If you are searching for local County of Hertfordshire physiotherapy practices, the clinics below are recommended. Please click on the practice name links for detailed descriptions of each clinic and the conditions in which they specialise.
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Physiotherapists in Hertfordshire treat many different conditions including the condition profiled below.
Knee Ligament Injuries
Knee injuries are extremely common and a routine part of sporting activities of many kinds, especially in younger people. The knee is a large hinge type of joint connected by powerful ligaments but because of the joint.s position in the middle of a long lever (the leg) it is vulnerable to high levels of force during movement. Physiotherapists routinely diagnose and treat ligamentous injuries and rehabilitate patients back to their functional goal. A common injury is a strain of the medial collateral ligament when a force is applied to the outside of the knee when the foot is on the ground, pushing the knee inwards and opening out the joint on the inside.
Typically the knee will swell over the next 12 hours or so and be painful over the inside of the joint, sometimes making it difficult to walk easily. Treatment is to immobilise the knee in a brace or plaster of Paris for a shorter or longer period of time, then get the knee moving so that it does not lose range of movement. The ligament is under tension when the knee is straight so the physio will concentrate on restoring the ability of the muscles to fully extend the knee.
Function of the Upper Neck
The upper cervical spine is designed to hold the weight of the head and to facilitate the postural steadiness and positional changes required in our heads so we can communicate and gather the necessary information from our sensory organs. Most of our most important sensory organs are part of our heads so we need to have a stable and adaptable platform to gather accurate data so we can make accurate decisions. The upper neck vertebrae are wide to bear the forces of having a skull on top of the long column which is the neck. The deep and superficial muscles combine to allow long periods of relatively static posture to be maintained so we can keep our attention on something like a movie or the road when driving.
The position of the facet joints in the upper two vertebrae and the occiput are adapted particularly for rotation and much of the ability to turn our heads comes from these upper few joints. Turning the head is an extremely important function as it allows us to focus our eyesight on something to one side or another of us and to calculate whether it is a threat or an opportunity.
Physiotherapists in Hertfordshire have contributed some of the many articles on this site such as the one extracted below.
The remodelling phase of the healing period occurs over the weeks up to the sixth week after injury and at this point the patient should be tested by the physiotherapist and be able to perform a full strength resisted hamstring contraction without any problems. Isotonic work in prone with ankle weight is the initial approach with lighter weights and higher repetitions to start with, moving on to heavier weights with lower repetitions provided the injury does not complain. Being too adventurous in increasing the weights can lead to re-injury or to the development of a more chronic and troublesome problem.Once the concentric exercises (movements where the muscle is shortening as it is doing work) have progressed well then patients can start to do an eccentric strengthening programme. Eccentric muscle work occurs while the muscle is lengthening during the activity and while force is being applied to it and by it. Eccentric muscle contraction puts the maximum strain on muscle fibres so slo...
