Self-Treatment Archives - Damien Howell PT

“Deme Bones” – inter-limb deviation related to the musculoskeletal pain syndromes

“The toe bone is connected to the foot bone” is the common reframe from the old gospel song “Dem Bones.” The concept of mechanical connectedness or regional interdependence applied to musculoskeletal pain syndromes suggests that in addition to examining a patient’s local area of complaint examination of the adjacent joints above and below the primary…

Should we discharge from Physical Therapy

Why is the terminology “discharged from Physical Therapy” used? I have not heard of anyone being “discharged from dentistry”. I have not heard of anyone being discharged from massage therapy. The meaning of “discharge” is – to relieve of a charge, load, or burden; or to release from confinement, custody, or care; or to set…

Don’t do that

A widely held belief among health care professionals is that it is a waste oftime to recommend to an injured runner to stop running. The assumptionis a dedicated runner will not follow recommendation of “don’t do that”. With a few exceptions most injured runners do not need to be told “don’trun”. The exception is a…

Everybody has got their guy

Paul Ingraham writes a blog www.saveyourself.ca. Paul is a health science journalist and a former massage therapist. In a recent blog entitled “Every little thing a nice physical therapist does is magic”, he presented an interesting concept that “every body’s got their guy”. Individuals with chronic pain often have a healthcare practitioner that is their favorite that they “swear…

Gait Retraining – Key Concepts

Gait retraining has become popular among avid runners and Physical Therapists. The proponents of gait retraining advocate if you improve the walking/running form you can walk/run faster, farther, and injury free. Many questions remain regarding gait retraining. Who can benefit from gait retraining injured individuals, non-injured, or both (Heiderscheit, B 2011)? When is the best…

Sooner is Not Always Better than Later – Healing Recovery from Injury

Sooner is not always better than later when recovering from an injury. Biological tissues adapts to physical stress in a predictable way. There is a threshold where physical stress results in a positive adaptation of the tissue, that is, tissue grows larger and stronger. Conversely if there is insufficient physical stress tissue wastes away gets…

Selfish Athlete Syndrome

Irish Runner and double Olympic medial winner Noel Carroll said “Runners may make better lovers but sometimes (there’re) lousy spouses”. Exercising for health is different from training for a marathon, Ironman Triathlon, or double-century bike ride. Exercising for health requires 3 hours a week. Training for competitive sports can require 14 plus hours a…

Muscles and Stretching

What is known about benefits of stretching and flexibility exercises continues to evolve. Some commonly held beliefs are being supported with new research and some beliefs are being proven false. Common beliefs about stretching exercises are that stretching exercises decrease risk of injury, relieves pain associated with stiffness, and improves sports performance. Stretching exercises are…

Osteoarthritis – Cartilage and Exercise

Osteoarthritis is primarily a degeneration, or wear and tear, of the hyaline cartilage that covers the end of the joint surfaces. Osteoarthritis occurs as a result of “the parents you choose” (genetic influence) or as a sequel to a prior joint trauma or injury. There is a great deal of information dealing with the…

Hamstring, Buttock, Back, Neck Pain and the Car Seat

I frequently hear from my patients that their hamstring started hurting after they ran a marathon or that their back pain developed after they went body surfing at the beach. After closer questioning I discover that the problem did not occur during the marathon or while body surfing, but that it occurred afterwards during the…