Upper Limb Sports Injuries Physio Penrith
Upper Limb Sports Injuries Treated at Sydney Muscle & Joint Clinic Physio Penrith
Upper limb injuries cover rotator cuff related shoulder pain, shoulder instability, shoulder osteoarthritis, lateral and medial elbow pain and weakness and a number of overuse injuries at the wrist. Commonly these include subacromial pain syndrome, rotator cuff related shoulder pain, frozen shoulder, multi-directional instability, shoulder impingement, shoulder bursitis, tennis and golfers elbow and de Quervain's syndrome at the wrist. Generally we call these mechanical painful conditions and these respond to both passive and active interventions. The physiotherapists and exercise physiologists at Sydney Muscle & Joint Clinic Penrith use techniques such as joint mobilisations, muscle release techniques, dynamic mobility movements and cutting edge loading principles to reduce pain, improve stiffness and encourage pain free motion.​
Recurrent shoulder dislocations
Sub acromial pain syndrome is defined as any non-traumatic shoulder problem, usually unilateral, with localised pain around the acromion, which usually worsens during or after lifting of the arm. The following terms are commonly linked to sub acromial pain syndrome: bursitis, tendinosis calcarea, supraspinatus tendinopathy, partial tear of the rotator cuff, biceps tendinitis and rotator cuff tendon degeneration.
Rotator cuff related shoulder pain
Rotator cuff related shoulder pain is an over-arching term that encompasses a spectrum of shoulder conditions that include; subacromial pain (impingement) syndrome, bursitis, rotator cuff tendinopathy, and symptomatic partial and full thickness rotator cuff tears. At Sydney Muscle & Joint Physio Penrith common symptoms include pain and impairment of shoulder movement and function usually experienced during shoulder elevation and external rotation. Rotator cuff related shoulder pain will most often have some excessive and mal-adaptive load imposed on the tissues has a major contributor to the injury.
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Physical assessment may include certain loaded movements that are called symptom provocation procedures and really all these tests tell has is that the individual has mechanical shoulder pain and the tissues in lesion could be from rotator cuff tendons, bursa ligaments, labrum or capsule. Further, the reliance on imaging may be problematic, with investigations reporting substantial numbers of people without symptoms demonstrating rotator cuff structural failure. Read more.
Sub acromial pain syndrome
Sub acromial pain syndrome is defined as any non-traumatic shoulder problem, usually unilateral, with localised pain around the acromion, which usually worsens during or after lifting of the arm. The following terms are commonly linked to sub acromial pain syndrome: bursitis, tendinosis calcarea, supraspinatus tendinopathy, partial tear of the rotator cuff, biceps tendinitis and rotator cuff tendon degeneration. Level 1 (the best) evdience suggests that exercise-based treatments are more effective than no treatment in reducing pain and improving function of the shoulder and exercises specifically focused on rotator cuff and scapular muscles appear to be more effective than general exercise therapy. Read more.
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
Tennis elbow is also known as lateral epicondylitis or lateral epicondylalgia and is a condition that affects the tendons of the forearm wrist extensors where they attach on the outside of the elbow joint. This is primarily an overuse injury that is common in people who do alot of gripping and then shoulder or arm movements, these may include using screwdrivers, a hammer, playing sports such as tennis.
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Tennis elbow needs to be treated as a tendinopathy and the treatment principles need to be two fold- settle the tendon down and then build back the strength of the associated muscles. Removing compression in the form of deep massage to the tendon attachment at the elbow, foam rolling and compression through vigorous stretching needs to stop immediately. A progressive physiotherapy led loading program of isometric, concentric and eccentric movements then needs to be prescribed. Read more.
Golfers elbow (medial epicondylitis)
Golfers elbow is also known as medial epicondylitis or medial epicondylalgia and is an injury caused by overuse to the forearm flexor muscles and presents with pain on the inside of the elbow joint. It is a similar injury to tennis elbow, whereby it is an overuse injury of gripping and moving the shoulder and elbow. Treatment also follows the same tendinopathy guidelines as tennis elbow, where pain reduction and irritation is the first phase, followed by a rigorous loading program to help stimulate tendon regeneration. Sydney Muscle & Joint Physio in Penrith uses research supported interventions for all tendinopathy injuries, tennis elbow and golfers elbow.
De quervain's tenosynovitis
De Quervains tenosynovitis is a painful condition affecting the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, with repetitive hand or wrist movements making the condition worse.
Pec tear
De Quervains tenosynovitis is a painful condition affecting the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, with repetitive hand or wrist movements making the condition worse.