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Inner West Spinal & Sports Injury Centre
 Contact & Location Information
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| Contact Name | Dominic Salvemini |
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| Address |
cnr Northumberland Ave 170 Parramatta RD Stanmore 2048 |
| Servicing Areas | Stanmore |
| Phone | 02 9518 0722 |
| Fax | 02 9518 0788 |
We offer quality Chiropractic care, Massage therapy & Podiatry all under the one roof in a convenient location.
Inner West Spinal & Sports Injury Centre
Welcome to Inner West Spinal & Sports Injury Centre
Whether you have a current injury or are wanting to prevent one from ocurring in the future, at the Inner West Spinal & Sports Injury we are highly experienced and qualified to help keep your body functioning optimally.
Our experienced practitioners include 4 chiropractors who are able to treat the whole family, 4 massage therapists who can tailor their massage to your specific needs (including pregnancy massage), and a podiatrist who specializes in biomechanics, postural solutions & sports podiatry.
Some of our practitoners are highly effective public speakers and educators and are able to undertake group and/or workplace seminars on injury prevention, and general health & safety.
We are open from Monday to Saturday with varied practice hours to suit everyone. Ample off street (non-metered) parking is available in the streets surrounding the practice.
DOMINIC SALVEMINI
Dominic has been practicing for the last 12 years and has built up a loyal and satisfied client base. Dominic specialises in biomechanics, postural solutions and sports podiatry.
He graduated from the University of South Australia in 1996 before moving to Canberra. There he cut his teeth, in one of Australia's pioneering biomechanics podiatry practices. It was here that Dominic had the opportunity of working with members of the AIS athletics and cycling teams as well as premier level footballers.
WHAT IS PODIATRY?
Podiatry and “Sports Podiatry” are the specialty of diagnosing, treating and managing, disorders and resultant injuries of the feet and legs.
The feet are examples of complex human engineering with 52 bones and an intricate network of joints, ligaments and muscles designed to carry us on our journey through life. Improper structure or function of the foot can therefore obviously result in a wide range of injuries to the legs and feet, but also cause problems throughout the entire musculoskeletal system of the human body.
A detailed understanding of the interaction between each of these structures is needed in order to make an accurate diagnosis of foot and leg pathology.
COMMON PODIATRIC CONDITIONS
Podiatric clients include children of all ages, sports people and elite athletes through to members of the general community.
Typical podiatric problems may be related to improper development, occupation, sport & recreation. Or come about due to an underlying mechanical fault of that person’s leg or foot structure. Most often, a combination of all these factors results in podiatric injuries.
Some of the most common problems and injuries treated by podiatrists include:
Sports podiatry can also ensure optimal mechanical performance for the sports person wanting to avoid injury and maximise performance.
OUR PROTOCOL
After presentation and establishment of symptoms and concerns, all clients are thoroughly examined. Ensuring accurate diagnosis, the greatest levels of treatment quality and problem resolution.
Your assessment includes:
Once assessment is complete accurate diagnosis is made and an appropriate treatment regime prescribed.
Typical treatment modalities include custom computerised/digital orthotic therapy, advice on running shoes, football boots and other sporting footwear ultrasound, strapping, muscular strengthening and stretching regimes, massage and trigger point therapy, neural and fascial release, joint mobilisation, as well as acute injury treatment. Note: Only the most advanced forms of prescription digitalised orthotic therapy will be employed ensuring the most effective and comfortable results.
Clients are guided through every step of their treatment programmes and reviewed as frequently as necessary to enable and maintain optimum results.
As previously mentioned, podiatry may be employed not only for specific foot and leg conditions, but also to enhance and or assist chiropractic treatment. Many of the structural anomalies treated by chiropractic are due to improper positioning of the pelvis and spine. Poor foot and leg structure and/or function can cause imbalanced pelvic and spinal rotation. In such cases podiatric treatment can be a priceless tool in ensuring and maintaining chiropractic health.
SOME COMMON CONDITIONS EXPLAINED
PLANTAR FASCIITIS
Plantar Fasciitis is an injury causing heel pain and pain along the arch of the foot the plantar fascia is a thick fibrous band of tissue in the bottom of the foot which runs from the heel to the base of the toes. When placed under too much stress, the plantar fascia stretches too far and frays, or tears, resulting in inflammation of the fascia and the surrounding tissues. The tears are soon covered with scar tissue, which is less flexible than the fascia and only aggravates the problem
Symptoms
Typically symptoms are worst first thing in the morning or with activity after a period of rest and may include. Pain at the base of the heel., heel pain at the origin of the arch ligament when weight is put on the foot, pain at this point if standing on tip toes, tenderness and swelling under the heel, numbness along the outside of the sole of the foot.
