Plantar Fasciitis Treatment Options

Plantar fasciitis is extremely common affecting around 10% of the adult population at some time in life. Commonly plantar fasciitis is associated with heel spurs however on x-ray only 50% of patients with plantar fasciitis have evidence of calcification through the heel (DiMarcangelo, 1997).

Commonly plantar fasciitis symptoms start as an awareness or ache in the morning. Relief treatment can be quite simple at this time however if it is left, these symptoms will often slowly progress to pain that significantly impacts quality of life.

When targeting plantar fasciitis symptoms your practitioner will guide you through the best strategy or combination of strategies to help relieve and control your individual pain. At Body Leadership Australia we recommend a multimodal approach utilising a number of different treatment options.

Soft Tissue Release
Tightness of the muscles surrounding the foot have been found to pull hard enough on the bones that they alter the natural shape of the foot and ankle often leading to plantar fasciitis pain. Accordingly, release techniques and stretching of the lower limb muscles can have an effect on decreasing symptoms associated with plantar fasciitis.

Stretching
Strategic stretching of the calf muscles and Achilles tendon or on the plantar fascia itself can decrease pain associated with plantar fasciitis. You should get a program tailored to your individual needs.

Orthotics
Orthotics can help to relieve the effects of plantar fasciitis. Changing the weight load through the foot can allow the inflammatory response to settle by supporting the foot appropriately.

Night Splints (Strassburg Sock)
The use of a night splint can reduce recovery time compared to the same protocol utilising standing stretches through the calf.

Cortisone
Cortisone was always a last resort due to potential complications and pain post injection. Now with ultrasound guidance outcomes have improved and we see them used more effectively. Cortisone options can be discussed with your health care professional.

Surgery
A number of studies found 75% to 95% of patients had long term improvement as measured by various criteria. Up to 27% of patients still had significant pain, up to 20% had some activity restriction, and up to 12% had moderate pain that impaired function (Brown et al., 1999; Davies et al., 1999; Fishco et al., 2000). Surgical options are always a last resort.

Once your pain is treated and controlled it is important to understand your individual factors that predispose you to plantar fasciitis which can be explained by your physiotherapist. You can then be taught a home program to release tension, particularly through the calf as well as the foot to nip problems in the bud. This can also be optimised using home exercises to improve strength for better control of your biomechanics long term.

If you, your friend or family member suffer from plantar fasciitis please do not hesitate to contact one of our friendly Brisbane sports physiotherapists on 07 3847 8040. Our Brisbane sports physios can also provide treatment from our Brisbane Sports Physiotherapy practice.

Cladding the Queenslander House

Cladding the Queensland house or ‘Queenslander’ with vinyl cladding speaks eloquently of our distinctive lifestyle and is one of the most sensible alternatives to the regular high maintenance of the exterior of our houses whilst also maintaining it’s distinctive character and architectural design.

Queensland has more than one type of housing but a traditional past of building with timber has been dominant. This distinctive tradition originated with rough timber huts of early settlement and developed into the multi-gabled bungalows of the 1930s. Buildings continued until, and were adapted after, the Second World War, leading to more contemporary timber houses.

The most typical early twentieth century Queensland house is characterised by:
• timber construction with corrugated-iron roof;
• highset on timber stumps;
• single-skin cladding for partitions and sometimes external walls;
• verandahs front and/or back, and sometimes the sides;
• decorative features to screen the sun or ventilate the interior.

Some of the negatives for the Queenslander were the high maintenance and poor insulation of the external walls as they were only single skinned and required regular painting. One of the most cost effective ways of rectifying these negatives is to have insulated vinyl cladding install directly over the existing exterior walls. This will leave you with an almost maintenance free exterior that never needs to be painted and also makes the house warmer in winter and helps with cooling costs in the summer.

