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

Rehabilitation after Hip Replacement

Hip replacement is aimed at restoring the ability of a person with an arthritic hip to walk, rise from chairs, manage stairs and crouch. Pre-assessment starts the process with education of the patient about what they should expect so they can cooperate with the process. Exercises are taught to maintain the ranges of motion and keep up muscle strength around the joint. Gait correction is given and a walking aid provided as appropriate. The day after the operation the physiotherapist and an assistant will get the patient up into standing and walking. Gentle range of movement exercises to encourage hip flexion and the ability to move the leg in the bed is encouraged.

Once the patient is able to get up with assistance they are taught to get out of the bed independently and perform as natural as possible a gait pattern, within the weight bearing instructions of the surgeon and physiotherapist. Patients are encouraged to walk longer distances steadily to build up their stamina and taught to manage a set of stairs safely. If there is evidence of muscle weakness around the hip then exercises may be prescribed, but much of the necessary muscle power around the hip will be restored by normal activity.

Risk Factors for Low Back Pain

Studies of risk factors have not given clear indication of the risk factors for low back pain although about 70% of disc degeneration seems to be connected with genetic factors and around 60% of back pain overall. There is a strong association between genetic factors and osteoarthritis in the small facet joints which lie each side of the spine. General levels of fitness and the strength of back muscles seem to have little relevance as does differences in leg length. One study which was well conducted shows that a high risk of poor lumbar mobility and a long back exists in young people who work in health work and are encountering heavy work for the first time. This may be because taller people are exposed to higher mechanical forces to the longer limb and spinal levers they use when lifting weights.

Of little relevance seem to be height or weight, flexibility of the lumbar spine or straight leg raising, and fitness seems also to be not connected. X-ray and MRI examination findings have no connection to whether a person might suffer low back pain in the future. Overall the highest risk factor for future back pain is having had back pain in the past.