Harshaw Physiotherapy Consulting

The importance of sleep cannot be overstated. From a sleep course that I am taking through Debbie Patterson, the following symptoms may occur as a result of sleep deprivation: impaired concentration, increased stress, delayed reaction times, deterioration of memory, difficulty with word finding, irritability, general muscle achiness, depression, low energy levels to name a few. Sound familiar?

good information for anyway suffering from persistent pain

worth taking a few minutes to read

Hurt doesn't equal harm - you can be sore but safe. "You will experience pain when your brain concludes that there is more credible evidence of danger (DIMS) th...an there is credible evidence of safety (SIMS)...So ultimately, everything that provides evidence of danger or safety can influence your pain." - from 'The Explain Pain Handbook: Protectometer'. #explainpaineducation #noigroup #protectometer #dimssim See more

Good news! I will be seeing my patients at Essex Physical Therapy starting next week. The clinic can be found at the corner of Talbot Rd and the Arner Townline (across from Foodland). I will be working Monday and Wednesday to start. Come and check us out!

Great post by @kristian.ekstrom: "After reading the heading, as a clinician, maybe your thoughts were the same as the weight lifters. However, I’m sure many of ...us are already providing some type of active pain management without noticing it. Now we just have to do it a little bit more. Although passive treatments do have their place and time, relying only on them will not give the results that people with pain need and wants. And I’m sure all professionals that help people in pain would not mind getting better results either. So, let’s put more weight on those non-passive treatment options. This will make you and the people you treat feel better. _________________________________________________________ If you or your client need lifestyle guidance, look no further. Stronger Me ebook will help you (link in bio). Now only $3.66 (15.99). If you like my content follow @kristian.ekstrom. ________________________________ If you want to learn more about the non-passive factors, make sure to check out www.trustme-ed.com and consider joining the growing community of Physiotherapists who want to become better. @trustme_ed

Great post by Shrey Vazir from @mindbodyhorizons: " The rehab world loves to treat the human body like a car - to find a simple "fix" Well let me tell... you this You can have perfect alignment and posture, but still be in a lot of pain You can also have the "worst" posture and alignment + "damaged parts" and be in NO pain. That's because current growing research shows that posture/alignment/MRI findings correlate very poorly to pain. On a more personal note, I was told by 5 doctors/HCPs that my fibromyalgia pain was caused by my posture... I initially believed it, and did everything to "fix" my posture. Well, did it work? Nope. In fact, it made me more rigid, stiff and in more pain So why are posture, alignment and symmetry so readily blamed and targeted? Because it's the easy diagnosis to make!! Unfortunately, pain is a complex issue... Especially chronic pain - there is never just ONE reason. I still don't know what the exact reason for my pain is (fibromyalgia is the closest thing that explains my symptoms) BUT.. that's okay, because I am still living a good life and have found ways to cope with my back pain! And fixing my posture and alignment was NOT part of my treatment plan. 3 Key points here: Humans are not strictly mechanical objects, like cars. PLEASE stop telling patients that their posture/alignment needs to be fixed to treat their chronic pain Humans are complex beings with thoughts, emotions and beliefs - which all need to be supported. Get me? Rehab professionals out there, what do you think? Comment below -------------------------------- For more posts like this, follow @mindbodyhorizons" . If you want to learn more on Mindfulness, check out Shrey Vazir's lecture @trustme_ed See more

Great post by @steficohen There is so much misinformation out there.. we have to counter that with a lot of evidence based, not fear inducing information! Le...t's do this together! . Here is the original post by Stefi: We need to stop lying at best and misleading at worst. The reality is that there is no quick fix, easy way, or exercise to fix your back pain. Low back pain is a multidimensional disorder that includes factors OUTSIDE of the physical (tissue damage, load exposure) such as; psychological (beliefs surrounding back pain), social (stress and environment), lifestyle (sleep, activity level, type of activity) and non-modifiable factors (sex, age, genetic predisposition), which are all interrelated and not mutually exclusive. We need to shift away from providing simplistic, structural and strictly biomechanical diagnosis, begin acknowledging all the factors that play a role in the management of back pain and ensure that our current practice is nondiscordant with contemporary evidence, specifically the interpretation of MRI and other diagnostic tools, its implications in the management or rehabilitation of the individual as well as the dialogue between clinician/fitness professional and patient/client. Really please, think twice before you tell someone their hips are uneven or rotated, they have adhesions, their posture is what’s causing their pain, they need X amounts of adjustments, their discs are degenerated and think three times before you start boxing people into rigid subgroupsbecause this completely misses the crucial interrelationship between factors and an individual. What do you think? . If you want to learn more high quality information, you can watch various lectures by experts on low back pain at @trustme_ed, which is something like a "Netflix for Physiotherapists"

TENDON MYTHS Great post by @adammeakins: . "Next in my little series looking at some common myths of common issues we look at tendon problems... Many clinicians still promote rest and injections for tendons despite the evidence demonstrating these can prolong symptoms and even have harmful effects Also many clinicians recommend isometric exercises in a belief that they are some magic pain killer for tendons when patients have very mixed responses And despite eccentric exercises loading tendon issues robustly and helping tendon problems they have no significant benefits above and beyond other types of loading And finally some pain during rehab for tendon issues is to be expected and can even be beneficial if common sense applied and it’s not too much for too long!" . If you want to learn more about tendinopathy, check out the lectures by tendon experts Jill Cook and Ebonie Rio at Trust Me-Ed. Link in the bio. @trustme_ed

Let's build strong and resilient people, physically, emotionally and mentally. We have a great opportunity to make a choice what we want to share with our patie...nt's. Do we share our fears onto them by spreading nocebic language and focus on all the little details that are "wrong". Like posture and movement "dysfunctions". Or do we focus on spreading confidence in their body and start from the point that our body is strong and robust and just needs some attention and love. What kind of people do you want in your society? Fearful and weak/vulnerable people? Or strong and confident people? Let's focus on giving good reassurance, advice and exercise prescription with good communication. Keep in mind all the complexities of pain and all the possible factors that are in play. Be the coach and help someone in pain, instead of being the fixer. Let your patient be the hero, not you. Stay humble and keep learning Do you agree? Let us know!