What we treat
Physiotherapy is
the physical care of the body through manipulation of injuries and the
exercise education given by qualified Physiotherapists. Fay Pedler is
qualified in Orthopaedic medicine and is a specialist in joint and muscle
problems and will give injections where required and with doctor's authorisation.
This is an accredited
practice, staffed and run by Chartered Physiotherapists and we can help
with the following:
- Spinal Problems:
Slipped disc, back pain, sciatica, lumbago, stiff or painful neck
with referred arm and leg pain.
- Joint Problems:
Dislocation,
athritis, injury, pain, swelling or stiffness in the joints such as
shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and ankles.
- Injuries:
To muscles, ligaments, tendons, including Tennis elbow, cartilage
problems and sprained ankles.
- Fractures:
Treatment may be given during the healing process to restore function
once the bones have healed.
- Diseases of
the nervous system: Strokes,
Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Shingles, Cerebral Palsy and Spasticity.
- Chest complaints:
Pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, bronchitis, bronchiectasis, asthma.
- Gynaecological
conditions and Obstetrics: Stress
incontinence, pregnancy related back pain and advice regarding exercise.
Because there are
so many Physiotherapists at this Practice there is wealth of expertise
from manipulation and mobilisation to muscle imbalance, sports injury
treatments, cortisone injections, stress incontinence treatment and
acupuncture. Patients often require a mixture of treatments.
For your information
here are some exercises and advice for a variety of complaints:
Whiplash trauma
Whiplash pain is
often debilitating and lasting. Sometimes nothing is felt for 24 hours
and then the symptoms begin. They can be bizarre. Often it is difficult
to move the head in any direction - the pain can track into one or both
arms and down the back. The patient can experience pins and needles
- numbness or burning sensation. Sometimes there are dizzy spells or
memory loss and the nights can be awful.
Advice
See your doctor
for painkillers and anti-inflammatories - if you were not taken to
a hospital after the accident. A collar can help but it is not important.
Wear it only if it gives you relief and take it off as soon as you
can. Sleep in it if you wish. The collar will not make you better.
Gently move your
neck slowly turning it to the right and left - not up and down for
a few days - never, never roll your head. Use a hot water bottle for
comfort: some prefer ice.
Try and seek physiotherapy
as soon as possible. Often the insurance company will pay for this.
You may need time off work - this does speed recovery in the long
run.
The Injured Dancer
Ankle lateral ligament
(outside the joint)
Knee medial ligament (inside the joint)
Tendo calcaneus (big tendon behind heel also known as Achilles tendon)
Hamstrings (three big muscles back of thigh)
Quadriceps (four big muscles front of thigh)
Gastrocnemius (calf muscle)
These are the most common
Advice
If a muscle feels
tight or begins to ache after activity, these are the beginnings of
local inflammatory changes. It is very important to reduce your workload
by 25% and ice after activity for 10 minutes. Start stretching hourly
and seek physiotherapy.
If the muscle aches and hurts at the beginning of exercise, and then
the pain disappears, there is more inflammation and possibly scarring.
Decrease workload by 50%. Anti-inflammatories may be required.
Acute, sudden
onset of pain
Ice immediately for 10 minutes and incorporate elevation and compression.
The inflammatory process is essential to healing, but if it is excessive
there will be too much scar tissue formation.
Two or three days later, gentle stretching within pain. It is important
to maintain mobility without weakening the healing structure.
If the injured part is a muscle, after about a week start the strengthening
exercises very gently without causing pain. It is crucial to build
up the muscle to reduce the formation of scar tissue. Muscles regenerate.
They do not repair so it is very important to mobilise at the right
time.
Ankle ligament
If you have gone over on your ankle (inversion injury) all the above
advice applies, but it is very important to begin proprioceptive exercises.
This involves standing on the injured leg. The muscles around the
ankle contract to maintain position. As the ankle improves shut your
eyes and nod your head, or throw and catch something to make it more
difficult. It is important for a dancer to have good proprioception.
(Proprioception is roughly the brain knowing where the limb is exactly
and what it is doing)
Tendo calcaneus
This is the tendon above the heel. If it begins to feel tight, really
reduce your workload. Wear a heel raise in your shoe to reduce the
pull. If wearing ballet shoes do not tie the ribbons too tightly around
the heel.
Times of recovery
Recovery time depends on what structure has been damaged. Ligaments
and tendons, because of their poor blood supply, take longer than
muscles.
Do not ignore slight aches or injuries, they could lead to more serious
trauma which will take longer to resolve. It is so important to keep
dancing. The sooner you start physiotherapy the sooner you will get
better!
Stress Incontinence
for Women
Exercises
Draw up the muscles
in between your legs - your tummy or your buttocks should not move
- hold for a count of eight - rest and repeat seven more times. Then
do eight contractions quickly.
These exercises
can be done standing with feet slightly apart or sitting - leaning
forwards. The exercises are more efficient if done two or three times
a day thoroughly - if holding for a count of eight is too long, reduce
the time until you are happy. If you are not sure that you are doing
the exercises correctly, put one or two fingers in your vagina and
squeeze - you should feel a gentle pressure or very occasionally try
stopping mid-stream when passing urine.
Remember the recovery
is slow so don't lose heart - but remember also if you don't do the
exercises your condition will get worse and unfortunately these exercises
are for life.
Advice for Golfers
Golf is excellent
exercise but some postural strains at work are repeated in Golf - for
example sitting at work and bending over the golf ball. To prevent injury,
here are some simple guidelines:
