Vaughn Bolack

Knee Osteoarthritis… Is Surgery The Only Option?

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Knee Osteoarthritis.. Is Surgery The Only Option 

So you have been told you have knee arthritis. Will you need a knee replacement?

The answer is a resounding NO! In recent years there has been a shift towards conservative management of knee osteoarthritis (OA).

 

Why Conservative Management?  


Conservative management (chiropractic, physiotherapy, exercise physiology) of knee OA in some but not all cases can be as effective as Arthroscopy for the reduction of osteoarthritic knee pain.  Certainly knee arthroscopy can be fantastic when applied to the appropriate knee injury. A bucket handle meniscus tear is one of these instances.  

 

Knee Arthroscopy

Knee arthroscopy is effective for pain reduction in some but not ALL osteoarthritic knee cases. There are concerns that arthroscopy is being  performed in patients where the research has shown that weight loss and exercise may be just as effective.

Orthopaedic surgeon Professor Ian Harris has voiced his concerns about the increasing number of knee surgeries. He is questioning if surgeons are performing arthroscopy for knee pain in pain presentations where the research indicates that the outcomes may similar too conservative interventions. Following the links below to read more on. this topic.

https://theconversation.com/needless-procedures-knee-arthroscopy-is-one-of-the-most-common-but-least-effective-surgeries-102705 

https://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2015/03/25/4203985.htm 

There was also an SBS insight episode dedicated to knee surgery and the non-surgical management strategies for knee osteoarthritis. 

watch it here https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/tvepisode/joint-surgeries

So What Can We Do?

An osteoarthritic knee thrives on less load, and more support. We can achieve this in 2 ways.

1. Lose Weight  

Losing weight reduces the load on joints and connective tissue. A 2005 study found that in obese patients a 3kg reduction in weight would reduce knee pressure by up too 12kg.

2: Exercise

Like weight loss, strengthening the knee will reduce pressure on the knee. To begin with,  building strength and endurance will be slow, with only slight changes in pain. After about about 2 weeks you notice improvements in the intensity of pain, which will steadily improve over a 6 – 12 week period.  

Walking

To begin walking may be a little painful. But eventually it will more comfortable. Walking  moves  synovial fluid around the joint. Thinks of synovial fluid  as nutrients for joints and cartilage. Walking also builds muscular strength and endurance burns calories and improves mental and cardiovascular health.

To begin aim for a 20 minute walk at a moderate pace. As your knee becomes more comfortable start to increase both the length of the walk and intensity. Begin to challenge the knee with some small hill

Supine Knee Extension Exercise

Supine knee extensions are a safe strengthening exercise that place minimal strain on the knee. 

1. Lay on your back with a rolled towel under your knee

2. Press the back off the knee into towel

3: Straighten the leg by lifting the foot keeping the back off knee pressed into the towel.

4. Hold this position for 15 seconds, lower leg to start position and rest for 10 seconds.

5. You will feel the quadriceps muscle (the big muscles above the knee) fatigue 

6. Repeat for 5 repetitions.  If Pain is greater than 3/10 during exercise and last for 24hors please seek the advice of a health professional. 

The key point to remember that surgery is not bad. It helps a lot of people suffering from knee pain. However in many knee OA cases conservative management with treatment and exercise can be as effective and cheaper.  

If need further advice for knee pain associated with knee pain, call 0404404103 or book online at 

https://fluidchiropractic.com.au/make-a-booking/

What is Dry Needling, how is it different to Acupuncture

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Dry needling and acupuncture, the needles look the same, but how are the different? The common denominator between each technique is the very fine needles.That’s where the similarities end.

 

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Acupuncture

 

Acupuncture is  used by practitioners of traditional chinese medicine.  Acupuncture is used to treat a large scope of conditions ranging from infertility  to high blood pressure.

An acupuncturist will determine the positioning the needles your symptoms, based on your complaint.  The needle positioning is determined by 12 meridian pathways. The needles are  placed at specific  meridian points, which correlate to specific body systems and internal organs.

Dry Needling

Dry Needling is the use of acupuncture needles to decrease the tone and tension of muscles and fascia. It is  effective for the treatment and relief of pain associated with musculo-skeletal pain and sports injuries such as low back and neck pain. Dry needling is a technique used by chiropractors and other health professionals.

Dry needling is based on western anatomical and physiological principles. Dry needling has numerous benefits;

  • increase blood flow at site of injury which will increase healing
  • a neurological response which will cause the release of pain inhibiting hormones
  • reducing muscle spasm
  • reducing pain

Dry needling is most effective when is used in conjunction with other treatment techniques, such as chiropractic joint manipulation/ mobilisation, myofascial release and exercise rehabilitation. It is effective for the treatment of tension headaches, neck pain low back pain, sciatica and sports injuries.

Vaughn Bolack- Fluid Chiropractic

Strengthening The Core, How, What and Why?

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Core Stability: Why Is It Important and How to Strengthen it?

 

Following on the last post on improving spinal flexibility, the next step, in improving spinal health and particularly lower back health for back pain sufferers is too wake up those sleeping abdominal muscles.   The ‘Core’ group of muscles refers to the group of muscles that surround the abdomen and lower back. ‘Stability’ refers to using the activation of these muscles to provide active support and control for spinal movement.

What Are The Core Muscles?

