Today is the final day of the International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapists (IFOMPT) Conference in Quebec, Canada. The conference includes presentations from international experts on a wide array of issues related to clinical assessment and treatment. In a previous blog I looked at an article on whether or not individuals’ movement patterns can be altered as [read the full story…]
All MSK Elves know that shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints referred for assessment and therapeutic intervention both in the acute and primary sectors. The reason for the development of the pain is often blamed on degenerative changes in the rotator cuff. Prescribing the most appropriate form of exercise based on evidence [read the full story…]
This week in Scotland has been designated as self-management week. There is a growing awareness that low back pain (LBP) is a long term condition and that self-management can decrease the burden of this, and many other, conditions. To date, self-management has been described as a model of care where patients use strategies to manage and monitor [read the full story…]
Have you ever tried to make and sustain a lifestyle or behaviour change? How easy was it? Someone once explained to me that some things in life are simple, but that doesn’t equate to them being easy. For example, if you want to lose weight, it’s simple – exercise more and eat less, but if [read the full story…]
In common with other healthcare professionals across the globe, we musculoskeletal elves are under great pressure to account for the way in which we deliver our services and the quality of this delivery. Therefore, it was with delight that I came across a masterclass on the concept of standardised data collection (SDC), and how this [read the full story…]
There are many tests available to clinicians when performing a physical examination of the shoulder in the attempt to reach an accurate diagnosis. In many instances there is more than one test that can be used to test a structure. The difficulty with physical examination tests recommended for shoulder is that many of these tests [read the full story…]
Although most Musculoskeletal Elves lead very physically active lives there are a small minority of Elves who are office based. Occasionally I hear them complain of episodes of low back pain and they have enquired of me as to what contributed to its onset. Although I felt I had a reasonable idea as to the main [read the full story…]
This week sees the launch of a free app specifically designed to provide the public with key advice and information to help them manage their musculoskeletal problem themselves in the palm of their hand. It has been developed to compliment the web resources published last year by Scotland’s ‘NHS24’ and ‘daughter’ organisation ‘NHS inform’, the [read the full story…]
On returning home from a recent Pilates class I wondered to myself as to what effect, if any, the exercises had on my movement and posture. I reflected also on the fact that nearly every exercise class that I had been to recently seemed to emphasise the importance of having a good ‘core’. Physiotherapists are [read the full story…]
Osteoarthritis of the knee is a common condition and typically presents with painful and restricted function and sometimes varus (bow legs) and valgus (knock knees) deformity of the knee. Once the condition and pain worsens knee joint replacement surgery is a treatment option. Patients typically improve in terms of pain and function but there is [read the full story…]
