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A large proportion of the workload of an acute hospital is the management and treatment of respiratory diseases, especially in the winter when people start catching colds and flu. Examples of the diagnoses which present are bronchitis, bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, asthma, hyperventilation and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Physiotherapists receive comprehensive respiratory training in their undergraduate and early postgraduate years so they can assess and treat a wide spectrum of presenting conditions. Respiratory assessment skills need careful teaching and regular practice under supervision, often made more difficult by the acutely sick patient status, and the physio has an important role in managing these sick patients.

Most residents of the United Kingdom agree: winter time is for staying indoors in front of a roaring fireplace or radiator. It is for curling up in thick pyjamas and staying warm and dry while the weather rages outside. The winter time is when people do their best not to move and prefer to lie still and stay warm. This is the time of year to coddle one’s self and people figure that staying healthy is an easy task. Unfortunately, staying healthy during the winter can be harder than staying healthy during the summer and it involves more creativity. Here are some tips to help you be as healthy as you can be this winter.

About ten percent of emergency department visits are the result of ankle injury. Most of these injuries are simple ankle sprains. These injuries are most commonly treated with RICE therapy. Patients are instructed to rest and ice the joint for 20 minutes sessions. Then, the injury is wrapped in compression bandages and elevated. The Jones compression uses alternate layers of elastic bandages and compression bandages. Finally, patients are instructed to elevate the ankle. To reduce pain, ibuprofen is usually provided. Patients who are ibuprofen-intolerant are given acetaminophen instead. This is the common procedure for ankle injuries.

Collagen is an extremely important connective tissue protein in our bodies, making up significant amounts of our skin, tendons, discs and ligaments. Collagen gives structure to these organs, allowing them to heal normally, to have elasticity, to be strong and to hold together well under the stresses of functional life. It also gives our major blood vessels and other organs the strength they need to remain working correctly. People vary very greatly in the suppleness of their joints and skin and show the whole range from very stiff jointed to very mobile or “double jointed”.