Manual Therapy Archives

Ankle sprains are very common in the practice of sports physiotherapy. However, unfortunately many patients go on to have long term problems. This has lead to the development of many proposed treatments and rehabilitation programs. This article will discuss new research into the use of manual therapy techniques combined with exercises for the rehabilitation of inversion ankle sprains.

As sports physiotherapists we regularly assess and treat hamstring strains, sometimes on a daily basis! Hawkins et al. (2001) showed that hamstring injuries accounted for approximately 12% of football injuries, and thus are extremely common. Given their frequency, hamstring injuries have been discussed commonly on this site. However, to date, we have not paid much attention to the often recommended intervention of spinal manual therapy and its role in the evidence based management of hamstring strains….

In this episode of the podcast I interview Bill Vicenzino. Bill Vicenzino is a Professor from the University of Queensland, and is the Chair in Sports Physiotherapy. He is widely published in peer review journals and is the lead author of a new textbook entitled “Mobilisation with Movement: The Art and The Science”.

Plantar heel pain, or commonly plantar fasciitis, is a very common clinical presentation. In an athletic population of runners, plantar heel pain has been shown to account for as much as 8% of injuries (Taunton et al 2002). Thus, sports physiotherapists should be aware of the most appropriate management techniques for this condition. Recently support for the effectiveness of myofascial trigger point therapy has come from a randomised controlled trial. The results and techniques utilised in the trial are discussed in this post.