 

The core muscles encompasses a group of deep and superficial abdominal muscles. These muscle  form a canister of support for the spine, particularly the lower back and pelvis. These muscles include the diaphragm, transversus abdominus, multifidus, and the pelvic floor.

 

Image result for core stability muscles

 

 

 

 

 

Why is ‘Core Stability’ Important for Low Back Pain?

 

For sufferers of low back pain, the  strength of  the core is not the issue. Awakening the core muscles will provide the support to  spinal tissues and help reduce back pain. Often in episodes of low back injury the rest involved with the injury will causes our ‘core stability’ muscles to have a holiday. Having an active core musculature has shown to assist support and control of the lower spinal vertebrae and the associated soft tissues.    We don’t need to hit the gym to wake these muscles up but some simple gentle exercises can ‘wake’ up the core muscle. A couple of minutes of exercise can be enough to manage the pain.

Two Safe and  Easy Core Stability Exercises

 

1- PLANK ON KNEES
  

The plank is the ‘old faithful’ of core stability exercises. It easy to perform, and very effective for awakening the core muscles.

Here is how it is done.

  1. Place the Elbows on ground directly under shoulders.
  2. Place Knees on ground
  3. Keep hips, pelvis, trunk off the ground, in the plank position. Avoid letting the abdomen and spine sag towards the floor
  4. Keep hips, spine and trunk and neck  in alignment
  5. Hold for 15 seconds, repeat 3 time.
  6. With practice you can increase the time of the hold
  7. If experiencing any back pain stop.

 

3: Bird Dog:

The bird dog is another simple core exercise that combines, muscle activation, endurance and balance

 

 

  1. Start in the  ‘Table Top’ position with hands under shoulders and knees under your hips.
  2. Move your right leg back, by dragging your knee back until the knee is straight, keeping the leg inline with the torso and the pelvis level.
  3. Try not to let the pelvis twist, keeping it level, do not let spine and abdomen sag towards the floor.
  4. At the same time move the opposite arm forward, again keeping in line with your body, until arm in fully extended and level with the shoulder.
  5. Hold the extended arm and leg in this position for 1 sec
  6.  Slowly bring the arm and leg to the start position, and repeat 3 times.
  7. Repeat with opposite arm and leg.
  8. Stop if experiencing any pain

What Is Arthritis

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What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is often referred to as a single disease. In fact, it is an umbrella term for more than 100 medical conditions that affect the musculo-skeletal system, specifically joints where two or more bones meet.

Arthritis-related problems include pain, stiffness, inflammation and damage to joint cartilage (the tissue that covers the ends of bones, enabling them to move against each another) and surrounding structures. This can result in joint weakness, instability and deformities that can interfere with the most basic daily tasks such as walking, driving a car and preparing food.

There is a widely held belief that arthritis is simply a consequence of age, the pain of growing old. But it is not a natural part of ageing. In fact 2.4 million of all people suffering from the disease are of working age.

Research suggests that early intervention can delay the onset of the disease and may reduce the number of cases of osteoarthritis by about 500,000 within 15 years.

How Can Chiropractic Help?

As Arthritis is a joint problem, increasing joint movement can be achieved by using techniques such as joint mobilisation, stretching, dry needling and muscle release Increasing joint movement is important for imbibing healthy movement promoting nutrients into the joints and intervertebral discs. It also promotes the movement of synovial fluid within the joint. Synovial fluid acts as a lubricant for the joint surfaces, allowing smoother movement and healthier joints.

With Osteoarthritis joint movement becomes reduced. Chiropractic treatment focus on creating movement in stiff vertebral joints. As well as helping with movement, it helps with the imbibing of synovium within the joint capsules, and stimulate pain inhibiting chemical from the brain.

What Can You  Do? 

Move, move move and move some more. Healthy joints love to move, it provides lubrication and nourishment to joints, as well improving emotional well-being. Regular chiropractic can improve your joint movement and health, and regular exercise such as, yoga, pilates, swimming, walking surfing, cycling, weights all help to improve joint health and manage the pain caused by arthritis.

 

More information can also be found on the arthritis website  http://www.arthritisaustralia.com.au/

 

Vaughn Bolack- Chiropractor

Welcome to The Fluid Chiropractic Kiama Website

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Welcome to The  Fluid Chiropractic Kiama Website

Hi , welcome to our website, if your here your probably have some sort of pain or injury and looking for some relief.  Secondly your probably wondering what is  Fluid Chiropractic Kiama.  Fluid Chiropractic is a Kiama based chiropractic business run by Chiropractor Vaughn Bolack.

With a focus on spinal pain and sports injuries, we utilise a number of safe and gentle techniques ranging from joint manipulation and mobilisation to dry needling and exercise rehabilitation to get you moving again . Our approach to treatment draws on techniques used  by Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Physiotherapists and massage therapists

Don’t be fooled by the name, Fluid Chiropractic Kiama is not a new chiropractic technique involving liquid. Rather the name refers to fluid movement. Fluid movement is what we aim to restore (after reducing pain!), and maintain with all our patients.

We work at 2 locations; On Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays you will find us at the home based clinic in Kiama Downs. On Wednesdays we work from ‘Central Health Kiama’. The contact details are the same for both clinics.

 

We hope to see you there.

 

Vaughn Bolack- Chiropractor