Adam Meakins

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust · Department of Orthopaedics

Background Musculoskeletal conditions are the leading contributor to global disability and health burden. Manual therapy (MT) interventions are commonly recommended in clinical guidelines and used in the management of musculoskeletal conditions. Traditional systems of manual therapy (TMT), including physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, and sof...

Frozen shoulder is a common debilitating disorder characterized by shoulder pain and progressive loss of shoulder movement. Frozen shoulder is frequently associated with other systemic conditions or occurs following periods of immobilization, and has a protracted clinical course, which can be frustrating for patients as well as health-care professi...

BACKGROUND Disorders associated with the rotator cuff are regarded as the most common shoulder pain presentation. The range of diagnostic terms used to explain this problem reflect uncertainty in relation to causative mechanisms, diagnosis, prognosis, and the most effective treatments. The aim of this consensus exercise was to facilitate a shared u...

Background Despite being a common problem, there is considerable diagnostic uncertainty with regard to shoulder pain. This uncertainty relates to the reliability and validity of current examination tests. The Shoulder Symptom Modification Procedure (SSMP) has been proposed as an alternative to existing approaches. Objective To evaluate interclinic...

An evidenced-based review of the causes of sports-related buttock pain and its assessments and management

Exercise as medicine, is well established.1 However, the art of knowledge transfer and implementation of exercise/physical activity (PA) remains poorly embedded in society, strategy and clinical practice in all aspects of health.2 The reality of this situation is grim. Insufficient PA is 1 of the 10 leading risk factors for death worldwide, so exer...

Acupuncture is a widely used treatment in many different fields from pain management to sports medicine, and it often creates much discussion and debate. What actually constitutes acupuncture? Traditional Eastern acupuncture involves piercing the skin with fine filament needles at specific points located on meridians around the body to restore the...

The recent Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic World tells a story of how extinct species have returned to the present only to cause chaos and confusion. Unfortunately, this Hollywood fantasy is a reality within the world of physiotherapy with dinosaurs among us causing chaos and confusion. The dinosaurs I am referring to are the many iconic, influenti...

Trigger points are common clinical diagnoses in the musculoskeletal profession. However, questions have been raised about what they are and how they are treated.1 Trigger points were first described by Travell and Simons as tender, painful areas found in myofascial tissue when palpated. These are often described as muscle ‘knots’ or taut bands, and...

In my experience, managing a patient's expectations from the beginning greatly improves the success of the outcome. Almost every patient I see in their first appointment will always ask how long it will be before they can resume running or playing sports or even be able to do daily activities. I … [Full text of this article]

Aims: This study aimed to compare the thermal effects of longwave ultrasound (LWUS) and conductive heating (hot water bottle-HWB) on ankle mobility using a non-injured Achilles tendon (AT) model. These two modalities represent a clinical and a home variation of heat treatment. Design & setting: A crossover design was used ( n = 18), with each of th...