Just like adults, children can experience foot and heel pain. They may not be able to communicate what they are experiencing or feeling.
Parents may notice that their child complains of their shoes feeling stiff or tight. They may also notice their child walking differently, limping or having a change in activity level.
In children these complaints or changes may be are result of:
Sever’s Disease (an inflammation of the growth plate of the heel bone)
overuse injury
stress fracture
plantar fasciitis
achilles tendinitis
Poor fitting footwear
flat feet / high arches
Plantar warts
Ingrown toenails
Athletes foot / fungal infections
If your child has been complaining of foot pain or you believe they are experiencing one of the above issues, our Oakville Chiropodists are experienced in working with children and their parents.
In a previous blog post we spoke about thumb pain and chronic issues associated with the thumb. These included things like osteoarthritis and trigger thumb. Trigger thumb like most things are helpful if addressed early.
Accessing physiotherapy early for thumb pain or issues can help delay or avoid needing injections or less conservative care from an orthopaedic surgeon or plastic surgeon.
Thumb injuries and issues can also be more acute or sudden. Changes or an increase in activity or things like contact or a fall can often be culprits of thumb injuries.
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
For some this can be thumb pain that strikes seemingly out of nowhere. This pain may happen when moving the thumb, gripping, turning the wrist, or lifting something. The pain is located n the thumb side of the wrist / forearm and may also be tender to the touch.
This thumb pain is caused by the swelling of the tendons that help move thumb out / extend the thumb. The tendons of the thumb when swollen and inflamed take up space in the sheath they run through.
The type of thumb and wrist pain is more common than you think. It is classified as an overuse type of injury, and is often brought on with new activities or increasing intensity of activities. Many post-partum women experience it from lifting, moving and carrying their babies and carriers in different, new, and repetitive ways.
Your Physiotherapist will do a through assessment to ensure that this is the cause of your thumb pain. They will try and get to the root cause in order to provide education, possibly bracing, and advise on activity modification. They may provide supportive taping if it is impeding in your sport or daily activities.
In some cases less conservative treatment is warranted. Physiotherapy afterwards to work on scar tissue, strength and mobility can be helpful.
Like most things it is important to have your thumb pain addressed before if it is not improving or if it is impacting your activities and life negatively.
Skiiers Thumb / Game Keepers Thumb
This is the result of s sudden injury. It is a sprain of the inside ligament of the thumb or the ulnar collateral ligament. If it is not treated properly, it can result in long term problems of the thumb.
Manual testing and imaging will help in diagnosing the degree of sprain. The thumb should usually be protected from range of motion with a cast-like splint for a set period of time. During this time physio can start in a controlled way. If surgical repair is needed the surgeon will clear a person for physiotherapy after a certain amount of time to begin range and motion exercises and eventually strengthening.
Fracture / Broke thumb
Thumb fractures (or breaks) can happen in variety of ways. Falls, sport impact or getting caught in a door are some common ways people break bones in their thumbs.
If you are losing time from sport / activity due to having your thumb immobilized, a physiotherapist can help provide ways to move your body without negatively impacting your healing bone.
Once your cast or splint is removed and your are cleared for activity based on your x-rays, Physiotherapy can help you restore normal thumb, hand, and wrist movement, manage pain, increase strength and return to sport / activity.
Contact us at our North Oakville Physiotherapy, Massage, and Foot Clinic. We are happy to help you recover from pain and injury that is impacting your life and activity.
For being a small joint, having pain or issues in our thumbs can cause us big problems!
Our thumbs help us grip, and grab in fine ad gross motor tasks. From carry a baby seat to holding your hand open in a baseball mitt, to knitting and chopping dinner, you don’t realize how important you thumbs are until you have thumb pain that prevents you from doing these things comfortably.
Even though it’s a small area, your Physiotherapist and Massage Therapist take your complaints seriously. Like all injuries and pains in the body your physiotherapist will take a thorough history of our health, habits, the onset of the issue and how it is presenting. They will take you through movements and special tests to rule in and rule out various issues and types of tissues.
Like many issues in the body thumb issues and pains can from the joints (where the bones meet), the tendons, the muscles, and the ligaments. In some cases it can be more than one thing contributing to the pain.
Chronic Thumb Pain / Issues
With chronic or ongoing thumb pain Physiotherapists often look to the joints or the tendons as a primary culprit.
