Patellofemoral pain can be thought of where pain is present in and surrounding the tissues between the patella and the femur. The cause of the pain can be something of a mystery as it rarely develops quickly and isn’t the result of a traumatic incident the way a ligament tear is. The symptoms are often made worse by, though not exclusively, activities like squatting, lunging, kneeling, going down stairs or running downhill. In-other words relatively high load activities that put a lot of stress on or through the area. in addition to this sitting for long periods where the knee is flexed can also cause the symptoms to get worse.
Hamstring injuries: prevention and treatment – an update
This paper on the BJSM, Hamstring injuries: prevention and treatment—an update, is a must read for anyone who deals with athletes or are susceptible to hamstring tears
“Despite increased knowledge of hamstring muscle injuries, the incidence has not diminished. We now know that not all hamstring injuries are the same and that certain types of injuries require prolonged rehabilitation and return to play. The slow stretch type of injury and injuries involving the central tendon both require longer times to return to play. A number of factors have been proposed as being indicators of time taken to return to play, but the evidence for these is conflicting. Recurrence rates remain high and it is now thought that strength deficits may be an important factor. Strengthening exercise should be performed with the hamstrings in a lengthened position. There is conflicting evidence regarding the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma injection in the treatment of hamstring injuries so at this stage we cannot advise their use. Various tests have been proposed as predictors of hamstring injury and the use of the Nordboard is an interesting addition to the testing process. Prevention of these injuries is the ultimate aim and there is increasing evidence that Nordic hamstring exercises are effective in reducing the incidence. “
Forefoot or rearfoot? Where should my foot land?
There is and has been for sometime a big discussion on which part of the foot you should strike the ground with first when we are running. The rearfoot strike has been said to be the worst way possible to run and you should strike first with the fore to midfoot in order to reduce injuries, increase running economy and perhaps even bring about world peace.
This article by Tom Goom at Running Physio looks at whether or not you should switch to a more forefoot running pattern or not.
Improving your posture Pt2
In part one, we talked about the general idea of good or neutral posture, what may cause us to be unable to maintain this and what we can do to combat these issues. What we will look at this time is what is happening in the lower trunk and legs and what to do about it to help us maintain a more neutral posture. Continue reading “Improving your posture Pt2”
Injury proofing with better mobility
There are quite a few very good reasons for looking to maintain or improve your joint mobility one is having a good range of movement through all your joints will protect you from injury. Why so you may ask? Well, within reason, if you have joints that can operate through a full range of their normal un-injured or affected by years of neglect movement you can safely exert force through a much greater range of movement. This ability to exert force through a greater range of movement ultimately means you are less likely to injure yourself. The second is that that if you don’t use it you’ll lose it. Continue reading “Injury proofing with better mobility”
Knee pain
I had been experiencing pain in around both knees recently and it reminded me of a couple of articles by Art Riggs on knee pain and various aspects that need to be taken into consideration when treating it.
Knee pain can come in many forms from meniscal damage to condromalacia but often overlooked are simple muscular/fascial problems in the clamour for something “exciting” to be the problem. When we do get injured or suffer from any of the number of knee conditions that can affect the movement of the knee the condition/injury is often our main concern but we forget that these problems all result in the knee not functioning properly. We develop compensatory movement patterns due to the pain that affects the knee from the condition/injury or the surgery carried out to repair the damaged area. Sendentary individuals can develop similar problems due to the fact that the knee is flexed for long periods of the day reuslting in the inability to fully extend the knee. Continue reading “Knee pain”