René Alberts & Nicola Michau Physiotherapy

14/10/2026

Back pain can be concerning, but it doesn't always mean harm or injury.

Here are 10 things you need to know about your back🌟👇

07/10/2026

They work together every time you move, but they don’t do the same job.

💪 MUSCLE contracts to help create movement and force.
🕸️ FASCIA surrounds and connects muscles and other structures, helping support the body and transfer force as you move.

Think of it this way:
Muscles create the pull.
Fascia helps connect it through the body.

You need both to move as one connected system.

18/09/2026

💥Pain & Sleep💤

Sleep disturbance is among the most frequently reported symptoms in our chronic pain patient population.

The link between poor sleep and pain is well known.

● Poor sleep quality aggrevates pain and at the same time pain can distrupt sleep💤

● Addressing this cycle is a crucial part of pain management

Struggling with sleep? Here are some easy tips to improve your sleep👇

08/09/2026

According to the IASP pain is defined as:
" An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with actual or potensial tissue damage"

What does this mean:

✨️ Pain is always a personal experience influenced by your own biological, psychological and social factors

✨️ Pain can be influenced by past experiences

✨️ Pain and nociception are not the same

✨️ Your description of your pain and your lived experience are real, valid and deserve to be respected

Keep an eye out for more information as we acknowledge Pain Awereness Month 👀

02/09/2026

🌟SEPTEMBER is PAIN Awareness Month🌟

Whether you are suffering from acute or chornic pain, it can be an unpleasant expience.

For the month of September we will share some nice concepts and thoughts with you on pain and the management thereof!

Just know you are seen, and YOUR pain experience is valid✨️

Stay tuned for more info💪

24/08/2026

20/08/2026

Two people can sustain the same spinal cord injury and end up with very different pain outcomes.

A new study suggests the gap isn't just about the injury itself. Factors like mobility, access to care, and overall health may help explain why—which means some disparities may be more changeable than we think.

Open access paper here: https://bit.ly/4wX2zpf

14/08/2026

Happy Friday😉

13/08/2026

🩻 Think a “slipped disc” automatically means surgery? Think again.

One of the scariest things you can hear after an MRI is:
“You’ve got a slipped disc.”

But here’s something you might not know 👇:

For most people with an acute slipped disc and sciatica, surgery isn’t the first step — and many people improve without it.
📈 Research suggests that around 7–8 out of 10 people experience substantial improvement within the first 6–12 weeks without surgery.
And over the longer term, 80–90% can experience significant recovery without an operation.

But here’s where it gets really interesting…
🧬 Your body can actually help clean up the problem.
In some cases, the body gradually breaks down and absorbs the herniated disc material — a process known as spontaneous disc resorption.
One recent evidence review found disc resorption in approximately 76% of conservatively treated patients.
So what if your MRI looks… terrifying? 😳
An MRI can show a significant disc protrusion or herniation, but how dramatic the scan looks doesn’t always tell us how someone will feel or how they will recover.
For many people, the initial approach involves things like:

🚶‍♀️ Appropriate pain management
🏋️ Guided rehabilitation
📈 Gradually returning to normal activity
⏳ And, importantly, giving the body time to recover

That doesn't mean surgery is never necessary. A smaller number of people may need an operation, particularly when symptoms remain severely disabling, neurological weakness progresses, or emergency warning signs develop.
So if you’ve been told you have a “slipped disc”, don’t automatically assume that surgery is your only option.

Sometimes, the body is already doing more healing than you realise.

References:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11465477/
https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj-2022-070730/

31/07/2026

Great post by Stanford Pain Medicine

Every little bit counts. Start small and gradually build up💪🌟

Struggling to find the right activity or dosage for you? Give us a call and we will guide you through it!

☎️013 282 4440
📍31 Joubert Street

One of the biggest misconceptions about chronic pain is that pain always means you should stop moving.

While rest is important after an injury, chronic pain is different. Research suggests that appropriately tailored movement can improve strength, endurance, mobility, sleep, and quality of life.

You don't have to start with a workout. A short walk, stretching, gardening, or playing with your kids can all be meaningful ways to move.

For many people, success isn't measured by a lower pain score. It's measured by getting back to the things that make life meaningful.