Form Osteopathy

Form Osteopathy Osteopathy, dry needling and exercise rehabilitation for spinal pain, headaches and sporting injury.

What does creatine actually do in the body?Creatine’s primary role is energy recycling.Your muscles rely on ATP for ener...
29/05/2026

What does creatine actually do in the body?

Creatine’s primary role is energy recycling.

Your muscles rely on ATP for energy. Creatine (stored as phosphocreatine) helps regenerate ATP rapidly, allowing you to sustain effort for longer or recover faster.

Systematic reviews show creatine consistently improves strength and power outcomes when combined with resistance training.

The supplement creatine is having a real moment across the health and fitness space.Once mainly associated with male bod...
26/05/2026

The supplement creatine is having a real moment across the health and fitness space.

Once mainly associated with male bodybuilders, it’s now widely used across strength training, general fitness and increasingly in women’s health and performance circles.

So, what is it and should you be taking it?

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound stored mainly in your muscles, where it helps rapidly regenerate energy during high-intensity activity. Your body produces some of it in the liver, kidneys and pancreas, and the rest comes from your diet.

People supplement with creatine to increase energy stores, which can improve athletic performance. Over time, this can also support increases in strength and lean muscle mass when combined with resistance training.

Creatine can also help your body recover faster between high-intensity efforts.

There is also emerging research exploring creatine’s role in brain energy metabolism, with some studies suggesting potential benefits for cognitive function. However, this area is still developing compared to its well-established role in muscle performance.

Interestingly, although very popular at present, creatine isn’t new a new supplement. It’s actually one of the most researched supplements in sports nutrition, with decades of consistent evidence behind it.

ITB syndrome is a compression injury and not a friction injury as originally thought. Training load errors are what resu...
19/05/2026

ITB syndrome is a compression injury and not a friction injury as originally thought.

Training load errors are what result in this injury and need to be carefully managed in order to recover properly.

It is important to keep as active as possible by treating ITB syndrome with an active load progressive rehabilitation program.

But patients must understand that patience is required as recovering from ITB syndrome doesn’t happen overnight.

Looking into your running biomechanics may also assist in the treatment and recovery from ITB syndrome. Stay tuned for a future post on running biomechanics, we’re well deep dive on this topic.

To read the full post on managing ITB syndrome, click here > https://www.formosteopathy.com/blog/struggling-with-outer-knee-pain-a-guide-to-itb-syndrome-for-runners

Do hip abductor exercises help treat ITB syndrome?When assessing runners with ITB syndrome, one of the key things we loo...
14/05/2026

Do hip abductor exercises help treat ITB syndrome?

When assessing runners with ITB syndrome, one of the key things we look for is excessive pelvic tilt, or a ‘hip drop’, during running.

This running pattern can increase strain on the outside of the knee and contribute to irritation of the fat pad below the ITB.

While strengthening the hip abductors is still an important part of rehabilitation and overall running performance, studies show that strength work alone is insufficient to alter abnormal movement patterns, such as hip drop.

To change this movement pattern, running gait retraining is often needed.

This typically involves a treadmill-based running assessment with real-time visual feedback, helping a runner understand how they move and gradually adjust their mechanics to reduce load on the knee.

The goal of the running retraining is to improve how their body manages load while running.

ITB syndrome is now understood as irritation of a highly sensitive fat pad beneath the ITB, rather than just a simple ‘f...
12/05/2026

ITB syndrome is now understood as irritation of a highly sensitive fat pad beneath the ITB, rather than just a simple ‘friction’ problem.

The cornerstone of treatment for ITB syndrome, particularly for runners, includes load management, gait retraining, and progressive hip and pelvic strength work.

But occasionally symptoms remain highly irritable or fail to progress despite good rehab.

If imaging (ultrasound/MRI) shows localised inflammation or fluid deep to the ITB, targeted injections can be considered to help settle the pain and allow rehab to move forward.

Here are some injections that might be considered for treatment:

💉 Corticosteroid (cortisone) injections 💉

Cortisone is a potent anti-inflammatory and can provide rapid short-term pain relief, particularly when symptoms are limited to walking or running.

🔷 Injected beneath the ITB (not into it) at the painful interface
🔷 Can quickly reduce local irritation
🔷 Often used to create a ‘window’ for rehab

It’s important to note that cortisone doesn’t address the underlying cause (load and biomechanics), so rehab remains essential.

As practitioners we are usually reserved about prescribing multiple cortisone injections, to avoid long-term tissue damage.

💉 PRP (platelet-rich plasma) 💉

PRP is sometimes used with the aim of modulating inflammation and supporting tissue healing.

