Physiotherapists in Welwyn Garden City treat many different conditions including the issues profiled below.

Exercise for Neck Pain

Exercise is a good choice to manage neck pain and is a safe way to treat the neck. Simple neck exercises are useful and help reduce pain and maintain the ranges of motion of the joints. It is important to stretch out the muscles, joints and other structures in the neck which might be tight and stiff. A degree of discomfort and soreness is to be expected after beginning to exercise and this should not be a cause of concern. Concentration on repeating the movements until full range is achieved is the key and with this a reduction in pain is likely.

No particular exercise suits everybody.s neck problems so a bit of experimentation is often necessary to find the right combination for any individual. Neck exercises should be performed slowly and steadily to get the right result as quick movements may cause injury or aggravate the pain. All exercises should be performed to the end of the range of movement available with a steady push to go a bit further held for a few seconds each time. The neck itself is an obvious choice for exercises but the shoulder and the shoulder girdle are involved in the function of the area and should also be included.

Ice Treatment and Physiotherapy

Ice and other cold treatments are important techniques in the armoury of physiotherapists and useful for a wide range of conditions. The major use of cold therapy or cryotherapy is to reduce and control inflammation and swelling in recent or acute injuries to the musculoskeletal system. In the first few days after injury heat will increase the metabolic rate and may aggravate the injury while cold will do the opposite and also provide some pain relief. Pain relief is important as a reduction in pain is not only pleasant for the patient but allows them to move the part and contract the muscles more effectively, beginning rehabilitation of the area.

Ice should not be directly applied to the skin, especially if packs from a freezer are used, as this may cause an ice burn which is a form of skin damage. Patients are assessed by the physiotherapist for safety and a layer of wet material is placed inbetween the skin and the ice pack. The skin is checked at intervals to make sure it is not reacting badly to the cold and the treatment time may be up to twenty minutes. Compression may be more important than cold and often they are combined.