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

Disc Prolapses

In a disc prolapse the internal material of the disc becomes displaced in relation to the outer annulus. The annular rings should be around the disc and the water retaining nucleus at the centre of the disc should remain there. In one kind of protrusion the disc bulges the annular fibres outwards but the nuclear material remains inside the disc. If the annular fibres rupture right through their thickness then part of the nucleus can extrude outside the confines of the disc but it still remains in contact with the rest of the nucleus inside the disc.

A third type of disc prolapse can occur where the disc tissue is extruded from the disc but then is separated from the nucleus and exists as an independent fragment outside the disc walls. Disc prolapses or herniations do not seem to be well connected with age or changes of degeneration of the discs even though it is again most common at lower lumbar levels which are subject to both degeneration and stresses more than other spinal regions. Even though disc prolapses are often called .slipped discs., the disc cannot slip as it is tightly bound to the vertebrae above and below.

Physiotherapy and TENS

TENS or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is a technique of treatment used for pain conditions of various kinds. A small, battery powered device is used to generate the signals which pass down wires to electrodes which adhere to the patient.s skin, with the frequency of the signals and their duration and repetition rates all adjustable. Electrodes, with four at least being best, can be placed around the areas of pain or along the specific nerve tracts which relate to the pain condition in a trial and error manner until the best technique for the patient is found.

TENS works on the idea of sending signals down the main sensory nerves in the painful area and when these signals reach the spinal cord they act as inhibitory factors on the transmission of pain in the spinal cord. The effect is similar to rubbing the damaged area when we bump ourselves hard on something. It reduces the pain and if we stop we will feel the pain come flooding back. Around 30 percent of people find TENS helpful for a variety of pain conditions. TENS is also used in labour as a non-drug alternative for pain relief in childbirth.