EXERCISE AND FUNCTION

Healthcare has changed significantly. This shift in healthcare can be summarised as moving away from focus on a sickness model of care towards a wellness model of care.

In a wellness model of care we place emphasis on early restoration of function and the patient playing an active role in their recovery.

We embrace a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach to achieve your desired wellness goals through physiotherapy which focuses on physical activity and occupational therapy which focuses on reaching functional goals. 

Methods of increasing exercise and function include:

• Goal setting
• Muscle reactivation
  • Strength
  • Core stability
  • Stretch
  • Flexibility
  • Endurance 
• Reducing deconditioning (e.g. loss of muscle tone and endurance due to chronic pain) 
• Reducing fear-avoidance behaviour  
• Reducing boom-bust behaviour
• Resume appropriate exercise & activity levels
• Activity pacing (successfully increase strength, tolerance, and function)
• Get you back to life
• Improve and maintain good posture
• Re-engagement into home based, social and leisure activities
• Re-engagement into work activities 
  • Reduce sick days at work
  • Return to work
  • Improve work productivity 

DID YOU KNOW?

Do you boom-bust? Many people with chronic pain display a cycle of activity called boom-bust where they push themselves and perform physical activities until their pain becomes so severe that it forces them to stop and rest for prolonged periods. Once the pain is reduced they feel better the cycle begins again.

1. Hayden JA, van Tulder MW, Tomlinson G. Systematic review: strategies for using exercise therapy to improve outcomes in chronic low back pain. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142:776-85. LINK
2. Scascighini L, Toma V, Dober-Spielmann S, Sprott H. Multidisciplinary treatment for chronic pain: a systematic review of interventions and outcomes. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2008 May;47(5):670-8. LINK