Electrotherapy is used by physiotherapists to provide pain relief, promote healing for problems of the soft tissue, or stimulate the muscles’ fibres to activate. The main methods of electrotherapy used at the Wimbledon Physiotherapy Clinic to complement our manual approach and exercise prescription are as follows:

Compex (Neuromuscular electric stimulation (NMES))

Muscle stimulation is an artificial way of activating a muscle. If you are recovering from an injury or suffering from arthritis, your muscles can start to atrophy (waste away). The Compex can be the ideal tool to start your road to recovery as it can stimulate the muscles to work and gain strength without causing pain to the injured or arthritic joints. It mimics the impulses sent from the brain, and the muscles react accordingly.

Exercise therapy

For all, exercise prescription is one of our core treatment approaches. Our physiotherapists, body specialists, have advanced knowledge of anatomy, physiology (the science of movement), biomechanics, and motor learning.

They will target specific and safe exercise programmes for you, from the early stages of healing to getting back to your activities or favourite sport.

We are experts in advising you when it is safe to exercise, when and how much you can increase your weight and load on your joints and muscles/soft tissues.

After a thorough assessment, we will design a programme specific to your current situation, the stage of your injury, as well as your needs and goals.

Trigger Point Therapy,

Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy, also known as ” Trigger Point Therapy “, refers to the treatment of myofascial trigger points (MTrP) or ‘trigger points’ (TrP) that are found in muscles and fascia. Myofascial trigger points are painful, tense areas that are found in muscles. MTrPs affect muscles and fascia. Myofascial trigger points can be found anywhere on the body and are one of the most common causes for chronic musculoskeletal pain, also known as myofascial pain. A certified DGSA Trigger Point Therapist can release these painful and tense points in a muscle and assist in achieving long-term results. There are two primary methods for treating trigger points, Manual Trigger Point Therapy and Dry Needling.

Dry needling

Dry needling is a modern treatment designed to ease muscular pain. Its popularity is growing.

During dry needling, a practitioner inserts several filiform needles into your skin. Filiform needles are fine, short, stainless steel needles that don't inject fluid into the body. That's why the term "dry" is used.

Practitioners place the needles in "trigger points" in your muscle or tissue. Dry needling is also sometimes called intramuscular stimulation. The points are areas of knotted or hard muscle.

Dry needling practitioners say the needle helps release the knot and relieve any muscle pain or spasms. The needles will remain in your skin for a short period of time. The length of time depends on the practitioner. Some healthcare professionals, such as physical therapists and massage therapists, receive some training in dry needling.

The McKenzie Therapy

This method exists of 4 steps:

1. Assessment: clinician taking a history of symptoms and how they behave. Next suggested performing certain movements and adopting specific positions. The clinician asks how they to symptoms are affected. How symptoms and range of movement change with these repeated movements and positions provide the clinician with information that they use to understand the nature of the problem.
2. Classification: based on assessment the symptoms of the spine and limbs are classified into 3 subgroups: derangement syndrome, dysfunction syndrome, and postural syndrome. There is also subgroup “other” (non-mechanical syndromes in which MDT does not work) which accounts for less than 3% of cases. The choice of exercises in the McKenzie method is based upon the direction (flexion, extension, or lateral shift of the spine).
3. Treatment: The aims of the therapy are: reducing pain, centralization of symptoms (symptoms migrating into the middle line of the body) and the complete recovery of pain.
4. Prevention:The prevention step consists of educating and encouraging the patient to exercise regularly and self-care.

All exercises are repeated a number of times to end-range on spinal symptoms in one direction. When you do only 1 repetition, this can will cause pain. When you repeat it several times the pain can decrease. Also after movement termination, the changes in pain intensity can persist, which leads to a treatment modality. A single direction of repeated movements or sustained postures leads to sequential and lasting abolition of all distal referred symptoms and subsequent abolition of any remaining spinal pain

The tape is commonly used to:

• Relieve your pain
• Improve joint stability
• Enhance athlete confidence
• Reduce injury recurrence
• Prevent injury
• Reduce strain on injured or vulnerable tissues
• Correct faulty biomechanics
• Inhibit muscle action
• Facilitate muscle action
• Enhance proprioception
• Compress in the presence of edema or lymphatic drainage

Manual therapy

Manual therapy has a long history within the profession of physical therapy and physical therapists have greatly contributed to the current diversity in manual therapy approaches and techniques. Mechanical explanations were historically used to explain the mechanisms by which manual therapy interventions worked. Contemporary research reveals intricate neurophysiologic mechanisms are also at play and the beneficial psychological effects of providing hands-on examination and intervention have been substantiated.

The International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT) defines orthopedic manual physical therapy as: “a specialized area of physiotherapy/Physical Therapy for the management of NMS conditions, based on clinical reasoning, using highly specific treatment approaches including manual techniques and therapeutic exercises. Orthopedic Manual Therapy also encompasses, and is driven by, the available scientific and clinical evidence and the biopsychosocial framework of each individual patient.”

Orthopedic rehabilitation, or rehab, is a doctor-supervised program to help people recover from musculoskeletal injuries, diseases, or surgeries. This includes conditions that affect the muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons. It can restore motion, function, flexibility, and strength to the body part needing rehabilitation. It can also reduce symptoms and improve your quality of life while dealing with an orthopedic issue. It can also help you prevent future problems. Another name for this type of program is musculoskeletal rehabilitation.

The components of an orthopedic rehabilitation program may include:

• Physical therapy (PT), specifically orthopedic physical therapy, enables you to move your body better. It uses several approaches to accomplish this, including strength training, stretching exercises, massage, heat and cold therapy, electrical stimulation, and a home exercise plan. These techniques can help you move without pain or with reduced pain.
• Occupational therapy (OT)to improve your ability to function in daily activities, or occupations. It teaches you new ways to approach activities and how to break down tasks into manageable sections. You may also learn how to change your environment to suit your abilities. Adaptive equipment is another useful component of OT. Examples include splints, canes, reachers, and orthotics.
• Sports rehabilitation, including sports physical therapy, focuses on exercise- and sports-related injuries and conditions.

Orthotists and Prosthetics:

Prosthetics and orthotics often comprise similar steps in service delivery and similar tools, equipment, and working methods and are therefore usually taught, promoted, and practiced together. "Prosthetics and orthotics" is the umbrella term for the science, technology, education, and application of prostheses and orthoses. Prosthetics is a specialty within the medical and health care field concerned with the research and development, design, manufacture, and application of prostheses. Similarly, orthotics is a discipline concerned with the research and development, design, manufacture, and application of orthoses.

Prostheses (artificial legs and hands) and orthoses (braces and splints) enable people with physical impairments or functional limitations to live healthy, productive, independent, dignified lives and to participate in education, the labor market, and social life. The use of prostheses or orthoses can reduce the need for formal health care, support services, long-term care, and caregivers. Without access to prostheses or orthoses, people who need them are often excluded, isolated, and locked into poverty, which increases the burden of morbidity and disability.