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You know when you go to the dentist and you get your teeth cleaned? It can be a little uncomfortable as they scrape and brush and shine, but afterwards, you run your tongue over your teeth and marvel at how smooth they feel. It’s weird, because they didn’t feel dirty or grimy before. And as the weeks go on, you won’t notice your teeth slowly accumulating dirt until your next appointment six months later, when you’ll marvel at their smoothness all over again.

Pain is like the dirt on your teeth. It accumulates over time in your muscles, ligaments, and joints. It’s gradual and rarely noticeable until the pain is either relieved or becomes too much. But unlike our teeth, rarely do we go for bi-annual check ups to ensure our body is running at peak performance. Ordinarily, we wait until we have a problem before we worry about our muscle health. But why? We don’t wait until our teeth rot to go see a dentist. So why do we wait for a muscle to tear or a joint to hurt before we see a physiotherapist?

Like the dentist, we recommend visiting your physiotherapist bi-annually. Going every six months will allow your therapist to screen you for any potential problems. It is much easier to address imbalances before they become an active injury.  And, more often than not, the injury is linked to more than one muscle group.

Take runner’s kneefor example, the shooting pain is felt either below or above the knee cap, making physical activity very uncomfortable. But the injury isn’t just caused by weak knees; studies have shown that poor core strength and hip control issues contribute to an uneven stride that triggers runner’s knee. A certified physiotherapist can evaluate your lifestyle and can recommend which muscles and areas to strengthen to prevent the injury altogether. They work to stabilize your kinetic chain, helping you to maintain your optimal health.

Two check ups a year will go a long way preserving and cultivating your body’s strength. Don’t wait for the pain, prevent it and book your maintenance appointment now!

Physiotherapy is the treatment of an injury, disease, or disorder though physical methods, including massage therapy, exercise, and muscle manipulation. It works to balance the body through various forms of treatments.  Like a car engine, the human body is complex and all our parts work together to form an intricate machine. If one of the gears is malfunctioning, the entire mechanism is at risk. A highly skilled physiotherapist is your body’s mechanic, greasing your gears by strengthening your muscles and joints.

There’s a myth that physiotherapy is reserved for back pain and sports injuries, but actually, it can provide improvements for your whole body. It works to improve your quality of life by alleviating pain and and fixing imbalances within your systems. There are three areas of physiotherapy practice:

1. Musculoskeletal or Orthopedic, for sprains, back pain, arthritis, sport and workplace injuries, and rehabilitation after surgery. Physiotherapy helps joints by increasing flexibility and strength in the surrounding muscles.
2. Neurological, for disorders of the nervous systems, including spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, strokes, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s.  Targets tissues surrounding the nerves to lesson compression and work towards improving function.
3. Cardiothoracic: used for treating asthma, emphysema, and other cardio-respiratory disorders.  They use breathing control techniques to improve the mobility of chest and neck muscles through stretching and strengthening exercises.

There is a common factor to many physiotherapy treatments: exercises are a crucial part of physiotherapy. Your physiotherapists will provide a personalised training plan, with variety of exercises, all meant to strengthen you and your body.  Many of these will need to be performed at home, and this ‘homework’ will make the difference in how fast you recover. If you follow your therapy regiment faithfully, you will see results.

Physiotherapy also utilises a variety of other treatments. Acupuncture assists pain relief and muscle function, improving the ‘energy flow’ of the body. Ultrasound helps to reduce inflammation and promotes healing with ultrasonic waves. Electrotherapy uses gentle electrical output to reduce pain and encourage healing.

Whichever treatments your physiotherapist prescribes, know that they are meant to improve your entire body’s health.  They diagnose what your body needs as a whole so that you can achieve optimal health and prevent imbalances before they start.

Start your path to a healthier you and book your physiotherapy appointment now!