Common symptoms originating from the neck include pain, movement restriction, headaches, muscle spasm, and if there is any nerve root compression possibly arm and hand pain, pins and needles, or weakness. Causes of neck problems can be trauma (as in whiplash), degenerative disease (cervical spondylosis), or prolonged poor posture. Treatment is again concentrated on identifying the cause of the symptoms and implementing a treatment plan including manual therapies, exercise prescription, patient education and advice, in order to restore function and minimise symptoms.

Irritation of the sciatic nerve is a problem that is often associated with lower back problems, though not exclusively so, and is commonly referred to as sciatica. Symptoms may vary from buttock and posterior leg pain to weakness or numbness of the leg, or a mixture of these. It can vary from severe, constant, debilitating pain to mild, intermittent discomfort. Commonly caused by a lumbar spine disc prolapse it can also be caused by spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the spinal canal), lumbar disc degeneration / disease, spondylolisthesis (one vertebrae ‘slipping’ on another) and muscular imbalances / trigger points in the gluteal muscles. It is also commonly encountered during and after pregnancy. Reduction of pain and inflammation, a return to normal function and advice and exercises to help reduce the risk of recurrence are the aims of treatment.

Many people are surprised to learn that many headaches are caused by joint dysfunction in the upper cervical spine and/or muscle spasm and trigger points in the surrounding musculature. There are obviously many other causes of headaches but persistent headaches that are musculoskeletal in nature are commonly relieved by physiotherapy.

Commonly caused by trauma, these injuries respond well to early physiotherapy intervention. From the acute inflammatory phase through sub-acute and rehabilitation phases, physiotherapy will gradually progress you through the stages of recovery with treatment, exercise prescription and advice. Not all muscle, tendon, and ligament problems are caused by acute trauma. Poor postural habits, poor biomechanics and the degenerative nature of tendons can cause significant problems. Again, physiotherapy will assess the nature and source of your problem and assist and guide you through the rehabilitation process.

Commonly caused by trauma, these injuries respond well to early physiotherapy intervention. From the acute inflammatory phase through sub-acute and rehabilitation phases, physiotherapy will gradually progress you through the stages of recovery with treatment, exercise prescription and advice. Not all muscle, tendon, and ligament problems are caused by acute trauma. Poor postural habits, poor biomechanics and the degenerative nature of tendons can cause significant problems. Again, physiotherapy will assess the nature and source of your problem and assist and guide you through the rehabilitation process.

Arthritic pain whether caused by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or any of the many other inflammatory arthritic conditions can be debilitating and significantly affect a person’s quality of life. Whilst the joint damage caused by these degenerative conditions is irreversible, the secondary symptoms such as pain, muscle stiffness and joint restriction can all be helped with physiotherapy. Patient education, management advice, joint mobilisations, prescriptive exercise, massage, and trigger pointing are all modalities that can significantly help restore function and give symptomatic relief.

Whether in the workplace, or a sporting or leisure environment, repeated activity can lead to gradual onset of muscle, tendon, ligament, joint or even bone pain (as seen in stress fractures). Identifying the mechanism causing the symptoms and modifying the behaviour is the key to resolving these problems. If the injury is simply treated without identifying the cause, it is very likely to return subsequently. Examples of aggravating mechanisms can be poor posture, poor biomechanics, poor technique, muscle imbalances, poor footwear, wrong equipment and poor recovery strategies. An experienced physiotherapist can help to identify the cause of the problem and provide advice, education, recommendations, and prescriptive exercise to help alleviate symptoms and prevent recurrence.