stress

Thoracic pain

by

thoracic pain

The thoracic spine is your mid back between lower back and neck. Each of the 12 vertebrae of your thoracic spine has a rib on each side. Acute thoracic spine pain can be very debilitating. When it hurts to breathe the joints between the ribs and the thoracic vertebral body and transverse process can be the source. Postural loading and stress are common causes of this type of pain. Another is trauma in sport, but you also need to make sure there are no rib or other fractures in these cases.

Simple analgesics are usually advised at first. Sometimes taping can limit the pain by restricting painful movement when pain is bad but shouldn’t be used for more than a few days. The next step is to get moving via walking in water or on land followed by stretches. At this stage massage and joint mobilisations can improve your overall movement and increase the speed of your recovery.

Get good advice early is the quickest way to get back to normal once you have acute thoracic pain. This also includes analysis of the causes and implementing movement-based prevention strategies. Read more here on how we can help or contact us on 4921 6879.

Managing exercise, relaxation and stress

by

Beach walk

Where does the time go? There are periods in life (usually the same time every year) that we don’t have time to attend to our own health in the form of relaxation and exercise. Use this as a prompt to reflect on where you are at currently. It is important to make time for both. The benefits are immense from ability to concentrate, problem solve and make better choices down to feeling better both mentally and physically.

The usual tips on getting active and managing stress at the same time are: listening to music and podcasts whilst on the gym cardio equipment, walking or jogging; exercising with a friend always helps keeps us going; playing a regularly scheduled team sports is an easy way to keep active; or starting a routine group exercise class like pilates.

I came across a different way of thinking recently which was not to focus on the time I had available as the problem but my response to being busy. It was called the 90:10 rule and challenges you to alter your mindset and increase control. 10% is what happens; 90% is how we respond. I have lots to do but I still choose what I do each day. If being busy in life is currently taking you away from routine exercise or some ‘you’ time then stop and think about the response.

Remember the exercise will make you feel better once you are in a routine. A 10 minute dose of exercise counts but 30 mins is ideal. If you find the right exercise routine you should feel more energised and relaxed rather than tired and tense. If you want to hear more about the 90:10 rule and its relevance to stress management, listen to this video from Dr Mike Evans at Evans Health Lab.

Looking after your physical health as a uni staff member

by

NU Moves massage

Did you know that there is a physiotherapy clinic on campus? NU Moves Physiotherapy offers discounts to all uni staff members. It is important to us to help keep UoN staff healthy and active. If you are in pain see a physio today.

Our physios at NU Moves have post-graduate qualifications in manual therapy; exercise prescription; expert clinical problem solving; and clinical research. We undertake a thorough assessment to determine the cause of your pain and an appropriate treatment plan to suit your goals. All of our treatments sessions are one-on-one. Whether you wish to be pain free while sitting at work, or staying active through exercise – NU Moves can help.

NU Moves are familiar with the workplace demands that at times are associated with prolonged sitting, increased stress and not enough time to exercise. All of these factors contribute to pain. A good start is to make time for your daily dose of physical activity every day. Another method of relieving pain associated with stress or muscle tension is massage. Manual therapy from a physio involves massage of varying types; joint mobilisation (gentle form of manipulation) and stretches. You may also be helped via advice around posture or your computer and work station ergonomic set-up.

NU Moves Physiotherapy also performs dry needling, orthotic prescription, bracing / splinting, exercise and gym programming, and work specific functional rehabilitation.
To book an appointment with NU Moves call 4921 6879.

Stress fractures in runners – 3 minutes of what, why & when

by

female runner

 

What is a stress fracture: Normal bone responses to repetitive stress can be divided into: normal response, stress reaction, and stress fracture.

Normal response: Osteoclasts are bone cells that remove bone tissue known as ‘bone resorption’. Whilst osteoblasts are cells that create ‘bone formation’. Bone is a dynamic tissue that is constantly being reshaped by osteoblasts and osteoclasts working in balance.

Stress Reaction: Repeated bone stress without appropriate rest causes osteoclastic activity to outstrip osteoblastic activity.  This osteoclast / osteoblast imbalance initially results in microfractures which when investigated shows bone marrow oedema.
 
Stress fracture: A stress fracture is when the repeated stress and imbalance continues and the microfracture progresses into a true break in the cortical bone.
 
How are they diagnosed: A clinical examination of factors such as training loads, biomechanics, location of pain, and bony tenderness, will indicate whether a bony stress reaction / fracture is a possibility. Following this various imaging options are MRI (which can show bone marrow oedema in stress reaction stages and microfractures once stress fracture develops); CT scans (not as sensitive as MRI and have associated radiation as per an XRay); Xray (which frequently doesn’t show up stress fractures in the early stages – up to 3 weeks); and bone scans (very good at detecting stress fractures but are time consuming, nonspecific and are a poor choice to monitor recovery).
 
Who is most at risk: The female athlete triad is a combination of low bone density, nutritional issues, and menstrual irregularities. Together these represent the highest risk of developing stress fractures in the female runner. However any one of these alone can also lead to a stress fracture when combined with running.
 
What else increases your risk:

  • Rapid increase in running distances
  • Lack of rest / recovery time during a period of running training
  • Inappropriate footwear relative to the foot type of the individual
  • Nicotine smoking

What to look out for:

  • Pain during or after running / exercise
  • Bony tenderness
  • Nutrition – how balanced is your diet
  • Training – running distances per week and speed of increases
  • Bone density – do you know yours? (especially if you are female and run a lot)
  • Shoes – despite the debates surrounding ‘support’ vs ‘free’ shoes, the right type of footwear is important for a lot of people!

Management: If you have pain with running organise an assessment as soon as possible. The best management is prevention but if they occur the treatment depends on which bone it is. Some stress fractures have greater risks associated and need orthopaedic specialists involved, whilst others are lower risk and can be managed conservatively. The most common strategy is to immobilise the area and often to remove any weight bearing stress through the bone.

McCormick et al (2012), Stress fractures in runners. Clin Sports Med, 31.