At your first consultation and treatment, I will tell you exactly what the nature of your injury or problem is, and how I will treat it. This will include your advice on Home Treatment, Suggested Exercises and how many times you will have to attend (and how often) to resolve the particular injury or problem you have. I will work with you to get you back to full recovery as quickly as possible, and back to a pain free and enjoyable life.

Some treatments are more suitable for certain age groups, and other treatments more suitable for certain conditions (Depending upon the nature of the problem) but I will tailor your treatment to your particular problem to achieve the quickest recovery in the shortest possible time.

After your problem has been diagnosed your treatment will comprise of some or all of the following types of treatments:

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Soft tissue massage can be used to prepare an area for treatment, or to relax an area after treatment. This involves using the hands and application of a little oil to help eliminate any swelling; improve circulation; remove toxins; relax tense muscles and soothe pain. This is quite useful if the patient is very young or very old, where the use of a deeper treatment would not be well tolerated.

Quite often you will find that some muscles have tightened up in response to the injury in that area or just because they are the cause of the pain or injury. To assist the recovery process these muscles can be gently stretched to help movement in and around the joints and limbs, which will help to relax the area and reduce pain induced by these tight muscles. This treatment is quite helpful in sporting injuries where the patient is in normally in good health apart from this particular episode of injury.

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If any of the spinal joints have been misaligned or dislodged, or the joints are trapping some nerves, then the associated joints may need putting back into place. This is achieved with a gentle push against the joint and often associated with an audible "click" as the joint goes back into its correct position. This procedure (although only used with some patients) is often the one that causes most concern..."Will it hurt?" I am asked. This manipulation of the joints is performed with great care and delicacy, and only if it is necessary and suitable for that particular patients problem. At the most there may be a little discomfort as the joint pops back in, and even then, in most cases it is completely painless.

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I use the application of mild electric currents to a treatment area and/or the use of therapeutic ultrasound to help the healing process. This is used in some cases of sports or work injury where the problem is resistant to other therapies. This is also very useful if the patient is in great pain and cannot be easily moved without causing pain. Electro-Therapy is very gentle and very helpful in cases where other therapies cannot be used.

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Most recoveries can be speeded up, if the patient is prepared to do some treatment at home (A bit of homework if you like) I usually advise my patients on what activities they can do without worry, and what activities they should avoid to assist this process. This may include a bit of self-massage (or preferably getting your partner to do this for you), the application of ice packs to the affected area to control any inflammation, or occasionally using heat to improve the circulation and soothe pain.

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Some injuries will benefit from specific exercises to increase the movement of a joint or help to stretch out an area of muscle that is very tense, tight or contracted. Depending upon the injury that you have, I may prescribe some specific exercises that target the affected muscles and will help to rehabilitate them quickly.

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