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Tracy Taylor PhysiotherapyNews
By Tracy 08/04/2020 Physio, Therapy

What is Dry Needling?

Dry needling is a well-recognized physiotherapy technique used to treat myofascial trigger points, which are hyper-irritable spots in skeletal muscles.
It is a procedure where a fine needle is inserted into the trigger points and the main goal is to achieve muscle relaxation.
Active trigger points trigger local or referred pain and can also mimic nerve damage. It can be directly associated with weakness, decreased flexibility and irritability of the muscle. A muscle with trigger points cannot function optimally. A muscle with trigger points cannot be strengthened to its maximum capacity. It results in constant discomfort, preventing you from performing normal activities of daily living.
Dry needling is not a stand-alone treatment and is used in combination with joint mobilization techniques, stretching and soft tissue mobilization.
The effects of dry needling are instant; however, patients respond differently to treatment. Some might experience treatment discomfort within the first 24 hours, but their pain will be relieved.
Dry needling is useful for a list of conditions, such as:
• Headaches
• Sports recovery
• Neck pain
• Back pain
Pain left unattended can lead to long term joint and muscle dysfunction. Book your appointment today and have your therapist discuss a management plan that suits you.

Physiotherapist – by Whitney Van Wyk

Call us to make an appointment! Whitney and Jodie both do dry needling.

By Tracy 14/09/2019 Physio, Sporting ,

Ease into exercise to avoid injury

Spring is here, and the weather is warming up! It’s a great time to be getting back into some exercise programs. BUT, if you are someone who hasn’t been very active over the winter, be careful of the dreaded return to exercise mistake of, “TOO MUCH, TOO FAST, TOO SOON”!

You’ve just gotten keen for that regular gym class, run, walk or weight training, and suddenly halfway through your session you feel knee pain, a hip niggle, or pain around the heel area! It goes away when you stop, just to return next time you work out….and worse. Or maybe you have pain in these areas that seems to settle once you get into your workout, only to return after!

You’re back in the swing of exercise so you don’t want to stop, but that pain is not going away! If this sounds like you, you might be developing an overuse injury.

Getting back into exercise after a time away from it is a great thing, but needs to be managed well. Not only do muscles have to get used to the extra stress placed on them (and get bigger in the process!!!), but joints, ligaments and tendons also must adjust to the extra work. Returning to exercise too quickly, increasing weight or distance too fast, technique errors, old injuries and biomechanics can all contribute to too much force coming through particular muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons and lead to overload, inflammation and “overuse injuries”.

Rather than stopping exercising, a visit to the physio might be what you need to get on top of the problem. Maybe you simply need a gait analysis, exercises modification, technique correction, specific muscle strengthening or core stability training. With a bit of help and advice, “overuse injuries” don’t need to pull you up totally but are easier to treat in the early stages.
So if you are someone getting back into exercise after hibernating over the winter….be careful of doing, “TOO MUCH, TOO FAST, TOO SOON” – pace yourself, warm up well, increase slowly, stretch, and if that dreaded niggle bites ….. make a physio appointment early so you can stay on track and keep exercising.

By Tracy 18/07/2018 Sporting

I am a young dynamic athlete, why is my hip so stiff?

Femoro-acetabulum impingement (FAI) can manifest in many different ways but all cases will inevitably involve some form of hip stiffness, pain and/or weakness. FAI is the change in morphology at the top of the leg bone (femur) where it forms and articulates with the pelvis (acetabulum) affecting the integrity of the hip joint. There are two main types of FAI: Pincer lesions involving bone spurs of the acetabular rim and Cam lesions due to a change in the femoral head shape. These bony changes can lead to a change in the morphology and integrity of the hip joint, and contribute to overloading of the hip joint surfaces and capsule. Due to Australian sport and the high amount of change of direction, pivoting and kicking this will cause increased chances developing this injury, particularly in young not quite skeletally mature athletes that are playing multiple sports without appropriate muscle strength.

FAI is a major contributor to hip pathologies including tears of the soft tissue (labrum) that surrounds the joint, as well as early onset of osteoarthritis. FAI is present in approx. 85% of young athletes with a hip complaint (Orchoa et al, 2010).
Signs and symptoms:
• Lateral Hip and/or groin pain
• Sharp stabbing pain with twisting/turning/squatting
• Decreased hip range of motion
• History of hip clicking
• Dull ache in the hip

If you are currently suffering from any of the above symptoms, differential diagnosis is
very important for prognosis and management of hip pain. Treatment from a physiotherapist will involve an extensive subjective and objective assessment to determine the nature of the hip complaint and if further diagnostic imaging or intervention is required.

Treatment options can include manual therapy incorporating mobilisation of the hip joint,
pain management strategies, activity modification, manual therapy and functional exercise prescription. Consultation with an experienced Physiotherapist at the clinic will enable an individual management plan to be devised incorporating manual treatment as well as a customised exercise program to address hip stability specific to the athlete’s sport/activity as well as self-management strategies.

Andrew Waring – Physiotherapist

By Tracy 19/02/2018 Exercises, Sporting

Asthma and Exercise

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that is associated with recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, coughing and tightness of the chest. Narrowing of the airways, which obstructs the airflow is often associated with these episodes, but can be reversed either spontaneously or with treatment.
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By Tracy 22/01/2018 Physio, Sporting ,

New Sports Physio To Start February


We are very fortunate to have a highly experienced sport’s physiotherapist by the name of Josh Melrose joining our team on 6 February. He is the current Head Physiotherapist of the Samoan Rubgy Union 7’s and will be working with us between Rugby commitments. This is a fantastic opportunity for athletes to get specialist attention and our team hopes to be working closely with him.

Josh’s previous work history includes:

Barbarians Rugby Football club October 2017
• Head Physiotherapist for the Barbarians FC tour of Australia

Samoa Rugby Union January 2017 – Present
• Head Physiotherapist for the National 7s team of Samoa, playing in the HSBC World Series.
• Head Physiotherapist or the U/20s National team competing in the Junior World Cup.
• Physiotherapist for the National Manu team, assisting the Head Physiotherapist with assessment / treatment, training and games.
• Assisted with Strength & Conditioning and Rehabilitation of players in Apia and away on tour.
• Monitoring of player wellness and performance using Smartabase.

Burleigh Central Physiotherapy 2013 – 2017
• Physiotherapist – Experience in treating a wide range of patients and conditions including; Musculoskeletal, Orthopaedic, Neuropathic, Pediatric and Vertigo conditions.
• Treating patients and clients with a wide range of techniques such as massage, dry needling, joint mobilisations and rehabilitation exercises.

Burleigh Bears Rugby League 2013 – 2017
Head Physiotherapist and assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach – diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating players playing in the Queensland Cup (National 2nd tier) competition as well as other squad members.

By Tracy 05/01/2017 Exercises, Therapy ,

Lower back pain and exercise

Low back pain is very common. So common, that most (80%) Australian adults will experience at least one episode of low back pain during their lifetime (1). Although often very painful, most low back pain is not caused by a serious problem and will resolve with some simple care. Physical activity is an important part of that care.
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