May 2024

A year ago today, I was told something I thought was impossible — after three months in a knee brace as part of a research program, my previously fully ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) had healed itself naturally.

I tore my ACL skiing overseas (yes, I became a walking/limping cliche), and once I got home my physio told me about a novel program called the Cross Bracing Protocol.

April 2024

A Drysdale survivor of stroke who made it his mission to walk again in time to farewell his mother has been recognised for his courage.

During this difficult time, John turned his grief into motivation and set himself a goal to walk out of rehabilitation to attend his mother's funeral. To the surprise of doctors and physiotherapists, John achieved this after just only three weeks of rehabilitation.

April 2024

This week's ABC Four Corners episode Pain Factory highlighted that our health system is failing Australians with chronic pain. Patients are receiving costly, ineffective and risky care instead of effective, low-risk treatments for chronic pain.

Anyone who follows sport will know what the dreaded phase 'ACL tear' means.

It was party time for the NRL amid the glittering lights of Sin City, while just days earlier another sin was being laid bare by former star NRL players whose lives had been destroyed by repeated concussions. That sin was the cavalier disregard rugby league, indeed all s ports, showed when an athlete suffered a concussion.

The prolonged effects of sustained concussions are only just beginning to be realised, with former AFL players speaking out on their symptoms and the long-term effects of repeated trauma to the head. Concussion currently accounts for 1 in 8 of the injuries sustained in community Australian rules football¹. It’s the most common injury requiring hospitalisation² from the sport in Australia.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) supports calls by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) for all levels of Government to develop a national plan addressing the growing and increasingly critical backlog of elective surgeries.

The AMA and RACS highlighted new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data, showing Australians are now waiting even longer for essential surgery.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) is calling for clubs and players to be aware of the increased risk of sports injuries after the long COVID-19 lay off and as Victorians return to a form of normality.

While many Victorians have been walking, running and cycling to maintain their fitness during quarantine, physiotherapists are warning this doesn’t mean they’re ready to go straight back into local footy, netball or cricket.