Balancing busy jobs and a home life is difficult enough, let alone trying to keep fit and healthy, so it doesn't take much to upset the equilibrium. However getting pain associated with your job, or preventing you from exercising easily can disrupt those scales making it harder to achieve everything you need to do. At Cathedral Physiotherapy we are here to help you improve any symptoms you may have so that you can get back to being superhuman!
Click on the links below for examples of what we can help you with.
Work-related pain:
Whether you work at a desk all day, or prune trees for a living, at some point during your working life you are likely to suffer from pain related to your occupation. In fact, 60% of people on long term sick leave cite musculoskeletal disorders as the cause. Rapid access to musculoskeletal physiotherapy can reduce the amount of time people are off sick, and it is vital in preventing a new acute problem becoming chronic and long lasting (Department of health, 2008).
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
Back Pain:
Low back pain is reported by 80% of people at sometime in their life. A large percentage of this will improve with basic advice and exercises, but some people need more specific treatment (work-related advice, functional exercises, manual therapy). Come and be assessed today so that we can help you on your road to recovery, and to help prevent recurrence.
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
Neck Pain:
Neck pain is common but most cases aren’t caused by a serious problem. Some people get it after an accident or injury, whilst others find it appears if they are stressed, or inactive, or it can be related to age-related changes in the structures of the neck. Commonly felt locally in the neck, it can also refer to the shoulder / arm, and sometimes may cause pins and needles / numbness. With good advice, reassurance, specific exercises and sometimes manual therapy, the majority of neck pain improved within about six weeks.
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
Shoulder / Elbow / Wrist pain:
Whether your pain is work or hobby related it is important to get the correct advice early to prevent chronicity. An excellent assessment will differentiate the problem and help you to manage and improve your symptoms.
Arm pain can be referred from the neck, but is more commonly related to impingement of the tendons, or tears of the muscle, but can also be due to ‘frozen shoulder’.
Elbow complaints include tennis elbow, golfers elbow, or nerve irritation.
Wrist pain is commonly related to the position of the wrist at work or during hobbies, but can be due to stiffness post fracture, or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
Hip / Knee / Ankle pain:
Hip pain - Problems with cartilage, early osteoarthritis, tendonopathy, sprains and muscle imbalances can all cause hip pain, but it can also be referred from the back. Accurate assessment is crucial to ensure you have the right treatment to improve your problem.
Knee pain – Be it local pain, swelling or stiffness secondary to an acute injury to the ligaments of the joint, more insidious in nature, or referred pain, once diagnosed, the majority of problems will significantly improve with a specific functional exercise program, but if necessary it can also be treated with manual therapy, ultrasound, taping or acupuncture too.
Ankle pain – The majority of people have sustained a sprained ankle at some point, and we can offer acute treatment for this with ultrasound, soft tissie therapy, taping and exercises. However, we rely on our legs heavily, and the key is to prevent it recurring again through specific rehabilitation, so that you can stay as fit and active as you wish.
It is quite common to have on-going problems with pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints surrounding the area where you have fractured. However the real issue, is that people often lose their confidence too. Let us rehabilitate you back to your previous level of function or fitness allowing you to live your life to the full.
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
Non specific arm pain:
Characterised by ongoing pain, altered sensations in the hand / arm and sometime feelings of weakness, this can be a frustrating condition to have, particularly as commonly many objective medical test are negative. Often, modifications to posture, work stations, gaining an understanding of pain mechanisms, and local tissues techniques can improve symptoms and function.
Characterised by neck / shoulder / arm pain, feelings of weakness in the arm (particularly with overhead activities), and possible discolouration of the hand, this condition can be debilitating. With good quality conservative physiotherapy, symptoms and function can be significantly improved, thereby improving your quality of life.
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
Headaches and Dizziness:
Benign headaches can be caused by tension in the muscles, stiffness in the neck or muscle imbalance. Often characterised by being one-sided, or in a band around the head, and associated with neck pain, or certain movements, symptoms can be improved significantly with a combination of exercise, manual therapy and an understanding of pain pathways.
Dizziness can be generated from the neck, the inner ear or the brain, and accurate differential diagnosis is crucial for appropriate treatment.
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
Pregnancy related pain:
Pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain is common and affects 1 in 5 women during their pregnancy. There are a wide range of symptoms, some of which improve naturally during the course of the pregnancy as your body adapts, some which need advice and /or treatment early on to keep you as active as possible. Don’t suffer in silence, get help early.
Initial Assessment: £55 for 1 hour•Subsequent Treatments: £45 for 1/2 hour
How does it work?
Initial assessments
Initial assessments take up to 60 mins (depending on the condition) and involve talking through your physical problems, concerns, aims of treatment, and your personal functional goals. A physical assessment is then undertaken, looking at the parts of the body in question, including areas that connect with it or can refer symptoms to it. It is helpful to come prepared with a vest top/T-shirt and shorts as you will need to remove some items of clothing.
Following the physical assessment you will have some form of treatment - either advice and exercises, or other adjuncts (mobilisation, manipulation, taping, electrotherapy) as appropriate for your condition. I work closely with you to ascertain what you want to achieve, and we will develop a treatment plan together, combining your aims, my experience and the evidence base for that specific problem.
Follow up treatments
Follow up treatments take up to 30 mins, and will involve a shortened re-assessment to ascertain how you have progressed, and if you have any concerns, advice, exercise (including reviewing your home exercise plan) and other forms of treatment as required.
