Your First Visit
History
Before you attend the clinic you will be emailed a form asking for some personal and health details such as age, job, pain levels, injuries, surgeries, medication, etc. These can be filled in at the clinic if preferred.
Once at the clinic we will chat about why you’ve come to visit and look through the form together. I will ask questions such as where the pain is, how and when it started, what makes it feel better/worse and if you have any other associated symptoms, for example numbness, pins and needles, nausea, etc.
At this point I usually already have a good idea of what is going on, and use the examination to confirm/rule out different diagnoses
Examination
Next up I might ask you to partially undress, (things like shorts and strappy tops are great as it usually means you can keep a layer on!) or change into a gown.
I will perform some tests to find out what the cause of the pain is. This may be uncomfortable (as unfortunately I need to poke the painful bits to find out whats going on!) but not unbearable. I will ask you to act out some movements, move parts of your body myself, as well as check things such as sensation and reflexes.
By doing this I can find out whether the problem is tendon, bone, neurological, etc, and I can located where the problem is. For example pain and tingling in the hand could be coming from the neck.
Consent
Once the history and examination are done I will explain to you what I think is going on, if I can treat it, (and if so, how I will treat it), and how many treatments I think it will take. I will explain what side effects you may expect (soreness, tiredness, etc). I’ll also let you know if I think you need any further investigations such as a scan.
If you are happy to proceed with treatment then you will sign the consent form and we’ll start the treatment. Please note that consent can be withdrawn at any time.
Treatment
Most of my treatments start off with massage, I might also use needles and do some stretching.
After the muscles have had a chance to relax I will likely mobilise or manipulate the joints.
Depending on the problem I might add some sports tape at the end of the treatment.
Afterwards
Once the treatment is finished I’ll let you know when is best to come back in for you next treatment (if needed). I will also advise you on things you can do in the mean time such as ice, self-massage, and more.
After your session I put together a booklet where I draw and write down what I found in the examination, along with treatment recommendations. I’ll also pop a print out of some exercises in there which I will recommend you do once a day - however I won’t tell you off if you don’t do them as I’m terrible at doing my own exercises!