Osteoarthritis (OA) – the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb can cause ongoing thumb issues. As Physiotherapists we look to patterns of pain. The thumb joint may have a squaring type of change and the joint line may be tender to the touch. Your physiotherapist will work with you on your goals to help you protect the joint, manage your pain and get you closer to activity. Having osteoarthritis does not mean you cannot improve your pain.
Tendinosis – The tendons of the thumb connect the muscles to the bone. They act as a pulley system. These tendons over time and with repetitive loads can wear and thicken. Although less common than other areas of the body this can be an issue in the thumb. Your physio or massage therapist may suggest working on these tendons and the surrounding muscles. They may provide you with exercises to strengthen the area as well. Sometimes modifying what you do can also be part of the trick.
Trigger Thumb – Having the thumb catch and get stuck during movement can be painful, or not. When you move your thumb into a fist and then try and open it it may catch or click. For some people, they have to use their other hand to open the thumb back up. This can also happen in the fingers and is aptly named “trigger finger”. This is also known as “stenosing tenosynovitis”. The tendons move through the tendons sheaths and a series of pulleys. In trigger thumb or finger, an enlarged flexor tendon gets trapped or caught up in the pulley system. The area of entrapment may be closer to the palm than the area that gets “stuck”. This area of entrapment can be painful, but is not always. Your physiotherapist or massage therapist will give you treatment depending on how this presents and how it is affecting your daily life.
Like most things, these painful thumb issues are best treated early. If you have been having thumb pain that is new, not going away, is impacting your activities of enjoyment, or is worsening, it is helpful to have a thorough physiotherapy assessment. If the issue has been there for longer or there has been an increase in pain, physiotherapists are also a part of your team.
Our next blog post will talk about more acute, or sudden injuries of the thumb.
Contact us at our Oakville Physio, Massage, Yoga, and foot clinic to book with one of our trained practitioners.
Many people equate RMT Massage Therapy with relaxation. There is nothing like slowing your day down and unplugging for an hour in a quiet room.
Our North Oakville RMT’s treat many people with tension from stress and work around their neck and shoulders, or low back.
As Registered Massage Therapists, they treat so much more than that also! Many of our patients that seek Physiotherapy do well when they see an RMT in conjunction with their Physio treatment. For example, frozen shoulder, the physio may spend more time mobilizing the shoulder and thoracic spine as well as stretching the shoulder and doing exercises with a person. An RMT will help immensely in working on the muscles and tissue in the shoulder, the chest and the shoulder blade. We often encourage patients to do their range of motion exercises after having a massage.
The timing of Massage and Physio can help helpful too. Your Physio and Massage Therapist will let you know what they suggest and why.
Massage Therapy can be helpful when recovering and rehabilitating after a knee replacement surgery or hip replacement surgery. The RMT can help work on the muscles and tissues around the joint and the scar tissue. People also often find they walk differently or were de-conditioned prior to their surgery. Because of this they may have tension and soreness around the low back and hips. You RMT can also help with these types of muscle tension and soreness.
Registered Massage Therapists, like Physiotherapists are also able to formulate clinical judgement based on your physical presentation and suggest exercises for you. They may suggest and perform stretches and send you home with information to enhance your treatment session.
Have you recently gotten a cast off? You Massage Therapist can help work gently on an area to help enhance mobility and decrease stiffness.
In order to reach your goals, it is helpful to have a few sessions with your RMT. They may suggest a weekly or biweekly session for a few weeks.
To book in with one of our awesome Oakville Massage Therapists contact us! We treat Massage Therapy clients from Oakville, Milton, Burlington and Mississauga. We are able to direct bill for most insurance companies for Massage Therapy and Physiotherapy as well, making it easier for patients.
Whether it be for relaxation and stress purposes or to treat a specific issue such as ITB friction syndrome, frozen shoulder, back pain, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis etc our RMTs are here to help you.
Headaches can be the result of many things. For many people headaches can be a fairly regular occurrence. For some people if they are not addressed headache symptoms can increase.
Our North Oakville team of physiotherapists, RMT’s, and acupuncturists work closely with many people who experience headaches.
There are different types of headaches and as such treatment options may vary. It is important to have a trained professional assist you with your headache diagnosis. Your physiotherapist can be part of your team in this regards.
Physiotherapy treatment can be quite effective in treating headaches that are caused by the joints and muscles in and around the neck. One category of headache physio is effective in treating is called cervicogenic headache (CGH) or “neck headaches”. Working with a qualified physio in the treatment of cervicogenic headaches can be very helpful in relieving pain and preventing future occurrence.
