Are You Feeling Run Down?

Hypermobile people often have poor posture – it feels like a big effort to sit or stand straight.
Hypermobile people often have joint or muscle pain.
Hypermobile people find everything is more effort, and takes more energy, so are more likely to have reduced immunity.
Hypermobile people sometimes find that exercise makes them feel worse – they are more likely to overdo it.
Hypermobility is often mis-diagnosed!

As well as seeing a Physiotherapist for the right advice on the right kind of exericse, vitamin and mineral supplememnts can really help, such as Vitamin C and D, magnesium and zinc.

For Edgware, contact Stephen or Farhana : www.edgwarephysio.com

For Shenley or Radlett, contact Stephen : www.radlettphysio.co.uk

Sports Massage Half Price Session

Can Sports Massage help you? Looking for Sports Massage in Edgware, Shenley or Radlett?

Sports Massage can:
help you recover from injury;
improve your flexibility and sporting performance;
help ease neck and shoulder tension and tension-type headaches;
help you sleep better;

Come for a half-price session to help you decide:

Edgware: Stephen or Farhana at The Green Clinic
www.edgwarephysio.com

Shenley or Radlett: Stephen at The Gingerbread House
www.radlettphysio.co.uk

Do You Need Physiotherapy? Free Assessment!

Not all Physiotherapists are the same.

There is a wide variety of skill and experience.

Come for a free 15 minute assessment to decide whether Physiotherapy can help you.
Edgware: See Stephen or Farhana at The Green Clinic
Contact www.edgwarephysio.com

Shenley or Radlett: See Stephen at The Gingerbread House
www.radlettphysio.co.uk

Joint Hypermobility – Common Clues

Delighted to see an article in The British Medical Journal

http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7167.full

Common clues suggesting joint hypermobility syndrome

In children and adolescents
Congenital dislocation of the hip

Late walking, with bottom shuffling instead of crawling

Recurrent ankle sprains

Poor ball catching and handwriting skills

Tiring easily compared with peers

So called growing pains or chronic widespread pain

Joint dislocations

In adults
Non-inflammatory joint or spinal pain

Joint dislocations

Multiple soft tissue (including sporting) injuries

Increase in pain or progressive intensification of pain that is largely unresponsive to analgesics

Progressive loss of mobility owing to pain, or pain avoidance through movement avoidance

Premature osteoarthritis

Autonomic dysfunction, such as orthostatic intolerance (dizziness or faintness) or postural tachycardia syndrome (in this form of dysautonomia, in 60° upright tilt the blood pressure remains constant while the pulse rate rises by a minimum of 30 beats/min)

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (sluggish bowel, bloating, rectal evacuatory dysfunction)

Laxity in other supporting tissues—for example, hernias, varicose veins, or uterine or rectal prolapse

At The Green Clinic, in Edgware, and the Green Clinic at The Gingerbread House, in Shenley, we have years of experience in treating children and adults with hypermobility.

For further information please view our websites:
www.edgwarephysio.com

http://www.radlettphysio.co.uk/physiotherapist.htm

or view our video: http://www.vimeo.com/17161181

Joint Hypermobility

Delighted to see an article in the British Medical Journal.

http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7167.full

Summary
Joint hypermobility syndrome (JHS), is inherited, and can lead to joint pain, severe soft tissue injuries, and joint instability.
There can be proprioceptive impairment, leading to clumsiness, and frequent falls or sprained ankles;
it can lead to premature osteoarthritis;
there can be poor movement along the intestinal tract leading to IBS type symptoms such as abdominal cramps;
there can be other fragile tissues, causing hernias or uterine or rectal prolapse.

Symptoms are often mild, but 24% of patients with joint hypermobility attending the UCH Hypermobility Clinic already had
an chronic pain. They were experiencing serious pain, disability, and impairment of their quality of life, some patients
becoming chairbound or even bedbound.

How common is it?
Joint hypermobility is very common, occurring in 10-20% of populations of Western countries, and higher still in those in Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern groups.
There can be people who are hypermobile without symptoms.
The true prevalence of the syndrome is unknown.
In surveys in London and in Santiago, Chile, patients referred to general rheumatology clinics have found prevalences of joint hypermobility syndrome as high as 45%;
the syndrome is higher in females and non-white people.
Therefore many patients presenting to their doctors with common, everyday, noninflammatory, painful, musculoskeletal conditions probably have unrecognised joint hypermobility syndrome.

Why is it missed?
In a recent survey among members of the Hypermobility Syndrome Association , largely due to missed diagnosis, 52% of patients waited over 10 years from the onset of symptoms to get a correct diagnosis.

Doctors may be unaware of the prevalence of the condition, its effect on quality of life, or its multisystemic nature and may not routinely look for hypermobility in the clinical examination;
the condition rarely forms part of the curriculum in medical schools or in postgraduate training programmes for general practitioners, specialists, or physiotherapists or occupational therapists.

