Not all conditions are equal. Be it an ACL tear, low back pain, headache, ankle sprain etc. a recipe approach to any injury or complaint is not effective. A bit of a rub and a push where it hurts and some ultrasound simply doesn’t cut it. What’s needed is a thorough analysis of how you move to identify how and why things have gone wrong.

Knee and Spinal Clinic uses a whole person approach in the management of your pain, dysfunction or immobility.

This combines thorough anatomical, biomechanical and neurophysiological knowledge combined with current motor control and pain research and clinical expertise.

This approach can help a variety of simple and complex conditions. Note that the following list is not complete but represents the diverse situations where we can help:

 

•     low back pain, including facet joint irritation and disc problems

•     pelvic girdle pain, including poor control of the SI joint (sacroiliac joint)

•     loss of “core stability” function – all the abdominal muscles are innervated from T6-L1

•     shoulder impingement and poor control of the shoulder (problems with rotator cuff, scapula muscle imbalances)

•     neck pain and headaches

•     recurrent hamstring strains

•     groin pain, FAI, hip impingement, adductor tendinopathy

•     sports hernia

•     knee pain

•     plantar fasciitis

•     achilles tendinopathy

•     thoracic outlet syndrome

 

Injury Prevention

Injuries are often not the result of bad luck. Research has shown that compensatory movement patterns increase the risk of injury. To prepare an athlete for the wide variety of activities needed to participate in their sport, the analysis of fundamental movements should be undertaken in order to determine who possesses, or lacks, the ability to perform certain essential movements

 

Back Pain

80% of 1st episode back pain resolves in 6 weeks without too much intervention. Perhaps some general stretches and medication. The second time you get back pain becomes a more complex matter. The general stretches used at the first episode have not done their job and the cause of your symptoms has not been recognised. This is when you need to have a detailed assessment of the way you move which will direct us to resolving the cause of the back pain.

We use our clinical expertise to analyse your movement and how it relates specifically to you.  It will enable us to correct the cause of your pain rather than working on simply where you feel the pain.
Feeling Better is Not the Same as Getting Better

Some treatment approaches give relief for a short time only for the pain to return in a couple of days or weeks. Your next treatment session is scheduled and again you feel better for a short time, pain returns, time for your next session, a bit of a rub and a click and you feel better for a time and on it goes.

This is an ineffective way to “get” you better. Getting better means identifying why you move incorrectly and creating a strategy to not just get you pain free but help you understand why your condition is happening and how to manage it.

 

Core Strengthening

Often this is poorly understood and not done well. Pain results in altered movement patterns and turns off key muscles. Optimal movement must be achieved first before we explore any strength component.

Strength should only come after retraining proper movement, mastering control and demonstrating stability. If it’s done in the wrong order then the strengthening will only serve to reinforce your poor movement pattern. It takes more effort on your part, the watchful analytical eye of your therapist and certainly can’t be found on Google. One size does not fit all.

 

MRI's and X-Rays

It can be scary to see the words degeneration, prolapse, dehydration, arthritic changes etc. on a radiology report. These scans can only tell us where the site of overloading may be occurring and in many cases is a natural process. Scans may show as normal yet a person may still feel pain. Similarly what is seen on a scan may not be relevant to the pain. The key is to find the cause of overloading and dysfunction. It is often away from the site of pain.
But I’ve had my pain for years.

The approach at Knee and Spinal Clinic is very effective at helping people who have a long history of pain or recurring problems. You may have seen a wide array of professionals to find a solution for your condition. We will assess you thoroughly and give you our honest opinion regarding our findings.

 

Knee Pain

Essentially there are two instances of knee pain. Pain as a result of trauma from a sports injury or fall, and pain that comes on without apparent reason.

The first thing to establish is an accurate diagnosis. Not all ligament tears, joint sprains, muscle tears etc are equal. A recipe approach to any injury is not effective. A bit of a rub and some ultrasound simply doesn’t cut it. This is an ineffective way to “get” you better. Getting better means identifying why you move incorrectly and creating a strategy to not just get you pain free but help you understand why your condition is happening and how to manage it.

What’s needed is a thorough analysis of how you move to identify how and why things have gone wrong. Treatment may involve targeted release to specific muscles through hands on therapy, retraining of movement to enable our joints to bear load properly, connecting the appropriate stabilising muscles and strengthening the system.

Knee pain that occurs for no apparent reason is likely to be caused by non-optimal loading elsewhere in the body. Any therapist who goes straight to the knee will be missing out on the possible cause, and will only be treating the result/symptom.

 

Core Strengthening

Often this is poorly understood and not done well. Pain results in altered movement patterns and turns off key muscles. Optimal movement must be achieved first before we explore any strength component.

Strength should only come after retraining proper movement, mastering control and demonstrating stability. If it’s done in the wrong order then the strengthening will only serve to reinforce your poor movement pattern. It takes more effort on your part, the watchful analytical eye of your therapist and certainly can’t be found on Google. One size does not fit all.

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Arthritis

Osteoarthritis affects over 305,000 people in New Zealand. It can be found in the hip, knee and spine. It is sometimes poorly understood and many think they must live with the condition. There are some very effective ways to limit the impact of arthritis on your life.

If your body isn’t moving freely then load will be distributed unevenly and may cause wear and tear on the joints. We can assess how your body moves and correct patterns so to decrease unnecessary wear on the joints. This may involve releasing tight structures and strengthening muscles to support the painful joint. It is amazing how many people resign themselves to their pain and think medication and general exercise is the only solution. There is a better way. Phone us today and book in for a detailed assessment: you may be surprised with what can be achieved.