Physiotherapy

Repeated stress, prolonged movements, bad posture and minor injury leading to strain can lead to neck pain. A common health condition, neck pain often arises from various disorders and diseases that involve the neck tissues. Accompanied by symptoms such as muscle pain, tenderness, headaches, stiff neck and more, the pain ranges from mild discomfort to severe burning sensation. A physical examination that includes posture observation, motion range and more is needed to diagnose this issue effectively. It can be treated within few days if the neck pain is not severe. However, in some cases, neck pain also indicates a serious injury that requires immediate medical attention. To learn whether you are suffering from severe neck pain, understand these symptoms:

Signs and symptoms of Neck Pain

Neck pain symptoms mainly include neck muscle spasm, strain, neck tenderness, and even neck stiffness. In the case of severe neck pain, the symptoms associated include leg and arm weakness, leg and arm numbness, loss of bowel movements, loss of bladder control and inability to move the neck. Some of the additional symptoms include skin redness, nausea, headache, fever, swollen glands, difficulty in swallowing, swelling in the neck, and so on. At times, neck pain is also accompanied by lower and upper back pain

Causes of Neck Pain

Neck pain can arise due to several factors. The common causes of neck pain include:

Injury and accidents – One of the most common injuries is whiplash, which occurs in an accident. In this, the head moves backward and forward rapidly, affecting the ligaments and the muscles in the neck. This further results in pain and stiffness as the muscles respond by contracting and tightening of the muscles.
Muscle strain or sprain – Certain activities put pressure on the neck muscle. It majorly includes poor posture, sleeping in a wrong position, sudden jerk while exercising, and even not changing position often while working at a desk.

Diseases – Not many people know, but certain conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or even meningitis also cause of neck pain.

Age – As other joints in the body tend to wear out, so do the neck joints. As you age, the muscles in the neck wear out. It is called as osteoarthritis or spondylosis, a widespread occurrence.
Consequences of Neck Pain

Mild neck pain can be treated within a few days by taking painkillers. However, in the case of unbearable neck pain, seeking immediate medical help is highly recommended. Severe neck pain can be unbearable and makes it difficult to move the neck from side to side or up and down. This can have a significant impact on your day-to-day activities and clearly states you need medical attention.

Treatment for neck pain

Self-care suffices for mild to moderate neck pain. However, if the pain persists, getting in touch with a doctor for treatment is essential. To relieve the pain, the doctor will prescribe certain medications. Depending on the severity of the pain, physical therapy may also be prescribed. Certain tests such as X-ray, CT scan, MRI scans and so on are conducted to determine the primary cause of the neck pain.

Apollo Experience

At Apollo Clinic Barrackpore, we leave no stone unturned to make sure that every patient gets the best treatment, irrespective of how major or minor the problem is. A thorough diagnosis of the condition is followed by medications and surgery in case of extreme circumstances.

From acute injury to medical conditions that cause complications, knee pain can occur due to a number of reasons. A commonly faced health problem, knee pain can arise when any bone structure in the knee joint gets impacted. Knee pain can either be localised to a specific region of the knee or diffused throughout the joint. Often accompanied by symptoms like the physical restriction of movement, knee pain can affect anyone from any age group. A thorough examination is needed to diagnose this ailment, as the treatment plan largely depends on the underlying cause. While some people tend to feel a slight twinge, others may experience severe pain which, over time, can get unbearable. To be able to ascertain whether you may be suffering from knee pain, it is important to know the symptoms that can indicate this condition.

What are the symptoms of Knee Pain?