Causes
Is caused by stress, tension and pulling on the plantar fascia due to muscular imbalance (typically inflexible calf muscles and weakness of the foot supporting muscles). Also, poor mechanical structure (either excessively flat or too high arched) of the foot placing more stress onto the plantar fascia can cause this injury. Over activity may also lead to plantar fasciitis.
Treatment
The treatment involves rest and icing to alleviate inflammation.
Seek professional assistance from podiatrist for
ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY
Achilles Tendinopathy is a painful and often debilitating condition caused by over stressing the Achilles tendon. Achilles tendinopathy can refer either to inflammation around the tendon (Achilles tendinitis) due to a single incident or a series of very small tears (microtears) in the connective tissue in or around the Achilles tendon (Achilles tendinosis). The injury may occur at the point where the tendon attaches to the heel or at any point along the length of the tendon. Symptoms of Achilles tendinopathy may include pain and tenderness in the affected area, along with decreased strength and movement in the lower leg, swelling and redness. Achilles tendinopathy is caused by overuse and is most often seen in people who have engaged in a sudden increase in activity.
The Achilles tendon is an extension of the two calf muscles; it runs down the back of the lower leg and attaches to the heel bone. The Achilles tendon connects the strong leg muscles to the foot and gives us the ability to rise up on our toes, facilitating walking and running. The Achilles tendon has a poor blood supply so it can be slow to heal.
Because the arch of the foot flattens over time, especially in athletes, someone may be problem-free for years and develop Achilles problems later in life. In these people, the muscles and tendon have little flexibility because of inactivity. It is especially important for people who are just starting to exercise to stretch properly, start slowly, and increase gradually. Correct technique is also essential to minimise overload.Achilles tendinosis weakens the tendon and may make the tendon more vulnerable to tear or rupture. The risk for rerupture increases if the condition is not treated. It can require weeks to months of rest and appropriate structural control for the tendon to slowly repair itself. If you look after this injury early enough you should make a good recovery. It is important you rehabilitate the tendon properly after it has recovered or the injury will return. If you ignore the early warning signs and do not look after this injury then it may become chronic which is very difficult to treat.
Treatment involves initial rest and inflammatory control. Seek professional podiatrist treatment for
SPRAINED ANKLE
Spraining is stretching and tearing of ligaments. The most common mechanism of injury is when the foot lands awkwardly and rolls outwards – the “inversion” sprain ( Less common and typically much more debilitating is spraining due to the foot rolling inwards – the “eversion”sprain. Most commonly the anterior talo-fibular ligament will be sprained. In heavier sprains further ankle ligaments and tendons may be involved
Severity is rated in three degrees. First - being least severe and Third most severe. Ranging from minimal stretching and swelling with perhaps some tearing & no joint instability. Through to total rupture and complete instability.
Causes
A sudden change in direction, poor muscle control, poor proprioception and poor foot structure (excessively high or flat arches) are typically involved in ankle sprains.
Treatment
Reduce swelling with RICE immediately. Protect with strapping, bandage and or crutches if necessary.
Finally ensure that any underlying structural fault of the foot is addressed by podiatrist to minimise reoccurrence.
ITB (ILIO TIBIAL BAND) SYNDROME
The Illiotibial band (ITB) runs down the outside of the thigh, From its origin on the outside of the pelvis at the TFL muscle down to its insertion below the knee.
Cause and Symptoms
Tensioning of the tendon will cause to rub on the bone at the knee and this will eventually become inflamed and painful ( the TFL muscle may also be pulled tight over the outer hip bone causing pain and inflammation over the outer part of the hip) Tensioning may occur due to injury to soft tissue or, due to inappropriate leg rotation caused by collapsing foot structure overloading the ITB. When this happens running can become very painful. If you rest, the inflammation may settle down but if the causative factors are not identified correctly, when you start to run again the symptoms are likely to return. This occurs because the band is tight the tendon will once again become inflamed.
Treatment
Initialy implement R.I.C.E. to control acute factors. Stretch and massage of the Iliotibial band to alleviate contractile forces (Failure to stretch the Iliotibial band properly is highly likely to result in a recurrence of the injury when returning to training).
