TWO Knee OA treatments exclusive to 6S PHYSIO!

At 6S PHYSIO we’ve always been leaders – taking up new treatment methods and delivering results that other practices are yet to discover.

We want you to know how we can help you manage the chronic knee pain that your osteoarthritis is causing you.  On top of manual therapy and exercise-based treatment – both of which can be very effective, with exercise really being essential to long term success in managing your Knee OA, we have been successfully using two pieces of advanced technology that help calm knees down and build them up.

Here’s a very brief summary of two of our favourite tools for helping people with OA Knees (and then there’s a 5-min YouTube clip that also summarizes this stuff!).

(1) K-Laser & (2) Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFR)

K-Laser

Laser treatment of inflamed joints – both acute and chronic – has been shown to be effective and safe (as it is for a wide range of other conditions as well).  Carefully applied, it can reduce swelling, optimise inflammation (supporting the healing side but reducing the painful side of inflammation) and reduce pain.  It doesn’t hurt – in fact you may feel nothing or just a very mild warmth.

Therapeutic lasers produce light that penetrates deep into the tissue, increasing the flow of blood and lymph, supplying more oxygen, stimulating cells to produce more energy so they can do what they do better (e.g. white cells clear damaged cells away, fibroblasts lay down more collagen), and producing natural pain-killers like nitric oxide.

Unlike most other physio practices, 6S PHYSIO has invested in arguably the best laser in the world: the K-Laser.  K-Laser make therapeutic lasers for Allied Health practitioners like physios and chiropractors, podiatrists, dermatologists, dentists and vets – they use differing strengths and colours of laser, which have properties unique to their discipline.

To learn a little more about how lasers work, have a look at this video:

 

What makes the K-Laser different to other lasers?

  1. The K-Laser is a Class 4 laser, so it is much more powerful than Class 3b lasers.  The difference shows in the duration of treatments: while Class 3b lasers take 30 minutes or more deliver a therapeutic dose, the Class 4 K-Laser can do this in around 5 minutes – this means either more time for other additional treatment or simply shorter sessions, which saves you money while still delivering a treatment with real impact.
  2. The K-Laser outputs 4 different wavelengths that target different tissues and cellular structures.  Most other lasers have, at most, two wavelengths.
  3. The K-Laser is small and easily portable, whereas some other lasers are very large – some are robotic and take up a lot of space – meaning they take more of your treatment time to set up.
  4. The K-Laser is operated by a human being, meaning we can apply the laser more accurately than a machine, and we get to talk with you about your condition, your progress, any problems you are having – essentially being with you during your treatment, responding to your feedback – whereas other clinics may leave you with no more company than a robot, for 30min.  We make every minute of your treatment count.

(Please note that not everyone can have laser treatment.  We have an information and screening form that will allow you to find out more, here.  There’s no obligation to proceed with treatment.)

Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) Training

While you can find out a lot more about BFR HERE we wanted to focus here purely on how BFR can assist with painful arthritic knees.

A couple of years ago we ran a 6-week course called “BFR For Knees”. And the results were terrific!  All 20 participants reported reduced pain and improved ability to perform tasks they had previously identified as troublesome.  We made a slideshow and here are the results:

   

Note that these scores were averages for the group.  Some were higher and lower.  ALL came down.

 

   

This translated to things like stair climbing, walking tolerance, ability to squat or get out of chairs.

 

   

The Oxford Knee Score covers the experience of pain, the ability to do things and quality of life.

If you are interested in BFR as a way of managing your knee pain* and improving your ability to do stuff, CLICK HERE and you can fill out a form that will screen you for suitability.  You’ll immediately get an indication if it’s right for you and what your options are if so, or if not. 

(* BFR can actually help out with a range of different knee pain conditions including Total Knee Replacement, patellofemoral pain, ACL rehab pre-op and post-op, ligament injury, tendon injuries or repairs)

The above program is still available to you 1-on-1 or in small groups, and now we have a new range of BFR equipment that is even more accurate and effective.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more, GIVE US A CALL!  We can always book you up a Free 15min chat if you are not sure.

Here’s Darren talking about these two approaches: