Bay Harbour: April 12, 2017

Wednesday April 12 2017
HEALTH & BEAUTY
Latest Christchurch news at www.
.kiwi
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 21
Joint pain: Do I have arthritis or
could it be mainly my muscles?
The team at Physical Sense in Sydenham sees clients with
a range of symptoms but many of their middle-aged and
senior clients visit complaining of pain in one of their joints.
PhysiotheraPist ietje van
stolk suggests that a major part of the
pain could be due to muscle pain rather
than simply arthritis. “even if an x-ray
shows arthritis, the reason for the pain
may be the muscles around the joint,”
she explains. The images show how
a muscle knot (the crosses) in a back
muscle can give hip pain (aches and pain
are the red areas in the drawings), a knot
in a muscle on the back of the shoulder
blade can give a deep pain in the front
of the shoulder and a muscle knot all the
way near the groin can give an ache in
the knee (especially at night in bed).
ietje recalls one case where an 89
year old client with severe arthritis who
walked with a stick, told her, “i will
end up in a wheelchair, i cannot put
any weight through my right leg due to
pain in my hip and buttock”. “Within
4 treatments, she was walking with
her stick but without the severe pain,”
says ietje. “The arthritis was one of the
factors that made her muscles spasm but
the other was that older people move
less and the flexed position the hip is
in when we sit is particularly bad for
the hip.” ietje is happy with the fact that
although the client was 89 and could
have been “given up on” or told to live
with the pain, she made a difference to
her health and wellbeing.
The same lack of movement can
be the reason for your knee pain or
your shoulder pain and the same few
treatments could make a huge difference
for you.
at Physical sense, hands-on
techniques (massage and triggerpoint
deactivation techniques) are used
to release the muscles. The client
also gets a home exercise program
designed to mobilize and stretch the
joint, strengthen the important core
muscles and increase general strength
and balance. They teach a movement
sequence that stretches the joint in all
directions whilst the client is able to lie
safely on their bed, perfect for older or
SHOULDER
PAIN
KNEE PAIN
less mobile clients.
in many cases having the muscles
released and being taught how to
maintain it, is enough to stay on top of
the problem. if severe arthritis is the
underlying cause, some maintenance
therapy may be necessary, but that is
often more affordable and, for older
patients, better tolerated than surgery. in
very few treatments the client will know
HIP PAIN
(the crosses are the areas of the muscle spasms, the red areas is where the pain is felt)
if it is going to work for them or not,
without financial commitment.
Physical Sense Gym & Physio
is located at 300 Colombo Street,
Sydenham. The Blue Line Bus stops in
front of the door and there is ample
parking. To enquire about specialised
exercise classes or physiotherapy
treatment, phone 377-2577 or visit
www.triggerpoints.co.nz.
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