Category: Latest News

Shoulder injuries how to assess, diagnose and treat: Healthfix Physiotherapy advice

Posted on | by Ash Cooney

Shoulder injuries how to assess, diagnose and treat: Healthfix Physiotherapy advice

  By Caitlan Skillicorn,  Senior Physiotherapist M. Physio & B. Ex. and Sport Sc.  

Your shoulder: what you need to know

  • Its the most unstable joint in the body (imagine a golf ball on a tea or a beach ball on dinner plate!)
  • Its the only upper body bony attachment where the sternum and clavicle meet
  • The muscles and ligaments are heavily relied on for stability due to the range of movement the joint can function in. The two groups involved in shoulder activation include:
  1. Stabilisers – Rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor)
  2. Movers – Deltoid, Pectoral muscles, serratus, lats, traps
    https://www.ehealthstar.com/anatomy/shoulder-muscles
     

How do Physiotherapist’s assess shoulder pain?

The subjective assessment will drive the objective assessment, this means that we delve into the cause of the pain first by getting a thorough history from you including:
  • Any history of trauma such as a fall
  • If there has been a sudden increase in training loads (gym, housework, renovations etc)
  • How long you have experienced pain for especially if it is low levels of pain for a long period of time
After reviewing this information, we then do a series of objective testing to see how your shoulder is moving and which movements elicit a pain response, these may include:
  • Active range of movements and repeated movements to see if any fatigue changes the movement pattern
  • Resisted movements
  • Special tests and manual muscle testing using a device
The purpose of these tests are to see what movements produce pain or limitations amongst the anatomy of your shoulder.  

How do Physiotherapist’s diagnose your shoulder complaint?

The three key areas physiotherapists use to diagnose shoulder injuries include:
  • Is it torn? (trauma or degenerative)
  • Is it stiff? (frozen shoulder, osteoarthritis, post-operative)
  • Is it irritable? (tendinopathy, bursitis etc)
 

When is it likely that your symptoms are not actually coming from your shoulder?

Often we find that clients symptoms are not directly related to their shoulder. The most common indications of this are if you experience:
  • Nerve related symptoms so things like pins and needles, numbness or burning sensation in your hands and fingers
  • If experience pain specifically in the upper trapeziues muscles
  • If you have restricted neck range of movement
  • If these are true then it is most likely that you
 

If you are unsure if you need to see a Physiotherapist

The most common complaint we see in active clients who are training in the gym is impingement which means the pain is triggered at the end of the range of movement or after 90 degrees of flexion. If this is you we recommend you change the angle of your movement and reduce the weight and volume (kgs and reps) and if symptoms don’t settle within a week then your best off to see a Physiotherapist for assessment and treatment.   Do you have a shoulder issue or are unsure about whether physiotherapy treatment will help your condition? To arrange to speak with one of our expert physiotherapists get in touch with us now! getfixed@healthfix.com.au        

Healthfix event – How to use a proactive healthcare approach to be your personal best at any age

Posted on | by Ash Cooney

You are invited!

Early in his career Sean identified that the health care approach of finding and focusing on problems was only leading to people feeling fear and limitations from conditions they were diagnosed with and being more reliant on therapists for maintenance care. He knew there was a better way and that involved getting people active in things they loved to do, using a team of experts with a common goal and empowering people to feel confident in both their ability and understanding of their bodies, were the solutions to achieve long term results.  Then came Healthfix 11 years ago in which Sean has built the systems and quality assurance to deliver these results to client’s time after time. Sean’s approach and vision have been sought by the wider community including NSWIS and various advisory boards.

We invite you to come and spend an evening with Sean to gain an understanding of how this approach can help you with a real result despite any injury or condition you experience.

An Evening with Sean Cooney

Healthfix Founder Sports titled Physiotherapist Manager Performance Health at NSW Institute of Sport UTS Physiotherapy Advisory Board Member Member of the Australian College of Physiotherapists

Topics we will cover include:
  • What is proactive health (health care vs sick care)
  • Why proactive health achieves superior results
  • Common heath conditions (including back pain, headaches, tendonitis)
  • How to be your personal best at any age

We look forward to seeing you there! To reserve your spot please rsvp to getfixed@healthfix.com.au

