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

Lumbar Posture and Muscles

The abdominal and back muscles are affected in three main ways by changes in the posture of the spine: how long the muscles are; what angle they pull against the spine; how powerful they can be due to their changing leverage. Muscle length is important is the application of power and they develop most tension when they are stretches to about 10% above their normal resting length. If the muscle is shortened by contraction then the available strength of contraction is reduced. The fibrous elements in a muscle have their tension increased a lot by stretching, storing energy which can be released as part of enhanced contraction.

In normal standing the back muscles are shortened slightly so they develop more power when the spine is flexed, i.e. bent over to some degree. This means it may be best to bend the back somewhat to lift a heavy weight as this allows increased muscle power to be generated. Stretching of the passive fibrous structures and back muscles whilst lifting can be coupled with a lack of high tension forces on the ligaments and discs by flexing the spine at the time to most of its range.

Neck Pain

Neck pain is very common indeed in the adult population and can be very troublesome in terms of personal distress and loss of functional ability. However, the underlying cause is very rarely serious and permanent injury or damage to the neck is rare. In acute pain (pain of recent onset) the typical course is for it to settle over a period of days or weeks, with minimal interruption in normal activities of daily living after the initial severe few days. Neck pain and neck ache can last for some day or settle down and then recur again at some unpredictable time.

Initial management of the acute pain is very important as resting for a day or so makes sense but any longer than this may delay recovery or increase the possibility of long term pain and disability. Our necks are designed to be moved and to recover from pain or injury they need to be moved regularly and through large movements. Staying as close to normal activity as possible is one of the most important strategies for recovery. The presence of pain inhibits our willingness to move but keeping the neck still may be counterproductive.