Diagnosing a Cervicogenic Headache:
Your physiotherapist will likely use information provided in the gold standard outline developed by the Cervicogenic Headache International Study Group (CHISG). The outline recognizes that it may be a cervicogenic headache if:
There are signs / symptoms of neck involvement. This means headache is created with neck movement / positioning, by application of pressure to the upper neck, or decreased neck range of motion combined with arm / shoulder pain
The headache can be confirmed by nerve block type injections- this is impractical in most settings for diagnosis purposes
Pain on one side of the head (this pain does not shift sides, but rather remains on one side)
Those of the female sex are more likely to experience this type of headache
People who have this headache have limited help from common medications
There may be a history of head / neck trauma or injury
Cervicogenic Headaches and Physiotherapy Treatment:
Your physiotherapist will do a thorough assessment based on the history of your headaches, your symptoms and a physical examination. Once they have ruled out anything where they may want you to be seen by a physician they will work with you on a treatment plan for your headaches.
As with all patients your treatment with a physio is not one size fits all. Based on your individual case they may suggest a combination of hands on treatment, exercises and activity / environment modifications to help treat your headache.
If you think you have been experiencing this type of headache, one of our physiotherapists will be able to provide a thorough assessment to ensure you headache is coming from your neck. They will then work with you to come up with a plan of action to provide you with relief.
Contact us to book in with one of our North Oakville / Burloak Physiotherapists.
It’s almost unbelievable that we have already reached the unofficial end of the summer with Labour Day weekend coming up. Before the kiddos head back to school next week, its time to have one more epic summer celebration!
As always, if you’re outside, don’t forget your sunscreen and bug spray! Trust me, it’s what all the cool kids are doing.
Ribfest
If you like ribs, funnel cake or just hanging out by the water, this is the spot for you. Burlington lakeshore hosts Canada’s largest ribfest and its finally back after taking a two-year hiatus due the pandemic. This is the perfect end of summer activity for the whole family – there’s food, live music and lots of activities along the boardwalk. If ribs aren’t your thing, you can always grab an iced coffee or ice cream from across the street, walk around and enjoy the good vibes.
Flower Farms
Flower farms are more than just a good Instagram photo op. Its fun to walk around and see the endless colors or get lost in the middle of a sunflower maze. Some places will let you pick flowers for a bouquet that you get to take home with you! It’s a nice way for the family to spend time together while getting a little sunshine.
Go For A Hike
We are blessed in the Halton region with lots of trails to walk, hike or even bike if you’re experienced. Make sure to bring water or snacks for longer hikes. And always wear appropriate footwear like running shoes or hiking boots.
Fireworks
Nothing says long weekend quite like fireworks! Canada’s Wonderland has a fireworks display on the Sunday of the long weekend. If that is too far of a drive, some parks in Hamilton are also having fireworks celebrations on Sunday.
Whether you have a weekend full of events or one where you are relaxing before the chaos of the beginning of the school year, we hope you have a wonderful and safe time with the family!
As in every year, here we are at the end of the summer and it feels like it has flown by!
We will be open on Saturday and closed on Monday.
We hope that everyone has a safe and amazing long weekend. It is sometimes nice to stay local on the last long weekend of the summer and enjoy what Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton have to offer!
Backyard Yoga
Have some friends over or keep it to the family. Set up some mats, towels or blankets and do some yoga. It can be quiet and peaceful or put a few yoga moves and reflections on cards and pick them randomly! New to yoga? or don’t know where to start? Our yoga therapist offers private and semi-private (bring and friend), yoga sessions. Contact our Oakville physio, massage and foot clinic to book.
Hike
There are so many amazing hiking trails within Oakville and the surrounding areas. From Lions Valley park to Bronte Creek in Oakville to the Conservation Halton trails that pepper the nearby escarpment, we’re lucky to have such beautiful outdoor treats!
Check out our blog post about hiking with tips and tricks from a physio perspective here!
Bike ride
Take advantage of one of the many bike trails around Oakville. We are so close from our North Oakville Physio clinic to the trails of Bronte Creek Park. Please make sure you wear a helmet on your bike rides. You can find our blog post on the importance of bike helmets here.
Splash pad
There are awesome splash pads around Oakville, Burlington and Milton. There are a few like Nelson that you need to prebook, but it is totally worth it. Pack a lunch and some snacks and make a day of it.
