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Mike

Hip bursitis - Lateral Hip Pain

Hip bursitis – Lateral Hip Pain
Hip bursitis – Lateral Hip Pain 1228 690 Ace Health Centre
Heel Pain. Heel Spurs. Ace Health Centre. Ace Podiatry. Best podiatrist Gold Coast. Bulk Billing Podiatry. Medicare Podiatry. Best Health Clinic Gold Coast.

Effective Solutions for Heel Pain
Effective Solutions for Heel Pain 1000 667 Ace Health Centre

Effective Solutions for Heel Pain | Find Relief with Our Expert Guidance

Heel Pain Relief: Experience Comfort and Get Back on Your Feet

Are you tired of dealing with persistent heel pain that hampers your daily activities? At Ace Health Centre, we understand the impact that heel pain can have on your quality of life. That’s why we offer expert guidance and effective solutions to help you find relief and regain your mobility.

Understanding Heel Pain:

Heel pain can be caused by various factors, including plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, heel spurs, or overuse injuries. Regardless of the cause, it’s essential to address the underlying issue to alleviate the pain and prevent it from recurring. Our team of experienced professionals specializes in diagnosing and treating heel pain, providing personalized solutions tailored to your specific condition.

Comprehensive Assessment:

When you visit Ace Health Centre, our skilled practitioners will conduct a thorough assessment to determine the root cause of your heel pain. We take into account your medical history, perform physical examinations, and may recommend imaging tests if necessary. This comprehensive approach enables us to create an accurate diagnosis and develop an effective treatment plan.

Customized Treatment Options:

Every individual’s heel pain is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. At Ace Health Centre we believe in personalized care. Our team will work closely with you to understand your specific needs and goals. Based on our assessment, we will recommend a range of treatment options, which may include:

1. Physical Therapy: Our skilled physical therapists will design a targeted exercise program to strengthen the muscles and tendons surrounding your heel, promoting healing and reducing pain.

2. Orthotic Devices: We may prescribe custom orthotic inserts or recommend appropriate footwear to provide support, stability, and cushioning for your feet, relieving pressure on the affected area.

3. Medications: In some cases, anti-inflammatory medications or pain relievers may be prescribed to manage your symptoms and reduce inflammation.

4. Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT): This non-invasive procedure uses high-energy sound waves to stimulate healing and reduce pain in the affected area.

5. Minimally Invasive Procedures: If conservative treatments do not provide sufficient relief, we can refer for minimally invasive procedures such as corticosteroid injections or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy to target the source of your heel pain.

Ongoing Support and Rehabilitation:

At Ace Health Centre, our commitment to your well-being doesn’t end with treatment. We provide ongoing support and guidance throughout your healing journey. Our team will monitor your progress, make necessary adjustments to your treatment plan, and provide recommendations for at-home care to optimize your recovery.

 

Don’t let heel pain dictate your life. Take the first step towards finding relief and reclaiming your mobility. Schedule a consultation with our experts at Ace Health Centre today and experience the difference our specialized care can make.

[Disclaimer]:
Please note that the information provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. It is crucial to consult with a qualified healthcare provider for an accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment plan.

Heel Pain in Children

Custom orthotics for severs disease
Custom orthotics for severs disease 600 400 Ace Health Centre

Custom orthotics for severs disease

Custom orthotics are widly used for severs disease. If done right they can have a great effect in help reduce pain in in childrens feet, alowing them to continue doing exercise and walking with less if not no pain.

Severs disease is growing pains in the heel of kids feet. It mostly occurs in in children aged 9-13. Although they will eventually grow out of it, it can be debilitating at times. The pain can make children avoid speding time on their feet, doing sport and activities. Keeping chrildren active, moving and therefore happy is the main objective. Nobody in pain and avoiding the activies they love is happy.

Orthotic prescription

When prescribing orthotics for sever there a a few things that we aim todo.

  1. To start, we are aiming to take pressure away from the heel area. This is done by providing adequate arch support. The more weight we can redistrobute away from the heel the less pain that they will experience.
  2. The next is providing extra cushiong. Hard floors and vibrating increase pain, and so adding extra lawyers of cushing can reduce pain.
  3. Adding a heel lift helps reduce pull of the achillies on the heel. This is done via footwear that have a heel pitch built in. The orthotics under the heel also add a slight heel lift to reduce pain.
  4. Pronation can cause strain on the heel. The foot rolling inward causes the calf muslce to pull on the heel bone. The orthotics can be used to reduce pronations to help reduce pain.
  5. Soft top covers on the orthotics can help further add cushioning.

