Physical Rehabilitation Therapy

Initial Assessment

At your initial physical rehabilitation therapy assessment, every attempt is made to diagnose the precise anatomical and pathological cause of your problem.

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As with any branch of medicine, diagnosis depends on careful clinical assessment, which consists of obtaining a history, physical examination, and appropriate investigations.

At your first appointment we will take a complete history of your problem.

This is often the most important part of the assessment as it gives us an idea of the exact nature of the problem and how it affects you.

Once a history has been taken we will perform a physical examination.  This will involve detailed assessment of individual muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and joints. Specifically we are looking for:

• Muscle weaknesses and imbalances
• Joint restrictions
• Muscles tightness
• Trigger points
• Abnormal nerve tension, reflex’s or sensation
• Abnormal biomechanics
• Integrity of ligaments and tendons

Once we have completed the history and physical examination we will be able to provide you with an accurate diagnosis.

If required we may recommend further investigations (MRI/ X-ray etc) to confirm the diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis is essential to providing precise treatment.

For an initial assessment we ask patients to allocate an hour.  Usually we are also able to start you on some treatment at the first appointment.

Follow up Physical Rehabilitation Therapy Consultation

We usually allocate about ½ an hour for follow-up consultations.  This will include a review of how you have managed between sessions and progression of treatment.

Physical Rehabilitation Therapy Treatment techniques may include:

• Joint mobilising
• Joint manipulation
• Neural mobilising and stretching
• Massage, muscle release work
• Muscle stretching and strengthening
• Electrotherapy – Ultrasound, Biofeedback, Electrical muscle stimulation
• Acupuncture and dry needling

The treatment received is entirely dependant on the exact problem. For example, it is a complex problem of muscle imbalance, combined with joint tightness, and adverse neural tension then time will be spent in the treatment room addressing some problems with manual therapy, electrotherapy, or dry needling (acupuncture).

Block sessions of Physical Rehabilitation Therapy

Different problems have different time frames. Some problems resolve after 1-2 sessions, while others require 10-12 sessions.