The closest splash pad to our North Oakville Massage clinic is Valley Ridge Park. It’s a great combo of splash pad and playground. There are nice benches and shaded areas. There are also some nice walking paths nearby!
There is actually a proposed splash pad at Palermo Park in the phase 2 development stage. Fingers crossed that it comes to be!
Local park
Enjoy a local park that you don’t normally go to, enjoy the play structure! Meet friends for pickup soccer, volley-ball or badminton.
Downtown Oakville or Kerr Village
Take a walk downtown Oakville and have a cool treat at one of the ice cream / gelato places. Enjoy an iced coffee or sit and people watch!
Lakeshore / Spencer Smith Park
It may be busy n the weekend because rib fest is back in Burlington. It’s an awesome time close to the lake with live music.
Enjoy local this long weekend and enjoy time spent with your friends and loved ones. It may be nice to slow down your pace before the rush of back to school and return to fall sports and activities.
If you are limited in your enjoyment of the above activities because of pain, injury or decreasing function, physiotherapy may be of benefit to you. Please contact us at our North Oakville clinic to see how we can help!
As Physiotherapists, RMT’s, Chiropodists and Yoga Therapists we see many people who have osteoarthritis. We may or may not be treating them for issues directly related to the arthritis.
What is Osteoarthritis?
There are many different types of arthritis. Some affect the joints, some affect the tendons, muscles and ligaments. Some affects specific areas, and some affect the whole body.
The most common type of arthritis is Osteoarthritis or “OA”. This is a type of arthritis that affects a persons synovial joints. In OA, the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones may have changes or be worn away. Joint changes in OA can (but not necessarily) cause pain, stiffness, inflammation and trouble with movement.
OA refers to the classic “wear and tear” of the joints. It is commonly seen in the knees, hips, low back, neck, the joints of the fingers and the big toes. The pain generally stays locally in the joint that it is affected by.
Risk Factors of Osteoarthritis Include:
Age
Female Gender
Obesity
Anatomical Factors
Muscle weakness
Previous joint injury (eg. sports or occupation related etc)
Primary versus Secondary OA
Primary OA refers to normal “wear and tear” of the joints. It generally starts showing in people between 55 and 60 years of age. Everyone is different in how they experience symptoms and IF they have pain and limitations. The above risk factors also play a role in this.
Secondary OA refers to a specific injury or trigger that may accelerate cartilage breakdown. Injury, obesity, a history of certain diseases like diabetes, marfan syndrome and other connective tissue disorders,
Signs and Symptoms of OA:
People with osteoarthritis may come into our Oakville clinic looking for treatment from one of our Physio’s, RMT’s or Chiropodists due to one or a combination of the following issues.
There may be a precipitating event that flairs up symptoms of OA like a fall or injury. A person may complain of local pain. The intensity of the pain may be variable. A joint with OA may have stiffness or a decreased range of motion. This can be from a combination of the joint as well as the soft tissue structures around it, over time.
A person with OA may hear clicking or cracking with movement of a joint that may or may not decrease as they move more. The noises may or may not be associated with pain. There may also be mild swelling around a joint with osteoarthritis.
Imaging and Arthritis:
In addition to the signs above some family doctors like to send people for X-rays to confirm their suspicions. X-rays show the joint surfaces and the space between the joints. This will show the thickness and smoothness of the cartilage.
X-rays can sometimes be a red herring.This means that sometimes there may be pain in an area and the imaging shows no joint changes or someone may not have any pain but X-rays show more significant arthritis.
Management of Osteoarthritis:
If you have OA and or the above symptoms, a physiotherapist is a key member of your health care team.
The treatment and education they will provide you should be focussed on your specific limitations, your lifestyle and your goals.
If a joint replacement like a total knee replacement (THR) or total hip replacement (THR) is in your future, we (physiotherapists) can BOTH help get you ready and help you with your recovery. Hopefully you will access physiotherapy early enough that we will help you delay or even prevent needing these surgeries!
Physiotherapists will help you with specific ways to add strength and mobility in an area. This will help with activities of daily living and pain. Fall prevention activities are very important in people with OA as there is a 30% increased falls risk in people with OA. Some of this may have to do with pain medications frequently prescribed. Physiotherapists can help both with a persons pain and pain management as well as longer term pain management strategies.
Massage Therapists can also help with pain and mobility in stiff joints.
Chiropodists can help with the joint alignment from the bottom up through the use of custom orthotics. This can help with both hip, knee and low back OA.
