The shoulder is a very vulnerable joint in many functional and sporting situations and needs careful treatment and management to recover back to its normal abilities. The main joint in this region is the shoulder joint proper, known as the glenohumeral joint, but above the shoulder itself lies the acromioclavicular joint which is vulnerable to sporting injuries. Contact sports, falling off bicycles, skiing and falls are common reasons for suffering an injury to this joint. Above the shoulder the end of the clavicle or collar bone and part of the scapula, the acromion, come together to make up the acromioclavicular joint.

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Human populations are ageing across the world, particularly in developed countries such as the USA, Europe and Japan, with some developing countries such as China set to follow them over the next decades. This will place a large burden on physiotherapy and medical services as countries struggle to cope with steadily increasing levels of osteoarthritis (OA), an age-related degenerative condition. OA is responsible for significant levels of medical expenditure, disability, pain and work loss and provision of services such as joint replacement will be a challenge. Quality of life improvements after medical interventions vary but for joint replacement are some of the highest of all medical procedures.

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The foot has a complex anatomy designed to bear the weight of the body and to propel the body forward in walking and running. The talus or ankle bone sits in the ankle mortise and is the top link of the main longitudinal arch of the foot. The longitudinal or medial arch is the largest and is on the inside of the foot, absorbing the loads in standing postures and aided in its elastic recoil by the spring ligament. The outside of the foot has a smaller arch known as the lateral arch and the front of the foot has a transverse (across) arch between the first and fifth metatarsal heads.

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The amount of neck pain and disability suffered by patients varies greatly from very low pain levels and virtually no disability to high pain levels which interfere significantly with activities of daily living. The underlying reasons for this are likely to be related to the pathological and neurological mechanisms at work in the differing neck pain syndromes. Initial focus was on identifying pathology in the cervical spine which could be responsible but this approach has not led to a complete understanding. Attention has moved towards the underlying pain mechanisms potentially responsible.

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The conservative treatment of dislocations of the shoulder is a controversial matter in orthopaedics, with management in a sling for anything from one to six weeks. An immobilising strap may be applied around the waist but this is not universal. The arm is kept in to the side with the forearm across the abdomen (officially internal rotation and adduction) to prevent stresses to the injured areas, avoiding arm away from the body and moving it outwards (officially external rotation and abduction).

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Dislocation of a joint means that the joint surfaces, which are normally closely applied to each other, are completely disrupted and do not touch each other any longer. The joint capsule surrounds the joint and supports it and is often damaged as the joint surfaces move apart from their normal position. Dislocations may also result in damage to the joint surfaces themselves as they move across each other in their journey to the dislocated position. Joint, ligament and nerve injuries can occur during dislocations.

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Torticollis or an acute wry neck occurs relatively uncommonly and consists of the onset of sudden and severe neck pain which causes the cervical neck muscles to contract reflexly. This leads to the neck being kept in an abnormal posture to minimise pain, a posture known as torticollis. Torticollis is not a diagnosis of itself but a reflection of a problem occurring in the neck or head area, however this article concentrates on torticollis from a mechanical cause. A common report from patients is that they awoke with the severe pain and the neck deformity, assuming it was a result of sleeping awkwardly that night.

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The knee joint is a hinge joint as is the elbow but has a complex hinging action. At the end of the thigh bone is the expanded area known as the femoral condyles, with a similar area on the upper part of the shin bone (the condyles of the tibia), making up the knee. The fibula is a smaller bone on the outside of the shin but not part of the knee joint and does not bear significant weight, functioning as an area of attachment for the ankle, foot and toe muscles. The knee divides the leg by its hinge, functioning to allow the delivery of high levels of muscular propulsive force, to enable shortening of the limb during gait and to bend the knee in sitting and other resting postures.

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Physiotherapists and Chiropractors both work tirelessly to help their patients improve their ability to function and move normally while also investing time and effort into finding a way to reduce a patient’s pain. Because both professionals involve working with a patient’s ability to move and the reduction of pain, many people get the two fields confused. The truth is that there are some fundamental differences between Chiropractors and Physiologists and this article will spell out a few of those differences for the reader.

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According to a recent study, the number of people visiting complementary health practitioners has risen by fifty percent in the last ten years. What is a complementary health practitioner? Do they work well with “regular” doctors? Why would someone choose to visit a complementary health practitioner”isn’t a “regular” doctor enough? This article will answer all of these questions.

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