We commonly use Custom orthotics for severs and found them much more effective than off the shelf ones. This is due to the range of customisation we have to aim the orthotics at the child at hand. Having the right support, the right arch height, the right amount of chsioning to maximises the effects of the orthotics. They are also much more durable than over the counter products.

If your child is experiencing heel pain then give us a call today to see how custom orthotics can help them.

 

Blog written by Mike, Podiatrist

Custom orthotics for hypermobility

Custom orthotics for hypermobility
Custom orthotics for hypermobility 804 750 Ace Health Centre

Custom orthotics for hypermobility

Custom orthotics are widely used for symptomatic hypermobility. This occurs in adults and children. Hypermobility is widely genetic. Passed down from parents to children. There are also other types of hypermobilty which are genetic abnormalities such as marfams, or Ehlers danlos syndrome.

Joint range of motion

Joint have a range of motion that is whithin normal limits. Hypermobilty is when these joints move much further than they should do. For example. The big toe joint is meant to have aprox 45 degess for walking and up to around 60 degress. More than 90 degress is considered abnormal and hypermobile. The are a few different tests that you can do in order to see how flexable you really are. The main tests are done under the beightons scale for hypermobility.

Here are examples of a few test that are used in order to diagnose your level of hypermobiltiy.

  • Bend forward and place your hands flat on the floor without bending your knees.
  • Straighten your elbows past a neutral position (hyperextend) (one point for each elbow).
  • Straighten your knees past a neutral position (hyperextend) (one point for each knee).
  • Bend your pinky (little) fingers back beyond 90 degrees (one point for each finger).
  • Bend your thumbs back to touch your forearms (one point for each thumb).

The Orthotics

The orthotics that this client has been made for has been suffering from aching legs, feet, knees and loweer back. When a joint it hypermobile it becomes very unstable. This instubility requires your muscles to work overtime in order stablise the joint. This results in fatique and aching.

Custom orthotics are commonly used for hypermobilty to help stabalise the feet which can help in reduceing overuse. This in turns helps reduce the aching and fatique.The orthotics are only as good as the shoes that they are put into. This is why it is important for the podiatrist to give footwear recomendations that are suitable to put the orthotics into.

If you think that you are hypermobile and experience aching feet or legs then book in with our podiatrist today.

 

Blog written by Mike, Podiatrist

Lumbar Range of Motion 

Lumbar Range of Motion 
Lumbar Range of Motion  1200 600 Ace Health Centre

Lumbar Range of Motion

While some patients might be in a lot of pain and hesitant to move their back, having a patient move to assess the Lumbar Range of Motion is crucial to a physiotherapist. Normal amounts are –

  • Flexion (73-40 degrees) declines noted with age.
  • Lateral flexion (28-14 degrees, L&R) declined with age.
  • The extension (29-6 degrees) declined the greatest at 79% with age.
  • No decline in axial rotational (7%) way across the age spectrum.

The range of motion for the lumbar spine should be symmetrical on either side. When examining a patient’s lumbar range of motion we are not just checking if they have adequate motion, but also to make sure that range is symmetrical. A person’s range will also be dependent of the activities that they partake in. For example, somebody who just does general walking will need less range than a person who plays tennis. Therefore each patient should be assessed as an individual and not just what the textbook says is normal.

What does it Involve?

Firstly, a physiotherapist will take a good history. When diagnosing an injury, taking a complete history is one of the most important parts. Information is taken regarding their pain, pain patterns, mechanism of injury

if it has occurred in the past and if it has, what helped them, what helps to decrease the pain and what makes it worse.

The physio will then move on to the assessment. Your spine is made to move, therefore the therapist will ask the patient to bend and flex into certain key positions. They will be looking at how much movement is available in each spinal joint. They will look at what compensations you may have if one area is not moving as it should. Lastly and most importantly, how the patient feels throughout. This includes when they get pain, how much pain, and the type of pain.

Why a Lumbar Range of Motion needs to be done?

Knowing the type of pain and where the pain is throughout the assessment allows the physiotherapist to determine potential sources or causes of the patient’s pain. From just listening to what the patient says and observing how they move they can differentiate whether the injury is likely disc, bone, joint, neural or muscular in nature.

What next?

Once the history has been taken, and the range of motion assessment is complete, your physio will then develop a diagnosis and a treatment plan. This may include anything from massage, needling, shockwave, exercise, scans and more.

If you have a spine injury contact us today to book in with one of our physios.