How WE can help!
Having Osteoarthritis does not mean you are destined for years of pain and problems. There is a lot that can be done conservatively to take action.
Our team at North Oakville’s Palermo Physio and Wellness centre is here to help not only with your aches and pains but also with prevention.
Our Registered Massage Therapists can work on joints and muscles that are stiff and uncomfortable. Many people book in for massage when they have pain and find value in booking massages at regular intervals.
Our Chiropodists provide thorough biomechanics assessments and gait analysis. They can give advise on footwear and measure and fit you for the best custom orthotics for you and your lifestyle and needs.
Our Physiotherapists will work with you to help you get stronger, move better and to work towards your goals. You deserve to have an amazing quality of life and we are here to help!
There are so many terms and word to sort through when it comes to our bodies. Skeletal muscles are contractile. They contract and shorten to produce movement. They contract to hold and joint in place. They lengthen under force as well eccentrically (picture lowering down stairs).
Ligaments connect bone to bone and help secure your different joints.
Cartilage covered the joint surfaces between joints. It provide shock absorption and helps with smooth movement.
Your tendons are an extension of the skeletal muscles that connect muscles to bone. They act with a pulley and lever system to help produce movement.
Forces in and on your body don’t take place in a vacuum. These structures as well as the bones help move you, stop you and absorb forces.
Your achilles tendon is the strongest and largest tendon in the body. It is vulnerable to injury due to its limited blood supply, age related changes and specific activities.
Injury to the Achilles Tendon:
Tendonitis
Tendonitis is the acute inflammation of the tendon. In this case the achilles tendon connecting he calf muscles to the heel bone becomes irritated and inflamed. This is often associated with overuse. This is often from doing more or too much too quickly for our bodies to adapt. For many people there is a sudden increase in exercise activity or intensity.
Achilles tendonitis can cause local pain and stiffness. The first steps after sitting or laying down may cause pain in the achilles area. Walking down stairs can also sometimes be painful or stiff feeling in the area of the achilles tendon.
Achilles tendonitis can be common in athletes like runners, soccer, basketball, and volleyball athletes with running and jumping repetitively. Sudden increases in volume as well as a persons body structure can play a role. It can be helpful to have the area looked at by a Physiotherapist and / or Chiropodist to provide specific treatment.
This type of treatment may include things to address the inflammation and pain in the short term. It will also likely include long term suggestions of strengthening, footwear modifications and possibly custom orthotics.
Tendinopathy
Achilles tendinopathy is a longer term overuse injury of the achilles and excessive chronic stress. Due to the chronic nature of this issue, there may be a range of changes to the tendon. These changes are more likely to happen when there are repeated bouts of tendonitis that are not treated, managed or prevented.
Higher risk factors are obesity, high blood pressure, sudden load changes to the achilles tendon, Type II diabetes, prolonged steroid use, inappropriate footwear, and a family history.
Rupture or tearing of the achilles tendon is the most common rupture in the lower body. It its most common in those aged 30 to 50. Patients often describe this injury as feeling like someone has kicked them. They may hear a “pop” or “snap” sound.
Achilles tendon ruptures, like many injuries are multifactorial.
Achilles tendon ruptures are most common in people who are active “on occasion”. This could mean mild activity during the week and some weekends playing a couple games of floor hockey or soccer. There is a small percentage of people (~10%) that report having tendinosis prior to the rupture.
Ruptures tend to happen around 2-4cm from where the tendon attaches to the heel bone.
Achilles tendon ruptures may happen from sudden and forced plantar flexion (pointing), direct force on the area or longstanding tendinosis.
Foot and ankle position as well as systemic factors can predispose someone to achilles tendon issues. It is important to treat and have best control of all factors for best healing of the area. Some system issues predisposing a person to achilles issues are diabetes, renal failure, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout, thyroid issues etc.
If you have been having heel or achilles pain that is ongoing, progressing or off and on, one of our North Oakville Physiotherapists or Chiropodists would be happy to assess you. They will take your health history, watch how you stand, move and walk and assess the area.
This thorough and individualized assessment will provide them an idea of factors leading to your achilles pain / dysfunction and allow them to give you individualized advice and treatment. Most insurance benefits cover physiotherapy and/or chiropodist assessments and treatments. At our Oakville clinic we are able to provide direct billing to most insurance companies.
Contact us to book your in person physio or Chiropody appointment at our North Oakville Clinic or virtual physiotherapy appointment.
