As MSK elves we already know shoulder pain is one of the most common presenting musculoskeletal conditions accounting for between 7 -26% of general practitioner consultations in the UK. There are a variety of causes of shoulder pain and some of our previous blogs have discussed challenges to developing an acurate diagnosis. Once we have our appropriately [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 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…]
Did you know that Saturday 8th September is World Physiotherapy Day? The day is an opportunity for physiotherapists (physical therapists) from all over the world to raise awareness about the crucial contribution the profession makes to keeping people well, mobile and independent. Evidence shows that people who stay active are more likely to keep working, [read the full story…]
Regular readers of the Mental Elf will recall the blogs (Here is the evidence for exercising if you are depressed and New Cochrane review shows that exercise helps with depression) I wrote back in June and July about the evidence for exercising if you have depression. A new systematic review was published in the British [read the full story…]
A state of high anxiety can have an impact on daily living. For people with learning disabilities, anxiety can be common and persistent anxiety can significantly affect people’s quality of life. There is a literature on effects of exercise on reducing anxiety, but the researchers in this study point out that there has been little [read the full story…]
Prevention of falls is a major public health issue and this has been given focused attention by AGILE: UK Chartered Physiotherapists working with Older People. AGILE launched their new ‘Guidelines for the Physiotherapy management of older people at risk of falling’ at the World Congress of Active Ageing in Glasgow last week. The document focusses [read the full story…]
Have you ever had low back pain lasting longer than 6 weeks? I know a few elves who have. Did you know it is estimated that 28% of people will experience disabling low back pain (LBP) sometime during their lives and that 80% to 90% of attacks of low back pain resolve in about 6 [read the full story…]
The 2003 Cochrane review by Al-Ani et al found no evidence for or against the use of stablisation splints for the treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). While a subsequent review by Fricton et al in 2010 found modest evidence for effectiveness of hard stabilization splints. The implications from both reviews are that more robust randomised [read the full story…]
