Common Conditions

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ELBOW

Elbow pain is a common complaint and there are many common causes for this problem. Elbow pain can affect your work or sports, making the use of arm difficult. Simple things like lifting a cup, turning a door knob, twisting open a bottle cap or a can be painful.

Common types of elbow pain are:

Tennis Elbow or Lateral Epicondylitis – Pain on the outer part of the elbow due to the overuse of forearm muscles while doing activities like gripping, extension of wrist, elbow – typically the backhand stroke in Tennis

Golfer’s Elbow or Medial Epicondylitis – Pain on the inner part of the elbow with activities like repeated gripping, flexion of wrist and elbow – typically similar to Golf Swing.

Olecranon Bursitis –Inflammation behind the elbow that usually occurs after an injury, trauma or prolonged resting of the elbow on a hard surface or also with Gout or Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Sprains –Overstretching or tearing of the ligaments of elbow joint due to a direct blow or twist on the joint.

If physiotherapy is started early then these are easily and effectively treated.

ANKLE

Plantar Fasciitis Or Pain In Sole Of Foot – Tips from our Physiotherapist

Why do Sports Injuries happen?

Most of us try to squeeze in some sporting activity or exercise in our busy schedules as and when possible. Some of us may set our goals too high and end up overdoing the exercise. We forget that injuries may happen during sports or exercise. Most often these are due to:

• Overuse or repetitive stress of muscles
• Poor training techniques
• Insufficient warm-up and stretching
• Improper exercise or sporting gear
• Lack of conditioning
• Accidents

HIP

Hip is the largest joint in our body and is a major weight bearing joint. Pain in the hip can arise from structures in and around the hip joint. Hip and groin pain can also be referred to the thigh. See a doctor if it’s been persistent for a long time and If physiotherapy is started early then these are easily and effectively treated.

KNEE

The knee is an important weight bearing joint that is to acute injuries as well as wear and tear. Pain in the knee could be due:

Osteoarthritis of knee OA : is degeneration or wear and tear between joint surfaces of the knee. It usually occurs in knees that have experienced trauma, infection or injury or age related changes. Osteoarthritis develops as the cartilage that protects the bone ends thins down and the bones will begin to rub against each other when the joint is moved.  With the worn-out cartilage, the joint space between the bones narrows. The surrounding bones react by becoming thicker and grow outward and form bone spurs. All these changes can lead to pain, swelling and discomfort in the knee on movement or rest.

Ligament Sprains or Tear: The knee has four major ligaments. The ligaments inside the knee joint are called ACL and PCL while the ligaments on either side of the knee are called MCL and LCL. These ligaments provide stability to the knee. Knee Ligament Injury can lead to pain and instability with the “giving way” feel. These can be associated with muscle weakness and lack of balance in the long run.

Meniscus Tears:  A knee has two menisci. Any activity that causes forcefully twisting or rotating the knee, especially when there is full weight on it, can lead to a torn meniscus. A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness of the knee. Torn meniscus might also lead to a block to knee movement and cause trouble while extending the knee fully.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome: Often seen in runners. Iliotibial band is a tight band of muscle and connective tissue on the outer thigh which causes stress on the knee resulting in pain on outer side of knee and typically with running and going downstairs.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS)

Pain arises from the patella (kneecap) & excludes other soft tissue. PFPS constitutes 16 to 25 % of all injuries in runners. It can cause pain under the knee cap and swelling around the knee joint. Pain may increase after activities such as jumping, running down slopes, steps, prolonged walking or squatting.

Fractures: Occur in and around the knee joint due to direct or indirect trauma and may involve the patella, femur or tibia.

Dislocation or Shifting of Patella (Knee Cap): When the kneecap is partially or completely displaced out of its normal alignment. The most common direction for a patella to dislocate is outwardly (laterally). When this happens, the muscles and ligaments on the inside of the knee become overstretched and damaged.

Baker’s Cyst: pain at the back of the knee with a round swelling.

Chondromalacia Patella CMP: Happens when the patella glides through the groove with a lateral shift during the knee movement. This causes irritation of the cartilage between the patella and the femur and often results in pain.Pain is mainly with stair climbing, prolonged sitting and knee bending with weight bearing exercises. Pre-disposing factors may include flat fleet, overuse, tight muscles on the outer side of the knee, injury or weak muscles on the inside of the knee (vastus medialis).

Osgood Schlatter’s Disease: is seen in adolescents who develop pain and a bump just below the knee due to constant overuse and traction on the insertion of the patellar tendon.

NECK

Being less protected than the rest of the spine, the neck can be vulnerable to the injury and disorders that produce pain and restrict motion.

SHOULDER

ROTATOR CUFF TENDINITIS OR FROZEN SHOULDER

The shoulder joint is a ‘ball and socket’ joint and requires the muscles and ligaments surrounding it to be strong and flexible to provide stability and motion. The main muscles are called the ‘rotator cuff’ muscles.

Frozen shoulder and Rotator Cuff tendinits are common conditions treated by Physiotherapists in Singapore. Our team of highly qualified and experienced Singapore physiotherapists can assess your shoulder and use specialised methods of physiotherapy treatment to reduce the pain and improve shoulder movement.

WRIST

The wrist is a small joint of the upper limb and is vital for hand movements and daily activities. A wrist injury can potentially affect a large part of life, causing pain with writing, sports, pushing up from your seat, or anything which requires the use of your hands. Sometimes compression can occur in the wrist joint, leading to tingling, numbness and weakness of the muscles of the hands.
Common wrist injuries include:
Carpal tunnel syndrome – Repetitive strain or overuse injury. Impingement of the median nerve that runs through the carpal tunnel.
Fractures – Falling on outstretched arm, sport or work related injury.
Muscle strained / ligament sprain Stressed over deviation from normal range of motion causing micro tears in muscles/ligaments around the wrist.