the other side. You or your child may also experience increasing symptoms as the condition progresses, such as pain, breathing difficulty, osteoarthritis, mental health problems, and decreased health-related quality of life.
What is Schroth?
Schroth exercises are an evidence-supported, set of physiotherapeutic scoliosis specific exercises (PSSE). They are aimed at preventing the progression of the spinal curve, or to optimize post surgical results. Studies have shown that Schroth is effective for decreasing pain, improving quality of life, increasing back muscle endurance and range of motion, and improving self-image.
Does timing matter?
Early detection and care planning are very important. The options for, and effectiveness of treating a scoliosis or kyphosis vary with stages of skeletal maturity. If you suspect you, your child or teen has scoliosis or kyphosis, it is important to get it screened by a professional such as a doctor or physiotherapist.
What should I expect when signing up for Schroth therapy?
- Assessment of your posture/curve and movement
- Education about your scoliosis/kyphosis
- Specific Exercises, positions and postures to practice at home
- Monitoring your scoliosis/kyphosis
Scoliosis and Kyphosis management is a team approach which includes your family doctor (observation, monitoring, and care coordination), physiotherapist (physiotherapeutic scoliosis specific exercises), orthotist (bracing), and surgeon (surgery).
Physio Articles
The phrase “no pain, no gain” would probably be the leading misconception about pain that I hear – live by this slogan at your own risk. Why? Because first and foremost, pain is a protector. Pain is a wonderful and fascinating perception that helps to keep us out of danger. I can certainly sympathise that when you’re experiencing persistent or intense pain, its hard to see it as “wonderful” or “fascinating” but it truly is a remarkable defence mechanism that we possess.
When you step on a nail, twist your knee or tweak your back, what comes to your defence first? The simple answer is pain. It’s your first warning of actual or even potential tissue damage. Yes, that’s correct – “potential” tissue damage, meaning your body is smart enough to tell you to withdraw from danger before the damage is done. Wow! When tissue damage does occur, such as a strained ligament, tendon or muscle, your body sends all its best healing products to the area in the form of ‘inflammation’. The brilliance of inflammation is that it increases the sensitivity of the danger detectors (receptors) in the damaged area, which send more danger messages to the brain where they are processed and a pain experience can result. What do you think of that? Essentially, your body doesn’t just heal you with inflammation but it also tells you about it through the feeling of pain as a way of changing your behavior, allowing the area to rest and heal more effectively.
If you understand that the experience of pain is a critical response when the body feels threatened or in danger, then you will see how the slogan “no pain, no gain” will quickly lead you astray. Instead, us ‘pain geeks’ like to encourage the slogan – “know pain or no gain”, meaning that if you understand why you are experiencing pain and what it means, you are more likely to adopt the appropriate behaviour to encourage recovery.
The story of pain can get rather complex but equally as fascinating. Like any of our body systems, our defence systems can sometimes get a bit carried away and malfunction. This is often the case in the event of persistent pain – a story that will have to wait for another time. Until then, remember “know pain or no gain”.
Nick Black is a registered Physiotherapist at Sun City Physiotherapy Winfield.
Hips and Knees, Physio Articles
Hip osteoarthritis is a common condition that involves the degeneration of the articular cartilage of the hip joint. If you have this condition and are noticing an increase in pain and a decrease in physical function you may be wondering what treatment options are available to you.
With osteoarthritis of the hip you may feel a constant ache localized to the groin and side of your hip and sometimes extending into the front of your thigh and knee. The hip often feels stiff, especially first thing in the morning when you get out of bed and it can make activities of daily living much more painful including standing, walking and stairs. It can also make it difficult to put your socks on, get into and out of your car and even get on and off of the toilet.
Stiffness, pain and having difficulty with many previously easy daily activities may lead you to want to do less physical activity. The trouble is, not moving will often lead to weakness, further stiffness and general deconditioning.
A physiotherapist can help design a treatment program with a focus on decreasing pain, increasing range of motion and flexibility, improving core stability, gaining muscle strength and endurance and improving general conditioning. Other functional goals often include improving walking pattern, speed and distance, ability to go up and down stairs without pain and better control going from sit to stand.
This is often accomplished through a combination of education, manual therapy and exercise. An exercise program is often extremely beneficial to help improve physical function and decrease pain. A physiotherapist is an excellent resource to put together a safe and effective home exercise program for you to perform daily at home or at your local gym. Also, if you enjoy swimming, bring this up with your physiotherapist as aquatic exercise is a great form of treatment for hip osteoarthritis.
