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Winter is that time of the year when our chests can get more affected especially when you have a pre-existing condition.  We have all been in the situation where we visit family over the festive season and someone has a cold.

People with chronic chest conditions like COPD, Asthma, Emphysema, Bronchiectasis, Cystic fibrosis and even lung cancer are more likely to be affected by a cold or flu.  The airways adjust to changing temperatures, seasons and air borne particles.  In most cases, people with a chest condition suffer with breathlessness and/or coughing.  The airways contract and open up as we breathe and at times, more mucus can accumulate.  When we get a cold, the excess mucus can lead to an increased risk of chest infections and even pneumonia.

It is vital that the chest is kept as clear as possible by removing as much secretions as possible.  There are various ways in which to rid the chest of secretions.  Your GP, practice nurse or chest consultant will advise you on how to manage your chest condition.  They will also advise if you need further investigations or other treatments but it is important to know that YOU need to manage your condition.

Simple advice to follow especially during the winter months are:

• Know what the symptoms are for possible chest infections and recognize any changes
• Act immediately if you suspect you have an infection
• Use your inhalers regularly and do not stop/start inhalers
• Do deep breathing exercises and cough regularly to remove secretions
• Walk regularly
• Use oxygen only as prescribed
• Discuss with your GP about a “rescue pack”
• Stay away from family and friends if you know they have a cold

Remember that each person has a unique condition and that management of your chest condition needs to be tailored for you.  Your physiotherapist can help to teach you breathing techniques, secretion clearance and inhaler techniques to optimize your breathing and maintaining a clear chest.  Please speak to one of the physios at Silver physio for more information on 020 3637 8988 to enable a personalized programme to be created.

Last month, we posted a blog about how a wheelchair bound lady living in a residential home was able to complete a 5km walk with the help of her physiotherapist. This week in the CSP magazine ‘Frontline’, there is an article that talks about how care needs for the elderly population have increased dramatically over the past 20 years.

An article by Kingston et al (2017) stated that ‘the fastest growing section of the population is those aged 85 years and older’ with up to 20% living independently and free from disability despite multiple co-morbidities, however most will require care at some point. The article predicts that if dependency prevalence remains constant, by 2025 there will be an additional 353,000 older people with a large proportion having complex care needs that require sustained input from family carers or community health or social care teams to support independent living.

Adults aged 65 and over spend around 10 hours a day sitting or lying down. As you grow older, it is very important to try to stay active. Physical activity helps to stay healthy but also and very importantly to remain independent. The longer you remain independent, the longer you can have an active social life. Older people are more prone to falling, obesity, heart disease and mental illness. The risk of these can be significantly reduced with regular exercise.

One way to ensure independent living is to keep mobile. Physiotherapy plays a huge part in promoting independence. All the physiotherapists at Silver Physio will conduct a thorough assessment and devise an individualised exercise programme with realistic functional goals. Benefits of physiotherapy include improving cardiovascular function, improve range of movement and strength, reduce pain and fatigue.

Contact us today to find out how we at SilverPhysio can you keep you agile and feeling young:

•  020 3637 8988
•  office@silverphysio.co.uk

(For the full article: Kingston A et al. Is late life dependency increasing or not? A comparison of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies)

Pilates is an exercise based intervention that is described as ‘the art of controlled movements’. These movements should look and feel like a workout (not a therapy) when carried out properly. If practiced with consistency, Pilates improves flexibility, builds strength and develops control and endurance in the entire body. It puts emphasis on alignment, breathing, developing a strong core, and improving coordination and balance. The core, consisting of the muscles of the abdomen, low back, and hips, is thought to be the key to a person’s stability.

For Physiotherapists, they can use Pilates as a treatment if they can identify evidence for its use that is specific to an individual and their condition. A physiotherapist that teaches Pilates will always conduct a full examination, clinical reason and supervise Pilates activities at all times.

Benefits of Pilates include:

• Reduces pain
• Improves posture
• Improves core strength
• Improves stamina
• Improves flexibility
• Improves balance and coordination
• Improves circulation

Conditions that Pilates is suitable for include, but are not exclusive to:

Back pain, neck pain, hypermobility, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyaglia, post-surgery, poor posture, post stroke, MS, Parkinson’s Disease

 

Contact us today to find out how Pilates may benefit you

•  020 3637 8988
•  office@silverphysio.co.uk

There is a really heart warming article posted on the CSP website this week where an 87 year old lady completed a 5km race.

What was even more remarkable about this lady is that she was previously wheelchair bound and used a hoist to transfer between bed and wheelchair. She also lives in a residential care home. However with weekly physio, she progressed from hoist transfer to being able to mobilise short distances unaided and eventually walking 5km with a rollator frame.

Read all about this amazing lady here:

http://www.csp.org.uk/news/2017/09/05/octogenarian-completes-first-5km-race-thanks-long-term-physio-support

At Silver Physio, we are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals no matter how big or small. We regularly see patients in nursing/residential homes. This lady is an amazing example at how regular physiotherapy can improve your physical ability. Contact us on 020 3637 8988 or email office@silverphysio.co.uk

Hydrotherapy is the use of water for whole body treatment that involves moving and exercising in a heated pool.

Hydrotherapy is a fantastic compliment to a land based physiotherapy programme for a wide range of conditions including (and not exclusive to):

• Hip and knee replacements (pre and post op)
• Back pain
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Poor circulation
• Fractures
• Muscle pain
• Neurological conditions
• Immobility and muscle weakness
• Reduced balance

There are 5 unique properties of water that are used in the hydrotherapy treatment process:

1. Buoyancy – the upthrust forces of the water supports the weight of the body which helps with the movement of stiff, painful or weak joints. The buoyancy is especially helpful when normal walking is restricted or painful and the patient is unable to fully weight bear.
2. Resistance – this can be used to improve strength of weak muscles or assist with reconditioning. Resistance along with buoyancy allows a patient to strengthen muscle groups with less joint stress which is not able to be achieved on land
3. Warmth – this assists with muscle relaxation and pain relief which in turn will improve the range of movement of a joint.
4. Hydrostatic pressure – the pressure of the water helps to reduce swelling which is particularly important after surgery or recent injury
5. Turbulence – this assists with balance and coordination which typically is reduced after injury or illness.

What do you need to bring?

• Swimming costume
• Towel

What can I expect from hydrotherapy?

Your physiotherapist will join you in the hydro pool. You will be able to enter via steps, a ramp and also by wheelchair. Based on your problems, limitations and goals, your physiotherapist will devise an individualised programme of exercises to complete in the pool.

 

To find out more and to book your hydrotherapy sessions, contact Silver Physio on 02036378988 or drop us an email on: office@silverphysio.co.uk

‘Exercise pain doesn’t equal tissue damage’ is the interesting title of an article in this weeks’ Frontline magazine – a fortnightly magazine for members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.  The article discusses a study that looked at evidence into the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain. The study concludes that ‘Therapeutic exercise that temporarily aggravates pain doesn’t need to be ruled out or avoided in people with painful chronic musculoskeletal disorders’.

This is good news! As a physiotherapist, we know the positive effect exercise has on our patients and this gives us some confidence in being able to say to our patients ‘This may be uncomfortable but will help your pain’.

Interestingly in the UK, 1 in 4 people live with a chronic musculoskeletal complaint. When you are in pain, you tend to avoid painful movements and activities as well as thinking that pain must equal damage. It is the role of a physiotherapist to push you (slowly) into painful movement, to encourage you to believe that pain does not equal damage and to help you with your presenting problem.

Let us at Silver Physio help you with your chronic pain problem. We want to help you reduce your pain and return to normal function.  Contact us on 020 3637 8988 or email office@silverphysio.co.uk

Should exercises be painful in the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis. BE Smith et al 2017

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2017/06/07/bjsports-2016-097383

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition and is the result of damage to myelin, which protects the nerve fibres of the central nervous system. According to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, over 100,000 people in the UK are living with MS.

In MS the immune system mistakes myelin for a foreign body and attacks it, like it would, an infection. This damages the myelin leaving scars known as lesions or plaques. The damage to the myelin disrupts messages travelling along nerve fibres either slowing them down, distorting messages or preventing messages from travelling along the nerve fibres altogether. There can also be some damage to the nerve fibres themselves and this causes the increase in disability that can occur over time.

Symptoms of MS can include fatigue, depression, cognitive problems, loss of sight, reduced mobility, stiffness, muscle spasms and pain. There are 4 different types of MS, which all have varying degrees of affect to the person.

There are many ways in which you can manage your MS, of which Physiotherapy is a vital part of this. As we encourage holistic management of the condition, we encourage alternative therapies such as massage, reflexology and Reiki may help to alleviate symptoms, however eating right and exercise are really important. Exercise has so many benefits – it can help you manage MS symptoms, keeps you mobile and active, reduces stiffness, improves mood and also improves muscle strength and fitness. Physiotherapy also provides the necessary equipment to achieve highest function and address the condition over a 24 hour period.

