What we do
During your first consultation you will be asked detailed questions and your condition will be assessed.
The cause of the disorder will be explained to you, along with an outline of what to expect from the treatment.
Emphasis is placed on preventing the problem from recurring and you will be shown how to lessen the chances of repeated injury.
Physiotherapy
It is traditionally described as the use of physical modalities with movement and exercise to treat, rehabilitate and prevent injury and illness.
Manipulation, mobilisation, massage or electrotherapy may be used alongside postural and lifestyle advice and movement.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy define Physiotherapy as helping to restore movement and function to as near normal as possible when someone is affected by injury, illness or by developmental or other disability.
Physiotherapists, often know simply as Physios, work in a wide variety of health settings such as intensive care, mental illness, stroke recovery, occupational health and care of the elderly. They combine their knowledge, skills and approach to improve a broad range of physical problems associated with different 'systems' of the body.
In particular they treat neuromuscular (brain and nervous system), musculoskeletal (soft tissues, joints and bones), cardiovascular and respiratory systems (heart and lungs and associated physiology).
People are often referred for physiotherapy by doctors or other health and social care professionals. Increasingly, as a result of changes in health care, people are referring themselves directly to physiotherapists without previously seeing any other health care professional.
Physiotherapy practice is characterised by reflective behaviour and systematic clinical reasoning, both contributing to and underpinning a problem-solving approach to patient-centred care.
Osteopathy
Osteopathy is a healthcare system that provides both diagnosis and treatment for a broad range of medical problems and conditions.
Osteopaths work holistically on the whole body and its structure and function using manual techniques to ensure that the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues are functioning effectively.
Osteopathy uses palpation (touch), soft tissue mobilisation, muscle energy techniques and physical manipulation amongst other techniques to increase mobility, reduce muscle tension and enhance the body’s inherent healing ability.
Osteopaths influence and promote blood and nerve supply through their techniques and can provide correction of altered biomechanics to enhance overall good health and wellbeing.
Sports and Remedial Massage Therapy
Sports and Remedial Massage Therapy (SRMT) uses massage and soft tissue techniques with people of all fitness levels, ages and occupations to treat conditions such as repetitive strain injuries, sprains, fatigue, tension and anxiety. With an understanding of underlying anatomy and physiology, SRMT is also used in the rehabilitation of patients following illness, injury and post operatively, helping to improve recovery times.
Manual therapy, including deep tissue manipulation, provides relief from musculoskeletal problems, improving muscle performance and joint mobility. It can also be used in the symptom control and pain management of ongoing medical conditions.
Following an initial assessment, each treatment session is tailored to the individual’s specific needs. With an emphasis on preventing future problems, our therapist will provide postural and exercise advice.
Acupuncture
Traditional acupuncture has been used for thousands of years. More recently the medical profession has established an anatomical approach to acupuncture. Disposable needles are inserted into points of the body chosen for their anatomical relevance with regard to the condition being treated. This is usually painless. The treatment is commonly used alongside other types of physiotherapy.
The British Medical Journal states that Western Acupuncture is a therapeutic modality involving the insertion of fine needles; it is an adaptation of Chinese acupuncture using current knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, and the principles of evidence based medicine. While Western Acupuncture has evolved from Chinese acupuncture, its practitioners no longer adhere to concepts such as Yin/Yang and circulation of qi, and regard acupuncture as part of conventional medicine rather than a complete “alternative medical system”. It acts mainly by stimulating the nervous system, and its known modes of action include local antidromic axon reflexes, segmental and extrasegmental neuromodulation, and other central nervous system effects. Western Acupuncture is principally used by conventional healthcare practitioners, most commonly in primary care. It is mainly used to treat musculoskeletal pain, including myofascial trigger point pain. It is also effective for postoperative pain and nausea. Practitioners of Western Acupuncture tend to pay less attention than classical acupuncturists to choosing one point over another, though they generally choose classical points as the best places to stimulate the nervous system. The design and interpretation of clinical studies is constrained by lack of knowledge of the appropriate dosage of acupuncture, and the likelihood that any form of needling used as a usual control procedure in “placebo controlled” studies may be active. Western Acupuncture justifies an unbiased evaluation of its role in a modern health service.
Orthotic Prescription
Sometimes persistent muscular skeletal problems continue to recur due to biomechanical anomalies of the feet. The provision of an appropriate Orthotic or innersole can greatly assist healing of injury and prevent their recurrence.
Prescription orthotics are medical appliances that are custom made to correct your specific foot imbalance. Orthotics work on the feet in the same way braces work on the teeth – by exerting gentle consistent pressure to bring muscles and bones back into proper alignment. They fit comfortably in shoes and are usually made of flexible moulded thermoplastic. The devices are always made from custom precise impressions taken of your feet.
Your feet are the foundation of your entire body and do an incredible amount of work each day. The smallest imbalance can cause a great deal of discomfort, but properly fitted prescription orthotics help restore the normal balance and alignment of your body and bring relief from fatigue and pain. Orthotics are so comfortable and help your feet work so naturally that you will want to wear them as much as possible.
In your shoes your feet rest comfortably on the orthotics. Your feet are gently and consistently forced into the correct functioning position for walking, running and standing. Pressure points, improper rotation of the foot, painful muscle strain and abnormal forces on the legs, hips and spine are eliminated because orthotics enable your feet to function properly.
Cranio Sacral Therapy
Cranio Sacral Therapy (CST) is an exceptionally gentle, yet powerful, therapy in which the primary aim is to create and maintain a healthy balanced state on all levels.
In doing this, CST can eliminate symptoms and their underlying causes and can enable profoundly effective treatment of a wide range of conditions.
The body has a natural desire to promote and maintain health and to counteract disease and infection. Healthy function is dependent on the free, unrestricted mobility of all body tissues and fluids. The practitioner identifies pulls twists and tensions which may be distorting or restricting the normal symmetrical rhythmic motions of the cranio sacral system. Treatment often brings on feelings of deep relaxation and warmth as the whole person, body and mind, is encouraged toward a more balanced, calm and integrated state of well being.
CST is an alternative medicine therapy used by osteopaths, massage therapists, naturopaths, and chiropractors. A craniosacral therapy session involves the therapist placing their hands on the patient, which allows them to tune into what they call the craniosacral rhythm. We use the therapy to treat mental stress, neck and back pain, migraines, TMJ Syndrome, and for chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia.
What Our Patients Say
GL Sutton ValenceI had been told about Cranio Sacral Therapy from a friend and she recommended you.
I am pleased I took up her recommendation as the service has been really good!
MB Hurst GreenI was a bit sceptical about acupuncture but the pain I was experiencing made me give it a try.
Thank goodness I did – the results have been beyond my expectations.
