Family First Physiotherapy

02/11/2026

💙 Pelvic health physiotherapy isn't just for women after pregnancy!

Pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence affect both men and women, across different stages of life.

📊 Did you know?

🤰 Post-pregnancy: Around 1 in 3 women experience urinary incontinence during the first year after childbirth.

👩‍⚕️ General population: Urinary incontinence affects millions of Australians, with prevalence increasing with age.

👨 After prostate surgery: Around 1 in 5 men may still experience urinary leakage 12 months after prostate removal.

Common symptoms include:

💧 Leaking when coughing, sneezing, running or exercising
🚽 Sudden urges or difficulty controlling your bladder
⚖️ Pelvic pressure or heaviness
🔹 Pelvic pain or bowel control difficulties

🏃 How can physiotherapy help?

Physiotherapists with additional pelvic health training can assess and assist with pelvic floor strength, coordination, relaxation, bladder and bowel habits, and return to exercise.

It's not always about doing more pelvic floor exercises — sometimes it's about improving how the muscles work.

💬 Don't just put up with it. Ask your physio today whether they offer pelvic health services or can refer you to someone who does!



🌐 https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/

29/10/2026

Hamstring pain gone? You might not be ready to sprint yet. 🏃‍♂️

Walking and easy jogging can feel fine after a hamstring strain, but fast acceleration, longer strides and sudden changes of direction place very different demands on the muscle.

📊 Why does return-to-sport rehabilitation matter?

A 21-season study of elite men's professional football found that 18% of recorded hamstring injuries were recurrences. Of those repeat injuries, 69% occurred within two months of the original injury.

That’s a reminder that returning to sport is about more than simply getting out of pain.

A gradual return should build towards:
✅ Restoring hamstring strength and capacity
✅ Progressing running speed and acceleration
✅ Tolerating longer strides and high-speed running
✅ Reintroducing sport-specific drills and changes of direction
✅ Monitoring symptoms, performance and confidence throughout

Your progression should be tailored to the severity of the injury, your sport and your current capacity. Being pain-free during everyday activities is a positive sign, but it doesn't automatically mean you're ready for full-speed sport.

The takeaway: You need to rebuild the capacity to meet the demands of your sport, not just wait for the pain to disappear.

At Family First Physiotherapy, we can help guide your rehabilitation and return to activity.



🌐 https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/

27/10/2026

💪 Shoulder pain when reaching overhead? Your scan might not tell the whole story.

Pain when washing your hair, reaching a shelf or lifting at the gym can involve the rotator cuff — but pain alone doesn't tell us exactly what's wrong.

🔎 Here's what the research shows:

A 2025 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found rotator cuff abnormalities on MRI in 96% of shoulders without symptoms in adults aged 41–76.

That included tendon changes and tears.

So does an abnormal scan mean your shoulder is damaged or needs surgery? Not necessarily. Findings need to be interpreted alongside your symptoms, function and clinical assessment.

✅ What matters:

Which movements aggravate your pain?

Is your shoulder genuinely weak, or is pain limiting effort?

How is it affecting work, sleep, exercise and daily activities?

A physiotherapy assessment helps connect these clues to a plan that suits your goals and current capacity.

🚩 Sudden severe pain, major loss of movement or significant weakness after an injury warrants prompt medical assessment.

The takeaway: Treat the person, not just the picture.

📍 Family First Physiotherapy
🌐 https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/

26/10/2026

Exercise after cancer treatment: start with your baseline, then build. 💪

Getting back to exercise after cancer treatment isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about understanding your current capacity and building from there.

A physiotherapy assessment can help establish a baseline for:

* 🚶 Walking tolerance and cardiovascular endurance

* 💪 Strength and functional capacity

* ⚖️ Balance, mobility and confidence

* 🔋 Fatigue and recovery between activities

From there, general exercise can be progressed at a suitable pace, with supervised exercise or physiotherapy guidance where needed.

The goal might be walking further, getting up from a chair more easily, returning to the gym or simply managing daily activities with less fatigue.

Start where you are. Build what you can. Progress towards what matters to you.

New or changing symptoms should be reviewed by your medical team rather than automatically attributed to previous treatment or deconditioning.

At Family First Physiotherapy, we believe good rehabilitation starts with understanding the person, their goals and their current capacity.

🌐 [https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/](https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/)

Family First Physiotherapy has been in business in South Australia for six years, providing care to the Two Wells and Virginia area. In this time, we’ve evolved—growing our team and services. We strive to make all our consultations timely and effective, and provide long-lasting solutions.

25/10/2026

❤️ Helping our loved ones stay independent starts with movement.

Have you noticed a parent, grandparent or loved one becoming a little less confident getting up from the floor, standing from a chair or moving around the house?

These everyday movements might seem simple, but they play an important role in maintaining independence as we age.

📊 Did you know?

🇦🇺 In Australia, approximately 1 in 4 people aged 65 and over experience at least one fall each year.

Falls are also the leading cause of injury-related hospitalisations in Australia, with more than 253,000 fall-related hospitalisations recorded in 2024–25. Km

💪 So, what can we do to help?

Building and maintaining strength, balance, mobility and coordination can help older adults stay active and confident in their daily lives.

Practising everyday movements, such as:
✅ Getting up from a chair.
✅ Stepping, turning and maintaining balance.
✅ Getting down to and up from the floor.
✅ Building leg strength and confidence with movement.

