Category: Physiotherapy

Learn more about Physiotherapy at Healthfix, from ways to prevent injury, to rehabilitation from injury.

Woman doing theraphy exercise to her client

Why do you need a physiotherapy Injury Rehabilitation Program?

Posted on | by Ash Cooney

Why do you need a Physiotherapy Injury Rehabilitation Program?

Do you have persistent niggles, pain or problems that keep coming back and stop you doing what you want to be doing in life? Our biggest frustration is seeing client’s who do not get better from physiotherapy treatment and sadly this can occur. The most common reasons we see that physiotherapy treatment doesn’t work is due to:
  1. Insufficient amount of treatment time
  2. Treatment focuses on the acute symptoms settling down and misses the baseline strength required to prevent the issue from coming back
The unique difference of Healthfix is that we set you up to become your own health expert, or, more simply, we fix issues for the long term.  We do this by using our integrated teams embedded in the one practice with a combined focus on rehabilitation and exercise which have been proven to save money and improve performance outcomes.
Our rehabilitation program is designed to ease musculoskeletal concerns and set you up with the exercise habits that will help you thrive in all your physical demands around work, life and sport. It is best suited for anyone who is de conditioned and/or physically unwell – with niggles, or no exercising history.
We can guarantee you’ll feel better than when you walked in, ready to take on your next physical challenge.  

What is involved?

It has been designed to give you the greatest chance to resolve your pain or injury and significantly reduce the risk of reoccurrence, setting you up for life long healthy living.
The 12-week program includes:
  • 4-week physiotherapy specific block, aimed at reducing acute symptoms and restoring any loss of range of movement
  • 8-week  combined block of physiotherapy and exercise physiology which is geared towards a strength goal, preparing your body for life outside of clinical care.
  • The tools needed so that you know how to continue to make healthy lifestyle choices and be empowered to complete physical feats.
 

Your commitment

12 weeks
  • Physiotherapy= 20 sessions
  • Exercise Physiology = 16 sessions
  • Program includes full access to gym and group classes.
Cost
  • Our Standard Price $3,460
  • Our Members Price $2,990 including gym membership
  • Health fund rebates available on all sessions
For more information get in touch with our friendly team today getfixed@healthfix.com.au or check out our expert team here 

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

Healthfix – Then and Now

Posted on | by Healthfix
Joel bates then and now                          

To think that only 9 years ago, only 4 of us were huddled into a corner of Anytime Fitness down in McMahon’s point, pondering where this thing called Healthfix could end up. I always admired Sean’s vision and determination to ultimately have a facility full of great people working towards amazing personal health. At times I would question whether those were dreams of grandeur, or simply dreams that lay the foundation for a thriving business of 20+ staff over two locations. Thankfully I was wrong.

Before I could see develop further, I decided to ditch Healthfix, and chase a girl to Singapore. Luckily this was the best thing I have ever done. Now Lisa is my amazing wife and mother of our beautiful daughter Odette. This move personally was the life experience shift that has shaped me and the way I treat. I created the context for my development as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist, but more so the experience to understand what it takes to treat people from all countries, cultures and backgrounds.

This also then allowed me to look back on what Healthfix was becoming. I loved the chance to talk to Sean (he did most of the talking surprisingly) and share stories of our professional and personal development. Not only did the layers of professional assets grow at Healthfix, so did the vision of the facility that now exists in North Sydney.

Now things are different. I look at the younger physio’s here and am so impressed with their knowledge, maturity, and empathy. Their development is incredible, and it provides the glue that creates a great physiotherapy team and keeps us all on our toes. Our ability to integrate with our team, allows our patients to achieve so much more. This can range from the simple things of picking up your kids or running your first marathon. For too long, Physio’s have been trying to do too much, when the answer is creating a team around the patient so they can achieve more. The facility we have (and have access to in Broadway) creates the active environment needed to get the long terms results we crave.

Physiotherapy has changed, and in that change, we are moving towards the model that Healthfix embodies. Integration and drawing on high level Exercise Physiologists, Personal trainers and Dieticians simply mean we get better results for our clients. We now need to consider all facets of the individual in front of us to understand where we can best help them. This is the environment we have now at Healthfix. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be back at Healthfix. Whilst much has grown and developed, the same core of quality results for patients remains at the core. Ultimately that’s why we do what we do.

