A good Blog on Joint Hypermobility Syndrome.

http://hypermobilityhope.blogspot.co.uk/p/home.html

A good video on Joint Hypermobility Syndrome.

This video is by Professor Rodney Grahame, who is a specialist on joint hypermobility. It’s well worth a listen if you have an interest in the subject.

Mechanotransduction

This is a great article about connective tissue etc

Classical Osteopathy in Ontario

Mechanotransduction is the word used to describe the various mechanisms whereby cells convert mechanical stimuli in to electrochemical activity (for a very general overview please click here as well as here).

View original post 1,068 more words

New ligament discovered in knee, Belgian surgeons say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The knee joint is surrounded by ligaments to provide stability and support.

knee surgeons in Belgium say they have identified a previously unfamiliar ligament in the human knee.

Writing in the Journal of Anatomy, they suggest the fibrous band could play a part in one of the most common sports injuries worldwide.

Despite glimpses of the ligament in medical history, this is the first time its structure and purpose have been so clearly established, they say.

Let go of outdated paradigms and stop dwelling on Biomechanical tissue-based models when treating Back Pain.

This was the message from CSP fellow Dr Mick Thacker, director of the ‘Pain: Science and Society’ MSc course at King’s College London.

Giving a keynote lecture, Dr Thacker advised delegates to move away from purely mechanical-based therapies for back pain patients, and become more aware of the role of neuro-immnunology in relation to pain.

“Traditional physiotherapy has based its management of back pain on anatomical, tissue-based principles and biomechanics”, said Dr Thacker.

Bad Posture can “Switch Off” Back Muscles

Slumping in front of the television or computer could deactivate muscles that support and protect your spine, triggering many otherwise inexplicable cases of lower back pain.

A European Space Agency study in Berlin, Germany, in which young men spent eight weeks in bed, showed that an absence of load on spinal support muscles can sometimes be just as debilitating as a physical injury.

Ultrasound studies have shown that in most cases of lower-back pain, either the lumbar multifidus muscles, which keep the vertebrae in place, or the transversus abdominis, which holds the pelvis together, or both, are inactive. Normally the muscles work continuously to support and protect the lower back.

Heavy lifting, whiplash or other injuries can damage and inactivate these support muscles. This increases the risk of long-term back pain, as people are then more likely to suffer sprains, or damage to the discs or other tissue in the back. However, only between 10 and 15 per cent of cases of back pain begin with such an injury. For the rest, the cause is often a mystery.

Smartphone users ‘risking health’ with overuse of devices

People are risking their health by working on smartphones, tablets and laptops after they have left the office, according to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

It says people have become “screen slaves” and are often working while commuting or after they get home.

The society said poor posture in these environments could lead to back and neck pain.

Unions said people needed to learn to switch off their devices.

An online survey, of 2,010 office workers by the Society found that nearly two-thirds of those questioned continued working outside office hours.

The organisation said people were topping up their working day with more than two hours of extra screen – time, on average, every day.

The data suggested that having too much work and easing pressure during the day were the two main reasons for the extra workload.

Can Twisting cause the Agony of Back Pain?

THE first comprehensive model of the human spine is challenging our assumptions about the causes of back pain. Contrary to the idea that spinal injuries are caused by a combination of compression, bending, tension and shear forces, the 3D animated model suggests many injuries are the result of quick twists of the vertebrae, making the joints between them rotate.

Nick Beagley and Vladimir Ivancevic of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Edinburgh, South Australia, have spent the past 18 months developing their mathematical model, called the Full Spine Simulator (FSS). Existing models of the spine evaluate forces placed on a single joint, or a simple series of joints, and allow each just a few degrees of freedom. But the FSS represents all 25 movable joints of the spine, and gives each its full six degrees of freedom.

Repetitive Strain Injury – RSI

What is RSI?

RSI (or occupational overuse syndrome, work-related upper limb injury or isometric contraction myopathy) is caused by repeated overuse and injury to the muscles of the hands, wrists, arms or shoulders.

For example, constant movement of the fingers by a typist or musician causes stress on the tissues at a microscopic level. This triggers molecular changes such as the release of chemicals which attempt to limit or repair any damage. But sometimes this ability of the body to protect itself is outstripped by prolonged repetitive movement, and injury to the tissues – RSI – becomes established.

Imitation UGG Boots ‘Can cause Damage’ to the Body

Experts say that wearing cheap versions of UGG-style boots could cause serious health problems later on in life.

Dr Ian Drysdale is principal of the British College of Osteopathic Medicine and is warning the soft boots don’t give feet any support and can cause long term damage to ankles, knees, hips and back.

Official UGG boots cost from around £150 but much cheaper versions are available on the high street and from markets.

UGG Australia says its boots are “made with the finest materials and designed with the utmost care and attention to detail” including “structured heel counters” for “substantial support”. The company is urging people to beware of copies.