RUNNING INJURIES
Our ankles knees and hips take a lot of extra load when we run. This can be up to 8 times the force going through our joints than when we are walking. The muscles surrounding these joints need to do a lot more work to help soften the impact. When they are not working as well as they should we commonly see overuse injuries.
Knee conditions are often caused by an increased training load that the body cannot cope with or poor technique/alignment. Mark will be able to guide you back to full fitness using a combination of exercise based rehabilitation and hands on manual therapy techniques. Soft tissue work will alleviate stiff muscles and enable better movement in the early stages. As you progress Mark will update your tailor made exercise programme at the rate your recovery improves.
In short everybody’s injury is different and the treatment given will be specific to your condition. This will ensure you get back to full fitness and gives you the confidence to return to sport knowing you have the best chance of preventing another injury.
SPORT INJURIES
Whether it be acute sprained ankle ligaments or chronic tennis elbow Mark believes getting to the core issue of the injury is the most important aspect of treating any sports injury.
Mark will be able to guide you back to full fitness using a combination of hands-on manual therapy techniques and exercise based rehabilitation. Soft tissue work will alleviate stiff muscles and enable better movement in the early stages. As you progress Mark will update your tailor-made exercise programme as you recover.
In short, everybody’s injury is different and the treatment given will be specific to your condition. This will ensure you get back to full fitness and give you the confidence to return to sport knowing you have the best chance of preventing another injury.
KNEE INJURIES
Whether it is from the twisting activities involved in sports like tennis, squash or skiing or from every day walking our knees need to take a lot of pressure. The load distributed over the kneecap can be up to 5 times the body weight, just on a simple activity such as going downstairs.
The knee is a complex joint and does more than just bend and straighten your leg. The muscles and ligaments and cushioning (menisci) also have to deal with the knee twisting which is often where injury occurs.
Once knee osteoarthritis has progressed significantly, an orthopaedic consultant will often recommend physiotherapy preoperatively to get you in the best shape for your operation.
Mark believes this is essential to improve the rate at which you recover after your operation.
Mark will guide you through the early postoperative exercises as well as progressing your gait pattern from walking with crutches or sticks back to walking pain-free. He will then ensure you achieve your specific goals whether they be returning to pain-free everyday life or back to playing sports.
So if you have had a sudden injury to your knee or if it has built up gradually playing sports or if the knee has now become arthritic please give Mark a call to discuss whether physiotherapy could help.
HIP INJURIES
The hip joint takes four times your body weight on every step you take. Whilst the hip needs to support the weight of a human body it also needs to be flexible enough to allow you to move around freely. The combination of the high forces of bodyweight and movement at the hip combine to make the hip susceptible to injury and wear and tear.
The impact which hip pain can have on your everyday life or sport can be incredibly debilitating. Fortunately, a wide range of hip treatments are available. Soft tissue muscle work helps to release tight gluteal, hip flexor or adductor muscles while strengthening and stretching exercises have a great effect on rebalancing muscles around the hip. These treatments combined help to alleviate many causes of hip pain.
Total Hip Replacement Therapy:
Once hip osteoarthritis has progressed significantly, an orthopaedic consultant will often recommend physiotherapy preoperatively to get you in the best shape for your operation. Mark believes pre-habilitation is essential to improve the rate at which you recover after your operation.
Following your operation, Mark will guide you through the early postoperative exercises as well as progressing your gait pattern from walking with crutches or sticks back to walking pain-free. He will then ensure you achieve your specific goals whether they be returning to pain-free everyday life or back to playing sports.
BACK PAIN
Lower back pain is an extremely common problem. The latest figures report that over 75% of people living in the UK will experience lower back pain at some point in their life. Approximately 30% of people in the UK will have an episode of lower back pain every year.
Our spines are not designed for sitting down at a desk or in a car, or for enduring repetitive movements for several hours at a time. This is why most people will experience back pain at some point in their life. It can be caused by an accident or injury, poor posture, and repetitive strains. Symptoms can occur straight away or take several weeks to appear.
The severity of your symptoms can range from tenderness and stiffness to severe pain that prevent people from carrying out everyday activities. Because back pain can be so variable, it is essential that your condition is assessed thoroughly and that a treatment programme is tailored specifically for you.
Physiotherapy can be very beneficial for people suffering from back pain and is an essential part of restoring movement and muscular control. The important thing is to keep moving so joints do not stiffen and muscles deteriorate. Mark has a wide level of experience working with back and neck pain patients.
Using pilates exercises for rehabilitating back and neck pain issues addresses the core weakness where these problems originate from. Mark finds that this type of rehabilitation often combined with acupuncture has great results.
NECK INJURIES
Physiotherapy can reduce neck pain and aid faster recovery by improving movement and increasing control and core strength.
Mark will create a tailor-made treatment programme for you in order to help you get back to normal activities as soon as possible.
Using Pilates exercises rebalances muscles around the area and restores normal pain-free movement. Mark also works with different techniques depending on the type and cause of the pain.
Treatments include joint mobilisation, strengthening exercises, mobility/stretching exercises and acupuncture.
SHOULDER INJURIES
Physiotherapy after shoulder injury can significantly reduce the length of time you are away from your sport or just make it easier to perform everyday tasks that at present are painful all the time. A combination of stretching and strengthening the muscles around the joint is important to give stability and mobility to a joint. Mark has worked with many types of shoulder injuries and has also provided rehabilitation for many patients following their shoulder operations eg: total shoulder replacements, rotator cuff repairs, sub acromial decompression.
POSTURAL PAIN
Sedentary and repetitive tasks can overload certain structures in our bodies which cause stiffness of the joints and tightness of muscles, especially in the spine.
Poor posture can lead to a number of issues such as:
neck pain
back pain
shoulder pain
headaches
repetitive strain injury
Students, office workers and people who spend a long time driving are at a higher risk of developing postural pain. The important thing is to reduce the load and stress that is going through our muscles and joints. Good posture keeps muscles, ligaments and bones well aligned which reduces pressure on the joints and relieves stress.
Mark will be able to perform a biomechanical assessment of the whole body and then give advice and exercises (which are specifically tailored to your problem) to help correct alignment and then maintain the body in the best position so that the stress and overload do not recur.