conditions

Information on rheumatoid arthritis coming soon!

Overview
Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. Typically, sciatica affects only one side of your body.

Sciatica most commonly occurs when spinal nerve roots get sensitised which can be caused mainly by compression or stretching of the nerve or inflammation in the surrounding area.

Although the pain associated with sciatica can be severe, most cases resolve with non-operative treatments.

Symptoms
Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. You might feel the discomfort almost anywhere along the nerve pathway, but it’s especially likely to follow a path from your lower back to your buttock and the back of your thigh and calf.

The pain can vary widely, from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation or excruciating pain. Sometimes it can feel like a jolt or electric shock. It can be worse when you cough or sneeze, and prolonged sitting can aggravate symptoms. Usually only one side of your body is affected.

Some people also have numbness, tingling or muscle weakness in the affected leg or foot. You might have pain in one part of your leg and numbness in another part.

Risk factors
Risk factors for sciatica include:

• Age
• Obesity
• Occupation
• Prolonged sitting
• Diabetes

Management
The key goals for management are:

• Pain control
• Restoration of range of motion
• Restoring normal function
• Improve fitness and strength

Our team has dealt with thousands of clients suffering with sciatica and our success rates are above 80%. All our clients are dealt with individually as they will all have individual goals and needs so we apply our tried and tested results based 3 step system to provide the outcome you deserve.

Up to five out of 100 people will get a frozen shoulder at some point in their life. You’re more likely to get frozen shoulder if you’re aged between 40 and 60, and it’s slightly more common among women. People with certain medical conditions are more likely to get a frozen shoulder, including diabetes, an underactive thyroid, an overactive thyroid and heart disease.

The main symptoms of frozen shoulder are pain, progressive stiffness of the shoulder and reduced function. The time frame for frozen shoulder to improve is between 1 and 3 years.

There are 3 phases associated with frozen shoulder and treatment varies depending on the phase you are in.

Phase 1 (freezing) is characterised by mainly pain and inflammation and injection therapy and EMTT (electromagnetic transduction therapy) are the treatments of choice. EMTT is innovative technology which helps the tissues to heal and repair by working at cellular level and improving local blood flow to accelerate tissue repair and reduce inflammation and pain.

Phase 2 (frozen) is characterised mainly by stiffness and a lack of function. In order to help with the stiffness manual therapy, focused shockwave therapy combined with rehabilitation is the treatment of choice. Focused shockwave therapy is a low intensity shockwave treatment to promote and accelerate tissue repair and healing. It has regenerative abilities therefore restoring the tissue back to it’s formal non painful state.

Phase 3 (thawing) is mainly characterised by ongoing stiffness and lack of function rather than pain and manual therapy combined with rehabilitation is recommended.

All these treatments are very safe and have been done to millions of people with no side effects apart from some transient discomfort.

Our treatment programmes can improve the journey of you suffering with frozen shoulder and help towards a full resolution of the problem. Often it is regarded as ‘self-limiting’ however research evidence suggests that only 39% of patients fully recover with 11% reporting ongoing functional limitation.

As this is a very common shoulder complaint our team is well placed and highly experienced to assist in accelerating your recovery, reduce pain and restore normal function.

Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) is a painful and debilitating condition, affecting the outer thigh and hip area.

It happens when the tissues that lie over the bone at the top of the thigh (greater trochanter) become irritated. These tissues can include tendons, muscles or fluid-filled sacs (bursae) that help smooth movement between muscles, tendons and the hip bone.

This irritation might happen for a number of reasons. We typically see 2 subgroups of women with GTPS. The first group is young athletic women (mainly runners) who through overload on the tissues develop GTPS, the second group are women over the age of 45 where overload accounts for 25% of the cause and hormonal (menopause) and metabolic changes account for 75% of the cause.

You will usually not need scans to diagnose GTPS. It is diagnosed through taking a medical history, and doing specific tests of the hip during a physical examination.

Symptoms of GTPS

• Pain in your outer thigh and hip area. This might feel like an aching or burning pain.
• The pain might be worse when you are lying on your side, especially at night.
• The pain might be worse with exercise.
• You might walk with a limp.

Cause of GTPS

GTPS is most common in adult women. The exact cause is not fully understood. There are many factors that can contribute to it.

• A direct fall on the outside edge of your hip.
• Excessive load, for example prolonged walking or running. Poor running style can also lead to increased load on this area of the hip.
• Prolonged or excessive pressure to your hip area can make GTPS worse. For example, sleeping on your affected side or crossing your legs whilst sitting.
• Weakness of the muscles surrounding the hip.
• Hormonal changes (menopause)

How do we treat GTPS?

Our 3 step results-focussed-system includes shockwave therapy combined with rehabilitation in our hydropool or gym.

How effective is our treatment?

Our unique 3 step system for GTPS is 85% successful.

How long does it take to get better?

Everybody will improve differently. For most people it will take 6 to 9 months to make a return to full activities without pain.

It is normal to have some periods of increased pain, or flare-ups, during your recovery. Our team will be working closely with you to manage these flare-ups so they don’t interfere with the long term result.