PHYSIOTHERAPY

Physiotherapy is a highly skilled medical model practice that is evidence based. It is designed to identify the underlying cause of your injury or condition and to treat it with physical techniques.

Physiotherapy Treatments

Low Back Pain

The Low back is often injured when we lift heavy objects,  bend frequently, or sit too long.  There are many structures in the low back that can be the root cause for pain.  The vertebrae of the spinal column and pelvis can be shifted out of alignment. causing a pinched nerve, sometimes called sciatica.  Spinal stenosis is a condition when the vertebrae shifts forward as a result of muscle tension and posture causing bilateral nerve irritability and bilateral leg pain.  A common low back problem is disc herniation.  This Is a condition that causes the fluid of the disc (a thick oil like fluid) to shift backward or to either side causing pressure on a nerve referring pain into the buttock or/and leg.

*Our clients may have one or more of the above conditions. 

At HMP our thorough assessment helps us decide on a treatment approach to either re-align the spine and/or re position the fluid of the disc or simply teach you the correct stretches.  We then create a home exercise program to improve the strength of the muscles to support the corrections.

Mid Back and Neck Pain

The Mid Back and Neck area are greatly affected by posture at home or at work, especially sitting in front of a computer.  There are many structures that can be the root cause of pain.   With poor posture (head forward and rounded shoulders ), a disc in the neck can bulge or vertebrae can shift causing pressure on a nerve, referring pain down one or both arms.  This is called radiculopathy.  Long periods of Head forward posture will cause fatigue of the muscles at the base of the skull, causing neck pain and headaches.

At HMP we use manual techniques to release the tight shortened muscles at the base of the skull to relieve headaches. We use manual mobilizations to re-align the spine and special techniques to improve the disc position to relieve shoulder and arm pain. An integrative exercise program is created for the client to maintain the corrections.

Shoulder Tendonitis and Rotator Cuff Tear

The shoulder complex is composed of primarily three bones and several joints.  The arm bone (humerous), the shoulder blade and the collar bone make up the shoulder complex.  The head of the arm bone is a round ball and it fits into a socket in the shoulder blade. The shoulder blade also attaches to the collar bone, which also attaches to the chest bone or sternum.  Muscles and tendons keep all of these bones in place and work together to create the movements of the arm.

Injuries to the shoulder complex can occur due to poor posture, repetitive strain, or while playing sports. The most common injuries of the shoulder complex are tears of the tendons (Rotator Cuff Tears) or irritation of the tendon (Tendonitis) and/or compression of the tendons (Impingement syndrome).

At Halina Michell Physiotherapy, we assess the movement and muscle integrity of the shoulder complex.  Our treatment focuses on re-establishing the significant balance and rhythm of the muscles of the shoulder and use manual techniques to release and lengthen shortened soft tissue and give you a specific exercise program to strengthen the appropriate muscle in order to achieve full movement and improved strength.

The hip and knee complex

The Hip is a ball and socket joint, the body's largest one.  It is designed to give us the ability to weight bear and move in the upright position ie.walk and run.  It is composed of and affected by the lumbar spine, the pelvis , the hip bone (femur) and knee joint.

Pain of the hip area if on the inside of the upper leg or groin indicates actual hip joint pain.  This may be swelling and irritation or it may be arthritis of the hip joint.  Pain on the outside of the hip may indicate problems with the muscles, ligaments, tendon or bursa that surround the hip joint and control the movement and stability of it.

Pain can be referred to the hip area from the low back, if the pelvis and hip and knee are in poor alignment.

At Halina Michell Physiotherapy we assess the alignment of the hip- pelvis- knee complex . We discuss the findings with our clients .  We then treat the muscle and joint imbalances that were found with manual mobilizations and specific exercises.