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

Trochanteric Bursitis

Pain on the side of the hip is a common complaint and often diagnosed as trochanteric bursitis, even though this diagnosis may not be verifiable. Lateral hip pain can be referred from the lumbar spine or the hip joint but in many cases the pain is located over the large bony prominence at the side of the hip, the greater trochanter. The tendons of several of the large buttock muscles come round and insert into the greater trochanter. On examination a physiotherapist might find great tenderness over the greater trochanter and over the nearby tendon, with pain on resisted hip abduction which stresses the tendons.

Symptoms are aggravated by walking, running or any activity which demands significant power from the buttock muscles. Initially the pain was thought to be inflammation in one of the lubricating sacs positioned between moving structures, known as bursae. Present ideas indicate that degenerative changes may occur within the tendon structures, causing a tendinosis which can be painful. Treatments can include physiotherapy to teach patients eccentric exercises to stress the tendons and force it to repair, steroid injections into the tendon areas which are painful or in severe cases a surgical release.

Total Hip Replacement

Total hip replacement was the first of the joint replacements to be developed and has not been practiced for over forty years. The results overall have been very impressive with great improvements in the quality of life of patients, placing the intervention near the top of the most effective medical treatments. Osteoarthritis, the most common joint condition throughout the world, is the main reason for hip replacement. As the joint wears it will show increasing stiffness, pain , loss of range of motion and increasing limitation of functional abilities such as walking and getting up from chairs.

Hip replacement is performed by removing the upper part of the thigh bone which bears the ball, drilling a cavity down into the thigh bone, filling this with cement and introducing a metal component which again bears a ball at the top. The socket is enlarged to receive a plastic socket which then articulates with the ball of the other component. Patients are mobilised into standing or walking the day after surgery by the physiotherapist and an assistant, and are taught range of motion exercises for the hip and correct gait. Once independent in mobility patients are discharged home at between three and five days post surgery.