NICE have published three new public health briefings for local government on Inequalities and population health, the Public Health Outcomes Framework and Alcohol. These documents are aimed at local authorities and their partner organisations in the health and voluntary sectors, in particular those involved with health and wellbeing boards. Local government is preparing to take [read the full story…]
When the keep-fit Elf was on holiday recently her replacement introduced us to a new exercise. We all enthusiastically participated in the ‘power lunges’ (more like wobbling really) but over the next few days the front of my knee hurt climbing stairs, kneeling or bending down. What was wrong? Would exercising make it worse? How [read the full story…]
As MSK elves we already know shoulder pain is one of the most common presenting musculoskeletal conditions accounting for between 7 -26% of general practitioner consultations in the UK. There are a variety of causes of shoulder pain and some of our previous blogs have discussed challenges to developing an acurate diagnosis. Once we have our appropriately [read the full story…]
All MSK Elves know that shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints referred for assessment and therapeutic intervention both in the acute and primary sectors. The reason for the development of the pain is often blamed on degenerative changes in the rotator cuff. Prescribing the most appropriate form of exercise based on evidence [read the full story…]
This week sees the launch of a free app specifically designed to provide the public with key advice and information to help them manage their musculoskeletal problem themselves in the palm of their hand. It has been developed to compliment the web resources published last year by Scotland’s ‘NHS24’ and ‘daughter’ organisation ‘NHS inform’, the [read the full story…]
On returning home from a recent Pilates class I wondered to myself as to what effect, if any, the exercises had on my movement and posture. I reflected also on the fact that nearly every exercise class that I had been to recently seemed to emphasise the importance of having a good ‘core’. Physiotherapists are [read the full story…]
Did you know that Saturday 8th September is World Physiotherapy Day? The day is an opportunity for physiotherapists (physical therapists) from all over the world to raise awareness about the crucial contribution the profession makes to keeping people well, mobile and independent. Evidence shows that people who stay active are more likely to keep working, [read the full story…]
Regular readers of the Mental Elf will recall the blogs (Here is the evidence for exercising if you are depressed and New Cochrane review shows that exercise helps with depression) I wrote back in June and July about the evidence for exercising if you have depression. A new systematic review was published in the British [read the full story…]
A state of high anxiety can have an impact on daily living. For people with learning disabilities, anxiety can be common and persistent anxiety can significantly affect people’s quality of life. There is a literature on effects of exercise on reducing anxiety, but the researchers in this study point out that there has been little [read the full story…]
Prevention of falls is a major public health issue and this has been given focused attention by AGILE: UK Chartered Physiotherapists working with Older People. AGILE launched their new ‘Guidelines for the Physiotherapy management of older people at risk of falling’ at the World Congress of Active Ageing in Glasgow last week. The document focusses [read the full story…]
