Sports injuries can vary in severity from a sprained ankle to a dislocated shoulder or even a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Sports injuries are frequently caused by overuse or over training, such as runner’s knee or tennis elbow where the player pushes their body to the limit. They can also occur due to under training or poor training practices or not wearing the correct training equipment. Not stretching and having a good warm up can also lead to many injuries as the body is not prepared for the exercise.

Physiotherapists often see injuries while they are in the acute phase (this is the first 48 to 72 hours).

An injury is a setback and is disruptive to normal training routines, so having your injury looked at immediately is important. A physiotherapist will accurately diagnose and treat the injury. Initially sports injuries should be treated with RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation).

If you injure yourself playing a sport, don’t continue to play, use the RICE principles and make an appointment at Body Clinic Physiotherapy where we'll get you back to fitness fast

Body Clinic Physiotherapy can assess and provide safe, effective treatment for neck and back pain.

Your lower back bears most of the weight and stress of your body.

Back pain most often occurs from strained back muscles and ligaments, improper or heavy lifting, or after a sudden awkward movement. Muscle spasm can cause back pain. Often, there’s an accumulation of stress with one particular event unleashing the pain. But in some cases, there may not be an obvious cause.

The following specific conditions can also cause back pain:

Physiotherapy services may include the provision of the following elements as appropriate to each patient:

Do you have whiplash from a car accident?

About 20% of people involved in rear-end collisions experience pain symptoms in the neck.

People who experience whiplash may develop one or more of the following symptoms, usually within the first two days after the accident:

Most whiplash injuries are due to damage of soft tissues such as the discs, muscles and ligaments. These cannot be seen on standard X-ray and so an MRI may be ordered.

In the past whiplash injuries were often treated by splinting the neck in a soft collar. However research now shows early movement and treatment within comfort leads to much faster and more complete recovery, and that’s where Body Clinic Physiotherapy can help you. In the first 24 hours gentle active movement is encouraged. Our staff may also provide you with a series of exercises that you can do at home.

Body Clinic Physiotherapists have proven and effective treatments for whiplash injuries including relieving headaches, using hands-on techniques to restore normal movement and relieve pain, exercises to regain normal strength and length of muscles, and massage to reduce muscle tension. We will advise you on gradual return to normal activity, exercise and work.

Let our experienced team of health professionals at Body Clinic get you back to normal and prevent a car accident creating problems for life.

The shoulder is a very mobile joint with a large range of movement in multiple planes. Because of this high mobility it is one of the less stable joints in the body (stability is sacrificed for mobility), and so it is one of the more commonly injured joints.

Various structures may be affected including muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage and the joint itself.

What are the common causes of shoulder pain?

Shoulder pain is often associated with repeated activities that involve moving the arm above shoulder height such as tennis, swimming, weights at the gym (eg shoulder press, bench press), and various work or home activities that involve reaching up or out to shelves or cupboards. Other more traumatic injuries may be falls during contact sports like football, where tendons may be pinched or the joint itself may be dislocated. Shoulder pain is also often associated with problems in the neck and so may be related to spending long hours sitting at desks using computers.

The most important stabilising system in the shoulder joint is a group of four muscles called the rotator cuff. Because of the shoulder joint’s high degree of mobility this muscular mechanism is extremely important and relatively delicate. If it is damaged it usually needs specific physio treatments to get things back on track. Once the diagnosis is established and inflammation settles, your Physio will use a combination of hands-on techniques linked with specific exercises to restore the strength in your rotator cuff as well as other muscle groups.

Posture plays an important role in keeping your shoulder in the right position so your physio may also work with you to improve this. Any other factors that may be relevant will also be discussed e.g. stretches for sport, correcting your desk position at work, varying your swimming stroke and checking your technique for the gym. If you have had recurrent or long-lasting episodes of shoulder pain then correcting these underlying factors and restoring optimal strength to your rotator cuff and associated muscles is usually the key to breaking out of the pain cycle to achieve lasting relief.

What are the common causes of knee pain?

Knee pain can be separated into two categories – acute and chronic.

Acute knee pain (recent sudden onset) often arises from trauma to the knee. This is often in the form of a sports or work injury, or a fall. In this type of knee pain, the structures in the knee become damaged and cause an inflammatory reaction in the knee. Your knee may become very painful, swollen, bruised, and difficult to move or put weight onto. The knee may also feel unstable and you may feel it clicking or clunking.

The structures in the knee that may become damaged include:

Chronic knee pain often comes on over a period of time and may or may not be worsening. Factors that contribute to this type of knee pain include overuse ( such as excessive running or jumping), muscle tightness, arthritis, pain from poor biomechanics that cause your knee to move incorrectly - e.g. it may be referred from another area of the body such as malaligned feet.

What does physio for my knee involve?

Physiotherapy will include a combination of hands–on and exercise–based treatment techniques including:

Once treated effectively, you will get full movement and strength back, gradually return to all your normal activities including sport, as well as a future recurrence being prevented.

Two common elbow complaints are tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis). They typically result from overuse of the elbow.

Tennis elbow is classified as pain on the outside of the elbow joint, and caused by overuse of the forearm muscles involved in gripping, extending the wrist and extending the elbow (the backhand motion in tennis).

Golfer's elbow presents as pain on the inside of the elbow, and is caused by overuse of the forearm muscles involved in gripping, flexing the wrist and flexing the elbow (golf swing).

The tendon which attaches the muscles to the bone is damaged and can develop micro-tears. There is a poor blood supply to this area so it can take a long time to heal. Causes can include overuse in sports such as tennis, golf, and other activities including gardening, painting, computer and mouse use and lifting and carrying. Symptoms can include:

Physiotherapy treatment may include

• ice and anti-inflammatory measures to decrease pain and swelling
• soft tissue release techniques to the forearm muscles
• strengthening exercises (particularly eccentric exercises) to stimulate healing and promote recovery

Headaches are defined as pain in the head, in or around the eyes or ears and behind the back of the head. There are many different types of headaches, and many different causes. The most common type of headache seen by Body Clinic Physiotherapists is a tension headache.

Headaches can be also caused not only by dysfunction in the neck region but also by physical and emotional stress and tension. The physical aspect of the headache can be successfully treated by your Physio and preventative advice can be given.

What are the causes of headaches?

There are two types of headaches: primary and secondary headaches. Primary headaches are not associated with (caused by) other diseases. Examples of primary headaches are migraine, tension, and cluster headaches. Secondary headaches are caused by associated disease. The associated disease may be minor or serious and life threatening.

Tension headaches are the most common type of headache that people experience. This is often related to pain and tension in the neck region. A disorder of the neck joints or the muscles that connect to the base of your scull may refer pain into your head; this is because the nerves that are in your neck are also connected to your head and face. Your neck may be causing a headache if:

What are Symptoms of a Tension Headache?

Tension headaches often begin in the back of the head and upper neck as a band-like tightness or pressure. They are described as a band of pressure encircling the head with the most intense pain over the eyebrows. The pain of tension headaches usually is mild (not disabling) and bilateral (affecting both sides of the head). Tension headaches are not associated with an aura (see below) and are seldom associated with nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light and sound. Tension headaches usually occur sporadically (infrequently and without a pattern) but can occur frequently and even daily in some people. Most people are able to function despite their tension headaches. Our Physiotherapist will be able to assess and diagnose whether your neck is causing your headache.

Some of the Physio treatment techniques that may be used are:

Foot and Ankle injuries are one of the most common presentations to Physiotherapists. The foot and ankle function as a joint to provide stability and support in weight bearing while allowing for propulsion. Injuries to the foot and ankle are extremely common in normal activities with the most amount of foot injuries occurring while playing high intensity sports such as football, soccer, netball and tennis.

The most common mechanism of injury is the inversion ankle sprain, in which the ankle rolls over on the outside. An ankle sprain is the stretching and tearing of ligaments - in the sprained ankle the most common damage is done to the talo-fibula ligament (if the ankle sprain is worse, the calcaneo-fibula ligament can also be damaged) - sometimes the tendons also get damaged.

The Physiotherapist will grade the ankle injury:

Grade 1 ankle sprain:

Grade 2 ankle sprain:

Grade 3 ankle sprain:

Ankle sprains require strengthening and rehabilitating. Body Clinic Physiotherapists will assess and diagnose the area and determine the best method of treatment. Commonly advice given will initially involve RICE principles (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation), followed by having manual ankle treatment such as soft tissue massage, strengthening and balance and proprioception exercises. Other specific foot and ankle treatment may be required depending on the severity of the ankle injury.

There are hundreds of foot and ankle injuries such as stress fractures, plantar fascitiis, avulsion fractures and various types of heel and foot pain, to name only a few. At Body Clinic we also have Podiatric specialists who can help treat any specific foot problems that present.

Good posture is not just good for your appearance; it affects your general health as well. Poor posture can contribute to breathing problems, back, neck and shoulder pain, fatigue, indigestion and sleep problems. In other instances, poor posture may be the result of pain, for which the person is trying to compensate.

Physiotherapists are concerned about the posture of their patients, as it can make a huge difference in a person's recovery. Correct posture allows you to keep the head in midline, bear weight, weight shift in all directions and have proper balance. Abnormal postures will be addressed via a number of techniques including stretching and strengthening to encourage the body to achieve best alignment.

Taping is another technique to improve posture. Taping the body in the correct postural position makes it difficult for the person to deviate.

Poor ergonomics can also contribute to poor posture which in turn can contribute to some of the problems listed above. We can assist with the design of your home or office to make it more efficient and less challenging to your health. In most cases only simple adjustments are required.

DTS is a non–surgical treatment option approved by the American FDA which effectively treats lower back pain, sciatica resulting from bulging and herniated discs or degenerative disc disease, and may even relieve symptoms in cases of relapsed or failed back surgery.

It creates a negative pressure or vacuum inside the disc causing retraction of the herniation and improves flow of blood and nutrients which allow the body’s natural fibroblastic response to heal and re–hydrate the disc.

Traction and inversion alone lower intradiscal pressure from +90 to +30 mmHg. DTS is clinically proven to reduce intradiscal pressure to between –150 to –200 mmHg.

After carefully studying your case history and exam findings, our physicians will recommend a treatment and therapy plan tailored to your particular needs