Young Athlete Development

Posted on | by Ash Cooney 
Written by Caitlan Skillicorn, Senior Physiotherapist
M.Sports Medicine (completion date 2022) M. Physio, & B. Ex. and Sport Sc. Head of Performance at Gladesville Ravens.   High performance sport is becoming increasingly important in our world and as a result, stakeholders are making large financial investments to develop strategic and systematic approaches to developing athletes. This is pushing talent identification earlier and earlier. So, to keep up with this development programs now occur at youth levels. Children are not mini adults and therefore maturation status must be accounted for when planning a program and pathway to elite athlete status. Gold standard programming must include the unique variables and understanding of:
  1. Physical development relative to age and training history
  2. Nutrition relative to education and performance level
  3. Injury risk relative to age-related changes and training demands
At Healthfix in our gym in North Sydney, we understand these underlying principles and have systemised programs to give our athlete’s the best chance of making their dreams come true. An integral part of any high performance program is strength and conditioning. The development of not only a player’s technical ability but their physical capabilities has become increasingly important, with players who can out run, out jump and dominant their opposition on the ball have increased their selection chances and decreased their injury risk. Not only do we teach our athletes the correct movement patterns and improve their confidence in the gym environment but also development their athletic potential, giving the best chance to be the best athlete they can be. Who would benefit from a Youth Athlete development program?
  • School aged youth 10-17 ·
  • Youth athletes looking for that extra edge over their competitors
  • Want to enhance performance characteristics related to their sport
  • Need a more robust gym program to supplement their sport
If you are interested in more information on our Young Guns Program please get in touch  getfixed@healthfix.com.au

Physio Near Me Blog Series Introduction

Posted on | by Sean

The popularity of “physio near me” and is it a good thing?

 

So the old word of mouth isn’t quite what it used to be hey? Now, instead of going a great job, or in the case of physio helping someone to a great outcome, and knowing that that person will tell friends, family and work colleagues it seems it can be easier to be funny or interesting on social media instead to grab people’s attention.

I’m not so sure.

We use SEO help at Healthfix, I know not all local health clinics do. We grew massively through word of mouth in the early phases of Healthfix and as we opened more clinics and had team members progress from physio’s to leadership positions we started using SEO in order to get our message across to larger and larger audiences. At the moment, I have our main SEO man saying that you need to use more content talking about “physio near me”. I’m always happy to trust a fellow professional so I thought I’d at least make it educational.

I’ll do a 3 part series to talk about “physio near me” and when it could be good and when it might not work out for you.

In the first part I’ll talk about the conventional method of physio growth and how it used to be before Google and social media had their ways.

In the second section, I’ll talk about when a “physio near me” search is a good thing.

Finally, I’ll give my thoughts on when using a “physio near me” might not work and what you need to consider instead.

Setting up for success for 100+ years and Sean off to NSW Institute of Sport

Posted on | by Sean
Healthfix North Sydney Gym Success
Ash and Sean. Healthfix North Sydney

Setting up for success for 100 years and beyond.

Strange to think that the same time last year we were enduring a fairly hard lock down. It affected everyone in different ways. As a team at Healthfix we committed to sticking to what we do best. We had rallied through the first lockdown well as a group and we knew that if we continued to look out for one another as a team and focused on helping our clients with their health needs that we would get through the second one too.

What it also did was give us the time and space to plan for the future; a 100 years and beyond to be exact. We did a lot of reading, workshops with the team and the leadership group, and we reaffirmed our vision, our values and our current mission.

It reaffirmed to us that Healthfix exists to empower lives.

With firm plans in place, we set up for –

  • Ash to evolve her directors’ role into managing all operations – to ensure consistency in our performance as a group
  • Bladen was promoted to Professional Services Manager – ensuring quality care through to discharging clients as what we call Empowered Health Experts.
  • Sarah was promoted to Club Manager – ensuring a quality experience for all and supporting our membership functions that helps people get a more cost effect result in a timely manner.
  • Me / Sean – to continue focusing on the future of Healthfix as an industry leader.

Sean joins the NSW Institute of Sport as their Head of Performance Health

What this meant for me became clearer over time and it was that we needed to be more set up like an institute of sport to truly serve our communities in a sustainable way. As the institute describes it, they turn World Class into World’s Best. The institute combines the best in research, coaching, high performance exercise and health care together to lead innovative ways in achieving elite performance. In a move that our new young gun strength and conditioning coach Brad Williams described as “you’re never too old (thanks mate) to keep learning and take on new challenges”, I have signed on as the new Head of Performance Health at the NSW Institute of Sport. Here I will lead the team of sports physios, sports doctors and soft tissue therapists and work collaboratively with our other department heads (high performance, coaches, athletes, sports managers and national and regional NSWIS partners) to turn NSW athletes into international medal winners.

