Physiotherapists in Somerset treat many different conditions including the condition profiled below.

Treatments for Acute Neck Pain

A collar used to be recommended for neck injuries but are only suggested now if the injury is very severe or the spine is unstable. Keeping the neck in collar over a long period can increase the stiffness and pain, although wearing a more flexible .beanie. type collar at night only may improve a patient.s sleep. Overall, collars are to be avoided for the best chances of a quick recovery. Using cold on the area over the first forty eight hours or so may be useful to reduce pain, with the best technique to use a packet of frozen peas inside a wet tea towel for ten minutes or so, repeated regularly.

Placing a frozen object on the skin could give a cold burn so a wet tea towel should always be used between the cold and the skin. After 48 hours heat can be used for pain relief and to relax muscles, and many people prefer this at any stage, using a hot water bottle or heat pack or having a bath. Heat can burn the skin so the same precautions should apply, putting something between the object and the skin if needed, and limiting the time initially.

Managing Acute Neck Pain

Most neck pain episodes which come on suddenly (acute neck pain) are managed by the sufferer independently and this is the best approach. The initial approach is to take some painkillers to reduce the pain levels to a more manageable state. Painkillers cannot abolish the pain completely, but simply allow the person to get moving and stay active in the early period rather than being forced to rest. It is quite safe to take the recommended painkillers, they don.t mask the pain so much that a person can damage themselves without knowing. It is important to take the drugs appropriately.

It is recommended to take the painkillers every four to six hours as advised in the instructions and to do this for several days, even if the person feels better now and then. Stopping taking them too soon means the pain flares up again at some point, inhibiting movement and recovery. Taking the painkillers regularly allows the build up of the drug levels in the blood which keeps the pain suppressed. People often stick it out until the pain becomes more severe but this is unhelpful as it is harder to relieve a pain than to prevent it developing.

Physiotherapists in Somerset have contributed some of the many articles on this site such as the one extracted below.

Our feet are amazing machines, managing without complaint most of the time to transmit the weight of the body as we propel ourselves around at varying speeds, all the while keeping balance and a secure connection with the surface. While foot posture can vary quite greatly without particular painful problems, many alterations in foot posture can result in painful symptoms and significant levels of disability. The levels of force transmitted through the feet demand strong and flexible joints, muscle strength and neuromuscular coordination for balance and control.The changes which occur in the feet can be postural and relate to the positions of the anatomical structures in weight bearing, or be dynamic in that the postural abnormality occurs fleetingly but regularly in walking or running. The rear of the foot, the hind foot, is commonly affected in that the heelbone can be angled outwards to a degree, stressing the inside joints of the ankle and throwing the weight of the foot inwards. Th...

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