WHAT IS DRY NEEDLING & ACUPUNCTURE?

Dry Needling and Acupuncture use fine filament needles to directly stimulate specific trigger points in muscles. This increases muscle relaxation and reactivates muscles. Dry Needling and Acupuncture may be used by your Allied Health Practitioner to assist in achieving better results during your treatment.

HOW IS IT PERFORMED?

Fine (sterile / single use) needles are tapped virtually painlessly into the skin, sometimes through a plastic tube. The needles may be left in the muscle for a few seconds or up to several minutes. After insertion the needles may be stimulated – either twisting manually or using electrical stimulation – and a feeling of heaviness, tingling or a dull ache may be felt in that area.

Extensive research has shown that stimulation of very fine nerve endings provides both a local pain blocking effect and also changes in blood chemistry due to the release of pain relieving hormones from the brain. This reduces pain, may help improve healing, and has a local relaxation effect.

WHAT IS NEEDLING USED FOR?

Dry Needling and Acupuncture can be used for almost all muscular conditions. They are especially beneficial for painful musculoskeletal conditions including migraine, neck and back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia and many other non-specific pain syndromes. They may be used in conjunction with other therapy techniques and exercise programs. It is generally safe to use alongside prescribed medications. There are no age limits for this treatment.

DRY NEEDLING VS ACUPUNCTURE – WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

The difference in these two modalities is primarily defined by the Western vs Eastern medicine philosophies.

Dry Needling is used in a variety of different ways, with the aim to return a muscle to its natural integrity by inserting the needle into trigger points found within the affected muscle. This may help relieve pain symptoms, improve joint range of motion and muscle flexibility.

Acupuncture is an ancient practice performed by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners. Utilising oriental medical principles, Acupuncture aims to balance the chi or energy pathways within the body. This is achieved by inserting the needles in the appropriate meridian channels, also known as our energy pathways. Acupuncture is effective in the treatment of a wide and diverse range of conditions including allergies, infertility, chronic fatigue and insomnia.

IS IT SAFE?

The side effects are few when performed by a qualified therapist. You may experience some redness around the insertion point or some aching in the muscle similar to other technique responses.

It is important to understand:

• You can stop the procedure at any time.
• All Australian hygiene protocols are followed strictly. No needles are ever shared

If you would like to discuss this further, please contact our Admin team and one of our Myotherapists will be happy to answer any questions in the lead up to your appointment.

Heavy, tired and tight legs? Let’s lighten the load.

Life is go, go, go! Very rarely will you find yourself sitting still for any long periods of time. Sport is only getting more demanding and we are looking for any advantage that we can to speed up the recovery time.
Our Machine based Compression Pants can give you that advantage, or keep your legs feeling light with less fluid build up in the lower limb compartments.
Yes, you will see them more commonly in the sporting setting like Crossfit Games or the Australian Open Tennis, but we find our workforce of nurses, Doctors, Retail workers and even our MyoSports Practitioner to be having a quick session during our lunch break.

The Science Behind It.

Known as Sequential Intermittent Pneumatic Compression. The pump squeezes the leg, similar to a blood pressure cuff inflating. To release a cyclic rhythm pushing the fluid towards the kidneys which will then drain the excess fluid out of the body.

In Layman’s Terms.

The compression aims to get rid of excess fluid build up and lactic acid by pushing up towards the kidneys and out of the body.
Click on our Facebook link to see it in action https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=380602052810652

What we offer.

Even though one is better than nothing, we think that multiple regular sessions is where you can get the most out of the machine. With that in mind, we have set up a weekly pass for both 30min or 60min sessions, where you pay once and come as many times as you want throughout that weekly period. Online booking for your convenience, along with Mandy or Ange being available to personally book your spot or answer any of your questions about the machine.

Sit back and Relax!
Our compression pants are set up upstairs where you can recline, watch any one of our streaming apps Netflix, Stan, Kayo, even Disney!

*Header picture courtesy of Normatec

Acute Sports Injury Management: Is RICER out? Do we need to call the POLICE or bring in PEACE and LOVE?

Acute sports injury management has been the same for many years now. Most of us know the acronym RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate). This is basic first aid and it is the approach we take, not just for sporting injuries but others also where we can do so.