The appointment has filled me with confidence that our systems and structures at Healthfix are of a high calibre and that our internal leadership and development programs as effective as well. The role is a credit to what Healthfix stands for, what we have been able to create as a team, and I am personally excited to joining the high achieving team at NSWIS. I’m sure it goes without saying to those who know me well that it also feels strange to be shifting such a large part of my focus to athletes winning medals as for so long if it hadn’t been a focus on winning for Healthfix I was either with my family, or surfing, or both!

Despite the mixed emotions, I look forward to offering all our members and clients an even better offering as we continue to grow and I look forward to either seeing you for a physio consult (hope not, as it’ll mean that you’re injured) or in one of our awesome group fitness classes as I’ll still be training daily at Healthfix.

Fitness Exercise setup in Healthfix

Discover the healthier you starting with a free 7 day trial!

Posted on | by Ash Cooney
Healthfix specialises in long term results. If you’re after a workout that works your whole body and is shared with a bunch of awesome members working hard but not taking themselves too seriously, then you must come a give us a try. We have the team that can take you wherever you want to go with our training programs that are designed by elite strength and conditioning coaches and physiotherapists – so you know that are safe AND super effective. What you get on a Healthfix membership: Unlimited Group Classes Meet new people, have fun and get in an amazing workout in one of our awesome group classes. Our classes include Pilates, Strength & Fitness, Total Strength, Vitaliy Fix & Cardio Hit! Our pilates and lunchtime classes are also streamed over zoom, so there’s no reason not to get your daily workout in 😉 Check out our class timetable here. Social Events We love getting our community together to have some fun and expand their mind. Every couple of months we host events with the goal of giving you the tools to live a holistically healthy lifestyle. Bonus Free Initial Consult For New Members  If you love your free trial week, we know that you will love our membership packages! Our members are achieving great things in our Health Cub and we think you should be one of them. To kick start your goal achieving journey, all members who sign up to our blue membership receive a free initial consult with one of our Physiotherapists, Dietitians, Exercise Physiologists, Personal Trainers or Mindset Coaches! For more information on our membership packages, click here. Ready to jump into our free trial week? Fill in this form to get started today!
 
Goa: Smash 5 Work outs each week with man smashing

How to build up to 5 exercise classes a week!

Posted on | by Ash Cooney
Is your 2022 goal to exercise consistently each week? This goal may sound simple on paper but we find that many of our members struggle with getting in the activity levels recommended by the World Health Organisation. Missing workouts happen for a multitude of reasons, but some of the most common reasons to miss a workout (that you can control) are:
  • Lack of motivation or excitement to exercise
  • A busy schedule prevents you from exercising
  • Feeling sore from previous workouts
Combatting these common barriers are key to achieving your goals and being strong enough to handle your lifestyle. So here are our top tips on how to build up to 5 exercise sessions a week and be consistent in your training!
  • Understand and implement the WHO recommendations of physical activity

Current guidelines on physical activity for Australian adults are:

    • 2.5-5 hours per week of moderate-intensity exercise
    • 1.25-2.5 hours per week of vigorous-intensity exercise
    • Or a combination equivalent to the above
    • At least 2 days of strength training
    • Activity on all days
    • Sit less and move more!

By using these recommendations as a guideline to build your training schedule, you’ll easily hit your activity goals. Achieving the recommended activity guidelines will enable you to live a long & healthy lifestyle.

  • Find an exercise that you love! 

If you’re going to be exercising for over 7 hours a week, it better be something that you enjoy doing otherwise you’re not going to do it! Finding movement that you enjoy is half the battle and requires some trial and error. By being a Health Club Member, you have a variety of group classes available to you,  so you can easily trial different types of exercises. Your Health Mentor can also guide you to work out what sort of movement your body enjoys. Our only recommendation is to make sure there is an element of strength training in your routine to hit that WHO recommendation!

  • Don’t go from 0-100 too quickly. Take your time and build up your exercise regime!

When you’re commencing an exercise program, we recommend utilising an exercise professional to help plan your training loads to maintain your motivation and prevent injury. This could initially look like: 1 PT session and a couple of group classes or independent training sessions each week.

Then once you start to feel comfortable, start to incorporate more classes or training sessions gradually. Try adding 1 extra workout in each week over a month to get up to 5 exercise sessions. When you’re at this stage of exercising, it’s important to balance your training loads to avoid injury and severe muscle soreness. A balanced exercise regime can look like 3x intense sessions (e.g. strength class, HIIT, long run) and 2x restorative sessions (e.g. pilates, yoga, bush walks). As your fitness levels increase you can include more intense sessions as long as your recovery is on point!

  • Prioritise your recovery! 

