Conditions
Start with what hurts
Each page covers one problem: how to tell whether that is what you have, the exercises in the order you would build them up, roughly how long it takes, and the signs that mean see someone rather than start exercising.
Back
- Lower back painAching, stiffness or pain across the lower back, sometimes spreading into the buttock. Most of it is what clinicians call non-specific: no single structure is to blame, nothing is out of place, and a scan rarely changes what helps. It is extremely common, it usually settles within weeks, and staying active is the most useful thing you can do while it does.Also called: low back pain, non-specific back pain, back strain, lumbago
- SciaticaPain that travels from the lower back or buttock down the leg, often past the knee, sometimes with pins and needles. It usually comes from an irritated nerve root in the lower back. The great majority settles over weeks to months, and staying gently active is one of the few things that reliably helps.Also called: leg pain from the back, nerve pain down the leg, lumbar radiculopathy
- Upper back painAn ache or stiffness between the shoulder blades or across the middle of the back, often after long spells at a desk, driving or looking down at a phone. It usually comes from stiff joints and tired muscles rather than damage, and gentle movement and strengthening help it settle. The upper back sits next to the heart and lungs, so a few warning signs matter more here than elsewhere in the spine: check them first.Also called: pain between the shoulder blades, mid-back pain, thoracic back pain, stiff upper back
Neck
- Neck painAn ache or stiffness in the neck, sometimes spreading into the shoulders or causing a headache at the base of the skull. It is usually linked to posture held for too long, stress or poor sleep, rather than damage. Almost all neck pain settles within weeks, and keeping it moving gently helps it settle faster than keeping it still.Also called: stiff neck, tech neck, desk neck, crick in the neck
- WhiplashNeck pain and stiffness after the head is jolted forwards and back, most often in a car accident. It can take a day or two to come on. Most people recover well, and keeping the neck gently moving helps it settle faster than a collar or rest.Also called: whiplash injury, neck pain after a car accident, neck sprain
Shoulders
- Rotator cuff painAn ache on the outside of the shoulder or upper arm that catches when you lift your arm out to the side or reach overhead, and often makes lying on that side uncomfortable. It usually comes from the tendons of the rotator cuff being asked to do more than they were ready for. Most people improve with gradual strengthening, and injections or surgery are rarely needed.Also called: shoulder impingement, rotator cuff tendinopathy, painful arc, shoulder pain lifting the arm
- Frozen shoulderA shoulder that becomes painful and then increasingly stiff, until reaching behind your back, putting on a coat or reaching up to a shelf becomes hard. It is most common between 40 and 60, and in people with diabetes. It goes through stages over months to a few years, and it does get better. Gentle movement helps you keep what you have.Also called: adhesive capsulitis, stiff shoulder, shoulder capsulitis
Elbows & wrists
- Tennis elbowPain on the outside of the elbow that flares when you grip, lift or twist — a kettle, a door handle, a mouse. Most people who get it have never played tennis. It is a tendon that has been asked to do more than it was ready for, and it responds to gradual loading rather than rest.Also called: lateral epicondylalgia, lateral elbow pain, forearm pain
- Carpal tunnel syndromeTingling, numbness or pain in the thumb, index and middle fingers, often waking you at night so you shake your hand to get the feeling back. The nerve through the wrist is being squeezed. It is common in pregnancy, with repetitive gripping and in people with diabetes, and many cases settle with simple measures.Also called: carpal tunnel, tingling fingers, numb hand at night, median nerve compression
Hips
- Hip osteoarthritisPain in the groin, front of the thigh or buttock, with stiffness after rest and difficulty with socks, shoes or getting out of a car. It is common from middle age. Like knee arthritis, exercise is the first treatment recommended, at any stage, and strong muscles around the hip take a lot of load off the joint.Also called: hip arthritis, stiff hip, wear and tear in the hip, hip OA
- Lateral hip painPain on the outside of the hip, tender to touch, worse lying on that side, climbing stairs, standing on one leg or crossing your legs. It is most often the tendons of the buttock muscles, and is common in women around the menopause. Loading those tendons, and avoiding positions that squash them, is what helps.Also called: gluteal tendinopathy, trochanteric bursitis, greater trochanteric pain syndrome, pain on the side of the hip
- Pelvic girdle pain in pregnancyPain at the front of the pelvis over the pubic bone, or at the back around the dimples, during pregnancy. It is worse walking, on stairs, standing on one leg, getting in and out of a car and turning over in bed. About one in five pregnant people have it. It isn't harmful to your baby, and it can be helped: you don't have to just put up with it.Also called: PGP, symphysis pubis dysfunction, SPD, pelvic pain in pregnancy
- Returning to exercise after birthThe first months after birth are a recovery, whatever kind of birth you had. Pelvic floor exercises and gentle walking can start within days if you feel ready, harder exercise builds up from the 6-week check, and running and jumping wait until at least 12 weeks. Leaking, heaviness and a gap in the tummy muscles are common and treatable.Also called: postnatal exercise, postpartum recovery, exercise after having a baby, tummy gap
Knees
- Knee osteoarthritisKnee pain and stiffness that is worse after rest or at the end of a busy day, often with a creaky or grinding feeling. It is very common from middle age onwards, and what an X-ray shows matches how the knee feels surprisingly poorly. Exercise is the first treatment recommended for it, at any age and any stage, because stronger muscles around the knee take load off the joint.Also called: knee arthritis, wear and tear in the knee, knee OA, stiff knee
- Runner's kneeAn ache around or behind the kneecap that is worse on stairs, squatting, kneeling or after sitting with the knees bent. It is common in runners but just as common in people who have never run, especially after a change in activity. The kneecap joint has been loaded more than it was ready for, and strengthening the hips and thighs is what the evidence supports.Also called: patellofemoral pain, kneecap pain, pain around the kneecap, anterior knee pain
Feet & ankles
- Plantar fasciitisHeel pain that is at its worst for the first few steps in the morning, eases as you move, and returns after you have been sitting. It is the most common cause of heel pain in adults, and most people get better without an injection or a scan.Also called: heel pain, plantar heel pain, policeman's heel
- Ankle sprainPain, swelling and bruising on the outside of the ankle after rolling it inwards. It is a stretch or tear of the ligaments that hold the ankle steady. Most sprains heal well, but up to a third of people keep having problems, usually because the balance and strength that the injury knocked out were never rebuilt. That rebuilding is what these exercises are for.Also called: sprained ankle, rolled ankle, twisted ankle, ankle ligament injury
- Achilles tendinopathyPain and stiffness in the tendon at the back of the heel, usually worst for the first steps in the morning or at the start of a run, easing as you warm up and aching again afterwards. The tendon has had more load than it was ready for. It responds well to gradual strengthening, and badly to complete rest.Also called: achilles tendonitis, achilles pain, sore achilles, heel cord pain
These pages are based on standard physiotherapy practice. They are information, not a diagnosis.