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

Spinal Posture

Spinal posture can mean two main things, one being the shape and orientation of the curves in the spine and two being the angle that the whole spine is aligned to the vertical. The minimum of muscle activity occurs when the trunk is balanced directly above the pelvis and any deviation from this requires muscle activity to increase to maintain position. As the main moving muscles of the spine are orientated lengthways like the spine itself, when they contract they generate significant compression forces through the spine. Contraction of these muscles in easy standing or sitting still generates forces through the lumbar spine that are twice the body weight above the area.

In sitting it makes little difference to the degree of muscle activity whether the lumbar spine is held arched to some degree (lumbar lordosis) or flexed (bent), the key point is whether the spine is vertically aligned or not. So leaning back with a lordosis or forwards with a flexed spine both generate high muscle forces, whilst sitting upright in either posture does not. Sitting positions all flex the lumbar spine, with the lower two lumbar levels being significantly flexed in these postures, even to the maximum of their movement.

Whiplash Syndrome

Whiplash syndrome is typically the result of low velocity car crashes. Usually affecting the neck, whiplash can also affect the lumbar spine as it is almost fully flexed in sitting, allowing the spine to be over flexed by even a small further movement. Most tissues in the neck can be injured in a rear shunt collision but the evidence points to facet joint injury as being the most likely cause of chronic pain and disability. Any warning about the impact can result in the individual tightening up the stabilising muscles around the spine but also increases the forces compressing the spine at the same time. This could allow the discs and vertebrae themselves to be damaged in a compressive injury.

If there is no warning of the accident then there will be no protective muscle contractions to prevent spinal injury, with the posterior ligaments taking stress as the head is bent forward and the posterior bony elements impinging as the head is bent back. The exact position of the head at the moment of impact is also important as if it is rotated then the structures can suffer a rotational injury which could involve the facet joints.