Clinical Reasoning

A scapula retraction

A scapula retraction

It is becoming a trend of mine to do a post in the last few hours of the year. Please ignore that this is my first post for 2017! I have had a run of shoulder patients over the last few months, a number of which have been having treatment with other providers, the vast […]

By December 31, 2017 0 Comments Read More →
Blaming Pathology or Lack of Pathology

Blaming Pathology or Lack of Pathology

I have blogged a number of times about how there is generally a very poor correlation between the “pathology” we see on scans and pain. The lower back being the most commonly cited example but there are many other examples (see here, here and here)  and over time the list appears to be getting longer. […]

Changing Pain vs Smoke and Mirrors?

Changing Pain vs Smoke and Mirrors?

One of the common things I see in clinical practice is therapists making patients adjust postures or movement patterns to see if it changes pain. Now i think that this is a very worthwhile way to approach patients. I do it all of the time. There is however a common error that I think we […]

By February 13, 2016 9 Comments Read More →
Musings from 2015

Musings from 2015

Wow the year has flown by quickly. I have to say that I feel disappointed that I haven’t posted much this year. My apologies for not doing so. I have great admiration for the physiotherapy bloggers out there who post such regular, well written posts. To wrap up the year I thought I might reflect/muse […]

By December 26, 2015 3 Comments Read More →
Mechanical vs Non-Mechanical Pain

Mechanical vs Non-Mechanical Pain

I wrote a while back about posting in relation to the “Inverted Pyramid”. The inverted pyramid principle is aimed at keeping what we do simple. I think as a profession we have a tendency to overcomplicate many things and “fluff” around doing and focusing on things that in some cases are of very little importance. Instead […]

By September 20, 2015 3 Comments Read More →
Recommended Reading – Pain Classification – July 2015

Recommended Reading – Pain Classification – July 2015

Sorry for the lack of posts, I am busy with some updates of university lectures. As you can imagine I am a bit OCD about presenting up to date information in my lectures. Given the time constraints at the moment I thought I might post the occasional article I come across in my lecturing preparations […]

The Inverted Pyramid

The Inverted Pyramid

This concept is one that was introduced to me back in my postgraduate study days at the University of Western Australia. It recently came to mind again and is something that I find very useful. I plan to introduce it to this blog for the next few posts. Depending on how well it is received […]

Some More Great Questions to Ask Your Patients

Some More Great Questions to Ask Your Patients

As a follow up to my last post I thought I might suggest another couple of questions that are worth asking your patients. Once again, these are not questions that I have devised myself, but rather have been suggested by me to other clinicians. I find them exceptionally useful in my clinical practice. 1. Do […]

Two Great Questions to Ask Your Patients

Two Great Questions to Ask Your Patients

Thought I would take a detour from the usual “research evidence” post and write about something I have found incredibly useful in my clinical practice. I have also made a vague attempt at some humour…. I now regularly utilise key two questions in my assessment and management of patients, and without doubt they have given my clinical […]

Is Lifting Technique Important?

Is Lifting Technique Important?

A common theme I continue to encounter in clinical practice is the belief from patients, and health care providers, that correct lifting technique i.e. maintaining a lumbar lordosis, is critical in the prevention and rehabilitation of back injuries. I can recall this belief being around for as long as I have been practicing and studying […]

By January 22, 2015 2 Comments Read More →