Blog is written by our physio Lachlan.

Ace Health Centre. Podiatry Gold Coast. Best podiatry Cold Coast. Bulk billing podiatry. Sharp, burning pain or numbness in the ball of the foot or toes. Podiatry Medicare.

Orthotics for Morton’s neuroma
Orthotics for Morton’s neuroma 1000 667 Ace Health Centre

Orthotics for Morton’s neuroma

Custom orthotics for Morton’s neuroma are a widely successful and commonly used treatment. Here at Ace, we have plenty of experience in treating Morton’s neuroma and designing custom orthotics to treat it.

What is Morton’s neuroma?

A neuroma is an enlargement of the nerve that runs between the bones of the foot. It can develop inflammation around the area which puts even more pressure on the nerve. It can cause a numbness and tingling sensation in your toes, be sore and painful, and sometimes feel like you are walking on a stone.

Orthotic prescription for neuroma

When designing custom orthotics for Morton’s neuroma it’s important to pay attention to a few things. The first thing is your arch height. The lower the arch the more pressure will go through the ball of the foot when walking. Therefore to reduce pressure through the forefoot we need to lift up or prevent the arch from lowering any further. When designing the orthotics we will adjust the arch height and the flexibility of the orthotics to help treat this.

If the foot has a very high arch this can do the same, increasing the pressure on the ball of the foot. This time rather than pushing up the arch, we want to make contact with the arch to redistribute more pressure under the arch and away from the forefoot and neuroma.

If the neuroma is still sore after adjusting the arch height then we add a metatarsal dome onto the orthotics. This helps splay fore bones between the toes and reduces irritation on the neuroma even further.

Shoes for your orthotics

When treating the neuroma you will need to make sure your shoes are the right size. Shoes that are too small and narrow with cause more pressure on the neuroma and cause further irritation. Your orthotics are only as good as the shoes you put them into, and so having your podiatrist recommend some good shoes is very important.

If you think you have Morton’s neuroma give us a call and book an appointment with our podiatrist. In the meantime check out this taping method that might provide you with some relief.

Ace Health Centre. Podiatry Gold Coast. Best podiatry Cold Coast. Bulk billing podiatry. Flat Feet. Best Orthotics. Low arch.

Orthotics for flat feet
Orthotics for flat feet 1000 667 Ace Health Centre

 

Orthotics for flat feet

When designing orthotics for flat feet there are lots of different modifications you can do. Changes in the arch height, flexibility, rear foot and forefoot angles and more.  In the video, we run through one example of a prescription we have done for a client.

The design

This design is for a client that has been coming for a fair few years now. We have tried a few different prescriptions over time to try and improve the outcomes but it seems the best for this client is to keep it fairly simple. The client has extremely flat feet and has suffered from chronic foot, knee and back pain and other injuries associated with having flat feet. They have a job that requires them to be on their feet all day and so the orthotics have been a massive help for him not only for work but for allowing them to play touch.

The prescription

This custom orthotics prescription has – A 3.5mm thick shell with a 2.5mm thick bar. The bar runs under the arch of the orthotic to help increase stability through this area without having to make the whole of the orthotic too thick. The arch height is exactly 20mm high. The rearfoot has a 6-degree angle tilting outwards, and a 6mm skive in the rearfoot (the flat spot at the heel which tilts the foot outwards even more).

The covers

To provide cushioning on the orthotics we have put a layer of poron under the arch. Poron is a highly durable, soft material that provides extra cushioning in this area. With the foot being so flat and so much force in the arch area, extra cushioning is required for the person to reduce the risk of blisters and callous build-up.

We then have a full-length E-tpu top cover. E-tpu is an extremely durable and bouncy material that’s commonly used as the soles of Adidas shoes. It doesn’t absorb moisture and is generally used for a more sports-based orthotic. This orthotic will be used in combination with a Brooks Beast shoe to provide maximum stability and get the most out of the orthotics.

Always remember that your orthotics are only as good as the shoes you put them into. Your podiatrist will recommend appropriate shoes to make sure you get the maximum benefits from your custom orthotics.

Book today if you need orthotics for your flat feet. 

ACE Custom made Insoles. 3d orthotics

Welcome to your new custom orthotics
Welcome to your new custom orthotics 1000 667 Ace Health Centre

Welcome to your new custom orthotics

Thank you for purchasing your new custom orthotics from Ace Health Centre. Here’s all of the information you will need about them. It details how your custom orthotics are prescribed, designed, manufactured, and what to expect.

Did you know it takes your podiatrist over an hour of extra work after your consult to finish your orthotics?

How your orthotics are prescribed

 

Your orthotics are prescribed from a mix of –

  • your injury
  • your flexibility
  • your posture
  • your alignment in your feet, knees hips and back
  • your weight
  • your shoes
  • your sport or activity
  • your medical history such as being diabetic
  • your blood flow to your feet
  • your nerves and feeling in your feet
  • your balance
  • history of other injuries
  • muscle strength
  • corns or callous
  • and more…

Orthotics prescription and design

When prescribing orthotics there are many different things that a podiatrist can do design-wise. The prescription itself will be determined from the assessment.

Your podiatrist will then have done a 3D scan of your feet. The 3D scan provides a base model of your feet giving them your base arch heights, foot length and widths.

The custom orthotics are then designed via computer software by your podiatrist after the consult. It takes a lot of time and practice to be able to use compete software to design up an orthotic to know how it will end up after being 3D printed. The software helps aid with consistency of the product being produced and is far more accurate than other methods of orthotic manufacture.

Every podiatrist will prescribe slightly different meaning you could go to 10 different podiatrists and get 10 different orthotics designs and prescriptions. The goal though will always be the same. The main difference is that many podiatrists get other companies to do computer design for them. At Ace, we do all of the computer design ourselves. Did you know Mike, our podiatrist does design work for other podiatry clinics around Australia as well in his spare time?

3D printing

Once your orthotics have been designed by computer the file is then sent to a 3D printer. The 3D printer is an industrial-size printer that prints around 30-50 sets of orthotics in one go. It cannot just print singles. It prints by laying down layers of very fine powder in microns and then heats the powder to fuse it in specific places. The printing process takes around 24-36 hours in total. The orthotics are then removed from the printer, sandblasted to remove any excess powder, and then washed. The orthotics are printed using an HP MJF 4200 using PA11 nylon material. This material is also eco-friendly and 3D printing minimises waste material.

Covering

Once the 3D-printed shell has arrived back at the clinic it’s time to cover the orthotics. This is all done via your podiatrist by hand. The covers that your orthotics will is decided by your podiatrist from your consultation. This is determined by factors such as – your activity, the shoes you will wear them in, your weight, your medical history, your injury and more. There are many different materials available. Covers on orthotics can be replaced if you ever want to give your orthotics a little TLC.

Fitting

Once the orthotics have been completed, our reception team will give you a call to arrange a fitting appointment. Your orthotics are always made slightly big for your shoes and require trimming up to ensure a good fit.

It’s important to remember that your orthotics are only as good as the shoes they are being put into. This means that although putting them into flat soft or flexible shoes will be much better than nothing at all, fitting them into a good supportive stable shoe will give much better results. Your podiatrist should have discussed footwear with you in the consult and possibly given you recommendations for shoes that your custom orthotics will work best in.

If you do require new shoes we recommended purchasing them before your fitting appointment. This way your podiatrist can check the fitting of the shoes, make sure the shoe is correct, and fit the orthotics into the shoes.

When fitting an enclosed lace-up shoe we usually recommended fitting them by – putting both shoes on, lacing the shoes up properly, standing up, and having a fingers width between the end of your longest toe and the end of the shoe. We also suggest being able to pick a small amount of fabric across the widest part of your forefoot. This ensures that the orthotics will fit the shoes, and will provide a more comfortable experience. It is always best to go shoe shopping at the end of the day when your feet are maximally swollen and expanded. This will give you a much better idea of fit and comfort.

For people that do spend a lot of time on their feet, it is sometimes beneficial to purchase 2 pairs of shoes and alternate them daily. The foam in the soles of shoes can take 24 – 48 hours to fully recover and expand back out. This means that having that rest day helps them last longer, maintaining more support and cushioning.

Shoes do have a lifespan. If you are in your shoes for 8 hours per day we recommended getting new shoes every 6-8 months. Just because the top looks ok doesn’t mean the foam is. We also recommended replacing shoes after having them for 1.5 years as the foam and glues in the shoes start to degrade. This means the shoes will not provide the same support and cushion as they once did when new.

Your orthotics may not fit every shoe but may be able to fit between shoes that are the same size. Just take out the original insole that is in your shoe and replace it with your custom orthotics

What to expect

Everybody is very different in the way their body reacts to orthotics. The orthotics as often designed to hold/guide your feet in a certain position. This means that different muscles will be used while wearing them. These muscles can take time to adjust. For that reason, we ask you to pay attention to your body. Aches or pains for up to the first 4 weeks are normal. If you experience this we suggest taking the orthotics out, putting the original insoles from the shoes back in, and then starting to use the orthotics again the next day.

