Craig and Jason discuss Nicky Ryan’s knee injury and hypothesise about structures potentially injured given the mechanism and immediate footage post match.
They also discuss the anatomy, mechanism of injury and management pathways for posterolateral corner injuries that they have commonly seen in BJJ practitioners, soccer players and rugby league players.
Craig and Jason discuss their thoughts on Conor's fracture and the possible causes, Tommy Turbo's hamstring, the Quadrant of Doom for hamstring injuries and what you can be doing during the Sydney lockdown period to minimise injury.
With new COVID lockdowns in place for Greater Sydney and community sport taking a 2 week break, we often see these types of unscheduled breaks lead to injuries when sport resumes.
Planning ahead and implementing some strategies for injury prevention will help you navigate the lockdown break and keep you on the pitch for longer.
Hamstring injuries are common amongst professional footballers and Sunday afternoon superstars alike.
Some research into hamstring injuries has demonstrated that if the hamstring musculature is strong and flexible as opposed to weak and short then it significantly decreases the risk of hamstring injury throughout the course of a season (Timmins et al. 2016 and Bourne et al. 2018).
Below is an infographic from YLM Sports Science that clearly demonstrates the relationship between strength, flexibility and injury risk. The other way to frame this is in terms of capacity. The greater the strength and movement capacity then the less likely things are to go wrong.
The other benefit from all of the below is that by incorporating this it will not decrease injury risk but also improve performance!
Knowing this is all well and good but we also want to practically act on this. How do we build things up from a loading, flexibility and strength point of view. Below is another great infographic from YLM Sports Science that shows specific ways to address all these areas.
In summary to build strong, functional and flexible hamstrings then it is worth looking at an exercise program that includes hip and knee dominant exercises that is gradually overloaded to create adaptation. It is also worth adding some running and sprint work into the program as this is shown to have a protective effect and also some loaded flexibility work to strengthen the hamstrings in lengthened positions (Oakley et al.2018).
Take Home points for hamstring performance and health:
Strong and long hamstrings are the goal
Use knee and hip dominant strengthening exercises
Incorporate sprint work
Work on flexibility
Progressively overload
Stay consistent
References:
Timmins RG, Bourne MN, Shield AJ, et al. Short biceps femoris fascicles and eccentric knee flexor weakness increase the risk of hamstring injury in elite football (soccer): a prospective cohort study. Br J Sports Med 2016;50:1524-1535. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/24/1524
Bourne, Matthew N., Timmins, Ryan, Opar, David A., Pizzari, Tania, Ruddy, Joshua, Sims, Casey, WIlliams, Morgan, & Shield, Anthony (2018) An evidence-based framework for strengthening exercises to prevent hamstring injury. Sports Medicine, 48(2), pp. 251-267. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0796-xhttps://ylmsportscience.com/
2017/11/26/hamstring-strain-injury-escape-the-quadrant-of-doom/
Oakley AJ, Jennings J, Bishop CJ. Holistic hamstring health: not just the Nordic hamstring exercise. Br J Sports Med 2018;52:816-817. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/13/816
The bladder is a pelvic organ that stores urine which is produced by the kidneys, until we decide to empty, the urine then travels down the urethra and is expelled from the body.
Interstitial cystitis is a condition causing bladder pressure, bladder pain and sometimes pelvic pain. Symptoms can vary from person to person and can range from mild to agonising.
Pain in the bladder/abdomen when the bladder is filling up with urine. The kidney’s make urine constantly so they rarely get a break from pain, some may experience some temporary relief when they empty their bladder
Bladder urgency and frequency. A person with a healthy bladder may urinate 7 times per day, in comparison to someone with bladder pain who may urinate in excess of 20 times day and night.
Lower back and pelvic pain
Worsening of symptoms with menstruation
Pain with sexual intercourse
Ulcers/sore/bleeding in the bladder which sometimes can be seen in the urine
Lack of sleep to due increased urination over night
Lifestyle factors such as avoiding smoking and alcohol
Dietary factors such as avoiding caffeine, coffee, acidic and spicy foods
Managing constipation
Physiotherapy - Bladder pain syndrome is associated with an overactive tight pelvic floor, as the bladder fills the pelvic floor tightens and this can increase the severity of symptoms. Physio’s will perform internal and external releases of the pelvic floor and deep internal hip rotators and they can teach you how do do this. They will teach you bladder training and give you techniques to use to try and space out the time between urinating.
Medication: Pain relief medication can help and your doctor may prescribe medication to help the bladder urgency and frequency
**There is currently no single treatment that has been found to be effective for majority of patients with bladder pain syndrome and to achieve symptom relief, many treatment options may need to be combined**
If your baby has a flat head or only turns their head to one side they may have congenital muscular torticollis (CMT).
CMT affects the sternocleidomastoid muscle, this muscle either becomes tight due to:
positioning in the womb
having a flat head
a mass in the the muscle making it difficult to stretch the muscle out
CMT occurs between 0.3% and 2% in newborn infants. It causes head tilt to one side and rotation to the other.
In some children with CMT they may have issues with their hips or position of their spine, so it is important to get these checked by a professional.
Does your baby tend to hold their head tilted to one side or do they hold their head in the midline?
Does your baby prefer to look in one direction?
If you lie your baby on their back, do they look evenly to both sides?
When on their back, can they turn their head all the way to the left and to the right?
Book in to see a professional for your baby to be screened. Your child may only need a once off appointment or may benefit from some monitoring.
It is important for a professional to show you the correct stretches to do, to keep your baby safe. When given the appropriate stretches research says the 98% of patients will gain appropriate neck movement even when they have severe muscle fibre changes.
Try some of the strategies suggested for a flat head
References:
Congenital muscular torticollis. Kumar Nilesh and Srijon Mukherji. Ann Maxillofac Surg. 2013 Jul-Dec; 3(2): 198–200.
Clinical features and outcome of physiotherapy in early presenting congenital muscular torticollis with severe fibrosis on ultrasonography: a prospective study. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Volume 46, Issue 8, August 2011, Pages 1526-1531