What kinds of treatment might I receive?

The treatment the Physiotherapist selects will be based on the clinical findings during your assessment. These may include:-

Manual therapy e.g. joint or spinal mobilisation/manipulation, soft tissue techniques

Electrotherapeutic modalities e.g.

• Ultrasound - which uses high frequency sound waves to treat injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments and other soft tissues. This can provides pain relief and accelerates the healing process by stimulating circulation and cellular activity
• Laser - which facilitates the delivery of concentrated light energy deep into the tissues. This stimulates healing in certain tissues, relieves pain, and reduces inflammation and swelling
• TENS (transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) which is used to relieve pain by inhibiting the passage of pain signals to the brain. The units are ‘pocket size' and portable and so can be worn by patients during daily activity. This can usually reduce or eliminate the need for pain medication.
• Interferential therapy uses two medium frequency currents which interact in the tissues to produce a variety of effects. This modality may be used to reduce pain and spasm, increase local blood flow and decrease swelling.

Acupuncture is used to stimulates the brain via the nerves in skin and muscle, and thus stimulates the body's own healing and pain relieving chemicals which aid recovery by enhancing the body's ability to ‘self repair'

(See our section on acupuncture for more details)

Prescription Exercises which are tailored to your individual needs are generally used as part of your treatment or to supplement the effects of other treatments being used. Exercises may be designed to

• strengthen muscles
• mobilise joints
• stretch tight tissues,
• increase stamina and fitness
• improve balance and co-ordination
• improve core stability