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

Hand Injuries - Prevention

Many hand injuries can be prevented by taking sensible precautions or by avoiding obviously risky behaviours. One of the most common behaviours, especially amongst young men in social situations, is to damage their hands by punching each other or punching objects in anger such as doors or walls. This commonly results in fractures to the metacarpals or fingers, injuries which need careful management for the best functional outcome. The use of knives should be carefully regulated with training and supervision for those who work with them routinely. Separating frozen objects with a pointed knife whilst holding the object is a relatively common reason for stabbing a knife through the palm.

Health and safety regulations should be closely observed when operating machinery or dealing with electrical equipment. Injuries to the hands are almost always preventable with a little planning and forethought. Machinery with moving parts, especially rotational ones, requires operators to avoid wearing gloves or jewellery or loose clothing especially around the cuffs. In other situations gloves of the appropriate type should be used. Hands should not be placed in dangerous positions, so push sticks for saws or brushes to clean away machine debris should be employed.

Physiotherapy and Manipulation

Manipulation is the moving and affecting of bodily tissues by using the hands and encompasses a wide variety of techniques including massage, deep frictions, mobilisation techniques and the forceful treatments commonly referred to as manipulation. Physiotherapists often train to perform manipulations which in this case are sudden, strong movements directed at a joint in an attempt to force it beyond the range of movement it is presently capable of. Mobilisation techniques are gentler and work within the ranges of motion available to the joint, while manipulation aims to restore what movement the joint should have.

Manipulation can be performed in the acute setting such as treating acute wry neck or a sudden onset of severe back pain. Treatment in this case may relocate the structure which is .out of place. or allow a pinched tissue area to be released and so relieve the compression suffered. Manipulation has been shown to reduce the length of time the person suffers the problem but has little effect on the overall outcome in time. More chronic conditions may be helped by manipulation to restore a range of movement which is restricted and the potential cause of pain. Physios are trained to safely and effective manage manipulative techniques.