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

Simple Neck and Shoulder Girdle Exercises

Slow performance of the exercises is important, taking up to five seconds to get to the end of each individual direction of movement. The neck should be moved in each of the standard directions which are: turning the head left and right; side flexing left and right (ear down to same shoulder with face facing forward); bending head forward and back; tucking the head in (a bit like a chicken). It is important to do each movement separately so the maximum range is obtained as the ends of the movement are where the value is in exercising.

Shoulder movements are useful as they may be stiff or the shoulder girdle may not be moving well, and shoulder movements stress the neck to some extent. Shrugging shoulders and rolling them backwards are an example of this movements as are circling of the arms either backwards or forwards. Once the movements are easy then some auto-resisted neck strengthening can be performed with the neck being held in place as one of the hands tries to push it out of position. Holding this for about ten seconds forces the muscles to work hard to maintain the neck position.

Fractures of the Radius and Ulna

75% of all bony wrist injuries are fractures of the end of the radius, the ulna or both bones. The wrist joint involves the radius and ulna and the first row of the wrist bones. There are various fracture classification schemes for wrist injuries although a general guide is that the greater the amount of displacement and the greater the number of fracture fragments the more severe the injury is. The typical onset of these fractures is a FOOSH, a fall on an outstretched hand, which forces the wrist up into extension and typically results in a fracture in the last inch of the radius.

Because of the direct of the fall and the forces involves, the end fragment of the bone tends to be displaced upwards and backwards, with the ulna frequently fracturing too. The most common fracture pattern in this type is the Colles fracture, the term now used to describe a fracture through the last inch of the radius with ulnar fracture commonly accompanying it. This fracture is much more common in older age groups when it shows as a clean break away from the wrist. Younger people can suffer this kind of fracture but the higher forces often cause more severe damage.