Your recovery post-exercise is just as important as your actual training session. By recovering effectively, you’ll be able to consistently train every day without severe muscle soreness or injury getting in the way! If you’re participating in group classes, we always recommend staying for the cool down component of the class to calm down your breathing and stretch out your muscles before going about your busy day.

Sleep, nutrition and stress are also things that can impact your exercise recovery. We recommended working with a Dietitian and your Mentor for advice on how to manage these factors to improve your performance and achieve your goals!

We hope you found this blog helpful in guiding you to achieve your 2022 goals. Feel free to chat about this with your Mentor and any of our team members. See you in the gym soon!      
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Claim your FREE 7 day trial!

Posted on | by Ash Cooney
The new year brings the motivation and we bring the membership that will give you the tools, to make 2022 your healthiest year yet. Our Health Club offers an amazing combination of group classes, state of the art gym, health professionals and community to give you the membership that empowers you to become the healthiest version of yourself.  From $65 a week, you get access to all of this and more! For the past 10 years, Healthfix has been changing the lives of Sydneysiders and we strongly believe our membership program is the most cost-effective and practical way for you to achieve all of your health and fitness goals. But don’t just take our word for it. Come experience the Healthfix difference yourself!

Fill in this form to claim your FREE 7 day trial of our Health Club

If you love your free trial experience (we know you will😉), then you can sign up for a Health Club Membership and utilise all of the perks in our program to achieve your health and fitness goals. Here’s what we offer to our valued members:

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Summer Sale! Memberships starting at $65 🤩

Posted on | by Ash Cooney
Healthfix  is an integrated healthcare clinic and health club in North Sydney. We strongly believe that offering you an integrated approach to your health will give you the best results and our track record of great results supports this. Whether your goals are big or small, we will help you achieve them. Our Health Club Memberships are not your average gym membership. We understand that you’re an individual and that  a ‘cookie cutter’ approach to health and fitness is ineffective in helping individuals achieve long-lasting health outcomes. That’s why our Health Club in North Sydney is designed to be a supportive & comfortable environment for all people to come and work on achieving their long-term health goals, no matter what levels of fitness. From $65/week you can access For limited time only, we are giving all new members a free health mentoring session! This session is valued at $130 and will set you up with an achievable plan to achieve your health and fitness goals. Fill in the form below for one of our friendly team members will reach out to help you get started today!
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Healthfix’s Plan To Keep You Covid Safe!

Posted on | by Ash Cooney
Healthfix is and always has been an inclusive practice committed to creating healthier communities by helping individuals become the experts of their own healthy lives. We’re so excited to be welcoming everyone back into the clinic, on December 15th. While we are excited to have all of you back into our indoor facilities, we want to ensure you that your safety is and always has been our highest priority.
As Healthfix offers essential health services and operates as a gym facility, we have a very comprehensive Covid Safety Plan to ensure all of our clients can access their personal health services to stay on track with their health and wellness goals. As of December 15th, the NSW government has eased restrictions for our community to return to our ‘new normal. Here is a summary of main changes that impact your sessions at Healthfix:
  • From December 15th, We reopen to all clients with no restrictions surrounding vaccination status or requirements for covid testing.
  • Masks need to be worn in our premise, unless exercising.
  • ServiceNSW QR code check-in is still required upon arrival of all staff and visitors for ease of contract tracing
  • If you are displaying symptoms of Covid-19, we politely ask you to not attend our clinic and please respect our staffs decisions if we advise you that you are unable to continue with your session. We will not enforce any cancellation fees due to illness.
  • Other ways the Healthfix team are keeping you safe, include:
  • All staff members have been double vaccinated and participate in weekly covid testing.
  • All Staff have completed the NSW Government’s Covid-19 infection control training and NSW Government’s Covid-19 awareness training for gyms. 
  • Adequate signage displayed on our covid-19 safety practices and policies displayed on our website.
  • Floor signage to indicate physical distancing guidelines.
  • Hand hygiene and general hygiene posters displayed. Hand sanitiser easily accessible throughout the clinic.
  • Disinfectant wipes easily accessible and available to all staff and visitors throughout the clinic.
  • Gym equipment, EFTPOS machine and high touch areas sanitised after each use.
  • Covid-19 Safety Procedures discussed in all team meetings. Any issues with safety raised by team  members and actioned by management in these meetings.
  • Cleaning schedule in place for all facilities.
  • Professional cleaning of entire premises twice a week.
  • Further detail on our covid safety procedures and how they meet the guidelines in place by the NSW Government can be found on our covid safety plan. If you have any questions, concerns or comments surrounding our Covid Policies and procedures. Please give our team a call on 02 8065 0446 and we would be more than happy to discuss.