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

Staying Active after Whiplash

Part of the art of recovering from whiplash injury is to keep as active as possible without aggravating the pain too severely. Resting for a few days in the presence of severe pain is reasonable but longer periods of rest can be counterproductive and disabling. Most activities can be performed without the neck having full movement so the patient should get on and do what they can. Static postures should be avoided for too long and the patient encouraged to change positions and keep moving regularly. The movements should be progressed steadily every day to push the joints a little bit further each time.

When sitting the chair should be the right height and the person get up very regularly to vary the neck position. Office work can be much easier with a well adjusted chair and the computer monitor and keyboard in optimal positions. Driving should be for short periods with regular stops to get out and move around. Pacing general activities by splitting them up into shorter time slots is a very useful strategy, allowing the patient to continue activities or restart them again without causing a significant worsening of pain.

Fatigue and Tiredness - The Management of the Condition

Drug therapies given for arthritic condition, known as disease modifying anti rheumatoid drugs and the new biological treatments, have been shown to reduce the fatigue reported by patients, perhaps partly at least by reducing inflammation and pain levels which have some effects on fatigue levels. While fatigue can be improved by these drugs and by antidepressants, it can occur in the absence of depression or inflammation. Exercise therapy in groups has shown some trends towards improvement of fatigue, although the effects of exercise therapy on chronic fatigue syndrome are not clear.

Group therapy may be included in self management programmes which combine this with education and psychological interventions. Both these therapies have shown some effects in particular circumstances. Acupuncture however has shown no effect in chronic fatigue syndrome. Evidence for non-drug treatments is limited by the number of good quality research trials available, most of which are not set up to examine the fatigue nor the potential treatments for it. A good definition of fatigue does not yet exist nor is there any possibility of logically grading the degrees of tiredness from slight to exhaustion, limiting meaningful work on the condition. Pain management programmes, which often have a physiotherapist and a clinical psychologist, presently address these patients.