Latest Podcast Posts

We are very pleased that physiotherapist Peter Hatton of the Physiokinetic physiotherapy clinics in Birmingham has agreed to write a 3-part series on injury prevention for us. Peter has 3 busy clinics in Birmingham but has still been able to spare the time to put together a paper on a hugely-overlooked area of physiotherapy. While there is no danger of Peter putting us physios out of work - injuries will always happen - there are many which are preventable and Peter's advice is most timely given the likely flood of British talent getting off the couch watching the Olympics and putting on jogging shoes from the back of their closet. Peter's article can be found at our injury prevention downloads section Part 1 of Peter's series is "out now" and we look forward to the remainder of the series in coming months.

A seniors' home in Windsor, Canada, has received its first Nintendo Wii from three local kids aged 11-13 years. The motion-sensitive controller demands more movement and co-ordination than traditional video games, giving the elderly training in exercise, balance and dexterity. The boys taught the elderly residents how to use the Wii, and some of the residents are looking forward to trying out baseball and golf. Physiotherapists at the home are interested in using the device for neurological rehabilitation such as with stroke. See Huron Lodge seniors get physical - and digital

Steve Mannion, an orthopaedic surgeon, works in Malawi and other areas of the world. In Malawi he runs clinics for adults and children with clubfoot. 1-2 children per thousand are born in the UK with clubfoot, technically called talipes equinovarus. Surgery has been a common treatment with varying results. The Ponseti method, often performed by physiotherapists, was taken up by Steve Mannion to help deal with the large number of clubfoot sufferers in the country. Gentle manipulation and serial casting by the physio is used to correct the soft tissue deformity. Once the deformity has been corrected the good position is maintained by special footwear or regular exercise and stretching. See the BBC page reporting this story.

There is prejudice against obese people in the health services. I suspect there are many reasons - people being different, people seen as weak, but there are practical considerations which need at least a thought. The amount of force which goes through a joint replacement is an important issue in the life of the new joint. Many doctors may have thought that people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30 would not recover well, have more post-operative complications and not get the improved quality of life of less heavy people. A recent study of post-operative quality of life of UK knee replacement patients who are obese has shown that this is not the case. There may be little or no impact of their greater weight on recovery. However this is not the last word on this subject. There are a series of other issues which need considering.

• There are higher operative risks.
• There are greater risks to staff in manual handling as some people cannot move themselves well.
• Special beds, walking aids and hoists are needed, all with extra expense.
• Since revision joint surgery (doing it again) is much more complex, how long does the joint last when a person is very heavy?

I think people should have the intervention which they need at the time whether they are overweight or not. But issues do remain about the longevity of the replacement or when the person is very greatly overweight indeed.

Physiotherapy for women's health is an under-recognized area. Women's Health is a specific specialty within physiotherapy and physios here deal with issues from pregnancy related back and pelvic pain to incontinence issues of the bowel and bladder. A women's health physiotherapist can assess and treat incontinence in women (and also in men) by a combination of exercises, electrical stimulation and biofeedback. Many people suffer with incontinence and other problems which could be improved by assessment and treatment by a women's health specialist physiotherapist. You can ring the number on this page for immediate access to a qualified and registered physiotherapist. More details about this are at Why Physiotherapy Can Help Women's Health