Understanding Functional Capacity Assessments: Why They Matter and How They Benefit You Functional Capacity Assessments (FCAs) play a crucial role in the field of Occupational Therapy. These comprehensive assessments evaluate an individual’s capacity to do activities of daily living at home and in the community and establish what type of…
Speech Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder Let Yourself Be Heard: Speech Therapy Interventions for Autism Speech Therapy can play a vital role in enhancing the quality of an Autistic individuals’ communication skills, social skills, and quality of life. Here’s a closer look at how Speech Therapy can be a…
Introducing: Speech Therapy Exciting things are happening at a2z Health Group these past few weeks. We are proud to announce that we will be introducing Speech Therapy across our services. If you’ve ever wanted to know about what Speech Therapy is and what it can offer, keep reading to find…
The Transformative Power of Occupational Therapy for Autistic People Welcome to the world of occupational therapy (OT), a realm where possibilities unfold and potential is maximised, especially for autistic people. At a2z Health Group, we’re committed to unveiling the myriad benefits of occupational therapy for autistic people and in doing…
Paediatric Occupational Therapy Interventions: Nurturing Child Growth Through Purposeful Play Navigating the world of paediatric health can be a journey filled with equal parts joy and challenge. When children face obstacles in their developmental or functional abilities, professional support is often essential. This is where Paediatric Occupational Therapy Interventions come…
Navigating Ulnar Wrist Pain in Weightlifting: A Comprehensive Guide As you embark on your weightlifting journey, it’s not uncommon to experience various physical challenges. One such issue that can hamper your progress is ulnar wrist pain, a common yet often overlooked condition in the fitness world. At a2z Health Group,…
Understanding Knee Pain During Squats: Insights and Solutions At a2z Health Group, our team of skilled Physiotherapists and Exercise Physiologists understand the complexity of knee pain, especially when it comes to activities like squatting. Squatting, a fundamental movement in daily activities and various sports, can often be a source of…
What Are the Benefits of Hydrotherapy in the Pool? Hydrotherapy, also known as aquatic therapy, is a therapeutic technique that utilises the properties of water to promote healing and improve overall well-being. In recent years, hydrotherapy pools have gained popularity as a valuable addition to physical therapy and rehabilitation programs.…
Stretches & Exercises to Relieve Upper Back Pain Upper back pain is a prevalent issue that affects millions of people around the globe. Often resulting from poor posture, muscle strain, or injury, this discomfort can significantly impact daily activities and overall quality of life. Lucky for us, there are certain…
Ways Hydrotherapy Can Improve Hip Pain Dealing with persistent hip pain or going through the process of hip replacement rehabilitation can be a complicated and overwhelming process, especially when you’re not sure where to start. It’s not uncommon for patients who have gone through this procedure to find themselves looking…
4 Simple Exercises to Help Strengthen Hips in Seniors Are your hips feeling creaky and painful? The good news is that there are some light and easy stretches/exercises to help relieve the often-debilitating pain associated with hip bursitis. What’s hip bursitis? Also known as trochanteric bursitis, hip bursitis is a…
How to Avoid Injury When Doing Exercise The health benefits of regular exercise are no secret to most of us. We also know that warming up before exercise is important to prevent injury and enhance the benefits of exercise. These days, most of us even know that proper warm-ups should…
7 Common Golf Injuries & How To Resolve Them Golf is a popular sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Although it is much safer than many ‘contact’ sports, it still involves plenty of physical activity, and thus carries a risk of injury. In this article, we…
Setting Up for Best Posture When Working From Home The rise in remote working arrangements has resulted in many of us spending a good portion of our day sitting at home. Although being able to work from the comfort of your own home can be an advantage, it also brings…
The Best Recovery Exercises for Whiplash Whiplash is a type of neck injury that can be caused by a sudden jerking or whipping motion of the head. It’s commonly seen in passengers of cars involved in a ‘rear-end’ accident and is caused by the sharp transferral of energy from one…
5 Ways Paediatric Occupational Therapy Can Help Kids with Autism Paediatric Occupational therapy practitioners use a variety of methods to address and promote the skills needed to participate fully in daily life activities, such as bathing, dressing, completing schoolwork, handwriting, engaging in play, and more. These occupational therapy services can…
The Many Types & Health Benefits of Hydrotherapy From helping you deal with pain, recover from an injury or just maintain function and mobility, hydrotherapy provides a wide range of health benefits. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at all the different types of hydrotherapy and the many…
How to Stay Active While Working From Home Is Sitting the New Smoking? Working from home has gone from a niche segment of the workforce to a universal experience. But working from home for several hours a day with the wrong setup and bad habits can result in all sorts…
The Secret to Managing Behaviours of Concern in Children Managing behaviours of concern in your child – like hitting, screaming, biting, pinching, spitting, kicking, swearing, or running away – can be extremely challenging for parents and educators. Which is why we’re often asked: “What’s the secret to effective behaviour management?”…
