Spring has well and truly sprung, leading to a great number of us suffering from Allergic Rhinitis – also known as hay fever.

Hay fever can occur seasonally or year round and symptoms differ from person to person. It’s estimated that 20% of people will suffer from hay fever at any given time.

Interestingly hay fever is not caused by hay and doesn’t result in fever! Instead it is caused by allergens such as pollens, dust mites, mould and animal hair.

Signs and symptoms of hay fever include a runny nose, rubbing of the nose, itchy nose, itchy watery eyes or sneezing.

Here are some general preventative steps that might help: avoid cutting grass, playing or walking in grassy areas, and camping; wear wraparound sunglasses; change yourclothes and take a shower after being outdoors to remove the pollen on your body; keep the windows closed at home and in the car, and use recirculating air-conditioning in the car; try to stay indoors when the pollen index or count is high (refer to Weather zone www.weatherzone.com.au), or the pollen forecast and if possible, avoid drying clothes outside. This will help prevent bringing pollen into your house.

There are several treatment options for hay fever, so call in and speak to one of the friendly pharmacists or team members at Flannery’s or Life Pharmacy to tailor an effective solution for you.

Treatment options include but are not limited to: Antihistamine tablets, eye drops and nasal sprays (non-sedating) to help reduce symptoms such as sneezing, itchy and irritated eyes. These only need to be taken when you have the symptoms.

Nasal Corticosteroid sprays, a potent anti-inflammatory action when used regularly. Perfect for those who suffer regular/seasonal allergies.

Now that the days are getting longer and warmer, we tend to take on more chores in and around our homes.

Extra gardening, dusting off the cobwebs, window cleaning, spring cleaning and preparation for Christmas becomes an added part to our day.

Long and extended activity that has not formed part of our usual routine may lead to a lot of muscle and joint pain.

To avoid these unwanted muscle and joint pains it is important to take precautions prior to doing these jobs.

Start by stretching your arms and legs. Take regular breaks and walk around a little.

Combined with drinking enough water, sore limbs and other injuries may be eliminated. These allow our body to resume its normal posture.

Planning ahead by doing a little extra each day will also enable you to get the task done with much less pain.

Remember, the quicker you receive massage therapy the quicker the recovery time.

To schedule a massage appointment contact Greg Howell at Forbes Bowen Therapy

& Wellness on 0427 592 771.

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylalgia) is a general term used to describe pain on the outside of the elbow. Ironically, most people who get tennis elbow do not play tennis and whilst pain is felt at the elbow it is a degenerative problem that involves the wrist and finger extensor muscles.

Typically, those with tennis elbow will experience pain when performing gripping tasks or resisted wrist or finger extension. There will be tenderness over the bone on the outside of the elbow and the muscles of the forearm may feel very tight. Often grip strength is decreased and it is painful to grip or lift objects or to shake hands.

In the not so distant past, it was thought that this was an inflammatory condition and the common advice was to rest, and take anti-inflammatories. We now know that this is a degenerative condition of the tendon where the wrist extensors attach to the lateral epicondyle of the elbow. The cause can be due to one large/strong movement or repeated movements that stress the tendon to the point where the tendon is unable to repair as quickly as damage is occurring.

Initially treatment involves rest from the aggravating activities and gentle strengtheningexercises to stimulate the growth of new tendon cells within the tendon. Load management is important, for example instead of painting that room in one day complete it over several days to minimise aggravation. Initially isometric exercises such as tensing your forearm muscles without moving your wrist will help relieve symptoms. These are later progressed to eccentric strengthening exercises to prevent reinjury.

For the fitness of you,

Linda Reilly

With winter sports winding up and pre-season training for summer sports commencing, it is not surprising that today I saw my first case of shin splints (Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome), for this year.

Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) is the medical name for lower leg pain that occurs below the knee on either the front outside part of the leg (anterior shin splints) or the inside of the leg (medial shin splints). MTTS is a common injury seen in many running or jumping based sports for example, basketball, netball, football or hockey.

Shin splints most commonly occur when repetitive or prolonged activities place strain on where the muscles attach to the outside lining of the bone (tenoperiosteum). Put simply, the cause of MTTS can be summed up in four words: too much too soon. Athletes often first experience shin pain early in the season due to deconditioning and when training surfaces are generally harder. Later in the season it can be caused by increased load or fatigue from over training and not allowing enough time for recovery between activities.

If you have shin splints stretch your calf muscles regularly through the day. Another good stretch is to kneel on a carpeted floor with your legs and feet together and toes pointed directly back then slowly sit back onto your heels, pushing your ankles onto the floor until you feel tension in the muscles in your shin. Hold for 15 seconds then relax and repeat. When you return to sport, increase your load slowly and avoid running on hills and hard surfaces until your pain goes completely.

“For the fitness of you”

Linda Reilly