Where does it hurt?

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that play a part in lifting and rotating the upper arm, as well as a role in stabilising the shoulder to avoid dislocation. The muscles run along the upper shoulder blade where they are very susceptible to injury.

A tear may result suddenly from a single traumatic event or develop gradually.

When patients present with rotator cuff tears, either to the tendons or muscles, they are unable to lift or rotate their arm with the same range of motion as before and also experience severe pain when using the arm. Pain is commonly felt at night and radiates down the arm.

Our osteopaths can help you keep your shoulder strong and flexible, and reduce the pain and weakness.

If symptoms persist or worsen, surgery may be required, and you may be referred for an X-ray or MRI to confirm diagnosis.

Treatments include:

• Osteopathy
• Dry Needling
• Ice to reduce inflammation and pain
• Avoiding strenuous activity
• Kinesio Taping
• If there is no improvement with the above, your Osteopath may refer you for further treatment like steroid injections.

Shoulder injuries are often associated with sport, but can also be caused by everyday knocks, bumps and falls.

They include dislocations, Acromioclavicular joint (AC) injuries, the previously mentioned rotator cuff injuries, labral tears, ligament strains, muscular injuries, bursitis and fractures.

Your Osteopath will be interested in the mechanics of the injury to help understand what structures may be affected.

We advise early assessment from a doctor or osteopath, and in some cases, we refer where necessary for x-rays and scans.

Treatments include:

• Osteopathy
• Sports massage
• Dry Needling
• Ice to reduce inflammation and pain
• Avoiding strenuous activity
• Kinesio Taping
• If there is no improvement with the above, your Osteopath may refer you for further treatment like steroid injections.

A frozen shoulder is an extremely painful condition in which the shoulder completely or partially stiffens.

The lining of the shoulder joint, known as the ‘capsule’, is a very flexible elastic structure, giving the joint a huge range of motion. If this capsule and its surrounding structures become inflamed and contracted then that elasticity is lost, and it leads to pain and stiffness.

Frozen shoulder can appear from nowhere or is triggered by a seemingly mild injury.

The return to full movement may take several years, often going through “freezing”, “frozen” and “thawing” phases.

We recommend early diagnosis and osteopathic treatment to increase the shoulder’s range of movement and prevent further stiffness.

Treatments include:

• Osteopathy
• Dry Needling
• Ice to reduce inflammation and pain
• Exercise & Rehab
• If there is no improvement with the above, your Osteopath may refer you for further treatment like steroid injections.

Hand and wrist injuries can occur to athletes and non-athletes alike. Most of the commonly identified hand sports injuries do occur in athletes and are specific to the type of activity or sport that causes them.

However, even daily activities can cause or worsen injuries to the hand or wrist. Anyone who uses their bodies every day is at risk for overuse injuries.

• Bowler’s Thumb
  If your thumb fits too tightly in the bowling ball, you may be at risk for injury. Your ulnar nerve, located on the inside of your thumb, may become compressed and cause numbness, weakness, pain, and tingling.

• Tendonitis
  Tendonitis is a common ailment that affects athletes in just about every sport.

  Tendonitis also affects non-athletes from overuse of tendons in their daily lives. This ailment is inflammation, swelling, and irritation to a tendon. It’s usually caused by overuse or starting a new activity that a tendon is not used to.

• De Quervain’s Tendonitis
  This is a specific condition where the tendon that runs down the forearm to the thumb becomes inflamed.
  
  This injury is especially common in golfers and fishermen. The affected tendon also runs through the wrist, causing pain all down the arm.

  Participating in fly-fishing puts you at greater risk for this type of injury.

• Boxer’s Fracture
  This serious hand injury typically occurs in boxers who fail to wear boxing gloves or punch an object with improper technique, causing injury.

  With this injury, the bones in the hand that form the knuckles suffer a break. This is an injury that warrants an immediate trip to the doctor.

• Finger Jams
  This type of injury is also known as “basketball finger,” but it can occur during any athletic activity that involves the hand coming in contact with a ball.
  The severity of the injury can range from a sprain or dislocation that can be corrected by pulling on the finger, to a fracture or more serious dislocation.

• Wrist Fractures
  Wrist fractures are commonly seen in athletes such as snowboarders or skiers, who fall backwards and use their hands to catch themselves.
  However, wrist fractures can occur with just about any athletic activity.

• Skier’s Thumb
  This is also known as an ulnar collateral ligament tear.

  Skier’s thumb occurs when the ligament that helps your thumb with grasping becomes torn. This causes pain and weakness of the thumb, particularly when attempting to grasp.

• Handlebar Palsy
  Also known as cyclist palsy, this condition occurs commonly among cyclists and mountain bikers.

  The technical name for this injury is ulnar neuritis or ulnar neuropathy. The injury is caused by irritation to the ulnar nerve caused by holding the handlebars of a bike.

