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

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.

The Development of Chronic Neck Pain

Long term neck pain and disability is a difficult and perplexing problem, leading to high degrees of pain, suffering and loss of function in some patients. There are a serious of beliefs which may go with a higher risk of developing chronic pain after neck injury such as: the belief that the pain is due to a serious injury or tissue damage; resisting reassurance; equating hurt with harm and believing the pain will lead to disability; avoiding activities and movement due to the fear of damage; resting and remaining inactive whilst waiting for the pain to settle; expecting someone to cure the pain rather than taking on the responsibility oneself; withdrawing from social contact and becoming depressed.

These tendencies are referred to as .yellow flags. and predict to some extent the likelihood the person will suffer work loss and disability from their pain condition. These problems may develop steadily and without the person being aware of them, so they need identifying and dealing with as soon as possible. If a person is off work for a month with their neck pain then there is a risk of developing long term problems and a ten percent chance of still being off in a year.