How to Use a Foam Roller | Amazing Foam Roller Benefits

Posted on | by Sean

Foam Rollers

What is a Foam Roller?   Foam rollers essential look like large noodles but they can quickly become your best friend. There are many types nowadays of all shapes and sizes. They get used to loosen up before a match or training session as well as serving as a great homework tool to do some physio or trainer prescribed home exercises around mobility and flexibility. When making your selection about which one to use I always recommend that you get one that is practical to fit in your home/ room / home gym (they can be quite large and bigger isn’t always better) and get one that feels comfortable and inviting to use – it shouldn’t be used as a tool of torture. You’ll see these commonly now in Pilates and physio studios as well as commercial gyms and sporting environment including institutes of sport.  ________________________________________________________________ What are Foam Rollers used for?   They work on releasing soft tissue, relieving muscle tightness and soreness and they can also be valuable in helping to break down soft tissue adhesions and scar tissue after injury. They can stimulate blood flow and are really valuable in promoting neural down regulation (this is often why they can be sore to first get on but then this soreness eases with a lasting effect of relief of the symptoms that made you get on the roller).  Effectively, any intervention that we put the body through be it a strong sports massage, Chiro or Osteo manipulation, hot / cold pack, dry needling, etc needs to be analysed and accepted by the body. Jumping on foam roller puts a lot of pressure to the area where the brain may be holding some tense muscles or trying to protect it with a pain response. So as you consciously lie on the foam roller, the brain can start to accept that you don’t want those muscles so tense or so much protection of the area and it relaxes; and then you can feel relaxed. ________________________________________________________________ Things to be aware of:   – Make sure you understand and are confident with how you intend to use the foam roller. Our Physiotherapists, Exercise Physiologists and Personal Trainers can help a lot here.  – Don’t push through pain for too long. The whole point is to feel relief so if you’re still experiencing strong pain  after say 1 minute, take it easy on yourself and ease up. – Be aware of any “no pain no gain” or “go hard” on the foam roller commentary. Use your common sense and you’ll be fine. At the end of the day it’s a foam roller so it should never pose as a threat or tool of torture unless you’re trying to use it incorrectly or your body need a lighter intervention to start with.   __________________________________________________________________   A couple of common and popular Foam Roller exercises: The ITB (great for runners, field sports players and gym goers) Iliotibial band (ITB) is a band of fascia on the outside of your upper leg, when it is tight it can cause knee and hip pain.   – Lie side on with the affected side on the foam roller, rest your upper body through your forearm. With your unaffected leg, place over affected side and place the full surface of your foot on the ground. Start with the foam roller just above your knee and roll back and forth slowly for 30 seconds to just below your hip bone. For further pressure, place unaffected leg on top of affected side.    _________________________________________________________________    The Quadricep (similar to above demographic plus people who kick in their sport like martial arts, kick boxing, football and AFL): Tight quadriceps can pull on your patella and cause some compressive pain at the front of your knee (most commonly).   – lie on your stomach with the roller placed under your thighs. Hold your body straight and rest your upper body through your forearms. Roll yourself back and forth slowly from just above your knee to just below your hip bone. For further pressure bend your knees.    If you like these exercises and want some more or you want to get some advice on which foam roller would be best for you please do not hesitate to get in contact with us, we offer them in our clinics and the team are always happy to help!
Shoulder pain

Focus on: shoulder pain | Top 5 tips for managing shoulder pain 

Posted on | by Healthfix
Shoulder pain is a common physical occurrence. Your shoulder is a complex, highly mobile structure made up of several components. When considering the shoulder you need to think about the collarbone connecting to your chest, the collarbone connecting to the shoulderblade or scapula, and finally the arm bone joining to the scapula. Strong tendons, ligaments and muscles support your shoulder and make it stable. In younger people, pain is more likely to be due to an accident or injury. However as you age natural changes occur to your shoulder joint and the rotator cuff tendon, similar to seeing wrinkles and grey hairs in the mirror. We also see pain more strongly associated with how one is using – or perhaps not using – their shoulder. Here are five easy tips to help manage shoulder pain and keep your joint strong.  

#1 Shoulder pain diagnosis

There are many causes of shoulder pain and not all of them are due to problems of the shoulder joints or associated structures. Accurate diagnosis is important. “Common pathology is frozen shoulder, impingent, tendinopathy and referral from the scapular or neck,” physiotherapist and Healthfix founder Sean Cooney. “To treat your pain effectively, it’s crucial to know what to treat.”

