Whether your goal is to be able to walk pain free to and from your workplace or compete in a major sporting event like a triathlon or a marathon, we strive to help you attain a higher level of fitness and health than before your injury.
What does a physiotherapy session involve?
Initial consultation
Your initial appointment very much depends on why you have come to see us. The majority of our clients come for help – assessment and treatment of a specific problem such as back pain, neck pain, a sports injury, shoulder pain or knee pain, but we also offer:
- Advice – what to do while waiting for treatment for a painful condition.
- Checkup – of an ongoing problem or exercise review to ensure that you are doing the right things to help yourself.
- One-off consultation – if you don’t live near us or have funds for ongoing private on a management programme and exercises that you can do yourself at home.
More information on the most common conditions that we see.
Back and Neck Pain
Knee pain, Shoulder Pain and Hip Pain
Treatment for Sport Injuries and Sports Therapy
Aches, Pains and Sprains
Pre and Post-operative Treatment and Rehabilitation
for hip joint replacement, knee joint replacement, shoulder surgery, knee ligament repair, bunion surgery and many more operations that affect your ability to move fully and without pain.
Initial Assessment & Diagnosis.
The first thing to do is to try and find out what structure/s are contributing to your pain or symptoms. By a careful history-taking where you tell us your story of how your symptoms started, how they’ve changed over time, what helps and aggravates, etc. and answer specific questions designed to rule in or out certain structures we can get a good picture of what structures might be involved in your problem or causing your pain. Other details such as your previous medical history, previous treatments tried, medication and your work and activity levels are also discussed if relevant to your problem.
In a physical examination we then test your movement, muscle strength, nerve mobility and joint stability as appropriate. If your problem is related to specific movements such as walking or running, we may look at you performing these movements and may use photos and video analysis area to assess for swelling, tenderness, movement, temperature changes, etc. From all of these tests, we can narrow down the possible causes of your problem and a clinical diagnosis can be reached.
A proposed treatment plan is outlined if appropriate* and functional outcomes are agreed with you. Functional outcomes are the activities that you want to be able to do and can vary from running a marathon in 2 weeks’ time (or less) to going on a precooked activity holiday, to being able to manage stairs in your home. The treatment programme is always tailored individually to you and your requirements and is regularly updated during your course of treatment depending on your program.
(*If appropriate’ is used throughout the descriptive text and can be confusing to readers – in very rare cases we may see a new client that comes for physiotherapy assessment and we and we feel that they need to see a different medical professional, usually their GP or A & E, e.g. if we suspect a fracture or an infection. In such cases, we would perform an assessment but may not continue to any treatment and treatment and instead advise them as to what to do next).
How long does it take?
The initial consultation take approximately 45 minutes and usually includes treatment as well if appropriate homework may be given in the form of specific exercises, stretches or postural corrections.
A follow-up appointment can be made at the end of your initial session if you wish. Follow up appointments are generally booked for 30 minutes, but longer sessions can be arranged for complex or multi-site problems.
You are under no obligation at any time to book a follow-up appointment. Some clients only require one initial assessment to get the information and advice that they require. Others may wish to go away and see how they feel and then decide if they wish to re-book for a follow-up appointment.
Treatment options
Treatment very much depends on the findings of the assessment and the possible contributing factors identified. Techniques we use often include the following:-
Manual Therapy Techniques such as:
- Joint manipulation or mobilization ( a more gentle form of manipulation)
- Soft tissue massage
- Trigger point therapy
- Fascial release techniques
- Neural gliding techniques
- Muscle energy techniques
Other techniques can include
- Electrotherapy –ultrasound, tens or interferential therapy.
- Taping techniques to protect joints, correct posture or give feedback.
- Posture correction
- Advice on ways to change movements and habits to reduce or eliminate the pain such as during work or sports activities.
- Exercise
Exercise programmes
If you had pain for a period of time it is highly likely that some of your muscles will be affected or have become weak as a result of not being used properly. To achieve optimum longstanding or permanent results, in many cases an exercise programme is a vital component of your treatment.
This can vary from some stretching exercises that you can add to your daily routine building exercise to arouse of clinical Pilates exercises.
Some people love exercises and want as many as possible to speed their progress. Many people however have very busy lives and want to do the minimum of exercises to see a result or get rid of their pain. Our treatment plans can accommodate this sand your exercise plan can be geared to your time availability and preferences.
Constant re-evaluation
If you are having a few treatments or a course of treatment there is constant assessment and evaluation to ensure that you are making progress and that your goals continue to be met.
Referrals
You do not need a referral to sees us and can book in an appointment at time to suit you. Consultations are by appointment only. Patients can normally be seen within 24 hours of booking their appointment.
We also accept referrals from your GP, Consultant, Company Doctor or employer. We will liaise with your GP or Specialist (subject to your consent) where appropriate informing them of our findings and plans for treatment and regularly updating them on your progress.
We have an extensive network of reliable medical Consultants and Specialists in the Greater Kampala metropolitan area that we can recommend if you need further investigations, e.g. Neurologists, Neurosurgeons.
Our qualified physiotherapy specialist
In physiotherapy education there are also other routes to achieve a Specialization and further education and these are also taken into account in our recruiting process. Our main criteria in recruiting our therapists is relevant qualifications and experience, proven commitment to their continuing professional education and a passion for helping people. While all of our therapists have a generalist training, many of us have special interest areas where we have specific experience or a personal passion and further information on these can be found in our Clinic.
Physiotherapy Case Study
Potential Clients and patients often ask us about the types of conditions that we treat and can help with. We have therefore put together some case studies from our files that outline some of the cases that we have been able to help with and offer a flavour of what we do in our clinic.
30 year old architect with hip & low back pain
Symptoms
- Particularly bothersome in sitting, could not cross his legs, put shoes or socks on/off etc.
- Examination showed L5/S1 lower lumber spine reproducing hi ship pain.
Treatment
Treated with spinal mobilizations, spinal manipulation, hamstring stretches and dry needling on his hip
Outcome
Four sessions of treatment led to a full recovery.