Freedom In Movement Physiotherapy and Wellness

  Anatomy of knee joint: First, let us know the anatomy of knee joint. Knee joint consists of two joints Tibiofemoral joint and Patellofemoral joint, which is made up of 3 bones: Femur(thigh bone), Tibia(leg bone) and Patella(Knee cap). There are different soft tissue in the knee joint that protects the joint like ligaments (ACL, PCL, medial and lateral), Bursae, meniscus (medial and lateral) and cartilage. Today, our main focus will be on the cartilage as it is the primary structure that gets damages in osteoarthritis of knee. Cartilages are smooth and flexible substance covering the end of bones where they meet. It enables the bones in joint to move without rubbing against each other. When cartilage in the joint is healthy, it effectively allows bending/straightening motion and protects joint from weight bearing stresses. Cartilages does not have blood supply, thus, if cartilage is damages it cannot heal, exposing the underlying bone-ends and the joint looses its protective...

  To begin. It is essential to understand a little biomechanics of shoulder joint. Shoulder joint is a complex joint consists of 3 joints made up of 3 bones: Humerus (Arm bone), Clavicle (collar bone) and Scapula (shoulder blade). [ we will be mainly focusing on the shoulder blade]. All these joints have to work in syc with one another to do any movement in the shoulder. Thus, raising the arm above head, giving a full range of 180 degrees, involves synchronous movement of arm bone and shoulder blade and is termed as scapulothoracic rhythm. Commonly accepted ratio is 2:1 where, 2 degree occurs at Arm bone and 1 degree occurs at shoulder blade.  Collar bone(clavicle) also rotates to some degrees to provide flawless movement in shoulder. But lets not go in depth and just concentrate on shoulder blade for now!!   Movements that occurs in shoulder blade (above figure): 1.        Elevation/Depression. 2.      ...

  Have an active and safe long weekend! Covid 19 is not just changing the way we social and limiting our outings, it also has reduced our activity level to cause pain and health concerns.  It even increases some people's work hours as commute time has reduced to work from home.  A recent article from Forbes showed working 55+ hours a week is killing more than 700,000 people a week globally, a warning made by World Health Organization and International Labour Organization .   Sedentary lifestyle also linked to worse outcome from Covid 19 infection.  It is more important than ever to keep active and stay healthy during this pandemic! Check out our blogs for exercise ideas!  Walking, biking or simply just getting up from the floor repetitively can be a great cardiovascular workout before stretching and strengthening!

What is Frozen Shoulder Frozen shoulder is a condition where there is a loss of range in motion in external rotation, abduction and then internal rotation at the arm.  It is characterized by a gradual onset of pain and limitation in range.  *External rotation = the movement done to reach behind you in the car  *Abduction = the movement done during jumping jacks or to reach for something above your head from the side  *Internal rotation: putting on a belt buckle when facing forward  Causes The condition has a range of possible causes, such as arthritis, tendon inflammation, shoulder injuries, genetic or environmental factors. The inflammation can lead to adhesions and stiffness. Some other causes include surgical events, predisposing factors, such as postures and daily activities.  Some are idiopathic causes (there is no exact cause). Stages of Frozen Shoulder Freezing Stage: Gradual onset of pain, especially in extremes of range, with pain at night, lasts ...

  Have you injured yourself in a soccer game by getting kicked right at the knee ?  Ouch!  No need to say it could be very painful.   A kicked and twisted knee could result in several structures injured.  The severity of injury depends on the force and the position of the knee at the time of the accident.  We are going to look at the possible medial (inner) knee structures damaged by the most common blow from the outside of the knee:  1. Medial Collateral Ligament and Anterior Cruciate Ligament At the blow of the knee on the outside, the medial (inside) collateral ligament could be stretched so hard that it could inflame or even tear.  The anterior cruciate ligament, which is located in the centre of the knee joint could get stretched very far and started to inflame or tear as well. 2. Medial Meniscus When the blow adds to a twist of the knee joint, the disc (soft bone lining the joint) could be irritated or torn at the impact.  Thinni...

  Most likely you have heard about these two exercises, Yoga and Pilates .  Have you found out what the differences are between these two common and popular exercises?  We often encounter the question "which is better" in our practice.  The answer is not very straight forward.  It depends on what the goal of the exercise is.  One type of exercise usually does not meet all of our needs.  Cross training among different types of exercises, including Taichi , walking, Zumba or lifting weights, will ensure our body becomes more balanced and improves in all areas of exercise components, such as strength, flexibility, endurance, balance and cardiovascular health.   The simple explanation of the difference between yoga and pilates would be that yoga is focused on more stretching/flexibility and pilates is focused on more core strengthening.  We definitely need both of stretching and strengthening to achieve optimal physical health.  On to...

  As holidays approaching, whether we celebrate or not, whether we get together or not, that lingering pain or tightness is still there.  Let's encourage each other to not become complacent of taking care of our body and our health.  Amongst the rest and holiday feasting, regular cardiovascular and stretching exercises are more important than ever.  Hopefully we can also get to do some resistance training to gain some muscle strength as well as flexibility.   Here, we are highlighting some important stretches or range of motion exercises to lengthen our spine and reverse the tightness from sitting too long.  Let's keep moving and remember to avoid pain! 1. Neck   chin tuck levator muscle stretch   2. Mid-back      rotation      side bending (bend your neck as well) 3. Lower back extension flexion (let your neck drop forward as well) 4. Hip flexor 5. Hamstrings Merry Christmas and Happy Exercise from ours to y...