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

Pain Behaviours

When we hurt ourselves it is usual for us to give some indication of the fact that we are injured and these behaviours we exhibit are caused pain behaviours. Typical pain behaviours are non-verbal such as groaning or moaning, grimacing, holding the painful part, lying down, seeking a space away from people or taking painkillers. These behaviours are normal and are a form of communication, letting other people know we have a problem so that they can help us if we require some assistance to manage our injury. These behaviours allow others to assist us more quickly than if we had to think about it and ask them, which would be difficult immediately after a painful injury.

However, such pain behaviours can become chronic, a sort of ingrained habit, and people may use them to communicate daily to people around them about how they are doing that day. This type of communication, being non-verbal, can be misconstrued as it is not clear what is being communicated, leading to incorrect guesses and unwanted actions. Non-assertive communication can be very irritating for those around the person as it is never clear what they want and when something is done it is wrong.

Continuous Passive Motion after Knee Replacement

Total knee replacement is an increasingly common treatment for knee osteoarthritis and large numbers of elderly people undergo this operation every year. Physiotherapy management and treatment of these patients post-operatively is therefore becoming increasingly important if the best functional outcome is to be achieved. Early rehabilitation focuses on improving strength in the quadriceps muscle, restoring range of motion of knee flexion and facilitating gait and activities of daily living. The restoration of knee ranges of movement is one of the key elements on which success is judged and much physiotherapy time is dedicated to this part of the treatment.

A continuous passive motion machine is commonly used to improve knee flexion range of movement, as regular passive movement of a joint has been shown to result in better healing as compared to resting. Research work has shown a minor short term effect of using this treatment technique and it is often reserved for difficult cases such as after manipulation under anaesthetic for a stiff joint. Patients can remain on the machine for long periods but it is important not to forget active practice of the ranges of motion to improve muscle function. Overall continuous passive motion has not been shown to play a significant role in standard knee replacements.