At the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the interdisciplinary Physical Therapy Service was provided by chiropractors osteopaths, physiotherapists and sports massage practitioners. This article describes how the service was created and delivered, and discusses an analysis of the medical records data.
The use of kinesiology tape (K-tape) has expanded massively in recent years. However, there is little information about the best way to apply it. This article discusses the literature and presents research results about the... Read More
This article discusses the role of dry needling in the effective treatment of myofascial trigger points specifically and chronic pain states generally. The article details when dry needling is suitable but, more importantly, when it... Read More
In previous editions of sportEX dynamics we looked at why the majority of massage research is flawed and the evidence to justify the use of ‘Swedish’ massage in sport as part of a general conditioning... Read More
Biotensegrity, or tensegrity in biology, is described as the tensional network of the human form. It is an emerging field that raises new questions and insights into how this fascial connective tissue matrix is tensioned and how crucial that is to human structure. Biotensegrity is a compelling model that explains structure and motion in non-linear biologic forms such as the human body. The problem with many of the classical theories of biomechanics is that they are largely based on outmoded notions, such as the widely accepted idea that muscles act on the human limb joints as if they are levers. This article (Part 3 in a series on Biotensegrity) explains why it is a misconception that there are levers in biologic forms and proposes the idea of recognising closed kinematic chains as an alternative model of human anatomy and structure.
Catch up on this quarter's essential massage therapy research. Our Massage Therapy Journal Watch brings you all the most important journal discoveries with our own unique sportEX take-home messages. This is one of our most popular sections of content aimed at saving you time and money not having to trawl the research journals!
This article sets out to explain the drivers and philosophy behind the new sportEX and Co-Kinetic website. This article is publicly available.
In the previous issue (sportEX dynamics 2015;43:8–11 (Jan 2015)), Brad Hiskins wrote about the situation concerning professional standards in the soft tissue industry in Australia. In a response to his article, Paul Medlicott voices his thoughts about the situation in the UK – how is it similar or different and what can we learn from Australia?
Dry needling is a technique similar to acupuncture that is used for the treatment of trigger points and muscle pain. This article describes its effects, dangers and technique as well as providing details of how to treat common trigger points.
This article explains the importance, for therapists, of experiencing human dissection as a teaching and professional development aid. With the empathy of a clinical anatomist and a doctor, who are also manual therapists, these experienced professionals understand and appreciate what therapists need to know. Touching a body is the key to most, if not all, movement and physical therapies; cadaver dissection helps in understanding the architecture beneath the skin which provides a much greater depth and breadth of knowledge or human anatomy for the practitioner.
In a previous article physiotherapist and sports massage therapist Bob Bramah looked at why the majority of massage research is flawed. Despite this, massage remains a popular treatment modality at all levels of sport and exercise especially within the elite and professional ranks. In this, the first of two further articles, the author looks at what research evidence is available to justify massage as part of a general conditioning programme and before, during or after activity. Part 2 reviews the use of massage following injury and travel. As discussed in the previous article there are over 100 types of massage described in the literature but the majority of techniques used are those described as ‘Swedish’ namely, effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, and frictions. This article examines the evidence for the use of these methods.
Kinesiology tape (K-tape) has been increasingly applied to both amateur and elite athletes since its rise to popularity at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. K-tape has been reported to enhance muscular flexibility, through mechanisms which are not well understood, but are thought to be due to fascial manipulation. This article discusses the current research and ideas about flexibility and how K-tape might enhance it.
In this second article about the concept of biotensegrity, we consider the fascia, or tensional network of the living body. Many traditional concepts of biomechanics and musculoskeletal anatomy are evolving rapidly, particularly in light of a better understanding of biotensegrity. Biotensegrity has been defined as the new "science of body architecture" and includes the latest research into the fascia. Biotensegrity, or tensegrity in biology, is described as the tensional network of the human form. It is an emerging field that raises new questions and insights into how this fascial connective tissue matrix is tensioned and how crucial that is to human structure. There are challenges in naming the fascia and relating this ubiquitous fabric of human form to structure and natural function in living movement. Some key questions are explored here. Does biotensegrity provide the missing link?
Exercise therapy is frequently a keystone to treatment, and one of the original four pillars of the physiotherapy profession outlined in 1922, when the physiotherapy society was first granted a Royal Charter. Much has changed since that time, with various exercise types coming into and out of fashion. Yoga has been around for thousands of years, but over the last 10 years we have seen a rapid grown in yoga classes in the Western world with this type of exercise becoming the latest exercise fashion. In parallel with this growth has been an interest in the use of yoga as therapy, building yoga exercises into a structured rehabilitation programme. In this article we will look at this exercise form, and the evidence of its use in rehabilitation. We will also take a brief look at how yoga exercises are practised, and what modifications are required to bring this ancient exercise form into the fold of evidence-based practice.
The following letter from one of our regular Australian contributors provides an interesting insight into some of the difficulties facing Australian massage therapy industry. This introduction describes how the Australian healthcare and education systems have contributed to creating this situation and how we in England and Wales can perhaps avoid ending up in a similar position.
Massage is used extensively in both sport and the wider occupational setting but a huge number of experimental studies reach the conclusion that it has little or no actual benefit. This is because virtually every study is methodologically flawed not for the usually stated reasons of a lack of randomisation or blinding but because of a lack of consensus about what massage actually is, a lack of understanding about what is being tested and on whom, and above all a complete disregard for the dose of application.
This article discusses recent studies on the effectiveness of kinesio tape used to treat medial tibial stress syndrome, osteoarthritis of the knee, calf pain and low back pain in order to assess the evidence base for this therapy. The use of kinesio tape (KT) continues to grow in popularity despite a lack of clear evidence of efficacy or mode of action. Previous reviews (1,2) have identified a total of 14 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that focus on the application of KT in a musculoskeletal setting but the results have been far from conclusive. Some positive results have been demonstrated (predominantly in treating pain and disability) but no indisputable evidence has yet appeared. Poor study design and small participant groups have hampered the impact of existing studies. It is the aim of this update to identify any new trials published since my previous article to add to the growing body of research into KT.
Biotensegrity has been defined as the new "science of body architecture" and includes the latest research into the fascia. Biotensegrity, or tensegrity in biology, is described as the tensional network of the human form. It is an emerging field that raises new questions and insights into how this fascial connective tissue matrix is tensioned and how crucial that is to human structure. It evolves many of the classical concepts of biomechanics and offers new and intriguing perspectives on how we naturally move ourselves in space. In this first article the basic concept of biotensegrity is introduced (in plain English) and describes why we as movement and massage therapists cannot afford to ignore this concept.
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