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

Joint Position Sense (JPS)

Joint position sense, also called proprioception, is the ability of the brain to sense the positions of the joints and segments of the body and the degree of muscle contraction being exerted at any point in time. It is a precise sense and we rely on it to move about accurately, with loss of the JPS causing us significant difficulties. The brain relies on the incoming information from the muscles, ligaments and joints to understand where the body is and thereby to plan what the next movement requires in terms of direction and muscle activity.

Loss of any degree of proprioception causes the person significant problems with understanding where they are and how to perform the next movement safely and successfully. It is much more disabling than a loss of muscle power alone and requires that they pay much more visual attention to their position and the outcomes of each new attempted movement. Physiotherapists work routinely with people with proprioceptive loss to restore this sense after operation or stroke. Gym exercises prescribed by physios include standing on a wobble board and performing activities such as bouncing and catching a ball against a wall. Restoration of JPS is vital before return to sport.

Core Stability for Back Pain

Treatments and management techniques for low back pain are very numerous and for most of them the evidence of effectiveness is either nil or not very great. Core stability comes into the category of a treatment which has some evidence for usefulness and for which there is ongoing scientific research. The spinal segments have a stabilising muscular system which keeps them in line with each other and prevent abnormal movement occurring between them which might cause problems. The three main muscle groups involved are the multifidus in the spine, the transversus abdominis in the abdomen and the pelvic floor.

Research has shown that these three groups work in concert and that if a back injury occurs then the multifidus muscles in the spine waste and do not recover spontaneously once the back pain has settled. However, working these core stability muscles at around 30 percent of their maximum capacity can restore the stabilising part of the spinal muscle group. Physiotherapists have researched this method and routinely prescribe core stability exercises for patients, understanding that good scientific evidence for longer term changes in spinal problems is not yet forthcoming. The technique is simple however, easily applied, reasonably logical and has few if any adverse side effects.