The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has released new guidelines on the treatment of osteoarthritis. The guidelines “rubbished popular and “fad” treatments for osteoarthritis (OA), including opioids, acupuncture, glucosamine, stem cell therapy, insoles and surgery “.
That’s right, the medical association is now “strongly warning against surgeries such as knee arthroscopy, meniscectomy and cartilage repair” when it comes to hip and knee arthritis.
Instead, they suggest things like exercise and weight loss. I recently posted an article on how weight loss reduces pressure in the knee, after studies showed that “for every …

I was recently sent an article which I thought I would share with you. The article outlines 30 different exercises for the different parts of your back, and includes video demonstrations by a 2 time Olympian. The videos are clear and concise and the exercises are exactly the same as I give out myself.
I love that there are exercises for mobility, strength, core, and some yoga moves and a bit of foam rolling in there as well. We all need a combination of mobility, strength and stability, so this outline …

That was the title of an article on The Conversation website a couple of weeks ago. Here is the link to the article, as well as a few choice quotes I have selected as a quick summary:
“Knee surgery is common. Young adults have their anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed after tearing it when playing sports. Middle-aged people have parts of their meniscus trimmed when they have pain and limited knee mobility. And older people have their knees replaced by metal and plastic when their cartilage has worn out. The idea that …

I get asked this question a lot. And until recently, I thought it made a bit of difference, but if you had good strength and sufficient joint mobility carrying a few extra kilos probably wouldn’t be that big a deal. For your joints at least. Being overweight is associated with all kinds of other health problems, so maintaining a healthy weight is in your best interested regardless.
But now we know exactly how much pressure your joints take on when you take on extra weight. According to a study of overweight …

Researchers have finally been able to show what happens in utero when pregnant women sleep on their side compared to sleep on their backs. And what they found is that it is better to sleep on your side. According to an article on essentialbaby.com.au, scans revealed the following:
“prior work has established that maternal sleeping position – specifically sleeping on the back – is associated with increased risk of stillbirth”
“It is known, however, that sleeping on the left side of the body increases the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta and the baby.”
“when a …

I saw an interesting article recently which I thought I would share with you all. In the article, 5 experts were asked whether they thought it was safe and advisable to give painkilling medications to children. The people asked included a paediatrician, pain specialist, pharmacist and anaesthetist.
They mostly agreed that it was but had certain contingencies on that.
Some choice quotes:
Caregivers have to ensure, however, the child is carefully monitored and dosage is very carefully calculated and delivered safely. A child in pain is no less than an adult in pain, …

Did you catch the latest article on Neurosciencenews.com? If not, you’re in luck, because I did! In the article, a summary of research was outlined which showed the benefits of microbreaks for students and adults alike.
According to the study, it was shown that taking a break and doing a series of brief exercises led to:

An improved ability to focus attention
An improved ability to retain information, and
Improvements in overall learning ability.

To read more, see below.
New research from a team of scientists at McMaster University suggests that brief exercise breaks during lectures …

Super exciting news! We have a Myotherapist joining the clinic! Jess Goodwin is a Sports Therapist who studied in the UK before moving to Sydney and setting up Sydney Sports Therapy in Oatley. A Sports Therapist is the UK equivalent of a Myotherapist.

Myotherapists do university degrees studying how to diagnose and treat soft tissue injuries, so they’re basically the most highly qualified massage therapist you will ever see. I love seeing them myself so I’m really happy we are going to have one here!

There aren’t many Myotherapists here in …

A recent article on the Sydney Morning Herald website has summarised “the best available research on preventing cognitive decline and dementia”.
There are a variety of recommendations based on statistical data showing the common traits and pastimes of Australians. The researchers looked at the behaviours of people who went on to develop dementia and tried to find the differences between them and people who did not, to see what might make a difference, and why.
According to the article “more than a third of Australians aged between 70 and 90 will develop …

A recent article on The Guardian website claims that “Vast numbers of people with lower back pain across the world are being harmed, not helped, by the surgery, injections and dangerous opioid drugs they are given, according to a major new report”.
The report they refer to is a series of articles published on the medical website The Lancet, which concludes that:

“Investigating using MRI scans is counterproductive, the experts say.”
“MRIs will pick up physical abnormalities that may not be the source of the pain.”
“Scans often result in surgery or other interventions, but the …