Case Studies

Symptoms & Assessment

• Unable to effectively throw a punch
• Attended on Thursday - needed to fight the following Saturday
• Examination showed decreased internal rotation of the shoulder to 0
• Diagnosis GIRD (glenohumeral internal rotation deficiency)

Treatment

• Treatment addressed the biomechanics of his thoracic and shoulder rotation and elbow and wrist movement.
• Treatment consisted of mobilisation of his spine and shoulder, muscle energy techniques to repower his shoulder, soft tissue work, neuromobilisation, dry needling of the back of his shoulder and scapula.
• After an extended session on Thursday he regained 45 degree of rotation (60 on L), he was already pain free
• After another long session on Friday he regained full flexibility of his shoulder, elbow and wrist.

Outcome

He was completely pain free during the fight on Saturday and went on to win.

His training programme was adapted after the fight to address the strength defects and muscle imbalance that had contributed to the problem.

Symptoms & Assessment

• 31 years old, 26 weeks pregnant
• Pain with walking causing her to limp.

Treatment

• She was treated with soft tissue massage, mobilisations to her lower back and acupuncture to her gluteal muscles (all in side lying). 
• She was also advised to buy an SIJ (sacroiliac joint) belt and shown how to use it.

Outcome

After two sessions she was much better and walking again pain free.

Symptoms & Assessment

Severe pain and unable to squat fully with weight above 20 kg

Examination showed decreased hip flexion and rotation, very weak gluteal muscles, and poor kinetic control. She was also extremely hypermobile (very flexible). It can take longer to regain power in comparison to normal flexibility.

Treatment & Outcome

Treatment worked on the flexibility of her hip with joint mobilisations and stretches, and a progressive strengthening program of loading in squat position with narrow shallow squats-progressing to sumo wide squats.

The physiotherapist also worked closely with the client's powerlifting trainer with regular reviews and discussions of progression and issues.

The progressive loading program was continued for 6 months until the client was able to beat her personal best in full squat position.

Symptoms & Assessment

• 10 year-old schoolboy playing a minimal amount of sport at school
• Pain and moderately sized swelling/lump over the back of the right heel
• Had started to spread up into the calf and down into the sole of his foot. 
• Aggravated by playing football, running and walking.
• His GP had X-rayed the foot to clear a bony tumour, and then referred him to the clinic, with Sever’s Disease as the suspected condition (common condition causing heel pain during growth spurts in children)
• On assessment walking with a limp and turning his foot out to the side to avoid putting a full stretch on his calf
• Also stiff big toe (possibly from kicking a heavy piece of furniture a couple of months before), a tight sole of the foot and tight calf on that side.
• Lower ankle joint also stiff and absorbing less impact as a result.  His football boots were found to be slightly tight due to a recent growth spurt.

Treatment

Self management strategies with some in-clinic treatments.

• Home: Ice, Anti inflammatory gel, no tight footwear for school (and none at all at home), new football boots, home stretches for the calf and foot
• Clinic: Soft tissue release to sole of foot, tight toe tendons and calf
• Joint mobilisations for heel and big toe joint
• Progressive calf loading exercises.

Outcome

After the first week, his symptoms had reduced by 50% and he was re-treated as before. 

Then another week of self-management, during which he restarted playing football.  Reviewed at the 2 week period with no symptoms and a much smaller heel lump.  Some stiffness remained in the calf and the forefoot, so these were re-treated and he was then sent away with an ongoing plan and to call a week later with an update.

A week later, there were no pains on playing football, running and other strenuous activities and the lump was almost non-existent.  He was then discharged with an ongoing set of stretches to do, bearing in mind his current growth patterns. 

He remained pain-free at the 6 week stage.

Symptoms & Assessment

Referred by their orthopaedic consultant 4 weeks following a total hip replacement.

• Physiotherapy was recommended to strengthen his hip abductor muscles and to help correct his gait after a prolonged period of limping.
• Some issues also with ankle swelling and difficulty putting on socks. 
• Goal:  to get back to walking without a limp and without a stick and be back to full normal activities.

Treatment

Consisted of a progressive exercise programme to strengthen his hip muscles, some soft tissue work over the operation scar to improve scar mobility.

Some gentle joint mobilisations to help achieve sufficient hip flexion to put on socks comfortably.

Advice given on management of the ankle swelling.

Outcome

Attended for 4 sessions in total, back to full normal function with reduced swelling left ankle and able to complete a two hour walk with no ill-effects.

Symptoms & assessment

• 63 year old teacher - on her feet a lot
• Regular gym and running (up to 5 kms)
• 4 month history of right forefoot pain and swelling
• Keen to have check-up, diagnosis and advice on exercises to fix it
• Assessment showed moderate swelling in the web space between the 1st and 2nd toes, marked stiffness of the right 1st toe and also right hip into internal rotation and stiffness of the mid-spine. Slight swelling of both knees were also noticed even though client had no knee symptoms.
• Diagnosis: biomechanical contribution to overloading onto big toe -possible early degenerative changes at big toe and also knees (family history).

Treatment

• Aimed at improving the mobility of the mid-spine, hip and big toe along with a strengthening programme for the muscles around the hip. Strengthening exercises were also shown for the knees to lessen loading on the joints
• Client worked on the home exercise programme and attended for a few sessions of joint mobilisation and soft tissue release for the toe.

