Useful physiotherapy articles

Whiplash    Whiplash is a term that describes any traumatic spinal injury, although typically it affects the neck or low back. Most commonly it is associated with a car accident, however, it can be caused by falling awkwardly or hitting your head, for example. I recently saw someone who was getting neck pain and stiffness caused by... [read more]

Treating Expectation                           Within my role as a physiotherapist I treat people with many varied conditions. It involves the need to address the physical symptoms, such as stiffness, weakness and soft tissue tension, physiological processes including inflammation and pain and lifestyle/postural influences that affect an individual’s complaint. There is, however, another element that is vitally important to... [read more]

The Benefits of Exercise    There are many reasons why exercise is beneficial but it depends on what it is you want to achieve that determines the type of exercise you undertake. Whether you want to strengthen muscles, stretch tight muscles or joints, improve exercise tolerance or lose weight there is an exercise regime that can help. What... [read more]

Sprained Ankle                      An ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries to the ankle and can result in a loss of normal function for many weeks and months, although the severity does vary. It can lead to a range of symptoms from mild pain and swelling around the ankle that can get better within a... [read more]

Sciatica                             Sciatica is a term that is used to describe leg pain that radiates from the low back area, although the actual cause of this can vary.  A ‘true’ sciatica occurs when one of the spinal discs (the squashy pads between the bones of the spine) bulges and puts pressure on the sciatic nerve as it... [read more]

Physiotherapy and Pain The most common reason for people seeing a Chartered Physiotherapist is pain. This can be of sudden onset resulting from an injury, for example, or commonly for no apparent reason. The problem with pain that ‘just came on’ is that it is very frustrating as we are unable to rationalise why it hurts and,... [read more]

Pain - A diagnosis or a collection of influences When people suffer with pain, particularly when there is no obvious trigger, there is, naturally, a worry that the underlying problem could be serious. To reduce this concern we look for a diagnosis that allows us to rationalise why we are suffering but also to help us to... [read more]

Osteoarthritis and Joint Pain    Many people suffer with joint pain and stiffness, especially as they get older, and osteoarthritis is a very common problem that can be very debilitating. It is a condition that can affect any joint of the body but it is the weight-bearing joints, such as the knees, hips and spine, that are often... [read more]

Low Back Pain – a physiotherapy perspective Low back pain is something that most adults will experience at some point in their lives. For some it may be a mild episode lasting a few days and others severe and lasting months. What is common to both is that, far more often than not, there is no obvious... [read more]

Knee Pain                   The knee joints are the largest joints in the body and are put under a huge amount of pressure over a lifetime. They have to carry full body weight to allow all the activities that we take for granted, such as walking, climbing, bending and kneeling. In activities such as squatting, for example, there is... [read more]

Tissue Repair and Inflammation             When we sustain an injury, whether through a traumatic event or a repetitive strain, the body responds to that event with pain and inflammation. Pain is the first sign that something is not right and it is when we first become aware of a problem. It is caused by pain receptors... [read more]

Headaches       Headaches are very common for a lot of people. They can range from mild to severe and can last for short periods or days. There are different types of headache including tension, cluster, migraine and menstrual headaches but what many have in common is the influence that the upper part of the neck and muscles... [read more]

Acute Pain                    The term ‘acute’ refers to pain and symptoms that have only been present for a matter of days. As opposed to ‘chronic’ symptoms that have been felt for weeks, months or longer. Neither of these terms indicate the degree of pain being felt as both can be mildly or severely painful. Acute pain is often... [read more]

A Pain in the Neck?     Neck pain is extremely common and can affect anybody, at any age and at any time. The majority of sufferers will describe no injury and, those who are still of working age, will often have a sedentary occupation, such as working with computers. The term neck pain is not, in itself, a... [read more]

HOW TO TRAIN FOR A WALKING MARATHON FROM SCRATCH – Part 1My client base is wide and varied – some come in for maintenance massage, some for Personal Training, Pilates Instruction or rehabilitation exercise – most come with some sort of injury or serious health problem. For those who are recovering from injury or wanting to get... [read more]

The World Transplant Games will be taking place in Mar Del Plata, Argentina from 23rd to 30th August, involving approx 1000 competitors from over 50 countries. During a week of intense competition in a variety of different sports, the UK Team will aim to top the medal table once again – something they have done at... [read more]