More recently, there has been some controversy particularly to do with anti-inflammatory methods, whether ice assists or hinders the healing process as well as the use of anti-inflammatories that are often recommended to help with pain and swelling.
The acronym PRICE (protect, ice, compress, elevate, then POLICE (protect, optimal loading, ice, compress and elevate) have also been more recently introduced and the latest being PEACE and LOVE (Protection, Elevation, Avoid anti-inflammatory modalities, Compression, Elevation and Load, Optimism, Vascularisation and Exercise) for a more overall approach to help through the sub-acute stages, the next phase of healing and recovery.
So what is the best approach? Well, there needs to be a bit more research done but it really comes down to the extent of the injury and personal choice. The following picks apart the RICE protocol:
Rest is most certainly recommended and if playing sport, it really is best to stop if you think there is an injury present, to avoid more damage and re-assess if you can return in the following 24- 72 hours, the period where inflammation will set in if it is going to do so. Prolonged rest and protection is not recommended (not more than 1-3 days) as it may affect the muscle tissue strength and quality. Pain will be a big factor in this, so this is going to be the guide for this and of course, if the injury is more serious you may need longer.
Ice- the evidence is not strong to use ice other than for pain relief. We still recommend it for this factor mostly.
Compression has been found to be conflicting in the science but for ankle sprains in particular, it can be helpful to reduce the swelling and tissue bleeding as well as improve that quality of life.Elevation is used to help with any excess fluid build-up but again, there is not a whole lot of evidence to support this either. It is still commonly accepted as it has a low risk to benefit ratio, meaning it is very easy to do and be of some help.
Within the PEACE and LOVE protocol the “Avoid Anti-inflammatory methods” is quite controversial. The science suggests, due to the anti-inflammatory medication it can delay the cellular processes needed to help with healing and the same goes for ice.
At the end of the day, which way you go about managing your sporting injury is up to you. Adapting the PEACE and LOVE protocol seems to be what will be utilised going forward, where possible. Having your injury assessed and working out a plan with your health practitioner who can educate you on all the options available, can really speed the process up and get you back out doing what you love sooner rather than later.

References: Dubois B, Esculier J-F. Br J Sports Med 2020;54:72–73.
Bleakley CM, Glasgow P, MacAuley DC. Price needs updating, should we call the police? Br J Sports Med 2012;46:220–1.
Header picture courtesy of Virtual Sports Injury Clinic.

New Years Resolution: to get fitter…. to get stronger…. to lose weight… 

Sound familiar? 

This would have to be one of the most common resolutions that we all make every year.

I think we can all agree that 2020 was a year unlike any other; working from home, gyms being closed, sport seasons being cancelled and the list goes on. Normality is starting to return and we are all trying to get back into the swing of things, but where is the whole concept of ‘easing back into it’.

Here’s a few simple things to remember when striving for results:

 

Slow and Steady wins the race:There’s no rush! Consistent, efficient, effective exercise leads to better results. We often get caught up doing ‘too much too soon’ and want instant results, and although this would be nice, it’s not realistic. Ensure you BUILD up your exercises and don’t start at a ‘experienced’ level if you’re still a beginner.

Rest and Recovery: Give your body time to rejuvenate! When we exercise, our muscles go through the process of creating micro-tears (not the same as a hamstring or ACL tear) to then recruit amino acids to come and repair the muscle- which causes muscle growth.

Active cool downs combined with stretching, enough sleep and a good diet will give you every chance to allow your muscles to recover after exercise.

Switch things up: We often see people coming into the clinic with overuse injuries from repetitive movements and doing the same form of exercise every day. It’s important to mix things up and train ALL different muscles groups in different environments to avoid muscular imbalances or injuries. Instead of going for a jog each morning, try pilates or swimming instead to recruit some contrasting muscles.

All in all, a gradual build up of a range of styles of training combined with appropriate recovery gives you every chance to improve your cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength and endurance all while decreasing your risk of injury. Let’s start 2021 off on the right foot and start achieving those resolutions!

Levator Scapulae Muscle

The Levator scapulae usually called lev scap is a muscle that often causes pain, discomfort, and dysfunction in the upper body. It can create pain and dysfunction associated with the shoulder, but it can also create pain and significant dysfunction associated with the cervical spine (neck area), we often see headaches significantly associated with this muscle.

Frequent symptoms of this muscle include:

-chronic tightness creating a strong pulling sensation, the muscle to become overactivated and shortened

– neck pain which could extend to the head causing a headache  

– pain and restricted range of motion in neck or shoulders

– deep, aching pain

– referring pain in neck and shoulder area

–  increase in muscle tone and trigger points

These symptoms effect the scapula’s position and the movements of your cervical spine, this is due to where the muscles attachment sites are as the muscle originates from the cervical spine (neck) and inserts into the medial border of the scapula ( shoulder blade) .

One of the muscles roles is to keep your shoulder blade in an optimal position that supports an upright alignment of your neck and head. Also attempts to avoid postures including forward head posture, which is when your head is in a poor neck posture positioning your head to far forward.

Myofascial trigger points (muscle knot, or a feeling of pain/ restriction in muscle belly) occur frequently in the lev scap muscle. When the trigger points are active this can create stiffness in the neck, and rotation to the same side will be painful due to the muscle contracting.