Outcome

Swelling resolved in knees and toe. Residual but improving toe stiffness. Back to normal exercise routine.

Symptoms & Assessment

Symptoms & Assessment

Symptoms & Assessment

• cycling injury causing collar bone joint disruption, surgically repaired.
• advice given by surgeon to mobilise below shoulder level and avoid lifting and loading for 6 weeks.
• seen at 7 weeks for rehabilitation and to 'top up' his NHS physiotherapy.
• treatment aims were to restore full mobility and get him back to full function
• on examination, main movement restriction was overhead and crossing the arm across the body with a tendency to overuse the chest muscles.

Treatment

Mainly exercise programme to regain full movement and early strengthening within the limits of pain.

Lots of work on improving the shoulder girdle strength and stability to counteract the dominant chest muscles.

Outcome

Attended for 5 sessions in total until back to full function and normal exercise.

Symptoms & Assessment

A 70-year old woman with chronic lower back and leg pain due to degenerative changes (arthritis) in her spine attended for treatment.

Treatment

She was recommended to try Clinical Pilates in a bid to try and avoid surgery.

She completed a 6-week programme of Clinical Pilates and then continued with a tailor-made home exercise programme.

Outcome

She became pain-free and reported that her mobility had improved significantly.

Symptoms & Assessment

A 36-year-old woman developed middle and low back pain following the birth of her first child.

Treatment

She attended for 4 sessions of one-to-one Clinical Pilates.

Outcome

She noticed such a profound change in her back pain that she decided to enrol in a local Pilates group class for the ongoing benefits that she felt it gave her.

Clinic note: Post-pregnancy low back pain is very common due to weakness developing in the core abdominal muscles during pregnancy. This is compounded by an increase in lifting and ‘leaning over’ type activities once the baby arrives. It is generally safe to start Pilates after 6 weeks.

Symptoms & Assessment

A 43-year-old man presented with longstanding neck and upper back pain which he felt was related to long hours spent sitting at a computer for his work.

Assessment showed weakness of his neck and upper back muscles.

Treatment

He enrolled on a 6-week Clinical Pilates course carried out on a one-to-one basis here at the clinic.

The main focus was to strengthen the body’s natural corset muscles to help support the neck and back during prolonged hours sitting at a desk.

Outcome

The results were fantastic and he now has very little pain and an ongoing home-maintenance exercise plan.

Symptoms & Assessment

• Persistent headaches in particular after long hours of working at the computer
• Neck and shoulder pain particularly bothersome when sitting at the desk over a long period of time

Treatment

She was treated with a combination of soft and deep tissue massage and mobilisations to her shoulders in side-lying position.  She was also advised to take regular breaks when working on the computer and engage in regular yoga practice to monitor stress levels

Outcome

This client is finding a regular massage session helpful and feels better after every session. She is now able to manage her work related stresses and experiences fewer spells of migraines than before. 

Symptoms & Assessment

• Physically active, practices different sports regularly, daily work out regime, takes part in marathons and cycles long distances
• Experiences muscular pain and tension in particular after intense bursts of physical activity

Treatment

He was treated with deep tissue massage, mobilisations to his lower back and pressure points to gluteal muscles. He was also advised to buy a foam roller to aid release of tension in in his gastrocnemius (calf) muscles.

Outcome

After two sessions he was much better and able to undertake his regular work-out regime without symptoms.

Symtoms & Assessment

We were contacted to provide a physiotherapy and workstation assessment for a senior employee with severe shoulder pain.

The company wanted to ensure that the workplace was not contributing to or exacerbating the employee's symptoms.

The physiotherapy assessment was able to correct a previous diagnosis of 'shoulder tendonitis' to a 'frozen shoulder' which can be very painful in the early stages.

Treatment & Outcome

The workstation assessment was able to identify particular problem areas and recommend adaptations that would reduce stress on the affected shoulder and allow the employee to carry out their work without pain.

Symptoms & Assessment

Physio Solutions was contacted by a firm of  architects that was concerned that quite a number of their employees were experiencing work-related musculo-skeletal symptoms such as hand and arm pain.

The architects regularly moved desks to work in different teams for different projects.

Treatment

This project was completed over a number of full and half-days on-site to accommodate holidays and work deadlines.

Employees were given individual advice depending on any symptoms they reported.

A major feature was education of individuals as to optimal sitting postures and workstation arrangement so that they could alter any new workstation to their individual requirements.

Outcome

This project has continued with follow-ups every 12-18 months over a 5 year period and our input has influenced equipment provision such as a range of chairs to suit different sizes and requirements, height-adjustable desks and on-site exercise classes.

Symptoms & Assessment

A keen runner who was preparing for the marathon attended the clinic complaining of knee pain following increasing his running distance.

On examination, the source of the pain was found to be under the kneecap. Tightness of the thigh muscles and poor leg control were also identified as possible contributing factors.

Treatment and Outcome

During the appointment, the client was treated with soft tissue release and stretches. He was given home exercises to help improve his leg control while running. He was also advised on how much running load he could undertake on the following days and how he could optimise his training in preparation for the event.

Taking everything on board, he successfully completed the marathon he was scheduled for and was planning to continue his stretches and home exercises to prevent recurrence.