The symptoms of knee pain tend to vary from mild to severe. It all depends on the injury and the condition. Some of the common knee pain symptoms include:

• Swelling and stiffness in the knee cap
• Inability to bend or straighten the knee or knees
• Knee feeling warm to the touch
• Instability
• Popping noises when moving the knees

Severe symptoms that require immediate medical attention include:

• Unbearable knee pain
• Swelling, redness and fever with pain
• Inability to flex your knees
• Limping or inability to stand up
• Numb feeling in the affected knee(s)

Causes of Knee Pain

The reasons for why knee pain can occur ranges from external injuries to minor or major health problems. To understand better how knee pain can be faced, the commonly occurring causes can be divided into three broad categories, which include:

• Injury of any kind – A knee injury can often affect the tendons, bursae, bones, cartilage and the ligaments, with the severity depending on the extent of the damage. Common knee injuries that can cause pain also include broken bones, meniscal tear, torn ligament, fractures or knee bursitis.
• Medical conditions – Many medical conditions such as arthritis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and infections can also lead to knee pain.
• Mechanical problems – Certain mechanical problems can also cause knee pain. These can consist of hip or foot pain, a dislocated kneecap or Iliotibial band syndrome, among others.

Treatment for Knee Pain

The treatment for knee pain depends on the severity of the condition. After a thorough diagnosis, your doctor will, in most cases, prescribe medication to help relieve the pain. Depending on the case, many clinics will also offer physical therapy, particularly in the event of sports-related injuries. If found necessary, your doctor may also prescribe that injections be used, with medication or other substances being injected directly into the joint. In extreme cases, surgery may be recommended.

People who have been through a significant disease or traumatic injury can be left with some disability, which could be in the form of physical, psychological or even social impairment. At Apollo Clinic, we offer a structured, multi-disciplinary approach to help such individuals to return to normalcy including Rehabilitation services.

What is Rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation, as the name suggests, is the restoration of sensory and cognitive function. Rehabilitation typically involves methods to retrain the neural pathways or new neural pathways to regain or improve body functions impaired by injury or disease.

At Apollo Clinic Barrackpore, we offer a range of Rehabilitation (Rehab) services including:

Neurological Rehabilitation – This includes therapies to help individuals with a brain or spine injury or a stroke. Rehab helps patients to restore and improve health and physical function; regain mobility, reinstate balance and build strength; provide training to regain motor skills so as to allow them to resume daily activities.

Orthopaedic Rehabilitation – People who have been through a joint replacement or sustained significant bone trauma such as knee/hip replacement, back pain, neck pain or multiple fractures can benefit from orthopaedic rehab.

Cardiac Rehabilitation – Those who have been through a cardiac event or procedure such as stenting, bypass surgery, angioplasty or have Ischemic Cardiomyopathy or Arrhythmias can significantly benefit from cardiac rehab. Our programs help enhance cardiovascular function, reinstate and build your strength and improve exercise tolerance.

Rheumatologic Rehabilitation – Rheumatologic rehab can greatly help people suffering from disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, systematic sclerosis, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, gout, fibromyalgia, joint and hip pain, issues of spasticity or osteoporosis. Rehab can help joint pain, stiffness and improve breathing capacity.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation – If you or a loved one is suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, shortness of breath or respiratory impairments; you should consider pulmonary rehab. It helps improve exercise tolerance, independent functioning and decrease breathlessness.

Sports Rehabilitation – Sports injuries such as overuse injuries, muscle tears, tendon and ligament problems, ankle and foot pain, stiffness can stop you from enjoying your favourite sport. Sports physiotherapy can significantly help in restoring and maintaining your physical strength, performance skills and levels of function.

How can we help?

At Apollo Clinic, we are well equipped with all possible material and human resources to smoothly facilitate rehab physiotherapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Apollo Support

At Apollo Clinic Barrackpore, we offer a holistic program consisting comprehensive initial assessment, customised healthcare packages, active family participation, reduced dependence on mobility aids. Our multi-disciplinary team of expert physiotherapists, occupational therapists and motivated personnel provide superior care to patients of all ages. We also offer outpatient rehabilitation to keep track of our patients’ life-long progress.

What is Shoulder Pain?

Shoulder pain is a common issue that could occur due to various causes. More often than not, shoulder pain is a symptom of an underlying problem.

What Causes Shoulder Pain?

There are various causes of shoulder pain including:

• Disorders of the rotator cuff – This is the most prevalent cause of shoulder pain. A rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons surrounding the shoulder joint that helps keep the shoulder stable.
• Frozen shoulder – This is a painful condition that reduces normal movement in the joint. Sometimes, this condition can result in the complete immobility of the shoulder. – Shoulder instability – In this condition, the shoulder is rather unstable and may have an abnormally long range of motion.
• Fracture of the upper arm bone or collar bone
• Osteoarthritis in the shoulder joints
• Shoulder injuries
• Poor posture
• Ageing

Shoulder pain could also be caused due to a problem in areas other than the shoulder such as neck or bicep.

How is Shoulder Pain diagnosed?

While diagnosing shoulder pain, your doctor will first conduct a thorough physical examination to:

• Compare your shoulders – Check whether your joint is dislocated
• Check for any bruising, redness or swelling
• Check if any pressure applied to your joints and bones causes any pain
• Check if any particular arm movements are causing pain

Depending on the results of this examination, your doctor may prescribe certain investigative tests such as:

X-ray – An X-ray of your shoulder joint will help detect any problems with the bones. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – This test will help detect problems with soft tissues such as tendons and ligaments.

Ultrasound scan – This test can also help diagnose problems with ligaments, tendons and joints.

Blood tests – These tests will help identify if there is any underlying issue such as a cancerous tumour, diabetes or polymyalgia rheumatica causing the shoulder pain.

How is Shoulder Pain Treated?

To treat shoulder pain, your doctor may initially suggest some pain killers and ice packs to manage the pain and reduce the inflammation. You may also be asked to refrain from activities that aggravate your symptoms.

Depending on the severity and cause of shoulder pain, other treatments may be recommended such as physiotherapy, corticosteroids injections (medication containing hormones) and in extreme cases, surgery.

How can Shoulder Pain be prevented?

Practice simple shoulder exercises to help strengthen and stretch your rotator cuff tendons. Use ice after exercising if you have had issues with your shoulder previously.

Apollo Support

At Apollo Clinic Barrackpore, we understand how shoulder pain can cause a lot of discomfort and suffering as well as hamper your ability to move freely. We have a range of services provided by some of the finest medical professionals to manage shoulder pain. We are also well-equipped with cutting-edge technology and amenities to ensure that you have a smooth treatment experience.

If you are experiencing constant hand pain, numbness and discomfort in your fingers, chances are you could be suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. One in every five people experiencing such symptoms can be expected to have CTS. At Apollo Clinic, we provide a structured, multi-disciplinary approach to treating carpal tunnel syndrome.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

The standard skeletal structure of our hands is designed such that the carpal or wrist bones form a tunnel to give way to the tendons, ligaments and median nerve. The median nerve supplies sensation and movement to half our palm, thumb, index fingers and half of the ring finger. When this median nerve at the wrist joint gets compressed, it causes a clinical condition known as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS).

Causes of CTS include repetitive movement of the wrist, swelling or inflammation of the ligaments and tendons in the carpal tunnel, stress, pregnancy, trauma, heredity, certain health conditions such as hypothyroidism, arthritis and diabetes.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include burning wrist pain, numbness or tingling in the fingers or palm, weak grip, loss of sensation in the fingers, immobility and swelling.

Phalen’s manoeuvre is a particular test used to diagnose CTS. The dorsal side of both your hands will be compressed to each other for a stretched feeling. During the process, if you experience tingling and pain all through your elbow, you test positive for CTS.

How can we help?

We, at Apollo Clinic, are well equipped with advanced equipment and highly skilled and experienced therapists to help alleviate your wrist pain. Some physiotherapy techniques used to treat CTS include:

Rest Ice Compression and Elevation (RICE) – Ice helps relieve the pain. Compression is used to prevent further damage and to reduce swelling. Elevation, too, helps reduce swelling.

Soft tissue massage – This technique involves direct physical action on the muscle and soft tissues. It includes a range of massage depths, pressures and durations. It aids in increasing blood circulation, relaxing muscles, reducing inflammation, decreasing muscle spasms and relieve muscle tension.

Electrotherapy – This therapy involves the use of electric current to speed tissue healing.

Splints – A wrist splint may be prescribed to be worn at night or in the workplace. It helps to immobilise the area and prevent further damage.

Exercises – Different types of carpal tunnel exercises such as stretching, flexibility, motion, isometric and progressive resistance exercises may be used to treat CTS.

Your physiotherapist will also advise and train you in activity modification so that you are more ergonomic in your day to day activities. Depending on the pace of progress, your therapist will design return to activity plans.

Apollo Support
We, at Apollo Clinic Barrackpore, understand the discomfort and pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome and are fully equipped to treat the same. If you or a loved one is experiencing carpal tunnel symptoms, visit a physiotherapy clinic at the earliest. Our highly skilled and experienced physiotherapists provide the best care possible.

What is Tennis Elbow?

Lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as ‘tennis elbow’ is a condition that causes pain around the outer area of the elbow. This condition occurs when the tendons are overloaded, usually due to repetitive motions of the wrist and arm, resulting in unbearable elbow pain. Tennis elbow can arise in any person who strains the tendons of their forearm and is a condition that is not limited only to tennis players. Anyone whose jobs require them to move frequently can also develop the condition. The pain of this condition occurs primarily where the tendons of the forearm muscles attach to the bony bump on the outer area of your elbow and can also spread into the forearm and the wrist. Therefore, an immediate treatment that involves a team approach of primary doctors, physical therapists and sometimes, surgeons is essential, to get the most efficient care.

What are the Signs and Symptoms of a Tennis Elbow?

The symptoms of tennis elbow develop gradually. In most cases, one may experience mild pain in the beginning that slowly worsens over time. Repetitive movements of the arm or wrists, such as extending your arm or gripping, can also aggravate the pain. If you have a tennis elbow, you may experience:

• Pain on the outer area of the upper forearm, just below the elbow. The pain may also travel towards the wrist.
• Pain when writing or gripping an object. For example, when holding a book or a pen.
• Pain when lifting or bending the arm.
• Pain when twisting the forearm. For example, when opening a jar or turning a door handle.
• Pain and stiffness when extending the arm.
• An episode of tennis elbow can last between six months to two years. However, most people recover completely within a year.

What Causes a Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow, in most cases, is an overuse injury and occurs when the tendons and muscles in the forearm are strained due to strenuous activities. If the tendons and muscles in the forearm are strained, inflammation and tiny tears can develop near the bony lump on the outer area of the elbow. You are likely to get a tennis elbow if your forearm muscles are not accustomed to performing a particular activity. However, even if you frequently use your forearms, there are chances that you might injure them, resulting in getting this condition.

You can develop a tennis elbow by performing activities that require twisting your arms or wrists. Some of the activities include:

• Throwing sports such as discus or javelin.
• Racquet sports like tennis, squash or badminton.
• Manual work such as bricklaying, plumbing or gardening.
• Certain activities that involve repetitive hand and wrist movements such as using the scissors or typing.
• Other activities that involve repetitive bending of the elbows such as playing the guitar or violin.

How to Treat a Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow is a condition that is self-limiting, which means that it will get better without treatment. This condition can last for several weeks or months, and sometimes, even years as the tendons heal slowly. Numerous treatments can help alleviate the pain for a tennis elbow. However, the most important thing you must do is rest your injured arm and stop performing strenuous activities. Among various tennis elbow treatments, physiotherapy has shown to be most effective in the short as well as long-term management of the condition. However, in extreme cases, surgery may be recommended if other treatments fail to work.

How can Physical Therapy Help a Tennis Elbow?

