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There are many problems and injuries that can happen to the knee at different stages in our lives, some common knee injuries are listed below.
Medial collateral Ligament (MCL), Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL), Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), Posterior Collateral Ligament (PCL) are the four main supporting ligaments to the knee and the most commonly injured. Ligament damage is graded 1-4 (1 being a mild strain, 4 being a serious tear/rupture, possibly requiring surgery). Osteopathic treatment can really help with the recovery of ligament damage, by working with the foot, ankle, knee, hip and pelvis osteopaths can help unload the biomechanical strain off the knee and ease the tension going through the knee as well as improving the speed of healing through manipulation, massage and advice about exercises rehabilitation, dietary supplements and joint/ligament supports.
The knee has a highly specialized cartilage inside it (the meniscus) and this can be prone to damage especially traumas involving rotation (twisting of the knee), the meniscus can often get damaged or strained simultaneously when the ACL or PCL is torn (see above). The meniscus can be torn in the elderly as a result of osteoarthritic changes in the knee joint and a weakening of the cartilage (a degenerative tear). This can often happen during walking, squatting or twisting and can result in very acute pain in and around the knee, swelling, clicking and potentially locking of the knee.
Depending on the extent of the damage will determine how the knee is treated. For low grade strains osteopathy can help. If the injury is more sever then orthopedic surgery may be required to stitch the tear and clean out the knee of any floating debris.
The two main reasons people injure themselves are because the joints and muscles are very stiff and tight or too weak and unable to cope with the demand placed upon them. Restriction in movement and poor flexibility often leads to overstrains, tears and excess pressure on other areas of the body. Muscular weakness causes imbalances in the body, reduces strength and stability, leads to overstrain/ fatigue of the muscles, ligaments and joints and causes injury.
Osteopaths often advise stretches and exercises to help strengthen the body and improve flexibility. This can greatly improve healing time and reduce the risk of the same injury occurring again.
Exercise strengthening, rehabilitation and stretching can be offered to high level sportsmen and women as well as those who have recently started a new sport, activity or a more active lifestyle and are being troubled with pains.
As Tomlinson Osteopaths are now also working from The Mecure Norton Grange, we have the facilities to go through exercise and stretching regimes in a professional gym environment. This would need to be booked as a separate appointment due to the time involved.
Growing teenagers who play lots of sports (especially high impact like basketball, football and tennis) can get a condition known as Osgood's Schlatters disease. This is inflammation of the patella tendon and also the area of the bone that the tendon attaches to. It can result in a very painful and swollen lump developing on the front surface of the knee just below the knee cap and causes extreme pain when running. Osteopathy can greatly help with this condition as it is commonly caused by very tight and overused quadriceps (thigh) muscles pulling strongly on the bone that they attach to creating an inflamed and painful bone/tendon.
Also known as Repetitive Strain Injury ("RSI") of the elbow, "archer's elbow" or "lateral epicondylitis" is a condition where the outer part of the elbow becomes sore and tender. It is commonly associated with gripping tightly or repeatedly grasping something heavy or something regularly. Playing tennis, racquet sports, manual labor such as using a hammer or hammer drill or repetitive wrist movements such as typing or playing an instrument such as a violin can also cause an overuse of theses muscles. The injury can happen to almost anybody and is can be progressive unless the biomechanical strain is eased.
This is pain and tenderness on the inside of the elbow and is commonly associated with playing golf and manual labor , the condition has the same onset as "tennis elbow", however, effects the inner portion of the elbow as opposed to the outer portion due to a different set of muscles involved.
There are many ways to sprain the ankle and each can effect a different part of the ankle. The most common being the "inversion sprain", (turning the ankle, rolling the ankle, twisted ankle). This is where the foot turns inwards and the outer part of the ankle gets sprained. This type of injury can tear the lateral ankle ligaments, strain the joint capsule around the ankle, jam some of the bones on the foot and ankle, tear muscles in the front/ outer part of the shin and occasionally fracture the ankle.
There are 4 levels of ligament damage (like with the knee) and the recovery time very much depends on the extent of the damage and how quickly the ankle is rehabilitated. Osteopathic rehabilitation consists of reducing the swelling and inflammation, breaking down incorrect scar tissue formation, mobilization of the foot and ankle, easing the muscular tears and strains, strengthening exercises to the foot and ankle and dietary supplements to speed up the healing process.
The rotator cuff muscles are a group of four very important muscles in the shoulder. They are the prime movers and dynamic stabilizers of a very mobile thus relatively unstable shoulder complex. Due to the high level of stress and strain the shoulders get through our lives it is common to strain and tear muscles, tendons, ligaments and the shoulder joint.
These type of injury often results in pain raising the arm, sometimes in one specific direction but often in multiple directions.
Other symptoms may include, weakness, stiffness, swelling, heat, nagging/burning pain. This can usually be treated by an osteopath along with advice on pain management and exercises rehabilitation.
Cervico-genic headaches are often (but not exclusively) felt at the base of the skull and radiate over the scalp to the forehead and occasionally behind the eyes. They can be one sided or often on both sides and can be very regular in their frequency. By easing the strain in the upper back, shoulder and neck cervico-genic headaches can be greatly eased and often cease rapidly.
For other headache questions please ring for advise or speak to your GP as every headache can have a different origin and classification, therefore requiring different treatment. If your GP has already seen you and given you a clean bill of health and you are still suffering with no relief then we recommend that you contact the clinic to see if osteopathy can help you. Many people suffer unnecessarily for many years with headache when something none invasive and painless can be done to help.
This is classified as a neurological condition resulting in severe throbbing/pounding head pain. Usually effecting only one side of the head or face, however can occasionally effect both sides of the head.
Sufferers can expect nausea, occasional vomiting, visual disturbances and a severe pain in the head. Symptoms can last from minutes, hours or sometimes days depending on the severity. Triggers of migraine can vary greatly and can be a reaction to certain foods, smells, bright lights and stress. Research shows that some migraine originates in the brainstem (featuring intercellular transport dysfunction of calcium and potassium ions) and some are genetically disposed. Other research shows that it is a vascular phenomenon caused by over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (the nervous system that controls blood flow, in this case to the brain).
Osteopaths can help isolate triggering factors, calm the nervous system down and ease stresses and strains in the skull, spine and muscles to help reduce and alleviate migraine. Migraine is a very complex subject and everyone's experience can vary greatly as the triggering factors and symptoms are often completely individual. If you suffer from migraine please contact the clinic for advice or an assessment as advice and treatment are individually tailored to your specific problem.
Common injuries sustained include strained or torn muscles and ligaments in the neck and upper back, neck and upper back joint locking and strains, muscular spasm, cervico-genic headaches, restriction in head and neck movement associated with acute pain. These symptoms can be immediate in onset or in many cases take two to three days to start.
Severe road traffic accidents can often result in many other injuries to the body as well. Shoulders and ribs can often be strained due to the seatbelt and the lower back is often injured as the whole spine sheers forwards as the pelvis remains fixed by the lap belt. If you have been involved in a road traffic accident please contact the clinic as our osteopaths are very familiar with these types of injuries and the treatment costs are more often picked up by the liable insurance company.
Medically referred to as "adhesive capsulitis", is a disorder in which the shoulder capsule, the tissue surrounding the shoulder joint of the shoulder, becomes inflamed and stiff, greatly restricting motion and causing chronic pain.
Adhesive capsulitis is a painful and disabling condition for which an exact cause is unknown, however, there are strong links with trauma, injury and diabetes. The condition can last from five months to three years, sometimes longer due to the adhesions and scar tissue within the joint there is also a lack of fluid in the joint, further restricting movement and preventing recovery.
