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Physiotherapy What is Physiotherapy? Traditional physiotherapy uses massage and manipulation, in conjunction with exercise and electrotherapy to treat a wide range of conditions affecting our joints and muscles. Whilst many of these conditions will get better in time, there is a high percentage that will not respond to conventional treatment, or that will keep coming back. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially when the cause of the problem cannot be easily identified. What causes pain? We can injury ourselves in one of two ways: ·By a one-off accident or injury at a high load or velocity e.g. twisting your ankle suddenly ·An accumulative strain over many years e. g. slouching in front of the computer puts a gradual strain on the soft tissues around the spine. In fact, a mere 20 minutes of slouching can weaken the supporting structures of the spine to the extent that it will need more than 7 hours to recover. The long-term implication here is a lifetime of back pain. Babies and children move in a graceful and effortless way, using their bodies in the way nature intended. As we get older we acquire a number of bad habits, which make us move in a different way, or sustain poor postures through our work or a particular sport that we may perform. Even an old injury can make us move in a subtly different way. Examples of this include:
You probably do one or more of the above without realising it! Unknowingly, you are putting strain through your joints and making your muscles work much harder than they need to. This eventually leads to pain. Why does pain recur? When we are in pain we will nurse the injury until it starts to feel better. Once we think we are 'cured' we go back to our old habits and the cycle starts all over again. That is why bad backs keep coming back, ankles remain weak after a sprain and you may intermittently wake up with a crick in your neck. Can we say goodbye to pain? The good news is yes you can. By allowing us to help you identify your bad habits and correcting them, you can learn to move in a more graceful and effortless way, taking the strain off your joints. This new way of moving becomes part of your everyday and is therefore sustainable, and requires little exercise, which is good news in our busy lives! Our physiotherapist will also use traditional hands-on therapy to treat the joints and soft tissues that are injured; however the key to the cure is in changing the very habits that caused the problem in the first place. Which conditions may benefit?
Techniques used:
Most cases of back pain will improve on its own within a few days or weeks. Staying as active as possible will help relieve symptoms even if you are in a lot of pain. You may find that the Alexander technique helps. What is the Alexander Technique? The Alexander Technique is a method that works to change movement habits in your everyday activities. It helps to make you aware of balance, posture and co-ordination and aims to help you to relearn the correct way to hold and to move your body and release muscular tension. You should always see you GP first as there are many possible causes of your back pain. Alexander teachers do not make medical diagnoses. You can benefit greatly by seeing a qualified physiotherapist, as some of the treatments they provide, like physiotherapy or back or spinal manipulation, may provide short and long term comfort in some people with acute back pain or nerve root pain. |
