The elbow is made up of 3 bones – the humerus, ulna and the radius. As each bone loosely connects with one another, the elbow joint is able to produce 4 different movements and is surprisingly mobile and flexible.

The elbow joint is one of the most important joints in the body and performs many day-to-day activities. When injured over a prolonged period of time, it can cause great pain and disability. Hence it is necessary to identify symptoms and seek timely medical help when injuries occur.

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A study conducted by SGH shows that 80% of Singaporeans will suffer from back pain at least once in their life. The scary fact is that once you suffer from back pain, you are more at risk of getting back pain again and again. If left unchecked, it could cost businesses more, in the form of absenteeism, increase health care costs and falling productivity and staff morale. Continue reading →

Neck pain is one of the most common injuries in this day and age. In fact a 2004 study by Singapore General Hospital, found that 33% of Singaporeans actually suffered from neck pain at least once in their lives. In some cases it can even cause headaches and disturb your sleep, ultimately affecting your job, your relationships and your well being. Studies show that women are more prone to getting neck pain (up to double the incidence rates compared to men). Some studies go further to suggest that psychosocial factors plays a bigger part in women when it comes to causing neck pain (i.e. stress affects women more in causing neck pain). Continue reading →

Leading up to the last major run of the year (Standard Chartered Marathon), we have seen an increase in injuries related to increased intensity of training. An important point to remember is that as your ?mileage? increases (the total number of kilometers you run in one week), any weak points like flat feet, leg length differences can start to magnify themselves. Hence a typical patient may have no problems when they were running 10-15 km per week, but as they increased to 20-25km per week and beyond, they started to experience more aches and pains. Does this sound like you? A lot of these aches and pains can be avoided and treated effectively with Physiotherapy, so that the runner CAN run pain free at these higher intensities. Continue reading →

By now we have all heard of the concept of The Core. Yes it was a blockbuster movie about a journey to the centre of the earth, but to us Physiotherapists, it?s more about certain muscles in our body that are VERY important. It?s talked about frequently during your Pilates sessions, or during your Yoga sessions. And although they may use different words and phrases like ?generate your force from within? or ?from the centre? the concept is the same.

So what is this elusive ?core? and what?s all the big fuss about? Why is it more and more professional athletes from Olympic level swimmers to professional basketball players have jumped on the band wagon? Can it really help prevent back pain? Can it really improve your sporting performance or even improve your posture?! Absolutely?.

Firstly it?s important to understand the role of your muscles. There are the PRIME MOVERS (or fast twitch muscles) and then there are your STABILZERS (slow twitch muscles).
These slow twitch stabilizers are what makes up The Core.

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We all have heard that after an injury such as a joint strain, ligament tear, or muscle pull we should apply ice. They tell us it will help. They say it can even shorten the healing time! Can it be so simple? Does an ice pack REALLY make a difference. Well consider that in many professional sports, the athlete will actually ice their joints after the game, regardless of whether they have any pain, and regardless of whether they have an injury! It?s inevitable that certain joints like the shoulder and elbow in baseball pitchers, or the knees and ankles in basketball players, will have a certain degree of wear and tear. Ice can help keep inflammation in check, and can even help to prolong the career of the athlete. So can it help you? Continue reading →