A-Z of Injuries - Westport Physiotherapy & Acupuncture Clinic

OA of the wrist normally occurs following a previous trauma. It can be very debilitating and painful when trying to do normal everyday movements.

Signs & symptoms:

• Wrist pain
• Wrist stiffness
• Loss of range of motion
• Pain on turning a door handle
• Pain on removing lids of jar
• Pain with gripping sports (golf & tennis).

Physiotherapy can be used to prevent further wrist damage and maintain wrist and hand function[...]

Skier’s Thumb

A sprained thumb is damage caused to the ulnar collateral ligament at the base of the thumb, often caused by ski poles during a fall. It can also happen during any other sports if there is sufficient force applied to the thumb away from the hand.

Signs & symptoms:

• Immediate thumb swelling and pain
• Bruising
• Chronic sprains there may be persistent thickening of the joint

Thumb sprains tend to resolve in 4-6 weeks, physiotherapy aim to increase range of motion and reduce pain, and use a progressive exercise programme to return to pre-injury strength.[...]

(BPPV) Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo:

BPPV is the most common cause of vertigo. The symptoms can vary from

• Mild to intense dizziness.
• The vertigo is worst when moving the head is certain positions, lying down, turning or sitting up in bed
• Imbalance when walking, standing or bending.

A simple physiotherapy technique can relieve up to 80% of the dizziness with 1 visit if BPPV is the cause of the dizziness.[...]

Whiplash associated disorder (WAD):

Whiplash is a common cause of neck pain. Most often it is due to a car accident but occasionally it can be due to a sports injury. Whiplash is the term used to describe the hyperflexion and hyperextension injury to the neck. This pain and stiffness usually reaches its worst the day after the injury.

Signs & symptoms:

• Pain in local muscles
• headaches
• Pain in spinal joints of the neck and mid spine
• Arm pain
• Injury to ligaments of the neck

Physiotherapy can be helpful in reducing pain and discomfort and giving advice and education on protecting the injured structures while they heal, the main aim of treatment is to return slowly to pain free movement. Acupuncture can also be used.[...]

Conditions that can be helped by physiotherapy – pregnancy related:

• Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction
• Rectus Diasteses
• Stress & Urge Incontinence
• Hip Pain
• Back Pain and Sciatica
• Sacro-iliac Pain
• Carpal Tunnel

Other Physical Discomforts that can be helped by physiotherapy – not directly pregnancy related:

• Abdominal surgery recovery
• Hysterectomy recovery
• Incontinence
• Minor Prolapse in Pelvic area
• Keloid Scarring and adhesions post surgery

Services Offered

• Exercise Plans – appropriate exercise in Pregnancy/ Postnatal/ Post surgery
• Pilates
• Electrotherapy
• Vaginal Cones
• Electrostimulation/ Biofeedback/ Re-education for the Pelvic Floor Muscles
• Acupuncture
• Pregnancy Massage

What to Expect from the Assessment & Treatment

On the first visit, a thorough assessment of your physical condition will be carried out to try to establish the cause of the problem. A physical assessment will follow a set of specific questions and then a treatment plan will be formulated. This may include a mixture of physiotherapy manual techniques and specific exercises. Subsequent sessions will be guided by the plan.[...]