Meniscal knee injuries are a common diagnosis in the sporting, but also non sporting population. From young to old can be affected. Injury can occur with an acute sudden sports injury, but also with degenerative knee issues and osteoarthritis.

At Physiologix we work extensively with knee injuries including meniscal tears.  Our work covers conservative management, through to rehab after injections or surgical intervention.

What is the meniscus

The menisci are crescent shaped fibrocartilaginous structures located one on the inside of the knee (medial) and one on the outside (lateral), sitting between the thigh (femur) and shin (tibia) bones.

What is Oncology Massage?

Oncology Massage Therapy uses gentle therapeutic touch to help support patients with cancer. Research shows that Oncology Massage Therapy can reduce the side effects from conventional treatment of cancer and improve the quality of life for someone undergoing cancer treatment or with a history of cancer. It's a gentle and safe method to release muscle discomfort and body tension during and after cancer treatment.

What are the Benefits of Oncology Massage

Oncology massage is used to help decrease the side effects of the treatment, improving sleeping patters and reducing pain and nausea.  The massage techniques used are gentle and slow and induce deep relaxation in the body which also helps to calm the mind. Oncology massage can also help to treat and manage some of the side effects of cancer treatments such as neuropathies, lymphoedema, cording, scar issues. It can also help improve movement when there is restricted range of motion.

Lots of us think to exercise to keep healthy, lots of us train specifically for something, lifting weights, cycling, running, playing sport.  Yet few of us put time into recovery after exercise. Recovery strategies after exercise help your body recover so you are best prepared for your next exercise session. What does that mean? You get more out of your body at each session, and, you could help to prevent injury related to fatigue.

So what are the best recovery strategies after exercise and sport?

For this we asked Dr Molly Connelly, physiotherapist here at Physiologix in the Gap, for her advice. Dr Molly runs the recovery centre and is a physio for The Australian Tennis Open, helping the very best athletes from around the world, be at their peak performance for this high level event.

Sleep

Sleep for recovery is paramount. In fact, as this diagram from S Harlson et al shows, it is possibly the most important factor in recovery. The average adult needs 7-9 hours sleep a night (and about 8-10 hours for teenagers).  Try to avoid exercise the 1-2 hours before bed.  Gaining a good sleep routine is essential to helping sleep, together with avoiding screens in the hour before bed. 

Naps in the day are ok, in fact can be beneficial for some athletes not achieving optimal sleep time. However, late afternoon naps can have detrimental effects, so time of day should be taken into consideration when napping.  We strongly advise you chat more with your Physiologix physio for strategies around this but also make an appointment to chat to your GP who can review if there are any other reasons around poor sleep (for example sleep apnoea, hormonal changes, possibly low iron etc) and discuss if medication may be required.

Ice bath recovery: 

If you are game to try it, ice baths can help facilitate recovery after you have finished your exercise.  You still need to complete your cool down, but after that an ice bath is recommended for 5-15minutes. This can range from 11-20 degrees.  For a slimmer, more petite person less time/cold is recommended. 

What does the ice bath do?  Ice baths help to lower body tissue (such as muscle) temperatures and slow blood flow, which in turn can reduce inflammation, swelling, pain and cardiovascular strain. Ultimately, this helps enhance recovery from fatigue and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) (Stephens et al., 2017). 

Can water immersion help recovery?