Physiotherapists in Reading treat many different conditions including the issues profiled below.

Lumbar Stenosis

There are many painful syndromes which involve the lumbar spine, with the discs, ligaments, joints, muscles and nerves all implicated in pain production. Older people can present with symptoms which indicate a stenosis of their vertebral canal. The vertebral or spinal canal runs down the back and carries the spinal cord, allowing the nerve roots to exit to the body at each spinal level (each disc level). The spinal canal can be congenitally narrow which increases the chances of developing spinal stenosis with age. As degenerative changes occur in the spinal structures the spinal canal can become narrowed and tight.

The symptoms of spinal stenosis typically do not include back pain but rather leg pain, often bilateral, and worsened by walking but better with sitting. Typically presenting in people of 65 years or older, spinal stenosis can also present as a nerve root irritation of a sciatic type due to stenosis of the exit for the spinal nerve root. Physiotherapy is not usually very useful and little is found on examination apart from a reduction in spinal extension and many people manage their symptoms over time as best they can, although surgical spinal decompression can be very successful in relieving the symptoms.

Supraspinatus Tendinitis

The supraspinatus muscle is one of the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder and a vital part of a normally functioning shoulder. It originates in the supraspinatus fossa (anatomical depression) at the top of the scapula or shoulder blade and passes outwards towards the head of the humerus. Above the shoulder joint the muscle gradually becomes more tendinous until it passes over the top of the head of humerus and inserts onto the bony area called the greater tuberosity. The muscular action is to move the arm away from the side but a more important action is to hold the humeral head against the glenoid.

Due to the proximity of the tendon to the acromioclavicular joint above it can suffer compression and inflammation from repetitive overactivity, giving a sharp pain on lifting of the arm in many activities. Physiotherapy examination involves testing shoulder abduction with compression and tension stresses to change the impingement and palpation of the supraspinatus insertion on the humeral head whilst the patient's arm is behind their back. Treatment involves limiting aggravating activities, ultrasound to the tendon insertion and strengthening of the remainder of the rotator cuff muscles. Anti-inflammatory medication may also be useful.