 

#2 Using full range

When experiencing shoulder pain, the protective muscles around the joint try to keep your arm by your side in an effort to restrict movement. Activating the muscles that move the shoulder through its full range (these are called the antagonist muscles) can significantly reduce your recovery time.

 

#3 Comfortable and progressive loading

Everyone’s progress is different. Make sure you don’t push yourself or your shoulder beyond what feels comfortable. That said, strength is built with progressive loading – that is, a little more weight and/or repetitions as is safe for your particular issue. “Monitor your pain one to two hours after exercise or the next morning to know if you’re loading correctly,” advises Sean. 

 

#4 Don’t go too far

Pain management is the first step to regaining strength in any part of the body. Sean recommends to first get comfortable with using your arms below shoulder height, gradually moving up to shoulder height before – no points for guessing – graduating to using your arms above your head. “This is a safe way to ensure you’re not going too far when regaining your full range of motion,” says Sean.

 

#5 Stretch. And stretch again.

“Stretching can serve as a great tester and reliever of pain, not to mention the best way to improve flexibility in the shoulder. A daily doorway stretch can help mitigate shoulder pain or find out if you’re lacking some essential range of motion. To do this, find yourself a clear doorway, stretch the arm overhead to grasp the door frame, then lean forward to create resistance. If you’re suffering from shoulder pain, our team of physiotherapists and exercise physiologists can help. Book an appointment online today.
Samah F Elomari

NEW Women’s Health Physiotherapist – Samah F Elomari

Posted on | by Healthfix

Samah F Elomari

Introducing Samah F Elomari

We are really excited to announce with the expansion of Healthfix we are welcoming a new Physiotherapist into our team Samah F Elomari. Samah is a qualified Exercise Scientist (Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science) and Physiotherapist (Master of Physiotherapy) who is passionate about how the body works and heals through movement. In 2017 while listening to a university lecture about female pelvic pain, Samah discovered her love of women’s health. She was fortunate enough to land a placement at Fairfield Hospital where she worked on the maternity wards, seeing women with varying degrees of perineal tearing, abdominal separation and those with a high risk of pelvic floor dysfunction postpartum. She was also involved in the assessment and treatment of outpatients with prolapse, urinary and bowel disorders. Since then she’s worked in private practice, treating people with various musculoskeletal dysfunctions, including those related to pregnancy and the postnatal period. Samah also has experience leading pregnancy, postnatal and clinical Pilates classes. She’s more recently had the opportunity to treat more complex pain conditions including sexual pain and endometriosis.Samah strives to create space for her patients to feel heard and empowered.
Book in to see Samah today.

Joel Bates – NEW Physiotherapist

Posted on | by Sean
Joel Bates at Healthfix

Introducing Joel Bates

An industry vet, Joel has been practicing physiotherapy since 2006 in Sydney and most recently Singapore. Over the years he has built extensive knowledge in treating acute and chronic injuries, helping people navigate often challenging times with honest, constructive and successful treatment solutions. He has had the pleasure of treating and learning from some amazing people along the way, from weekend athletes, ultra marathon runners, professional golfers, global CEO’s to high level lifters. Joel takes pride in delivering the highest quality physiotherapy care to each and every patient. Joel knows that pain and injury can be both complex and confronting, therefore cutting through the technical medical jargon and helping people understand their injury with effective and applicable information is critical. Joel applies his commitment to professional and personal development, allowing him to constantly evolve as a physiotherapist and as a person. This enables him to understand the person as well as the injury, ultimately leading to a fast and effective fix.

Why did you choose to pursue a career in physiotherapy?

Joel Bates chose physiotherapy as it combined what he loved at school – human movement and helping people to be active and solve problems. He spent way to much time at physiotherapists as a teenager with stress fractures from cricket and shoulder problems from swimming, so he got to know what it was all about and love it. He has a deep passion for helping people and solving problems. No two injuries are ever the same so there is always a rewarding challenge each day and meeting great people along the way makes it good fun.

So what does Joel like to get up to outside of the clinic?

Joel is an avid sports fan and has mastered the art of watching an entire game of footy while chasing his young family around the house, backyard & beer garden. He has run a couple of half marathons whilst living in Singapore (which he tells himself are like full marathons in normal climates!). He makes sure he practices what he preaches with a mix of running, weights & golf keeping  fitness fun for him.  Book in to see Joel Bates today!