FAQ - Xcel Health

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FAQ's

X: Of course, we understand that physiotherapy is a big step and you want to be sure before committing. Please call us on 01795 606066 or email us at [email protected] to book a free discovery visit.

X: When you ring up to book an appointment, the reception team will explain all of this to you over the phone. You never have to remove lots of items of clothing. To make your experience as comfortable as possible, we recommend that you think about the location of the injured body part. For example, if you have a lower back injury, then shorts and a loose vest would be ideal. Your physio will always aim to remove as little clothing as possible and never ask you to remove clothing that completely exposes a large part of your body. Occasionally we may ask you to remove something if it makes it easier to treat. Of course, we leave the choice to you if you are happy to do this.

X: If the truth be told, the majority of those appointments take place over the phone or via video link. Shocking, but unfortunately very true. Whilst they will give you exercises to help you manage your condition; it is unlikely that you will get the hands-on style of treatment that you really need.

X: No, not at all. As a physio, the pain is just a symptom of the injury. I’m more concerned with finding out what causes the pain in the first place. If your injury is a couple of weeks old, then one of two things is happening: Either the joints or muscles are locked stiff or jammed in one place, so that every time you make a certain movement or get to a certain point, they don’t want to move anymore and this is what causes you pain. Or, the muscles have become inflexible and weak and this means that you could be heading for longer term problems.

X: When you are being treated, we will stop when the pain starts, so you are always in control. Unfortunately, pain is often a side effect of physio that is unavoidable. Most patients concede that this is a nice sort of pain (as if that exists!) as it is doing them good and they are in no worse pain than they were before! The pain does reduce as the treatment progresses. I will always advise ice and heat if it is sore the next day as this can often soothe it.

X: Often this is massage combined with the stretching and loosening of joints and muscles. Throw in an exercise regime and advice to improve posture or positioning and you pretty much have the majority of what will happen.

X: Yes, we can help, but we cannot cure arthritis nor make it go away. We can however, help you to manage the symptoms it causes. Many people come to see me past the age of 45, suffering from pain and stiffness of the joints or wear and tear of areas such as the knee or ankle.

X: A physiotherapist looks for a cure to your issue and we aim to help you as much as we can to ensure that you will not need to constantly come and see us. A physiotherapist will work out a plan of care which is individual to you, so that we can work together to stop your issue from happening again. We use similar techniques to osteopaths and chiropractors, such as the manipulation of your spine, but we also use massage and stretching. I believe that the combination of that plus exercises and posture correction will first reduce your pain in the first instance but also help you to manage your pain in the future and avoid you having to come back to us frequently. Osteopaths and chiropractors are both fantastically effective at reducing back pain and many of the good ones will even refer their patients to a physio for massage and exercises.

X: Often within days if you need an emergency appointment. Please let us know if this is the case and we will do our very best to accommodate you as soon as possible, sometimes even within 24 hours.

X: Whilst I have the utmost respect for GPs and the amazing work that they do, there are often a few common reasons why physiotherapy is often not recommended. Many GPs do not like the idea of a Private Health Sector, so they do not go out of their way to recommend anything that can be done privately. Some GPs do not want to add to the waiting times of the already overworked NHS by adding their own referrals. Most GPs are not trained in the benefits of what somebody can achieve through physiotherapy. They are able to help the patient manage the pain (usually through medication), but their expertise lies elsewhere. This is quite shocking, but unfortunately often true.

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