Physical therapy has been shown to be effective among numerous other treatments for tennis elbow, both in the short and long-term management of the condition. Physical therapy aims to achieve the following results:

• Reduction of the elbow pain.
• Faster facilitation of the tissue repair.
• Restoration of the normal muscle length, strength and the movement patterns.
• Restoration of the normal joint range of motion and function.
• Normalisation of the cervical joint function.

There are numerous ways to achieve these, and getting a thorough check-up of your elbow, arm and neck will enable your physiotherapist to plan a strategy for you based on your symptoms and lifestyle. Physiotherapy for a tennis elbow treatment can include a gentle mobilisation of the elbow and neck joints, muscle stretches, neural mobilisation, electrotherapy, massage and strengthening. In severe cases, a tennis elbow brace may prove to beneficial.

Apollo Experience

At Apollo Clinic Barrackpore, we offer you few of the best services for various conditions, one of them being a tennis elbow. With our team of physiotherapists who have excellent knowledge and tremendous experience in the field of physiotherapy, we aim at helping each one suffering from this condition. Having a team of few of the best physiotherapists in the country, we assure to help you tackle your tennis elbow with ease in the most positive way. We also promise to help you lead your life well without any fear of the condition.

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)

A repetitive strain injury, also known as repetitive stress, injury or RSI, could cause a lot of pain and discomfort. If not attended on time, a minor RSI can turn into a nasty chronic injury. At Apollo Clinic, our expert physiotherapists recommend early medical intervention if you experience symptoms of a repetitive stress injury.

What is Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)?

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) refers to an overuse injury. Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS) is also used to describe RSI. Repeated use of the same movements causes inflammation and damage to the soft tissues. Repetitive Strain Injury potentially hurts your muscles, tendons, nerves and joints through repeated micro trauma. RSI has been attributed to a forearm and upper limb pain. Localised injuries such as carpal tunnel, trigger finger, golfer’s and tennis elbow are included in RSI.

Symptoms of RSI include tremors, clumsiness, numbness, weakness in the hands or forearms, burning, aching or shooting pain, fatigue or lack of strength, chronically cold hands, difficulty with normal activities like chopping vegetables, turning on a tap, opening doors. These symptoms may appear when you do something or appear after a repetitive task. Symptoms may stop after when you halt the activity. It may take a few hours or even days for the symptoms to settle.

The exact cause of RSI is unclear. Some causes of Repetitive  Stress Injury include: 

– not taking enough breaks to recover
– repeated arm use for too long
– keeping your muscles in the same position for long
– lack of variety in the type of work you do
– working in cold conditions
– using equipment that doesn’t fit your body
– working too fast
– lack of safety training to carry out a task

How can we help?

At Apollo Clinic, our physiotherapists use various techniques to treat Repetitive Strain Injury. Physiotherapy will help release tight muscles and free up any nerves that may be irritated and causing pain.

Myofascial release – This technique focuses on reducing pain by easing the tension and tightness in the trigger points. Myofascial release is used over a larger area of muscle and tissue, rather than at a single point. Myofascial release treatments take place during a massage therapy session.

Joint mobilisation  – Using this technique, your physiotherapist will restore small, involuntary movements that assist joints in optimum performance. In joint mobilisation, a back and forth oscillation of the joint is performed to restore motion.

Electrotherapy – Your physiotherapist may use ultrasound therapy to treat RSI. This therapy is mainly used for its non-thermal effect where high-frequency sound waves cause movement and vibrations of cellular fluids.  This helps in faster healing of certain soft tissues.

Exercises – Various types of physiotherapy exercises such as stretching, flexibility, motion, isometric and progressive resistance exercises strengthen and stretch appropriate structures.

Apollo Support

At Apollo Clinic Barrackpore, we are committed to ensuring that you enjoy optimum health always. To this end, we have all the necessary infrastructure and expertise to help treat your repetitive stress injuries. Our physiotherapists will take every measure possible to provide best-in-class care.