These are all meaningful goals that can support everyday function.

❤️ It’s not about passing a test. It’s about preserving independence.

If your loved one is finding everyday movements more difficult, a physiotherapy assessment can help identify what’s limiting them and develop a plan tailored to their needs and goals.

Sometimes, the most important thing we can do for someone we love is help them maintain the confidence to keep moving.

📍 Family First Physiotherapy
Helping you and your loved ones move with confidence.

🌐 https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/

Family First Physiotherapy has been in business in South Australia for six years, providing care to the Two Wells and Virginia area. In this time, we’ve evolved—growing our team and services. We strive to make all our consultations timely and effective, and provide long-lasting solutions.

20/10/2026

Headache after a neck strain? It’s not always just tension.

Headaches are incredibly common, with around 2 in 3 adults experiencing a headache each year. But after a fall, collision or blow to the head, it’s important to consider concussion or other injuries.

What helps?

✅ Get checked first if the headache follows a head injury, particularly if symptoms are new or unusual.

✅ Keep moving gently when serious injury has been excluded. After concussion, relative rest for 24–48 hours followed by a gradual return to normal activity is generally recommended.

✅ Manage the neck if it is contributing to symptoms. Physiotherapy may help with neck movement, strength and function when appropriate.

✅ Use medication safely. A doctor or pharmacist can advise on suitable pain relief.

🚩 Seek urgent medical help for a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion, unusual drowsiness, weakness, vision or speech changes, seizure or loss of consciousness. Call 000 for emergency symptoms.

The takeaway: treatment depends on the cause. Don't assume every headache after an injury is coming from the neck.



🌐 https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/

18/10/2026

Pain shouldn't mean putting your training on hold. 💪

Your physio can guide rehab and pain management, an EP can build exercise capacity, a personal trainer can adapt your workouts, and your GP can monitor symptoms.

The key? Everyone working towards the same goal.

📊 Research suggests physiotherapy-led care pathways may reduce reliance on medical imaging and prescription medication, while achieving similar pain and disability outcomes to usual care in some musculoskeletal conditions.

You don't always need to stop training. Sometimes, you just need the right plan and the right support.

At Family First Physiotherapy, we can help you work out your next step.



familyfirstphysiotherapy.com

17/10/2026

Not sure what to say at your next physio appointment? Start with what’s changed. 👋

You don’t need to have had a perfect week or ticked off every exercise on your program. Life happens, symptoms fluctuate, and some days are harder than others.

What matters is sharing the real picture with your physio.

💬 What’s feeling easier?
💬 What’s still giving you trouble?
💬 What activities have you struggled with or avoided?
💬 What would you most like to get back to doing?

These little details can tell us a lot. They help us understand how you’re responding to treatment and adjust your plan to suit your current needs, lifestyle and goals.

Physiotherapy isn’t about sticking rigidly to a plan when things aren’t working. It’s about working together to find what works for you.

The best progress starts with an honest conversation. Bring the real week, not the ideal one. 💙

14/10/2026

🦶 Heel pain? It might not be the spur.

Ever had an X-ray that showed a heel spur and been told that’s what’s causing your pain?

Not so fast! 👀

Heel spurs can be present without causing any symptoms. The important question is whether the scan findings actually match what you're feeling.

📊 What does the research tell us?

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2022 looked at 42 studies involving 2,928 people and found:

🔹 People with heel pain were almost 5 times more likely to have a heel spur than those without heel pain.

🔹 But that doesn't mean every spur is painful — or that the spur itself is the cause of your symptoms.

🔹 Imaging findings such as thickening and changes in the plantar fascia can also help explain heel pain.

So, what should you look out for?

✅ Pain under the heel, especially with your first steps in the morning or after sitting.

✅ Symptoms that change with running, jumping or prolonged standing.

✅ Pain that settles with movement but returns after rest or increased activity.

These can be signs of plantar fasciopathy (often called plantar fasciitis), but other causes of heel pain should also be considered.

The takeaway? Your scan is only one piece of the puzzle. Your symptoms, activity levels and physical assessment matter just as much.

If heel pain is hanging around or stopping you from doing what you enjoy, our team at Family First Physiotherapy can help assess what's going on and guide your recovery.

📍 Two Wells & Virginia

🌐 https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/

11/10/2026

Had surgery recently and not sure if you're using your walking aid correctly? 👣

A walking stick, crutches or frame isn't a sign of giving up on movement. It's a tool to help you move more safely and confidently while you're recovering.

But here's something worth knowing: having a walking aid doesn't automatically mean it's the right one for you.

Research has found that walking aids are sometimes poorly fitted or used incorrectly. One study of patients recovering from hip fractures found that 32% of those who changed their walking aid were using an inappropriate aid or using it incorrectly.

Whether you've recently had a hip or knee replacement, surgery on your foot or ankle, or another procedure affecting your mobility, getting the right advice can make a difference.

✅ Is your walking aid the right height?

✅ Are you using it correctly?

✅ Are you putting the right amount of weight through your leg?

✅ Is it time to progress to a different aid as you recover?

At Family First Physiotherapy, we're happy to help. If you've recently had surgery and you're unsure about your crutches, stick or walking frame, pop in and speak with us about arranging an assessment. We'll help you work out what's appropriate for your recovery and goals.

Don't just guess your way through recovery. Get the right support, at the right time.

📍 Family First Physiotherapy
🌐 https://familyfirstphysiotherapy.com/