Vinyl cladding, despite its relatively low price, is an extremely durable product. The colour of vinyl house cladding will last much longer than a cladding option that is painted. The cladding won’t dent like aluminium cladding, and unlike wood cladding, vinyl cladding is resistant to moisture, mould and insects so it won’t rot or deteriorate like wood can over time. In fact, vinyl cladding is one of the most durable options of any type of exterior cladding on the market. Our vinyl wall cladding can withstand extremes in weather including temperature changes and relatively high wind speeds. In fact, our cladding can even withstand cyclonic force winds. The manufacturer of our cladding is so confident in the product they offer an extensive lifetime warranty to back up their claims of how durable the product is.

Keep the character of your Queensland home, reduce maintenance and add insulation.

We offer free quotes for new and old buildings, why not call us today on 1800 684 717 or check out these web sites: Cladding Townsville – Cladding Bundaberg – Cladding Ipswich .

Social Media for Brisbane Businesses Explained

On-line social media has utterly changed not only the way users interact, but more importantly the way that customers interact with business interests.

With more than 700 million users worldwide, Facebook on its own is a colossal marketing entity, and of course there are many others such as Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin and Google Plus. Although there is a lot of media hype and hysteria, social media sites have fundamentally changed the way that any type of business that has a public presence operates, and are now as essential to a business as an email address and a homepage.

But along with all of the clear changes social media has brought to the marketing environment, it is essential to hold a realistic assessment of its capabilities and results.

Unfortunately, with any kind of new marketing bandwagon comes a multitude of shonky or impractical fly-by-night firms and “social media experts” that focus on naïve businesses by over-hyping the possibilities and being unable to deliver.

Millions of dollars and incalculable time is wasted on useless social media ideas every year. Social media is not magic. Without solid marketing and business fundamentals behind you, a social media presence will fail and -depressingly- be a waste of time and money.

Despite hyping the misconception of ‘free’ advertising with its lack of start-up and hosting fees, social media must have a constant presence, site maintenance and fresh content for successful results, which means valuable time spent on it that most companies can’t afford to spare. This is where Social Media Brisbane can do the work for you, while allowing room for oversight and approval by clients.

Examples of where people often do the wrong thing with social media include:

• Bad Content
Boring or stolen items, out-dated advice, and embarrassing attempts to be groovy are common when it comes to content published online. Be honest with yourself, people who do business on the internet are quite shrewd, and can sniff out smarm and condescension without too much trouble.

• Impatience
Developing a healthy online social network takes time and diligence. A successful network can’t just sprout up in a snap, it takes time and content in order to grow. Some businesses will create a social media profile, watch the results for a couple of weeks and then quit with frustration when they don’t get the unrealistic results they wanted.
This also ties into:

• Consistency
Spacing content out regularly over a number of platforms is far better than using all of your content up at once or not updating at all. Nobody likes a spammer, but with the overload of information that we receive all the time, without a steady reminder of your brand’s presence you will very quickly be forgotten. Just a weekly update will do wonders for continuing and developing relationships with customers.

The team here at Social Media Brisbane understand exactly how social media operates, and treat it as a part of a company’s marketing strategy rather than the be all and end all.

Most importantly, we also integrate revolutionary Search Engine Optimization systems into our work, which is something no other social media group does.

Choosing consultants who value gimmicks over content and that endlessly throw around buzzwords like “viral” or “Web 2.0” instead of showing strategy and results can only result in it having been an exercise in frustration.

If you are looking for a social media consultancy based in Brisbane, contact the Brisbane SEO Company today on 3166 9622.

Cladding Mackay – Consider Vinyl Cladding Over Painting

Over the past several decades, more and more people have become aware of the numerous benefits of modern vinyl cladding and started to use it instead of paint. Paint is a great choice if you plan on selling the house in the near future since it does not involve a major investment, but if you want to make your home more comfortable, then vinyl cladding is the best choice. The truth is that vinyl cladding does have a series of advantages that should be taken into account if you want to get the best quality for your money. Here you will find the most important benefits:

What Is Vinyl Cladding?
In order to fully understand its benefits, you must firstly know what vinyl cladding is. In a nutshell, this is a type of cladding made from PVC combined with several other substances that aim to increase durability. This material is fixed on the exterior of your home to improve its overall aspect and also for improving thermal performance. Paint, on the other hand, is used only for improving the aspect of your home and it does not improve the thermal performance of your house in any way.

