Gianni Chng: Physiotherapist

Sometimes simple is best

🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️ This year, for a week in September I’ll be joining the polka dot peloton on my first Pain Revolution rural outreach tour.

💛🩷 The pain revolution is a not-for-profit initiative that provides evidence based programs to are aimed at equipping rural and regional communities to prevent and effectively treat chronic pain.

👨‍⚕️ As a physiotherapist working with people from all walks of life who live with persistent pain, I’ve witnessed the transformative power of education and empathy, and I know that with the right tools and support, people can build resilience and break free from the cycle of chronic pain.

🙏 If you can spare any coin your generous donation will fuel this movement, equipping local networks and health professionals with the knowledge they need to provide high-quality care and create brighter futures.

Donation link:
https://2024-pain-revolution-rural-outreach-tour.raisely.com/gianni-chng

Find out more about the Pain Revolution here:
https://2024-pain-revolution-rural-outreach-tour.raisely.com/

[Exercises for s̶t̶r̶e̶n̶g̶t̶h̶ tolerance]

Let's redefine the narrative around exercises and discomfort. It's not a reflection of weakness; it's a journey towards greater resilience. 💪 Every movement is an opportunity to enhance our tolerance and rewrite our physical story.

🧐 If muscular weakness was the only reason you have pain, you’d think elite athletes would never get injured.

🔥 Instead of avoiding discomfort, let's embrace it as a catalyst for transformation.
It’s not just about getting stronger - we're evolving into versions of ourselves that can withstand more, endure more, and ultimately, thrive more.

🌟 So here's to the process, the sweat, and the temporary discomfort that leads to lasting strength. It's not about avoiding pain; it's about rewriting its role in our story.

[THE REALITY OF REHAB]

📈📉It's not always a smooth, linear journey. There may be times when you experience setbacks or flare-ups, and that's completely normal.

🌻 What truly matters is your resilience and the way you approach these moments. Trusting the process means understanding that it's okay to have ups and downs. It's a part of the journey.

❤️ Be kind to yourself, especially durning times of doubt. Self-compassion can be your greatest ally. Instead of ruminating on setbacks, focus on how far you've come

✨ Remember, it's not about perfection; it's about progress. Embrace the journey, and keep moving forward. 💪

[G̶E̶T̶ ̶R̶I̶C̶H̶ ̶Q̶U̶I̶C̶K̶]

💵Still looking at your pain with a get rich quick approach?

🎰You could probably make some quick cash by playing the slot machines, but that’s probably not a great long term strategy.

💊There’s nothing wrong with wanting relief from pain, but if all you’re doing is looking for the quick-fix, you probably need a better long term strategy.

Find what’s sustainable for you and be consistent over the long term.

BRB changing my name to mobility mariachi

Half marathon done! ✅

Super happy to have run my first ever half marathon this morning.

I had set a goal of 6minute kms, but if I was able to get a total time of under 2hrs I would have been even happier.

As it turned out though I was able to squeeze out a 1:47 with the help of:
🥶 A nice 3degree morning.
🏃Some solid pacing / s**t talking from .padarcic and .
🥳 and Race day excitement

However the best part of it all is seeing so many runners of all sorts of abilities, ages and fitness levels get out there and just run!

Big thanks also go to my wife and coach Cleo for supporting me and putting up with my running schedule over the last 12 weeks.

Ok, now it’s time to get back on the bike again.

[RELAX - your recovery is important too]

So, I’ve changed my mind…

You’ve probably heard me (and others) say:

‘The best workout is the one that gets done!’

However, I’d probably refine that by saying:

‘The best workout is the one that gets done and that you can recover from’

Recovery days are just as important as our workout days themselves.

No I’m not saying you need to spend your day off foam rolling / massage gunning yourself til you you’re numb.
(But hey if you absolutely love doing that, that’s ok)

✅ Get a solid 8-10hrs sleep.
🍝 Refuel your body. Water, carbs, protein, all the things.
🎮 Do something that relaxes you and that you enjoy. (Yes that can include getting a massage if that fits in line with what you enjoy!)

Then if you’ve got time, sure, go do all the other stuff.

[NAME CHANGE]

I’ve decided to change my online handle!

There’s a few of reasons for this. But the main reason is that I’m going to be posting more about my two passions relating to my practice as a Physiotherapist & S&C coach.

1. Helping people with persistent pain that holds them back from living their lives, to understand more about their situation with honest, evidence based information.

2. Helping people (with pain and without), improve their ability to perform & achieve the things they value & are important to them, especially when it comes to endurance related sports & activities.

I will still continue to post much the same way I have done so, but with more of a highlight on these two topics. (They overlap in more ways than you might think!).

If you, your friends or your family need to change up how they approach & absorb information regarding their health, all you have to do is follow along.