🔷 Evidence for PRP in ITB syndrome is limited
🔷 Its use is largely extrapolated from tendinopathy research
🔷 Outcomes appear variable and less predictable

In practice, PRP is typically reserved for chronic, persistent cases that haven’t responded to standard care. They can, however, be performed multiple times without detrimental effects.

Injections can be useful tools for treating ITB syndrome, but they are adjuncts, not solutions for long-term recovery.

06/05/2026

While some might consider the ability to do a pull up simply a ‘flex’, pull ups are in fact a very challenging compound functional movement and an excellent upper body exercise.

Pull ups strengthen the back, arm, shoulder and core muscles, and improve grip strength – a key biomarker for longevity.

There are many pull up variations and modifications to suit any level. Beginners can start by simply hanging from the pull up bar then build up to using an assisted pull up machine or doing band-assisted pull ups.

Advanced variations can involve performing a pull up with your knees bent or even progressing to performing pull ups with a weighted belt for added weight/strength building.

Overall, pull ups are fantastic at building muscle, and increasing strength and endurance.

And if you can do a series of pull ups, it’s totally a flex and you should own it!

🦿Does foam rolling help ITB syndrome? 🦿Despite widespread use, foam rolling does not appear to help with ITB syndrome an...
30/04/2026

🦿Does foam rolling help ITB syndrome? 🦿

Despite widespread use, foam rolling does not appear to help with ITB syndrome and may increase compression at the irritated site.

Foam rolling does not address the underlying load capacity issue and is not supported as a primary treatment option.

❤️‍🩹 How to rehabilitate ITB syndrome ❤️‍🩹It’s key to remember that load magnitude is far more important than training v...
28/04/2026

❤️‍🩹 How to rehabilitate ITB syndrome ❤️‍🩹

It’s key to remember that load magnitude is far more important than training volume. Therefore, the rehabilitation of ITB syndrome should be guided by load management and progressive capacity building.

At the first stage of ITB syndrome – the pain dominant phase – aggravating exercises such as running should be reduced or ceased to reduce irritation.

In the second stage of rehabilitation – the load dominate phase - rehabilitation aims to build the tissue’s capacity to handle load through structured exercise progression.

In this phase, the first step emphasises capacity and control before then introducing higher forces and sport-specific demands.

During running, the body experiences three distinct loads – peak loads, energy storage and release, cumulative loads.

Each of these loads needs to be addressed in a rehabilitation program for ITB syndrome.

🔷 Peak loads: should be addressed with heavy, slow resistance training.
🔷 Energy storage and release: addressed with plyometric exercises.
🔷 Cumulative loading: by a graded return to running program.

23/04/2026

🏃‍♀️Running biomechanics: narrow step width 🏃‍♀️

Another behaviour commonly seen is a narrow step width (also known as cross-over gait).

This is observed from behind a runner (coronal view) and is when half (or more) of the foot striking the ground crosses over the body’s midline.

Although in part a foot placement strategy, a 2015 study showed that a narrow step width is correlated with overstriding.

Overstriding also plays a role in the increased hip adduction that we often see in conjunction with a pelvic drop (Trendelenburg’s sign) and reduced knee window (dynamic valgus).

It is not solely what happens at the knee, but what we observe happening above (proximal) and below (distal) the knee joint during the stance phase that impacts mechanical stress at the ITB insertion.

The most important thing to note with overstriding, hip drop, knee valgus and a narrow step width is that strength training alone does not resolve any of these behaviours.

Strength is important, yes. However, these are motor control issues and rely on feedback and re-training to improve.

21/04/2026

🦵Running biomechanics: overstriding🦵

Overstriding involves ‘overshooting’ the ideal landing position of the foot relative to our centre of mass.

What this looks like is a leg that lands with the knee in too much extension, such that the tibia is not in a vertical position upon impact.

There is plenty of research to indicate that this is a common factor contributing to running-related injuries.

Striding correlates with running cadence i.e. the number of steps taken per minute.

To limit the tendency to overstride it is best to think ‘run with more steps’, otherwise known as a higher cadence.

This will bring your centre of mass and the landing position of the foot closer together.

The effect is that the foot, knee and hip will all be in an efficient position to absorb kinetic energy and produce forces for push-off.

This may feel like it will slow you down because you are not pushing off with as much effort on each stride, however a high running cadence will also improve your running efficiency and overall performance, once you get the hang of it.

Of course, you will need to have your cadence measured and correlated with the pace you are running at before any adjustments are made.

Address

91 Upton Street
Bundall, QLD
4217

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61755316422

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Form Osteopathy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Form Osteopathy:

Shortcuts

Share

Category