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

Physiotherapy and Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is a troublesome and often chronic pain condition which affects the tendon and bone junctions of the forearm muscles near the elbow. It appears to be a tendinopathy, in other words a degenerative condition of the tendon rather than an inflammatory one. Pain can come on after an overuse of the arms such as a lot of painting, cleaning windows, gardening or racket sports. Elbow pain can be very disabling as it affects everything the person does with their arms and can limit employment and leisure activities. Physiotherapy examination starts with the history of the condition and what uses the patient makes of their arms in their job or at home.

Treatment involves reducing the aggravating stresses on the tendons by changing the way or frequency of activities and by applying an epicondylitis clasp around the forearm which may be helpful by realigning the angles of pull of the forearm muscles away from the painful areas. Deep transverse frictions can be applied by the physio to the painful area and they may also apply ultrasound to the area to reduce inflammation and scarring. Stretches and eccentric movements can be performed to reduce the pain.

Hip Dislocation

The hip is one of the largest and strongest joints in the body, being a deep ball and socket joint with powerful ligaments holding it all together. This means that dislocation is rare and only occurs in the event of significantly violent events such as motor vehicle crashes. In an accident the thigh may be forced into a position where the hip is levered out of its socket, tearing its surrounding ligaments and remaining out of socket. This causes extreme pain and patients have to be anaesthetised to relocate the joint. Treatment is complicated by the potential threat to the blood supply to the head of the femur.

Dislocation can also occur centrally, where the head of the femur is driven through the socket, fracturing it and ending up inside the pelvis. This injury usually needs internal fixation and significant time non weight bearing until the fractures heal. Normal dislocations are also treated with a period of non weight bearing to ensure the blood supply to the head of the femur, which was disrupted by the dislocation, restores itself. Once weight bearing is allowed the physiotherapist can instruct the patient in normal gait and exercises to restore the strength of the hip muscles.