  Cyclists can adjust the height of their bicycle seat and reposition their wrists to see if this helps. If they continue to experience tingling, numbness, pain, and a weak grip, they might need medical treatment.

Treatments include: 

• Osteopathy 
• Dry Needling
• Surgery 
• Medication 
• Exercise and rehab

When joint surfaces become rough and irregular due to bony growths (known as osteophytes), it is known as osteoarthritis. This can happen in any joint such as the shoulder, knee and hip. 

There are four stages in arthritis: minor, mild, moderate, and severe. 

It is only when osteoarthritis becomes severe that hip replacement surgery may be warranted due to the bone–on–bone contact. 

In the minor, mild and moderate stages, however, the majority of pain is caused by the soft tissue surrounding the joint. In this case, the hip joint.  

Our osteopaths can assess and treat the soft tissues such as the ligaments, tendons and muscles surrounding the hip to help alleviate some of the symptoms.  

This can include deep soft tissue massage, articulation, stretching while also addressing other issues that may have been caused by the arthritis, including exercise and rehab advice.  In chronic cases, we may use shockwave therapy to relieve some of the symptoms.   

Treatments include:  

• Osteopathy
• Sports massage
• Kinesio Taping 
• Exercise and rehab

Ligaments stabilise the knee but can become sprained or torn. This can lead to instability and pain. 

Treatments: 

• Osteopathy
• Dry Needling
• Sports massage 
• Exercise and rehab 
• Kinesio Taping 
• Avoid overuse 
• Stretching 
• Diagnostic imaging 
• Surgery 

Bursitis in the knee is also called goosefoot bursitis or Pes Anserine bursitis. The Pes Anserine bursa is located between the shinbone and the three tendons of the hamstring muscles, on the inside of the knee. This type of bursitis may be caused by lack of stretching before exercise, tight hamstring muscles, being overweight, arthritis, or out-turning of the knee or lower leg.

Treatments include:   

• Osteopathy
• Dry Needling
• Kinesio Taping
  Ice to reduce inflammation and pain
• Avoiding strenuous activity
• Self-massage on the affected area
• Gentle stretches and exercises to be recommended by your practitioner 

Whiplash is caused by a violent jolting of the head back and forth, usually as a result of a sudden impact. 

Treatments:  

• Osteopathy
• Ice to reduce inflammation and pain  
• Avoiding strenuous activity such as lifting and twisting 
• Gentle stretches and exercises to be recommended by your osteopath

A muscle strain or pulled muscle occurs when your muscle is overstretched or torn. This is usually caused by fatigue, overuse, or improper use of a muscle. 

Minor muscle strains can take a few days to a couple of weeks to heal. 

Treatments: 

• Osteopathy
• Dry Needling
• Sports massage  
• Kinesio Taping (KT) 
• Initially use ice to reduce inflammation and pain 
• Avoid strenuous activity 
• Gentle movement

A muscle strain or pulled muscle occurs when your muscle is overstretched or torn. This is usually caused by fatigue, overuse, or improper use of a muscle. 

Minor muscle strains can take a few days to a couple of weeks to heal. 

Treatments: 

• Osteopathy
• Dry Needling
• Sports massage  
• Kinesio Taping (KT) 
• Initially use ice to reduce inflammation and pain 
• Avoid strenuous activity 
• Gentle movement

In every vertebra there are small joints called facets. These allow movement to occur in the spine. 

Sometimes these joints can become “locked”.  This usually occurs from an injury, or from repetitive bad posture, such as sitting at a desk badly for a long period of time.  The vertebra’s movement then becomes restricted, and the muscles surrounding it become tight and may even spasm. This can cause a huge amount of pain.  

Osteopathic treatment combining deep soft tissue massage and possibly joint manipulation means this can often be significantly improved or resolved within a few treatments. 

Treatments:

• Osteopathy
• Ice to reduce inflammation and pain 
• Avoid strenuous activity

Piriformis syndrome is a condition in which the piriformis muscle, located in the buttock region, spasms and causes buttock pain. The piriformis muscle also can irritate the nearby sciatic nerve and cause pain, numbness and tingling along the back of the leg and into the foot (similar to sciatic pain).

Most patients describe symptoms of acute tenderness in the buttock and sciatica-like pain down the back of the thigh, calf and foot. Typical piriformis syndrome symptoms may include:

• A dull ache in the buttock
• Pain down the back of the thigh, calf and foot (sciatica)
• Pain when walking upstairs or inclines
• Increased pain after prolonged sitting
• Reduced range of motion of the hip joint

These symptoms often become worse after prolonged sitting, walking or running, and may feel better after lying down on the back.

Treatments: 

• Osteopathy
• Dry Needling
• Sports massage 
• Initially use ice to reduce inflammation and pain
• Avoid strenuous activity
• Gentle movement