This type of cladding is also very durable in the long run, unlike paint which peels off and loses its intensity thoughout the years. This is possible with the help of the acrylic components found in vinyl cladding, which help it stand the test of time – and weather! It does not rot or crust, and it can last for decades even in the harshest weather conditions.

One of the most important advantages of this type of cladding is that unlike paint, it is very easy to maintain in the long run, and it adds value to your home. Paint is difficult to maintain over the years as it can easily deteriorate, but fortunately this is not the case with this type of cladding: you can easily wash it with a sprayer and some mild detergent once in a while, and that is it! It is true that vinyl cladding does require an initial investment, but the quality and the comfort are certainly worth it. Besides, this will also lower your energy bills.

Vinyl cladding is undoubtedly one of the most affordable and versatile cladding options: you can easily adapt it in order to match the overall style of your home, no matter if you own a traditional or a modern house. All you need in order to make your home stylish and unique is some high-quality products and a little bit of creativity. Besides, it is so affordable that you can even clad your entire home with it without having to spend a little fortune!

Last but certainly not least, another great benefit of this type of cladding is that it comes with an important warranty that confirms the quality and the durability of the material. This warranty will give you the peace of mind you need: your investment is fully protected, should anything happen with the cladding.

In conclusion, these are the main advantages of vinyl cladding over painting. Painting may be cheaper, but it is less durable in the long run, it does involve some maintenance costs, it can easily peel off and it does not improve the thermal performance. On the other hand, vinyl cladding is extremely durable, affordable, easy to maintain, it adds extra style to your home and it improves thermal performance as well. For cladding Mackay contact Prestige Exteriors today. Make sure you check out the before and after photo gallery.

How to stop the flood of election junk mail?

Wherever you live in the world, whether it is a Local Council, Federal, Presidential or State election, your mailbox will groan with the weight of materials aimed at getting your vote. It might be the digital era, but it seems that a piece of paper in your letterbox is still considered the most efficient way of getting a message across.

While an informed electorate is important for the democratic process, there appears to be a glut of over-sending of junk mail for political purposes – and no clear way on how to stop this. What’s worse, the content of most of the political flyers is simply mudslinging about their opponents with no intellectual substance. Is anyone else reminded of children in the playground?

How can you help stop this unnecessary waste of resources? Imagine the strain on our environment and the large volume of greenhouse gases generated from all the trees cut down, printing, electricity and transport of the materials. Grab a cup of tea or your water bottle and let’s get down to it.

We know in Australia that material deemed to be political, educational, religious and charitable is exempt from “No Junk Mail” signed letterboxes according to standards developed by the Australian Catalogue Association. So there is no way to stop it being dumped in your letterbox along with the other junk mail catalogues enticing you to buy all sorts of stuff you don’t really need. It is probably the same in other countries.

Step 1. Incorrectly addressed political mail
A lot of of your mail may be addressed to past occupants of the house. You need to “return this to sender” with the note “no longer at this address”.

Step 2. Contact each political party or politician that is mailing you
There is no central database so you will need to call the office of each individual sender and ask to be removed from their mailing list. Remember to be nice! You catch more bees with honey than vinegar.

Step 3. National Standard to stop political junk mail
Write a letter to the Electoral Commission asking them to implement a National Standard to limit the number of pieces each political party is allowed to put in each household’s letterbox.

Step 4. Polling day
Don’t forget to recycle any materials you are given on the day – often the Greens Party has a box at the booths for such materials on polling day!

Written by Tracey Bailey, Director of Biome Eco Stores in Brisbane, specialists in water bottles and eco friendly, reusable choices for your home, body and lifestyle.