Physiotherapy Techniques

Hands-on Physiotherapy Techniques

Our team of physiotherapists use a combination of techniques to treat your condition, here are some of them.

Joint mobilisation 

Joints should be able to move freely in all the directions that they are designed to. If they become locked or restricted in any particular direction, you may experience pain and/or stiffness. This gentle gliding technique can help restore healthy joint function.

Myofascial release

Myofascial release is a form of manual therapy used for the effective treatment and rehabilitation of fascia. Fascia, a type of connective tissue, is a dynamic web of elastin and collagen fibres surrounded by a viscous fluid. This allows it to be strong, flexible, act as a slide-&-glide mechanism between structures, and as a cushion. It is interwoven within every other tissue, tendon, muscle, bone, ligament and organ of the body. 

Poor posture, poor movement patterns or trauma causes scars and hardening which in turn leads other internal structures to become pulled out of alignment – this can lead to to pain and discomfort. 
Myofascial release uses a combination of stretches, hands-on massage techniques and postural education in order to assist your fascia to return to optimum quality, length and condition.

Neurodynamics

Your nerve tissue, just like your joints, muscles and fascia, needs to be able to move freely and unimpeded for healthy, pain-free function. Physiotherapists are able to assess the condition i.e. neurodynamics, of certain nerves using specific neural tension tests. If you have adverse neural tension they will be able to determine where the nerve is impeded and then treat it, so that your movement becomes pain free – this can sometimes be instantaneous. The treatment is a form of mobilising movement which creates gliding and sliding of the nerves which can eliminate pain.

Acupuncture and Dry Needling

Acupuncture is an ancient technique originating in China over 5000 years ago but is now commonly practiced all over the world and commonly accepted in Western medicine.

Acupuncture for Pain?

It is most commonly used for pain relief, especially back pain. However, acupuncture is useful for treating all kinds of muscle and joint pain, neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, elbow pain, hand and wrist pain, hip and leg pain, knee pain, ankle pain and fibromyalgia.

Dry needling or intramuscular stimulation (IMS) is used for the treatment of muscular pain and myofascial dysfunction and is very effective for relaxing and releasing tension in overactive muscles, which contain trigger points – often referred, in layman’s terms, as knots in the muscle.

The treatment involves the insertion of acupuncture needles into the muscle’s trigger points resulting in the muscle relaxing and the knot being released. This approach is based on Western anatomical and neurophysiological principles and should not to be confused with the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) technique of acupuncture, although the same filament needles are used in both.

Physiotherapy Exercises

Physiotherapists are trained in the application of certain, very specific exercises which assist the client in their rehabilitation. This is known as exercise therapy.

The aim is to strengthen particular muscles in order to improve your function. A lot of scientific research has gone into developing exercises which can be used as part of a programme to complement treatment, reduce or prevent pain and limit the possibility of re-injury.

Our physiotherapists are experts in the prescription of the ideal exercises for your condition and the appropriate intensity for you, depending on your rehabilitation status i.e. not over-stretching yourself on your road to recovery.
Our physiotherapist will incorporate their knowledge of other fields such as pilates, yoga and exercise physiology to provide you with the best opportunity to get back to full function.

We now have an excellent set of video exercises with over 3000 exercises which you can watch and easily follow.

Biomechanical Analysis

Our physiotherapists are highly skilled health professionals with excellent diagnostic skills. This includes the ability to perform a biomechanical assessment, and then diagnose unhelpful and sub-optimal movement patterns.
Educating yourself and being aware of these patterns will help you to avoid future musculoskeletal and sports injuries. Poor movement patterns or poor posture are some of the most common sources of repeat injuries.

Sports Physiotherapy

Sports physio requires a level of knowledge and expertise in order to assist the client’s injury to recover, whilst assisting the sports person to remain in great condition with regard to other aspects of their fitness. A sports physio’s work will help prevent injury and improve performance.

 

​If you have any further questions on injury prevention through warm ups and stretches please feel free to call one of our physiotherapists in Huntingdon for more help.