Top tips when working from home to avoid pain! With the current situation unfolding a lot of our patients are continuing to work from home to help stop the spread of covid-19. It is imperative for those who are to make sure they are taking good of themselves! A common…
Understanding Why Joints Crack and Pop All the Time Have you ever wondered, “why are my joints popping all of a sudden?” or “why do my joints crack all the time?”. This phenomenon, which medical experts refer to as joint crepitus, is a subject that piques many people’s curiosity. In…
The Benefits of Exercise for our Elderly! You’ve probably heard the phrase “use it or lose it” more than enough times throughout your life, and when it comes to exercising in our later years, it’s an important phrase to remember! More than ever before, we need to look after ourselves…
What is Occupational Therapy! Occupation, More than a Job When we hear the word “Occupation” we immediately think of a profession or the type of work that people do. In Occupational Therapy, occupation means more than just “work”, Occupations refer to the everyday things that we do. An…
The benefits of exercise & mental health – how Physiotherapy can help! Exercise is well known to be great for the body – it keeps you fit, healthy and improves quality of life, but…what about the mental benefits??? Mental health in Australia Mental illness is very common with one in…
What is Achilles Tendinopathy? And what does it mean for me? Lately at the practice we’ve been treating a lot of patients suffering from Achilles Tendinopathy. Now many patients don’t actually know what that is. And that’s why today I want to shed some light on the topic, so that…
Are You Suffering With Shoulder Pain? Did you know that 10% of the population suffer with shoulder pain at any one time? Many of my patients who I’ve seen and treated with shoulder injuries (and there has been a few lately) never knew how much they relied on their shoulder…
Avoiding the office bore: How to maintain a healthy back at work Back pain – nobody wants it, but most of us have it. And the worst part about it? When someone asks how you hurt your back, the answer is totally devoid of any glamour. Much as you’d love…
Keep your spine feeling fine: Do’s and dont’s for a healthy spine Have you ever taken a moment to consider the crucial role your spine plays in your life? This sturdy column of bones in your back, or your spine, is more than just a structural component of your body…
Knock out tennis elbow in straight sets With its deceptively simple name, tennis elbow sounds like it could be something worth including when you pack your tennis bag. Tennis racquet? Check. Tennis shoes? Check. Tennis elbow? Whether you play tennis or not, however, tennis elbow is the one thing you…
There’s light at the end of the carpal tunnel Is constant hand pain getting on your nerves? Do you experience numbness, radiating pain and pins and needles, especially after repetitive use of your hands? If this sounds familiar, you could be suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. The carpal tunnel is…
Anyone for tennis? Get in shape for the grand slam without getting an injury The new year in Australia means one thing: tennis fever!As the new year heats up and grand slam contenders begin to fall, across the nation racquets are dusted off, sweat bands donned and old rivalries…
3 Home Post-Workout Hacks To Prevent Muscle Aches That Don’t Cost The Earth! Some people like to measure the success of their workout by the degree or number of days thereafter that they continue to have muscle aches and pains. You might have heard them say “I know I worked…
5 Reasons Why You Should Add Foam Rolling Into Your Routine! If you aren’t foam rolling, or getting a sports massage at least twice weekly and you are working out even moderately, you most likely are experiencing some form of muscle tightness. This can affect your ability to exercise regularly,…
Is your mattress causing you back pain? Getting a good night’s sleep is dependent on a variety of factors, a major one being your mattress. Do you wake up with lower back pain and feel like you have to stretch to rid the pain? If so, your mattress may not…
How much time do you spend texting, emailing from your phone, flicking through social media, or just generally looking down at your phone? Text neck is a repetitive strain injury, and one that is seen in a growing number of patients over the past few years. An increasing number of…
If you have arthritis, carrying out tasks around the home can be a challenge. However, making some practical changes to your home and changing the way you work should make things easier.Practical tips that could help include: • Keeping things in easy reach• Using a hand rail to help you…
Approximately 80-90% of the population suffers from spinal pain at some point. A healthy spine is an often overlooked and essential part of a healthy lifestyle. People, who suffer from back pain, particularly if it is long-term, are generally less healthy than those who do not. It’s important for you to…
Iliotibial Band Syndrome, or ITBS, is one of the most common causes of pain that is felt on the outside of the knee. It is most common in runners, hikers and cyclists, but any athlete who plays sports that require repeated knee flexion can find themselves dealing with IT Band…
It can be hard to get enough veggies and fruit into our diets, especially when we’re busy and when our kids may not want to eat quite what we would like them to! But without those fruits and especially those green veggies that we are missing, our bodies don’t work…
An important aspect of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction is addressing all possible contributing factors, including the presence of joint or spinal dysfunction, postural imbalances, reduced coordination of movement, poor posture and the effect of trigger points. Most muscular aches and pains are caused or affected by untreated “trigger points,” localized…
By Miranda Bone These days, going wheat or gluten free is almost fashionable. However, if you have noticed symptoms after eating a big bowl of pasta or a fluffy white pizza base, don’t rush to avoid wheat just yet. Many Melbourne cafes offer gluten free cakes and friands, and some…
What is exercise and what does it mean? Exercise is anything that gets you moving and active. It includes formal exercise such as a gym class, lifting weights or going for a jog. Exercise also occurs in everyday activities (known as incidental exercise) such as vacuuming, taking the stairs instead…
Physiotherapy is practised by professionally trained physiotherapists who are skilled and educated specifically in proper care and rehabilitation. Physiotherapy involves treatment that focuses on prevention of injuries or disabilities, it helps to relieve pain, promote healing and restore function and movement. How is physiotherapy used to treat pain? Physiotherapists take a…
Physiotherapists regularly treat sciatica and have terrific results. Sciatica is the Latin word for “Pain down the back of the leg” Sciatica is referred pain usually caused by trapping the sciatic nerve in the lower back. See back pain. The sciatic nerve runs from the lower back down through the buttocks and…
Exercise may reduce the chances of obesity, which is becoming more common in children. It may also reduce the risk of diabetes, a disease that can be associated with a lack of exercise and poor eating habits. Exercise also helps children build social skills and provides them with a general…
If you take the Physiotherapy approach, you’re in good company. Physios suggest these simple measures to help you avoid back pain or injury and improve your game: Purchase equipment that fits. Don’t try to adapt your swing to the wrong clubs: A six-footer playing with irons designed for someone five…
Many people come to see us after they have suffered an injury, and we are happy to help them; but many of these injuries could have been prevented if they had come before they had the injury. A great part of the physiotherapy treatment protocol has to do with injury…
The golf swing is a complex series of movements, and many golfers are limited by their physical capabilities to perform these movements, whether it is due to poor coordination of their body segments, lack of adequate flexibility, or lack of appropriate control and strength. Physiotherapists can identify these physical restrictions…
Some people think that their condition isn’t bad enough to warrant physiotherapy treatment or just feel they do not need an occasional check-up. We all know that regular servicing of our cars helps to ensure trouble free motoring and can save us a lot of money in repair bills. We…
At least 70% of Australia’s school students use computers. As a result of this increased usage, Physiotherapists are treating more young patients suffering from the effects of working at computer stations that are either designed for adults or poorly designed for children. Many children are already suffering from repetitive motion…
Physiotherapy plays an integral part in the multi-disciplinary approach to the management of sports injuries. The aim of physiotherapy is to treat and fully rehabilitate the athlete post-injury, post-operatively, to prevent further injury and to return the athlete to sport in the shortest possible time. Sports injury rehabilitation focuses on…
What is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become fragile and brittle. They fracture more easily than normal bone. Even a minor bump or fall can cause a serious fracture. Half of all women and one-third of men over 60 in Australia will have a fracture due…
If you are one of the many Australians that suffers with neck pain, you will be pleased to know that our proven Physiotherapy approach may offer the solution you have been searching for. One out of ten of us will have neck pain at some time in our life. In…
What is Arthritis ? Arthritis is a major cause of disability and handicap in Australia affecting people of all ages and walks of life. Arthritis is not a single condition. Arthritis literally means inflammation of the joint. There are over 150 kinds of arthritis, all of which affect one or…
When you injure your back people will often tell you that you have to strengthen your abdominals. If this is not explained correctly one would take this statement that you need to strengthen your stomach muscles by performing sit-ups. The statement is correct but doing sit up while you have…
Ice is an effective and natural pain killer and anti-inflammatory. Ice should be applied over the inflamed area in the acute or early stages of your problem. (See below for application) Whenever you experience swelling, redness or sharp / stabbing pain it is generally considered best to apply ice. Repeat…
Your workstation should be set up to cause the least amount of stress on your body. Prolonged hours of poor posture or repetitive work habits, often in a stressful environment can result in significant overuse injury. Applying the following points can help tominimise such injuries. Important points to note : Site in…
Sports injuries are commonly caused by overuse, direct impact, or the application of force that is greater than the body part can structurally withstand. An injury that happens suddenly, such as a sprained ankle caused by an awkward footfall, is known as an acute injury. Chronic injuries are caused by…
Painful shoulder conditions that limit movement are very common, and are caused by injuries affecting the shoulder joint, muscles, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. It is possible to do more movements with the arm than with any other part of the body. The arm is such a useful tool that it’s…
What is good posture Posture is the position in which you hold your body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or laying down. Good posture helps to minimise the amount of strain imposed on our muscles, joints and ligaments whilst performing our daily activities. If you want an example of good…
