Two Common Questions & Two Common Statements

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director of OneHEALTH

 I wanted to write this article this week to give an insight into common questions I get asked on a daily basis and also common statements I hear.

1: Have you seen someone like me before?  

Yes I have! What might feel very specific to you is usually general to a clinician like me. After 10 years working in my clinic I have encountered numerous conditions but at this stage what I see is very common patterns and conditions. I had a man last week with back pain, the pain is severe, he has never had it before and he feels there is no way out. He kept asking the question “have you ever seen something like this before?” He wasn’t asking that question because he doubted my experience, he asked it because he fears that this is his life now, he will be stuck like this forever. I guarantee he won’t but the most important thing I had to help...

Total Knee Replacement: Don’t skip these steps.

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director - OneHEALTH

Total knee replacements that give trouble leave clues! Over years of treating total knee replacements that seem unsuccessful or which still give clients issues I have come up with a step by step approach to make sure you have a successful surgery and recovery. By the way you won’t be out of pain in six weeks, and walking isn’t how you recover so read on!

Step 1: See a physio before you get the operation

This is the most important step. You need to have a real estimation of how long your recovery will take and your physiotherapist will guide you with this. Not all knee replacements are the same and not all people have the same day jobs and recovery time. I have two clients currently recovering from total knee replacements who are the same age, same weight, same occupation but different have recovery times. One has decided to take 3 months off to recover,...

Shoulder impingement - Resting it, is not going to improve it!

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director - OneHEALTH

Are you struggling to Throw the blankets off in the morning? Struggling to use that arm to wash your hair? Struggling to tuck in your shirt or putting on your bra? Struggling to lift the kettle, put on the seatbelt, lift your arm overhead? It just came out of nowhere, you haven’t fallen or injured it, just started to get sore one day and hasn’t eased. You have probably  decided to rest it, hoping it will ease but it won’t, it’s getting worse by the day. The pain and restriction is at the front of your shoulder and sometimes can make it’s way down your arm. It starts off as a dull ache, you notice you no longer have the same flexibility in your arm, then certain movements get restricted and start causing a sharp pain and then you start losing power in the arm, rendering it useless. Have you tried physio? If you have then...

Why the second total hip/ knee replacement more problematic than the first? 

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director - OneHEALTH

Recently I had two new clients in my clinic, the first was after getting his second knee replacement. He had the right knee replaced in 2016 and the left knee replaced in January 2021. It was my first time seeing him as the first (right) knee replacement was a huge success and “They never needed physio”. The second (Left) knee replacement was more problematic, he explained how he had followed the same plan but with not the same recovery, the knee replacement was stiffer and more painful, as he explained “ It just didn't feel right”. The second new client was 5 months post operation with a right hip replacement, she had her left hip replaced over 10 years ago. She  had a similar story, left hip replacement was a huge success,“I did one or two exercises for 3 months and the hip was perfect”,but...

On your feet all day? You need custom built support!

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director - OneHEALTH

On your feet all day, standing desk? working on site? Working on the farm? Behind a counter? Or on the shop-floor? Be it standing for long periods of time or walking over 10,000 steps a day you need to have the right support for YOUR feet! Too often I see clients who spend 10 -12 hours of their waking day on their feet and their lower back hurts, feet hurt, knees hurt and hips hurt and they have no support for their feet. They get home after work,Take off their shoes, boots and everything feels stiff and achy, they feel  “like you're after running a marathon”. 

See this is not how your body feels if you have the wrong support, you cannot solve this problem with stretches because you won't have enough time to reverse the changes. Think of it like this, if you are spending 10-12 hours a day on your feet, you need something that is going to be...

Pain at the SI Joint. 

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director at OneHEALTH

Have you been told that you have an SI joint problem? Have you had someone tell you, your SI joint is “Out of alignment? Do you struggle to drive long distances? Are you struggling to stand for long periods? Is it painful on one side only, a constant ache which never leaves you, the pain doesn’t move, doesn’t travel down your leg, it just stays in the same spot. This painful spot never changes even if you are constantly prodding  and poking it, sticking your thumb into it when standing and sitting trying to ease the soreness. It sounds to me like you have SI joint pain,SI joint dysfunction or SI Joint syndrome. Really doesn’t matter the wording, what it means is you have persistent pain and discomfort at the area of the SacroIliac Joint (SI Joint). This condition is common in pregnancy and more recently desk based jobs, which I have seen a lot of since the...

Growing pains - One foot shorter than the other. 

Let me tell you a story. 

There was a 12 year old boy called John, who started to develop pain in his right knee and foot. The young boy was a sport nut, a fanatic, he played hurling, football, soccer, tennis, darts, golf, you name it, he played it. The pain got worse and he was told to rest for a few months, “growing pains”. It wasn't an easy time for John but also for John’s mother as he was very annoyed that he couldn’t play any sport.  Sometimes when he broke loose and ran riot he would come running back to his mammy in floods of tears, the pain. This broke his mothers heart for two reasons, one to see her son so frustrated with nothing to do and secondly to see him in pain. 

They rested for 3 months but very little changed, John was stuck and suffering. They made the decision to get his feet checked. He was told he had “one foot shorter than the other”, his right foot was...

Tennis Elbow - It's more than an elbow problem! 

It’s a spine problem

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director - OneHEALTH

 Are you feeling pain on the outer side of your elbow? Shooting pain while gripping? Are you now unable to lift the kettle? Or even unscrew a jar? Do you use your computer on a daily basis? Does your job include repetitive use of your hands? Have you ignored this issue? Felt your grip slowly getting weaker but put in on the long finger? If you ask me what one condition I wouldn’t put on the long finger it is pain on the outside of my elbow “Tennis elbow”. It becomes so painful that you will not be able to grip at all, even zipping up your jacket will seem impossible, I’ve seen it. 

You are born with a strong grip, it’s one of the key markers of a healthy spine. Proud grandparents, parents brag about a newborn “they have the strongest grip”, mine did too when my daughter Molly was...

BUNIONS - SHAVING THEM OFF ISN'T THE SOLUTION

Tommy Conway - Chartered Physiotherapist and Director - OneHEALTH

Do you see your big toe starting to turn in? Are you worried you're going to get feet like your mother or grandmother? We have all heard the stories of the bunion sufferer, who can no longer wear the shoes they want. Who can no longer walk long distances with the pain. Who has got them shaved off, for them to return a few months later. Who got surgery on them but when you take off your socks at night you see them starting to form again. Why oh why oh why, oh why you!? I have empathy as you have been told a lie, there is nothing you can do, it’s hereditary. There is nothing you can do, you need to wear wider shoes, don't pull your laces tight, keep them paired down, keep with your monthly trips to the chiropodist but did you ever think why they happen in the first place? Did you ever think the bunion is only the result of a problem happening further up the body? Did...