Movement rehabilitation, written down and handed over.
We assess what the tissue can tolerate today, build a loading plan you can actually follow, then progress it until you no longer need us. Hands-on work is used to make the exercise possible — never instead of it.
What we treat
Four kinds of problem make up most of the clinic diary. Each one is handled differently, so it is worth knowing which conversation you are walking into.
Backs, necks, shoulders and knees that have been grumbling for months. The first job is working out what makes it better and worse, not chasing a single cause. Expect graded loading, honest timelines and a plan that tolerates bad weeks.
Knee, hip, shoulder and ankle repairs where the surgeon has set the rules and the work is to meet each milestone without overshooting it. We keep to the protocol you were given and tell you which of your symptoms are expected at this stage.
Shin pain, Achilles trouble, calf tears and the mileage that caused them. We look at the training week before we look at your gait, then rebuild volume in a way that keeps you running through most of the rehab.
Headaches, stiff necks and the arm symptoms that come with long screen hours. Less about perfect posture, more about varying position, building neck and shoulder capacity, and giving you two or three things that fit inside a working day.
The pathway
We work towards you leaving. Every stage has an exit condition, and we say out loud when it has been met.
Fifty minutes. History, a physical examination, and a shared reading of what is going on. You leave with a working explanation and two or three starting exercises, not a diagnosis-shaped mystery.
First visitWritten and emailed the same day: sets, reps, how much soreness is acceptable, and what to do on a flare day. Short enough to keep in your pocket and specific enough to argue with.
Same dayReviews every two to three weeks while things are changing quickly, then spaced out. Hands-on treatment, dry needling or taping is added only when it unlocks a movement you could not otherwise load.
Weeks 2–8A maintenance version of the plan, the early signs that would justify coming back, and an open file for twelve months so a relapse does not mean starting over.
On exitSession index
Fees are per session and include the written plan, any taping used on the day, and email follow-up between visits.
A note on how we work
Hands-on treatment buys you a window. What you do inside that window is the actual rehabilitation.
Most people arrive having been told to rest, or having been given a sheet of exercises with no sense of how hard, how often, or how long. Neither helps much. So the clinic is built around one habit: measure something at the first visit, change the load, then measure it again.
That means fewer appointments than you might expect, more homework than you might like, and a plan that tells you what an acceptable amount of soreness looks like. If something outside our scope shows up, we say so plainly and help you work out who to see next.
Lead physiotherapist — Hollow Vessel
Questions
No. You can book an assessment directly. If you are claiming through an insurer, check their rules first — some still ask for a referral letter before they will reimburse, and it is easier to get that before the appointment than after.
Clothing you can move in, and that lets us see the area in question: shorts for a knee, hip or ankle problem, a vest or t-shirt for a shoulder or neck. If the problem is running-related, bring the shoes you do most of your mileage in. Any scan reports or surgical notes are useful but not essential.
Often a little, for a day or two, particularly after the first session. Soreness that settles within 24 hours and does not change how you move is expected. Pain that is sharper than when you arrived, or still worse after two days, is a sign the load was wrong — email us and we will adjust the plan rather than wait for the next appointment.
Usually not. Most musculoskeletal problems are diagnosed from history and examination, and scans frequently show changes that are present in people without any symptoms at all. We will recommend imaging when it would genuinely change the plan — for example before surgery, or when something in the examination does not fit.
For a straightforward problem, the assessment plus two or three reviews is common. Long-standing tendon problems and post-surgical rehabilitation run longer, usually across a few months with reviews spaced further apart as you take over. We will give you an estimate at the end of the first visit and revise it out loud if it changes.
Almost always, in a modified form. Complete rest tends to leave you deconditioned and no less sore. We would rather change the exercise, the range or the weight and keep you in the gym or on the road at a level the tissue tolerates.
Let us know at least 24 hours ahead by replying to your appointment email and we will move it at no charge. Later changes and missed appointments are charged at half the session fee, which keeps early and late slots available for people who are waiting on them.
Request an assessment
Send the short version. We reply with the first two or three appointment times that fit what you have described, usually within one working day.