Physiotherapists in Sheffield 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.

Calf Muscle Tears

The calf muscles are large and powerful muscles in the lower leg, the main ones being named the gastrocnemius and soleus. These muscles push the body weight along in gait and help us run, exerting very high forces in the process. If the forces exerted by someone in a powerful activity exceed the ability of the calf muscle to cope then an muscle tear results. A tear of the calf muscle occurs very suddenly and is extremely painful, with swelling developing very quickly. The person is unable to put their heel down as it is much too painful to stretch the calf that way and they often walk on tiptoe if they can weight beat at all.

Physiotherapy treatment initially aims at reducing the pain and swelling with ice, compression and the provision of walking aids to reduce the stresses through the calf. Analgesics are also useful and once the pain has reduced then active movement of the foot in a downwards direction can start contracting the muscles again. Once the foot can be placed flat on the floor then normal gait can be encouraged with a heel raise in the shoe to prevent stretching. Muscle strengthening can then be prescribed by the physio as rehabilitation proceeds.