A physiotherapist works with MS suffers to assess their individual physical difficulties and help improve movement and other function. Silver Physio have therapists that are highly experienced in managing MS. Get in touch with us at Silver Physio on 020 3637 8988 or at office@silverphysio.co.uk for information on how we may be able to help you.

The most common causes of absence from work are due to back pain and stress related illnesses. Both of these can be prevented, treated and managed by Physiotherapy.

Having a Physiotherapist in the workplace is a huge employee benefit.  At Silver Physio, we provide thorough assessments to each of our clients in the work place. All we need is a small room and we provide everything else.

What can Silver Physio offer your company?

1. We carry out ergonomic and work place assessments
2. Provide treatment for chronic and new conditions
3. Physiotherapy led Pilates classes for the office during lunch time
4. Provide education and training particular to your business
5. Sports massage

How does it benefit your company?

1. By having an on-site physiotherapist there is less time off work for appointments
2. Physiotherapy can reduce the number of sick days
3. Employees feel appreciated with the gesture of having an on-site physiotherapist who is available for treatment, massage and Pilates
4. Physiotherapists can assist with a return to work programme

Our aim is to optimise performance in your workplace and we strive on our ability to help you protect your employees. We have a team of highly skilled and experienced Physiotherapists who are looking forward to working with you.

For more information on our workplace service, please contact us on 020 3637 8988 or email at office@silverphysio.co.uk

The femur is the bone that sits in between the hip and knee. It is the longest and strongest bone in the body, however this does not mean that it isn’t prone to damage. The femur is most commonly fractured by a fall and tends to break an area in the top region called ‘the neck’. This area is susceptible to fracture as it is the narrowest part of the femur.

There are a number of factors that increase the risk of a hip fracture. These include low bone density, reduced muscle mass, age and sex. 90% of fractured hips occur in those over 70 years old and 70% of hip fractures occur in women.

The most common form of treatment is surgery. A dynamic hip screw is used for both stable and unstable fractures where a place is placed along the outside of the femur and screws go into the bone and hold the fractures in place. Other surgeries include hemiartroplasty (where the head of the femur is replaced by a metal prosthesis), total hip replacement and intramedullary nail where a long rod is inserted into the medullary cavity of the femur.

Physiotherapy is a huge factor in terms of recovery after a fractured neck of femur. Day 1 after surgery, you are typically sat out of bed into a chair with the help of a physiotherapist and the multidisciplinary team. You will be encouraged to increase your mobility daily whilst in hospital and will be given exercises which will help to strengthen your leg, increase range of movement and improve circulation.

Your rehabilitation does not stop when you leave hospital. It is so important to continue with walking practice and exercises. Physiotherapy plays a huge role in the long term rehab following a fractured neck of femur. A physiotherapist will progress your exercises, encourage mobility and assist you in returning to your previous level of function. At Silver Physio, we do just this. We are here to help speed up your recovery from your fracture.

To arrange a home visit and get your rehab started ASAP, email us at office@silverphysio.co.uk or telephone: 020 3637 8988.

A fall is defined as ‘an unexpected event in which a person comes to rest on the ground, floor or lower level’. A fall cannot be explained by medical causes (such as low blood pressure or a stroke) nor caused by an overwhelming external force.

According to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, there are more than 3 million falls a year. 1 in 3 people over 65 will fall every year and half of those who fall, will fall again within 12 months. Falls cost the NHS over £2.3 billion a year. Not only do they have a large cost to the NHS, they also have a major impact on a person’s lifestyle as well as that of their family. Consequences of a fall may include loss of confidence, activity restriction, reduced social interaction as well as physical injuries.

The goals of physiotherapy for fallers are to prevent further falls, teach fallers to cope with any unwanted falls (teach ways to get up from the floor and call for help), ensure their living environment is as safe as possible, increase confidence and improve quality of life. Physiotherapy also promotes an active, healthy lifestyle. A physiotherapist will work on strength and endurance, co-ordination and balance, flexibility, confidence and fear of falling in order to obtain the best outcome for their patient.

At Silver Physio, we work with our clients to provide an individual treatment plan following a fall. To see how we can help reduce the chance of further falls, contact us on 020 3637 8988 or email office@silverphysio.co.uk