De Quervain's tenosynovitis is a painful condition caused by inflammation of the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, leading to pain and swelling, especially with thumb or wrist movement. Effective exercise therapy includes a mix of isometric, eccentric, and mobility exercises. Below are four exercises based on recent clinical studies and physical therapy best practices.

In a recent blog I discussed how research has shown that even doing as little as 3-4 minutes stretching a day can really help your flexibility. Applying this principle to back stretching I recommend the following 3 minute daily routine which uses 4 simple stretches done in the order shown. This only needs to be done 5 times a week.

This article will cover simple rehab exercises for the most common Achilles tendon problems. It’s worth noting up front that Achilles problems can be slow to heal, and that exercise protocols typically need to be followed for 3 months to get results. Whilst that’s a long time, without intervention, symptoms can last 6 months to over 2 years.

Shin Splints Rehab - 6 key exercises. Like a lot of sports injuries, there is no universally agreed-upon rehab protocol for shin splints (MTSS), but based on recent research, 6 of the most important strengthening and stretching exercises for rehabilitating shin splints (MTSS) are shown in this article.

A 2023 study found that all types of exercise helped with tennis elbow to some degree, but combining wrist stretching with strengthening worked best.  This article covers 3 different exercises you can do at home to help your tennis elbow.

Patients who have some degree of hypermobility in their joints can often pick up injuries to their spines, hips and shoulders. Such patients benefit from stabilizing their bodies by working on their core muscles and the muscles that control the movement of their shoulders and hips. 

This blog will cover a protocol for rehabilitating calf muscle strains.

Calf muscle injuries are notoriously tricky to rehab,  and there is currently no universally agreed recovery protocol, even amongst the world's leading sports  injury specialists. If you have a calf muscle strain, it’s worth trying to get your rehab right, as calves are particularly prone to being re-injured.

Ankle sprain rehab is important. If you skimp on it, you may get ongoing problems with your ankle.  During rehab you should gradually reduce the amount of time spent wearing an ankle brace and also start some controlled weight-bearing balance exercises and muscle strengthening exercises for the injured ankle. 

The main types of exercises recommended for rehabilitating hamstring injuries are progressive running exercises and eccentric hamstring exercises.

I have repeatedly found with patients with a rounded upper back that using a back roller for just a few minutes every day can help keep their upper backs mobile and pain-free.

Research has shown that tractioning your low back can be a safe and effective way to relieve low back pain, particularly if you have an intervertebral disc injury, either with or without sciatica. Traction is also useful for alleviating low back pain from other causes.

Research has shown that strengthening and stretching the foot and calf muscles together with improving ankle and big toe mobility can help alleviate plantar fasciitis.

People who have jobs where they are sitting all day may want to consider breaking up the sitting with some short periods of ‘active rest’ positions like squatting, which appear to offer health benefits.

Here is a simple and quick exercise that patients can try at home if they think their pelvis is out. This is an ‘at home’ version of an exercise I have consistently found useful when trying to correct pelvic twisting in my patients.

There is evidence to show that sometimes sciatic pain is actually being caused by the sciatic nerve being stuck to the tissues in the gluteal (buttock) region.

Gluteus medius is a small but important muscle in your buttocks that connects your hip and your pelvis. Its primary role is to help stabilise the pelvis and support movements of the hip joint.

My favourite core stability exercise is the ‘suck it in’, otherwise known as the ‘abdominal draw-in manoeuvre’ (ADIM). This exercise is easy to learn and perform, and can be done without putting strain on your body.

Bone breathing is my favourite relaxation/breathing exercise, which I first learned about in a book by Michael Gearin-Tosh, a man who survived a serious form of cancer against the odds.

In my experience, when patients have hips that aren’t moving properly they have usually lost backward movement (extension) and inward movement (internal rotation).

If you have been told that you have a rounded upper back, then these are some exercises that can help restore a more natural upper back position and range of movement. It takes many years ( sometimes decades) for people’s backs to round in this way, so improvement is usually slow and minor, but often even minor changes can help alleviate problems.