Gradual return to activity with a graded strengthening program Seek professional podiatry treatment for Controlling of excessive leg rotation caused by poor foot function through prescription of foot orthoses to alleviate any mechanical strain and muscular rebalancing.
SHIN SPLINTS / SHIN PAIN
Shin splints (anterior, medial or lateral tibial/fibular stress syndrome) are an exercise related pain occurring along or just behind the inner edge of the shin ( Tibia).
Symptoms
Include tenderness over the inside of the shin with occasional swelling. Exacerbation of symptom occurs with bending of the toes or foot downwards. Pain is usually most severe at the start of activity, but may alleviate as the muscles “warm up”.
Causes
Overuse of specific muscles due to poor mechanical leg and foot function or due to training errors.
Treatment
Rest from weight bearing and impact creating activity is essential. Apply ice in the early stages to reduce inflammation.
Seek professional podiatrist treatment for
CALF STRAIN
The calf muscles consist of the Gastrocnemius which is the big muscle at the back of the lower leg and the Soleus muscle which is a smaller muscle lower down in the leg and under the Gastrocnemius. Either of these two muscles can be strained (torn). Gastrocnemius-soleus strains are commonly seen in explosive sports such as court sports involving quick moves in all directions and often involve predisposition due to poor leg and foot structure.
Symptoms
Include sudden pain at the back of the leg with difficulty in contracting the muscle or standing on toes. Pain, swelling &/or bruising in the calf muscle may also occur. Most commonly injury will occur at the muscle-tendon junction.
Degree of injury can be graded from First through to Third. Ranging from minimal tear to complete rupture.
Treatment
Involves implementation of RICE for the acute phase. Followed by professional podiatric bracing, massage, rehabilitative stretching and strengthening exercises and control of any predisposing structural anomalies of the leg and foot.
KNEE PAIN (PATELLO-FEMORAL SYNDROME)
Runner’s knee is an overuse injury common with running, jumping and court sports. The basic mechanism of the injury is the mal-tracking of the knee cap upon the knee joint.
Commonly lower limb biomechanical imbalance is the relationship between the foot and the knee. Excessive foot distortion, with flattening of the arch or rolling in of the heel results in internal rotation of the leg, which changes the angular alignment of the knee relative to the leg and foot. Injury occurs in two broad circumstances -- either when the patella is forced with excessive pressure against the underlying femur or when it tracks excessively on one side or other of the groove. In either case, this would cause irritation and abrasion of the cartilage of the patella, resulting in inflammation and pain.
Worthy of note is the fact that an excessively rigid or high arched foot can similarly cause poor tracking and excess jarring at the knee. Both mechanisms will cause compression to the various ligaments, tendons and menisci of the knees leading to conditions such as muscle strain, tendonitis, miniscal tearing, cartilage erosion and cruciate or collateral ligament damage.
Symptoms
Symptoms may include pain going up or down stairs, pain with prolonged sitting, pain deep in front of knee, giving way, swelling and clicking, pain with activity.
Management is based on an abundance of scientific research being led by physiotherapists. Stretching of tight structures, strengthening of weak structures and correction of abnormal biomechanics normally leads to successful recovery and return to sport. The use of tape to hold the patella in place is commonly used.
Treatment
The treatment involves implementation of RICE over the acute phase.
Professional treatment should then be seeked to determine the degree and type of injury .With the implementation of muscular strengthening and stretching of various muscle groups affecting the knee. Electro modalities may be implemented to aid and stimulate repair. Finally any structural or functional anomaly of the foot should be controlled to prevent any torsional stress and instability to the knee.
BUNIONS (HALLUX ABDUCTO VALGUS)
Bunions appear as a misaligned enlargement of the bone on the inside of the foot at the big toe. Bunions tend to be hereditary, but can be aggravated by shoes that are too
narrow or high heeled. Bunion deformity goes through various stages with the initial being moderate malalignment of the toe through to complete distortion of the great toe , large irregular bone formation at the inside of the joint and contracture of the second toe ( at this stage bunions will be painful and debilitating). Poor foot biomechanics including flat feet can lead to bunions by causing accelerated mechanical arthritic change at the big toe joint.
Accommodating footwear and pressure relieving devices can be implemented to alleviate acute pain and inflammation associated with bunions.
However professional podiatric assessment and treatment of underlying structural anomalies of the foot need to be assessed and treated in order to prevent the further development of the bunion deformity.
Contact Us - 02 9518 0722
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