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

Lumbar Stenosis

There are many painful syndromes which involve the lumbar spine, with the discs, ligaments, joints, muscles and nerves all implicated in pain production. Older people can present with symptoms which indicate a stenosis of their vertebral canal. The vertebral or spinal canal runs down the back and carries the spinal cord, allowing the nerve roots to exit to the body at each spinal level (each disc level). The spinal canal can be congenitally narrow which increases the chances of developing spinal stenosis with age. As degenerative changes occur in the spinal structures the spinal canal can become narrowed and tight.

The symptoms of spinal stenosis typically do not include back pain but rather leg pain, often bilateral, and worsened by walking but better with sitting. Typically presenting in people of 65 years or older, spinal stenosis can also present as a nerve root irritation of a sciatic type due to stenosis of the exit for the spinal nerve root. Physiotherapy is not usually very useful and little is found on examination apart from a reduction in spinal extension and many people manage their symptoms over time as best they can, although surgical spinal decompression can be very successful in relieving the symptoms.

Stretching and Tightness

We all have a genetically determined stretchiness or tightness to our connective tissues, the skin, tendons, ligaments and discs which are made up of collagen. It is partly the make up of collagen and partly the length of our tendons and ligaments which determine how bendy or tight we are. Mostly the length of our soft tissues is not very important as we are able to function normally with what we have got, but in some cases such as injury or pain conditions the tightness or laxness of our tissues can become an issue. In low back and neck pain syndromes certain structures can become tight and others slack, leading to imbalances in the muscular and joint systems.

Physiotherapists use stretching routinely to correct these imbalances and teach their patients very specific and controlled programmes. For stretching to be effective the action must be taken to the point of tightness, pushed a little further into the resistance and held for 15 seconds or more steadily. Bouncing should be avoided as this does not stretch well and can cause injury. Stretching should feel uncomfortable in the target tissues but not greatly painful and any discomfort should settle quickly once the stretch is removed.