Join the Breakaway & get away from the cycle of pain & frustration you’re stuck in.

Join the Breakaway if you want to achieve the things you’ve got sights set on.

[PAIN, THE POOR INDICATOR]

🤕 Just because you have pain doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve damaged or injured something.

📈😩 Chapped lips and blisters hurt a hell of a lot, but aren’t major injuries.

📉😁 And just because you had pain before but it’s gone now, doesn’t mean your body is ready for an activity it isn’t prepared for.

✋ You might not feel any pain some time after you’ve had a concussion or had a calf strain, but that doesn’t mean you should return to contact sport or go run a 100m sprint just yet.

⏭️ Swipe across to see all the factors influencing pain.

[SOMETHING > NOTHING]

Struggling for time?

Feel like the day’s gotten ahead of you?

Planned for a 45min workout but you’ve only got 15mins now?

Change up the session, make it a hard intense 15minutes, or focus on one or two things instead of 5.

Doing something is more than nothing…

[THE SEA OF (MIS)INFORMATION]

Ask yourself, are you just adding more pollution?

Our exposure to the environment and world around us are integral to the formation of our belief systems and the way we experience things...

However sometimes the information and messages we are exposed to can be just as harmful as they are helpful...

[🌶️ SPICY THOUGHT]

Imagine telling Andy Roddick he shouldn’t play tennis or serve a ball because his technique doesn’t look ‘correct’

Stoopid.

[🌶️HOT TAKE]

[EXERCISES ARE JUST MOVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN NAMED]

🤔 What’s that? My knees shouldn’t come in when I squat? - But I’m doing my ‘weighted knee closing squats’.

🤔 Huh? My elbows should be tucked in when I’m bench pressing? - But I’m doing ‘narrow grip elbow up presses’.
-
😪 Don’t get too caught up on whether an exercise looks ‘right’ - especially if you are starting out in the gym.

💁‍♂️ If you feel your doing something ‘wrong’ chances are you’re just doing a harder variation of that exercise.

🧐 How do we get stronger? We repeat a movement over and over again for weeks/months, starting with a weight we can handle and then adding more over time.

💪 This goes for whatever movement it is you are doing.

[JUST DO THE THING]

🤸‍♂️🏋️⛹️‍♂️🧘‍♀️Variety in movement and activity is great, it keeps things interesting and gives you confidence in doing things you usually wouldn’t do. Also, there are certainly benefits to cross-training, especially for youth athletes.

🏸⏭️🏓 There is some carryover between activities for sure, but nowhere near as much as you’d think or like.

⏱️ BUT, unless you spend the majority of your time/effort doing the thing you want to get better at, you’re not going to improve anywhere near as much as you’d like to.

🏀 Michael Jordan was great at basketball, baseball not so much.

🚴🏃‍♀️Even people with an Elite VO2 max in cycling, aren’t necessarily elite runners.

💪Strength training will make you stronger, but if you want to run faster you’ll need to practice sprinting.

This applies to rehab too. Spending months doing resistance band and low load ‘activation’ exercises will only get you better at doing that thing. Find the entry point into your meaningful activity, start with whatever form you can and progressively build upon that!

[FORM vs LOAD]

Our form or technique is such an easy scapegoat.

🏃 When a sprinter injures their hamstring, was it because their form was wrong?

⚽️ When a footballer strikes the ball and strains their quad, did they kick wrong?

😪 Or were they maybe highly fatigued, unprepared either physically or mentally for the task?

🤔 Still think form is the issue?

Try do your best form for any exercise with 2x more than your max load, I’ll bet you can’t…

Now try do the worst form you can think of with a really easy weight… that wasn’t so bad was it?

🤔 So maybe it’s more about the load then the form?

[NAIL THE BASICS]

I gave a presentation to the other week alongside some of team at

It reminded me that sometimes athletes may forget about nailing the essential things and spend time/energy doing stuff which has little effect. (Probably because they’ve been told by someone to do them or because they see other pro athletes doing them too).

Do the big ticket items first, the rest can follow.

[RIGHT? WRONG? DIFFERENT?]

Once you realise you don't need to abide by arbitrary rules to movement...

You'll probably have a much better time moving...

[PHYSIO/OSTEO/CHIRO/etc. DIDN'T WORK]

You really going to rule out a whole profession based on one or a few bad experiences?

Maybe who you saw didn't align with your values, not what...

IYKYK

[CAN YOU PROVE THAT]

If you've been told something by a healthcare practitioner, unless that statement was followed up with a legitimate test or factual evidence, there's a chance what you've just been told was more opinion than fact.

For example.

'You're glutes aren't activating'

- Was there a test used to prove that?
- If that test was someone feeling your hip as you moved your leg, sorry that's a pretty s**tty test.

