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

Simple Neck Exercises

Neck problems are very common with neck, head, upper back, shoulder and arm pain all possibly referred from the cervical spine discs, joints, ligaments and muscles. The cervical spine is a long column with a heavy weight (the head) balanced at one end, a process that demands good movements and strong muscular control to achieve effectively without pain. Neck pain is commonly secondary to poor posture over a long period of time such as working at an office desk or kitchen worktop, where the neck has to maintain one posture for much longer than is helpful.

It can be helpful to perform simple neck exercises every day to maintain the ranges of motion of all the cervical joints and other structures within normal limits. Different parts of the cervical spine are specialised for different movements and it is important to make sure that the specific movements for each joint are practised daily. The upper neck vertebrae are specialised for rotation as moving the head round to look at something is a very important ability, and there is a small amount of a nodding movement here also. Further down the neck the focus is more on forward and back movements functionally adapted for looking up and down.

Fracture Treatment

Fractures occur in a huge variety of forms and in a wide variation of severity from the small flake pulled of a bone by a ligament to an open fracture with many pieces. Treatment for a fracture reflects this variety, encompassing a spectrum from a minor reduction in activity to amputation of the body part involved. An important first assessment is to decide whether the fracture is closed or open, meaning whether the skin is intact or there is an open wound leading down to the fracture. Open or compound fractures need thorough cleaning and removal of any dead tissue and treatment with antibiotics to prevent infection.

The next issue to decide is the matter of displacement. Many fractures occur through the body of a bone but the whole bone remains in its original alignment and there is no displacement of one part of the bone compared to another. Healing should occur in as close to the original anatomy as possible so treatment aims to .reduce. a fracture, i.e. to re-establish to original position of the bone by manipulation and then maintaining the position by immobilisation. Fractures are typically placed in Plaster of Paris or other materials to hold the position for a number of weeks.