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

Hip Arthritis

The hip is one of the largest body joints, a ball and socket joint which is very deep and very stable. Large and powerful ligaments hold the joint together and large and powerful muscles, the buttocks, power the joint so we can walk, run and climb stairs. The joint surfaces are covered by articular cartilage, a coating of firm and slippery material which allows the loaded joints to move almost as easily as when they are not unloaded. Keeping our joints mobile and using them regularly maintains the health of the articular cartilage in our joints, making exercise important for long term joint health and independence.

Arthritic changes may occur after injury or overuse or the tendency for the cartilage to degenerate at a higher rate than expected can be genetically determined. The cartilage may soften and develop fissures and in severe cases it may wear completely away, allowing bone on bone contact in the joint. Hip, groin or thigh pain in common, with the development of a limp a common event. The muscles of the joint can weaken as the pain and the person's gait worsens and walking aids become necessary. Exercise, weight loss, painkillers and eventually hip replacement are the commonest treatments.

Back Pain - Yellow Flags for Disability and Work Loss

Low back pain is one of the most common and disabling musculoskeletal conditions prevalent in the population, causing high degrees of work loss, suffering and expense. Back pain sufferers are affected by a variety of physical and psychological issues which affect the severity, duration and outcome of the back pain episode. The ideas of yellow flags, to add to red flags which are an indication of serious spinal pathology, has been formalised by work in New Zealand under the title of .Yellow Flags . Indicators for Work Loss and Disability.. These psychosocial factors are important and they are much stronger predictors of how well the person is going to turn out with their back pain than any of the physical factors.

Physiotherapists ask yellow flag questions to find out what their patients are thinking and thereby to be able to target their interventions more closely to the presenting problems. Typical yellow flag positive indications might be the belief that activity is harmful, the belief that pain means there is damage going on in the back and the idea that work is harmful. These beliefs are important in holding some people back from going back to doing normal activities.