What is Physiotherapy?
Our highly trained musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapists specialise in treating and managing conditions relating to the soft tissues, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves and connective tissues. If you are experiencing joint pain or have suffered an injury that has impacted your function or quality of life, our physiotherapists can help.
What to expect on your first appointment.
Assessment
When you first visit us we will enquire about the history of your issue including asking about how the symptoms started, the location, what makes it better or worse, how it has impacted you typical function and the activities that are important to you. We ask various questions to help ascertain what the issue may be and to help guide us on what may or may not need to be assessed physically. You will be asked about your medical history, any ongoing medical conditions which you may feel irrelevant but may be link to your symptoms. Your Physiotherapist will also need to know about your occupation, what activities you perform on a typical day, and your hobbies and interests, to determine what movements you perform and postures you adopt regularly to see if they are related to your symptoms.
Your Physiotherapist will then perform a physical examination to establish what level of function you have. Flexibility, strength, balance, coordination, and posture are just some of the many aspects of the examination that may be assessed. This may involve testing specific anatomical structures that could be contributing to your symptoms and may involve provoking pain which is a normal and commonly expected side effect of an assessment, especially when a painful/damaged structure has been isolated with some of the specialised tests we can perform.
Treatment & management
Upon completion of your assessment, you will be given an explanation as to the cause of your symptoms with a clear and understandable explanation of the problems and structures involved. We will then discuss and agree on a personalised treatment plan that targets the source of your problem to reduce pain and restore movement and function. This may include hands-on treatment such as soft tissue release/massage techniques, joint mobilisation and manipulation, electrotherapy and acupuncture to assist your recovery. But most importantly, you will be given self management advice and a personalised home exercise programme. The advice will empower you with the knowledge of how to effectively control and reduce your symptoms, and a personalised and progressive home exercise programme will be provided to help to increase flexibility, improve strength, and enhance function and mobility.