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

Severe Arm Pain and Physiotherapy

Neck pain is very common but, like sciatica in the leg, severe arm pain is uncommon but distressing for the sufferer. Nerve root conditions are caused typically by compression or inflammation from a disc protrusion near to the nerve exit in the spinal column or by bony encroachment on the same areas in older people. Patients complain of severe pain in the arm, often worse below the elbow and into the hand, with a surging quality which is very unpleasant. Typically patients are not able to sleep with this so appear tired and miserable due to the loss of sleep and constant severe pain.

Physiotherapy management starts with a careful assessment of the neck and arm but this may be severely limited by the severity of the pain and the irritability, the ease by which the condition can be stirred up by minimal input. Initial treatment is aimed at pain relief with analgesia, restriction of aggravating activities and a collar at night to restrict neck movements. Once the pain begins to settle the patient is encouraged to start gentle exercises or the physiotherapist performs mobilisation techniques to put mechanical stresses through the joint to start the process of restoring the area's capacity to cope with stress.

Thumb Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the commonest degenerative joint disease in the world and affects hundreds of millions of mostly older people. The incidence of osteoarthritis is partly related to genetic factors but mostly the older a person is the more likely they are to have some arthritic joints. Some joints are more susceptible to osteoarthritic changes and more troublesome when they are affected by this condition. At the base of the thumb is the junction between the first metacarpal and one of the carpal or wrist bones, the trapezium, and this joint is known as the first carpo-metacarpal joint or CMC joint.

The CMC joint is a complex, saddle shaped joint and a very important one for the function of the hand. The thumb is a vital part of normal hand use and disturbance of the thumb can badly affect the use of the whole hand. The thumb has to rotate round so if can work opposite the fingers and if the joint become osteoarthritic this is restricted. A bony swelling may be obvious on the outer border of the hand below the thumb and the movement is obviously limited. Treatment includes joint mobilisations by a physiotherapist, splinting, injections and surgery.