Common movements/ factors that aggravate and can cause the lev scap discomfort includes:

–          Carrying a bag on your shoulder for extended periods

–          Sleeping with the muscle in a shortened position / sleeping in awkward straining positions for the neck muscles

–          Movements involved in performing a sport

–          Continual head/ neck movements at work particularly office workers

–          Poor posture

–          stress

We see the lev scap muscle being one of the most common muscles that is causing neck and shoulder pain and dysfunction. Getting some treatment on this muscle as well as associated muscles can help reduce the muscular tension/ stress on this muscle and some simple things we can do to stop this muscle from continual discomfort includes :

–          Regular stretching and the correct stretches that will stretch the lev scap muscle effectively

–          Appropriate strengthening exercises

–          Postural correction exercises and awareness

These are simple things we can integrate into our daily life to increase our physical function of our upper body and our niggling neck aches and pains.

Are you suffering from restless sleep?  Finding it difficult to fall asleep due to discomfort?  Or are you waking with a headache and stiff neck that stays with you all day?

Then maybe it’s time for a new pillow!

Just like proper footwear is a recommendation to correct incorrect ankle and lower limb alignment, correct pillows and pillow height are necessary to assist in decreasing/managing neck and shoulder pain or stiffness.

I personally have found that when a patient is experiencing pain or discomfort when they wake up – particularly the upper body region- how they are positioned during their sleep is a major contributor.

When we lie down to sleep the one thing we look for is what’s called a neutral spine.  Your pillow and mattress are vital in achieving this, but let’s concentrate on the Pillow for now.

Here’s a quick tip!

When lying on your pillow in any which way, you don’t want the pillow to be too high that it causes your neck to be on stretch (which can sometimes be excessive) and alternatively, you don’t want the pillow to be too low either.  Too low causes one side of the neck region to “squash” and also our shoulder will roll in (which is another kettle of fish altogether for another blog).  Some people will also find the need to ‘bunch up’ their pillow underneath them to create more height and end up sleeping with their arm or hand underneath their head.  This is where symptoms start to creep down to the arm and hands.

Now if you’re sitting there nodding your head and thinking to yourself, yes that’s me!  It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a brand new expensive pillow, the pillow you have may be right but your posture may just need fine tuning.  However, having a pillow at the correct height can take all the hard work out of retraining the posture.

Not sure where to start with your pillow?

Fear not!  The practitioners at MyoSports offer a complimentary pillow assessment to help check over the pillow you have and also point you in the right direction with options that may be more suited for you and achieve that neutral spine.

Don’t suffer one more night of restless sleep, let us know how we can help you get the sleep you’ve been searching for.

With lock down of the gyms making it harder to exercise and running being a high impact sport, cycling can be the obvious answer for getting in that cardiovascular exercise, but some people aren’t keen to be out on the roads riding near cars, so another option is kayaking!

Kayaking improves your cardio fitness and is a great strength exercise for arms, shoulders, back and core. With proper technique, kayaking even works leg muscles through leg drive by rotation of the trunk, applying pressure with the feet off the kick board. Your core muscles -also known as your abs- are in constant use while you’re kayaking, helping balance the kayak upright and this is why kayaking is one of the best exercises to strengthen your abs. 

Like any physical activity, kayaking helps with weight loss and once you’re on the water it won’t feel like exercise as you’re cruising through the water reducing your stress levels! Using your muscles to cut through the water out in nature is a very rewarding experience and after a few hours each week, you’ll quickly notice a drop in your stress levels.

Kayaking is easy to pick up, with the right type of kayak for your level of experience, you can jump straight into the sport. All you need is a kayak, a paddle and a life jacket to enjoy some great impact free exercise!

Elbow Pain: 2 Common Conditions and How to fix them

Are you a tradie on the good old shovel all day long or forever carrying heavy objects and doing repetitive jobs onsite? Maybe you’re a keen golfer and play most weeks, maybe more at the moment being limited to this during Iso? Or maybe you’re a keyboard warrior and have increased this lately due to iso as well?  Whatever your job description, all of the above can cause some seriously sore elbows! There are two common conditions of the elbow that occur due to repetitive strain, these being tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow.

Tennis Elbow vs. Golfer’s Elbow

Probably more common than Golfer’s elbow- tennis elbow, despite the name it is not often caused by tennis these days. It is a condition of the tendon on the outside of the elbow, technically called lateral tendinopathy or lateral tendinitis. Lateral just means to the outer side and tendinopathy is a condition or pathology of the tendon. The tendon becomes inflamed and will be called tendonitis, or longer standing pain where the fibres start to become damaged is called tendinosis. The common wrist extensor muscles attach to this tendon, so bending the wrist up towards yourself if the palm is facing the floor, is the main action here. Small intricate movements of the fingers are also part of these muscles action. The pain is usually found on the top of the elbow on the bony part, called the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, which you can feel sitting just underneath the skin. It may travel down into the forearm, even sometimes right to the wrist and less commonly to the fingers. It can be present when trying to grip, twist and lift things often causing weakness.