Reviews

After the fitting appointment, we book you for a 3-4 week orthotics review. This review session is to see how you are getting on with them. Making sure you are happy, they are comfortable, and they are doing their job. If there are any issues at this stage the orthotics can be modified when needed. Things such as arch heights, cushioning, support, flexibility and more can be changed. Just like anything custom it can be changed and modified as needed. For the first 3 months reviews are done without any out-of-pocket cost.

If you are experiencing issues where you are not able to wear your custom orthotics due to pain we recommended calling up for a review appointment and coming in sooner.

We recommended having your orthotics reviewed every 12 months. This is due to changes within your body that may affect your orthotics prescription. This can be anything from strength, flexibility sensation, blood flow and more. You may also have a new injury or issues that the orthotic needs to be aimed at that may require a change in prescription again. Your orthotic shell may also become more flexible over time meaning it will provide less support. These changes may mean an update in your orthotics prescription.

If you need anything or have any questions please contact us here, or book here. 

 

online exercise prescription

Online exercise prescription
Online exercise prescription 1920 1009 Ace Health Centre

Online exercise prescription

One of the biggest factors to consider regarding patient rehabilitation and positive outcomes is exercise adherence. Patients no matter the condition are likely to get some form of home exercise program to continue progressing at home. It is reported as high as 50% of patients do not complete their exercise prescribed by the therapist thus limiting their rehabilitation. Often barriers to exercise adherence include lack to time, lack of understanding of exercises, forgetting how to complete the exercise or the prescription regarding sets and repetitions.

So what do we do to combat this?

We use an application called Physitrack for our online exercise prescription. Physitrack allows clinicians to prescribe individualised home exercise programs. Physitrack has multiple user-friendly features including demonstration videos with audible cues for the exercise, allowing the therapist to easily alter the repetitions, sets and resistance for each activity as well as a section for the clinician to add any specific notes for cues they want their patient to remember.

During the consult, we sit down with our clients and educate them on how to download pysitrack and view their program. We also print out the program for our patients which documents, the exercises, exercise explanations, the repetitions and more. We can also put individual notes from the physio to make sure you have everything written down and easy to understand. All these features make exercise adherence easier for the patient thus helping the patient stay on track for a speedy recovery.

Our podiatrist also uses this programme in order to give his exercise programmes. Each clinician can log in and view each person’s programme making it easier to work between practitioners and modalities. This communication between practitioners leads to much better client care.

Online consults

The use of this application also means that we can do online telehealth consultations. Over the phone, we can simply email your exercise programme to you, and know that you will have all the details you need to perform it correctly.

Book now to see our physio

Shock Wave therapy

Shock Wave therapy
Shock Wave therapy 750 502 Ace Health Centre

Shock Wave therapy

Shock wave therapy (otherwise known as Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy – ESWT) is a modality of treatment whereas a machine passes sound waves through the tissues in the body to promote healing. Similar to ultrasound but at a lower frequency which causes the “shocks to be felt”. This process is a non-invasive technique that is suggested to promote the formation of new blood vessels at the tendon-bone junction, stimulate tendon cells (tenocytes), increase white blood cell count and amplify growth factor and protein synthesis to promote collagen synthesis and tissue remodelling. 

How does Shock Wave feel?

This can be a tender process due to targeting sore areas of the body but the intensity of shock waves can be adjusted by the operator, to the tolerance of the individual. This allows the process to be more enjoyable without much effect to the treatment. 

What is it used for?

Shock wave therapy is primarily used in the treatment of common orthopaedic musculoskeletal conditions. These include;

  • Muscle tendinopathies of the upper or lower limb
  • Plantar fasciitis 
  • Adhesive capsulitis 
  • Non-union of long bone fractures
  • Avascular necrosis of femoral head
  • Shin splints (Medial tibial stress syndrome)
  • Osteoarthritis of the knee 

Most of the time Shock wave is best used in combination with other treatment modalities such as exercise to promote the strengthening of the tissues during the remodelling phase after new blood vessel growth and collagen synthesis. Hands-on physio massage can also help release the tight aggravated muscles to help relieve even more pain. 

So if you have had that niggly or ongoing injury that just won’t go away, then Shock wave might be the treatment for you! Best to book in with our physio or podiatrist today and start the assessment process to determine the best fit for your condition. 

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