Why does this matter?
If joint hypermobility syndrome is missed, the following problems may arise:

Inappropriate and potentially harmful labelling or treatments may be applied on the basis of an erroneous diagnosis such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Over zealous physical manipulation may cause avoidable damage, such as (a) precipitating subluxation or dislocation of intervertebral or peripheral joints, (b) inflicting rupture on ligaments, joint capsules, muscles, or tendons, or (c) precipitating pathological fractures in fragile bone. Exercise therapy may be either excessively forceful or ineffectual.

Anecdotal evidence exists that orthopaedic operations may be done without the surgeon knowing that the patient has an underlying connective tissue disorder, and this may lead to poorer outcomes.

Chronic pain may sometimes lead to a potentially reversible downward spiral of immobility, deconditioning, dependency, and despair.

How is it diagnosed?
Diagnosis is entirely clinical as currently no biological or imaging markers are available.
The musculoskeletal symptoms mainly derive from a vulnerability to injury resulting from fragile tissues (tendon, ligament, muscle, bone, cartilage, and skin). In patients with joint pain or post-injury musculoskeletal pain, screening blood tests and/or appropriate imaging are needed to exclude conditions such as inflammatory arthritis and fractures.
The Beighton score identifies joint hypermobility but is too insensitive for diagnosing joint hypermobility syndrome.
Diagnosis requires the application of the Brighton criteria.

At The Green Clinic, in Edgware, and the Green Clinic at The Gingerbread House, in Shenley, we have years of experience in treating children and adults with hypermobility.

For further information please view our websites:
www.edgwarephysio.com

http://www.radlettphysio.co.uk/physiotherapist.htm

or view our video: http://www.vimeo.com/17161181

Is your handbag a pain in the neck?

If you look at someone from the side, their spine should be a gentle S-shaped curve. From behind, their spine should be a straight line.

Anything that causes the spine to be pushed or pulled away from this ideal shape can cause strain in the spine, and the more often it happens, the more this strain can build up. This can lead to headaches, pain in the neck, upper or lower back.

Carrying handbags that are too heavy is one such cause of strain.

The trend for oversized bags means there is more space to fill. The bigger the bag, the more tempting it is to pack it all in.

The Daily Mail in 2007 quoted a study which found that women today carry twice as much in their handbags as their mothers used to. Mum might have had a coin purse, a powder compact, a couple of tissues and a house key.

Increasingly, women are carrying more gadgets such as iPods and mobile phones, which has created a demand for larger handbags. A survey in the Independent in 2008 showed that the average weight of a woman’s handbag has increased by 38% over five years to 2.37 kilos (5lbs). In some cases the weight of a full handbag can be up to 7kg (15 lbs). As well as packing more inside, the handbags themselves are often heavy.

Overfilling an enormous bag is less of a problem if you can just throw it in the car, but if you need to walk any distance carrying it, the strain just builds up.

Carrying a bag on one shoulder leads to improper weight distribution across the neck, shoulder and back, causing strain in the joints, muscles and ligaments of the spine, which can lead to pain. Carrying the bag over one shoulder causes the shoulder to hike up which can shorten the muscles.

As a result, more and more women are requiring treatment for neck, shoulder and back pain.

The Health & Safety Executive report that back pain is more common when lifting heavy items;
carrying loads awkwardly, or one handed; repetitive tasks; bending or crouching; lifting when tired.
Although there is no such thing as a completely ‘safe’ lift, for an average woman, the maximum recommended weight to lift from the floor is 3kg or from knee height 7kg. This assumes that the bag is grasped with both hands, and lifted in reasonable conditions, with the lifter in a stable body position. If you usually put your handbag on the floor when not on th move, your limit is 3kg, if you are able to lift and lower it carefully with both hands!

If it is really necessary to carry a large handbag, try to reduce the weight of the handbag itself to no more than 1 to 2 lbs. Then try to minimise how much stuff you’re putting in your bag. Ditch anything you don’t need and then think about how you carry your bag. You should alternate the bag from one shoulder to another, every 10-15 minutes.

It is much better not to carry the entire weight of the bag on one shoulder.

Ideally the weight should be distributed evenly across your body, which means using something like a rucksack, or pulling a carrying case with wheels for heavier items. The next best option is to wear a bag that you carry across your body like a satchel.

Here are a few tips to keep your handbag from being a burden.

- Weigh your handbag. You might be amazed by how much it weighs!
- Think through the day ahead and pack your handbag accordingly. There’s no need to cart around sunglasses if the season has changed.
- Pack a smaller make-up bag with a few essentials. You’ll only have to touch up your make-up during the day so leave the foundation and brushes at home.
- De-clutter your purse of small change – clear it out or try to use it up.

Exercising regularly is also advisable. If you have a strong core from exercise like pilates, you’re much less likely to hurt yourself.

For the sake of your spine, when you choose a handbag, less is always better!

It’s important to find ways to stay healthy while staying in fashion.

For advice on your posture, or advice on exercises for a strong core, see an experienced physiotherapist.

If you have pain from repeated carrying, or from your posture, for the right kind of hands on treatment, see an experienced physiotherapist.

The Green Clinic is based in Edgware, Middlesex, and in Shenley, Herts.
For further information please view our websites:
www.edgwarephysio.com

http://www.radlettphysio.co.uk/physiotherapist.htm

or view our video: http://www.vimeo.com/17161181