'Your legs are different lengths'

- How was that measured reliably?
- Let's say they are, is there even any legitimacy in this theory anyway?

If there's no proof, these are just opinions. Some of them still may even be right or justified, which also means many of them can be wrong.

Great day of learning about all things hypertrophy with .christle &

[GO THE DISTANCE]

Did you know that 1/5 people in Australia live with persistent pain?

Odds are you or someone you know is probably affected.

So im going to attempt to ride 600kms for the month of October in order to fundraise money to help address the social and economic burden of persistent pain.

Why 600? Well because I want to raise $600 which is just over what I achieved last year, so one dollar/km sounded fair. If I raise over 600, I'll do whatever I raise.

So, what's this thing all about?

- Taken from -

Our vision is that all Australians have the knowledge, skills and support to prevent and overcome persistent pain.

Research clearly shows that a better understanding of pain and what to do about it is both critical and seldom delivered.

Our fundraising goes toward educating health professionals, people in pain and the general public about the latest pain science and practices.

Knowledge is powerful. There is hope for people in persistent pain.

Learn more by going to www.painrevolution.org

If you've made it this far and want to donate, visit the link in my bio or below.

https://pain-revolution-go-the-distance-2022.raisely.com/gianni-chng

Back pain is a real, s**tty and human experience.

Signs you may need to get a scan:
Loss of sensation
Major weakness and inability to move or contract muscles
Loss of bowel, bladder or sexual function
Following a major trauma, collision or fall/accident
Loss of circulation
Significant redness, heat, swelling, signs of infection

If you or a family member/friend has none of the above, but they're still experiencing significant pain or pain that's getting in the way of function/life - seek out professional help.

If a healthcare professional is giving you advice that doesn't sound similar to this, it might be time to seek a second opinion.

www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-08/low_back_pain_ccs_-_how_to_manage_your_low_back_pain_-_final_accessible_version.pdf

Hang on...

[KEEP ACTIVE]

Just because you have an injury, doesn't mean you need to stop training.

🦵💪 You still have many other parts of your body you can keep training!

🧑‍🏫 We have some good evidence to suggest that even if you only exercise one side of your body, you can have improvements in strength in the other.

So use this time as a forced 'off season' break to come back stronger and work on any other niggles you may have.

📚 Refs.

Cirer-Sastre, R., Beltrán-Garrido, J. V., & Corbi, F. (2017). Contralateral Effects After Unilateral Strength Training: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Training Loads. Journal of sports science & medicine, 16(2), 180–186.

Manca, A., Hortobágyi, T., Carroll, T. J., Enoka, R. M., Farthing, J. P., Gandevia, S. C., Kidgell, D. J., Taylor, J. L., & Deriu, F. (2021). Contralateral Effects of Unilateral Strength and Skill Training: Modified Delphi Consensus to Establish Key Aspects of Cross-Education. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 51(1), 11–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01377-7

[SIMPLIFY YOUR REHAB]

Rehab doesn't have to be hard.

Now I'm aware this leaves out the big question people care about which is:

❓️'How long will this take?'

Which is going to be a different answer based on what you are trying to rehab from.

Timeframes aside, for most people with pain or difficulty doing something, your only going to get better at doing the thing you're working on.

Learning to play an instrument is not going to make you better at cooking...

Just like doing exercises and movements that are in no way related to your issue, probably isn't going to have much relevance either.

There's probably going to be some times where this approach won't always work, but with specific medical conditions and pathologies ruled out, one of the best things you can do is keeping calm and carrying on.

[PAIN IS A MOVING TARGET]

Do you only want to eliminate pain?

This is a normal thing to want, infact many people who seek the help of a clinician say that they want less pain.

So, what's the problem with this?

Well, if you are focusing only on pain, you're focusing on something that can frequently change depending on a whole number of different factors. All of which play a different level of involvement in what you feel depending on the day.

Doing one thing might 'fix' your pain on one day, but it might not do so the next... do you then go seek out more 'fixes'? What happens when they stop working for you?

Once you realise there is no singular cause for pain, and that you don't need to completely remove pain before you can start doing activities and movement, you’ll start living again.

Aim your efforts at targeting what you can tolerate doing WITH your pain.
Instead of targeting how much pain you can eliminate.

[BAD EXERCISES DON'T EXIST]

There is nothing inherently bad about a particular movement.

Why are upright rows bad for your shoulders? You probably don't even realise you take your shirt off or even shake out a blanket with the same movement.

Movements aren't bad. Maybe you're just not prepared to do the thing you're trying to do.

You can probably run for at least a few seconds, you could run longer if you build up to it.

You can probably lift something light off the floor, you could lift heavier I'd you build up to it.

Start where you can, and build that s**t up.