Other possible physiotherapy treatments that may be effective for some individuals with arthritis of the hip include: acupuncture, massage, heat on the muscles around the hip, ice, TENS, supportive footwear and/or a gait aid such as a cane or walking poles. It is important to talk with your doctor about your arthritis to discuss other treatments that may be beneficial to help manage your symptoms. Certain medications may be helpful, but it is important to bring this up with your doctor to be sure they are appropriate for you. Also, if you are overweight, a weight management program can be extremely beneficial to decrease the stress on your joints. Since nutrition plays a crucial role in weight management, it is important to have this discussion with your doctor.
A small portion of individuals with hip osteoarthritis will eventually opt to have a total hip replacement. This is often the case when symptoms are progressively getting worse and significantly limiting activities of daily living. If you have had a total hip replacement a physiotherapist guided post-operative hip strengthening program is ideal in order to decrease pain, improve your hip function and return to your active lifestyle.
Krista Smith is a Registered Physiotherapist and associate at Sun City Physiotherapy’s downtown, St. Paul Street location. She can be contacted at 250-861-8056 or email downtown@suncityphysiotherapy.com
Physio Articles
As a physiotherapist, I assess and treat injuries that occur in the workplace. These can be sudden (acute), or gradually over time (overuse). Overuse injuries come from repeated stresses that cause micro-damage of muscles, ligaments, or joints. Over time the micro-damage turns larger, and pain and weaknesses become apparent. Overuse injuries are quite common, difficult to diagnose, but relatively easy to prevent.
Any job comes with some degree of risk of injury. Knowing what your risks are, and working together with your employer or organization to minimize these risks is important for keeping your body happy and work-ready.
When possible, look at your work environment to see if anything is within your control to be changed. I will use physiotherapy as an example: There are times when I can modify my environment in order to make a task easier on my body. I can raise and lower the treatment table, or my stool on which I’m sitting, or in some cases I can use equipment that is ergonomically friendly.
Other times, the environment is not ideal, but also not in our power to modify. This is when you need to think of your body mechanics – the way you use your body to perform a task. Here are some general tips, from head to toe, of ways you can keep good body mechanics. This list is not exhaustive so it is important to consider each task you have to do individually, and what risks may be involved.
Head and neck: a common posture that is a big no-no is the forward head posture where the chin juts forward and hinging occurs about one vertebra in the lower neck. Any time you are in an upright position, keep a nice gentle chin tuck, with the back of your neck long.
Upper body: the other common poor posture is the rounded shoulder posture. When in this position too long, the muscles in the front of the chest get tight, and muscles in the back get long and weak. Also avoid hunching your upper back, which can also contribute to a forward head posture. Keep your shoulders pulled back, with your chest open and proud.
Arms: working repetitively above shoulder height can put you at risk of an injury called ‘impingement’ in the shoulder. When it is possible, avoid having your hands overhead, or above shoulder height, especially if lifting. This can mean using a step if you’re trying to reach high, or finding ways to better position yourself around your task. Avoid repetitive reaching away from the body; if it is possible, put your body closer to where you’re working.
Hands and fingers: if your job involves a lot of bending of your wrist or fingers, gripping or grasping, it is important to stretch those tired muscles, and to strengthen the opposing muscle groups to balance it out. If you work at a computer, look to see what your wrist position is at the keyboard or the mouse. Ideally, they shouldn’t be bent up toward you too far, and the bottom of your wrist shouldn’t sit on a hard surface for a prolonged time.
Low back: Lifting techniques and proper sitting posture can make a big difference in low back pain! If you sit a lot, try to support the normal curve of your spine either through a ‘lumbar support’ or a rolled towel. For those who lift during the work day, remember the following important points. Keep the load you’re lifting close to your body. If what you are lifting is below waist height get into a lunge, or a squat position and stick your bottom out like you’re going to sit in a chair. This helps to preserve a ‘neutral spine’ – which is slightly arched. Lastly with regards to lifts, or picking anything up / putting anything down of any weight, avoid twisting and bending simultaneously.
Legs and feet: avoid twisting your body when you have a foot, or both, planted. Wear footwear that is supportive, and appropriate for your job. If you have been prescribed orthotics, ensure you wear them while working, to help support your feet and legs. If sitting, change up your position: try not to sit all your time with legs crossed, and if you do cross your legs, try to balance how long each is the leg on top.
If you do notice new pain or weakness, attend to it as soon as possible. While many injuries require 4-8 weeks to heal at the level of the tissue (although you may return to some functions during that period), this time frame can be made longer if the injury doesn’t have a chance to heal, or if it gets re-aggravated. Be conscious of what you feel, what your job demands are, what may have caused it, and how that risk can be minimized. Seek help when help is needed, be it through your work’s first aid service, or a health professional.