Golfer’s elbow is the same, just on the inner side of the elbow- technically called medial tendinopathy or tendinitis. The common wrist flexor muscles attach to this tendon, their action is bending the wrist to the floor if the palm was facing the floor. Small intricate movements of the fingers are also part of these muscles action. The pain is similar to tennis elbow just on the opposite side of the arm- usually over that bony prominence on the inside and can travel down into the under side of the forearm. It can be present when trying to grip, twist and lift things often causing weakness also, as well as numbness & tingling occasionally into the ring and little fingers.

Tennis Elbow Causes

Repetitive strain is the answer. For tennis elbow it is usually the repetitive use of a keyboard most often for the office worker, the repetitive use of tools and lifting, shovelling, gripping and twisting for the tradie and for the tennis player, well it is the repetitive shock travelling through the arm when a tennis ball is struck while gripping onto that racket. Alas, these are not the only occupations or activities to cause tennis elbow.

Golfer’s elbow is usually caused by you guessed it, GOLF! Also repetitive gripping, twisting and shock that is transferred into the arm, it is much like it’s counterpart, tennis elbow. Tennis elbow tends to be a bit more common than golfer’s elbow.

So how do we resolve it you ask? REST my friends, rest. Most of us just can’t stop what we are doing and go on a nice holiday to relax (especially not right now) so there are other things we can do. Try to offload the arm and rest it where practical for you. This means maybe delegating some of the jobs you really struggle to do because the pain is so bad, if you can. Otherwise taking regular breaks and stretching out the muscles of the forearm where you can. Heat and ice can prove very handy over where the tendon attaches to the bone. A brace is often helpful in the beginning to assist with reducing pain.

These conditions are often stubborn and usually related to your line of work, meaning they take a fair amount of time and effort to get on top of. They usually require expert help to get on top of the pain in the beginning and form a rehab plan to get you back on track. Here at MyoSports we treat these conditions all the time, so if this sounds like you, pop on in to get you back to work and doing what you enjoy as fast as possible.

Difference Between
Dry Needling and Acupuncture

There is often a lot of questions and
confusion about the differences between dry needling and acupuncture. Dry
needling is an evidence-based technique applied by physical therapists that
releases myofascial trigger points and muscular tightness. Dry needling is
similar regarding the needle is inserted into the skin to alleviate pain.
However, acupuncture treats for the purpose of altering the flow of Qi (Energy)
along traditional Chinese meridians. Physical therapists use dry needling with
the purposes of addressing neuromuscular conditions, the relief of pain/
muscular tightness, and improving range of motion.

What is a
myofascial trigger point?

A myofascial trigger point also known
as a knot within the muscle is a bundle of muscle fibres that have shortened
when activated but have not been able to lengthen back to a relaxed state after
use. (Simons, Travell & Simons, 1999).

What causes these
myofascial trigger points?

Injury (muscles will tighten
attempting to reduce severity of injuries)

Unexpected movements of the body

Quick movements

Change in regular exercise routine (an
increase or decrease in regular physical activity)

Sustained postures (extended sitting
for study or work)

Impingement of nerves (muscles will
tighten attempting to protect the nerve)

Stress

Nutritional deficiencies (such as
magnesium)

(Simons, et al., 1999)

How does Dry
needling work?

Single use sterile filament needles
(acupuncture needles) are inserted into the trigger point that causes a
neurological response within the muscle fibres. This reaction allows the muscle
to release and relax which helps reduce pain and encouraging and improving the
recovery process.

Dry needling can
help treat:

Headaches in relation to muscular
tension

Tendinopathy including hamstring
tendinopathy, Achilles, or tennis elbow

Sciatica and gluteal pain

General muscular tightness/tension

Lower back pain

Neck pain

Post-surgery

Sporting injuries

 

Benefits Of Foam Rolling.

With the recent increase of people running and walking, it
is important to make sure your body is ready to hit the paths and a simple way to avoid injury is a quick foam roll session.

Many elite athletes get regular remedial massages in order
to stimulate the blood supply, mobilise joints and stabilise and sooth their muscles. While nothing can replicate a good massage you can still enjoy many of these benefits using a foam roller.

Running and walking is a highly repetitive movement, you’re
typically over using some muscles and under using other muscles.

A few minutes using the foam roller before and after each
workout can help keep your muscles flexible and ready to perform. 

Before exercising, similar to remedial massage, foam rolling can increase range of motion, tissue elasticity and blood flow circulation helping you to perform better during your workout and help to avoid injury. Following your workout, a quick foam roll will help to stimulate blood flow that increases oxygen to sore muscle fibres which reduces recovery time.