Patient Information Leaflet
Unable to do the things you enjoy? Taking time off work?
Pain, stiffness, weakness – these symptoms can get in the way. A visit to Belfast Pilates & Physiotherapy can make all the
difference. We are Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists.
What is Musculoskeletal (MSK)
Physiotherapy?
Musculoskeletal physiotherapy involves the assessment and treatment of
muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, joints, nerves and other structures in order to:
- improve your movement and strength
- help you to do more of your normal activities
- help you to understand and manage your condition.
Private physiotherapy offers you flexible appointments and provides professional
assessment and treatment to ease your symptoms, leaving you free to get on with life.
You can visit us without a Doctor’s referral. Physiotherapists are skilled in diagnosis and experts
in rehabilitation. Some patients have insurance that will cover part or all of the costs of their
physiotherapy treatment, depending on the terms of their policy. We as members of the
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy are subject to their code of professional conduct. Our
Sports Rehabilitator Orlaith is regulated by BASRAT. This requires members to maintain
the highest standards of professional practice and guarantees that they are fully insured. All
Physiotherapists are also regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council and
required to update and improve their skills on a regular basis. We can assure that you are in
safe hands.
About your appointment
To book an appointment you can access online booking 24hrs a day from our website or the
physiotherapy section on the Belfast Pilates APP. No payment is taken on booking.
Alternatively our receptionist Holli is on the phones 8.30am – 5.30pm Mondays and 8.30am
– 2.30pm Tuesday and Thursdays (excluding holidays). Our number is 028 9047 1122. You
can leave a voice mail at all other times and one of our team will ring you at the end of their
clinic. If you need to cancel or change your appointment, this can be done from your online
booking or by ringing reception. There is no charge if there is more than 24 hours notice.
We do charge full clinic fee for any appointments cancelled within 24 hours of the
appointment.
There is limited parking at front of the clinic and we have 1 accessible parking space right at
the front door. There is plenty of on street and car parking on Parkgate, Grampian Avenues
and Madison Avenue East by the Health Center.
If Holli is on front desk she will tell you which floor to wait on for your appointment. If she is
not there please be guided by the screen in ground floor reception to where your
physiotherapist is working. The name of your physio will be on your booking confirmation
and reminder emails. If in any doubt wait in ground floor reception area and your physio will
look for you.
Appointments last 30mins. We’ll want to conduct a thorough assessment. This includes
discussing your medical history, your current physical abilities, pain levels, and the specific
circumstances of your injury or condition, if applicable. We’ll ask you about aggravating and
relieving factors. We’ll ask you if there are any patterns to your pain. We’ll want to know any
serious medical problems in the past. We may ask you what medication you are taking. And
we’ll definitely want to know how the pain started, and how long it has been there. All of
these things help us to build a picture to come to a diagnosis. Consent is important, so at
this point if you do not want to proceed, just let your physio know. Children under 13 need
someone with parental responsibility to consent for them. 13-16 year old can consent for
themselves if deemed competent to do so by their parent and therapist. Everything you tell
us is confidential.
It is advisable to wear loose clothing e.g. shorts, t-shirt or vest top as we may ask you to
remove some clothes to make it easier for the physiotherapist to assess you. It is
absolutely ok to bring these items to change into either during the session or we do have
changing rooms on the ground floor.
Your physiotherapist may conduct a physical examination to assess your posture,
movement, and physical capabilities. This could involve testing your flexibility, strength,
balance, joint mobility, and other relevant physical characteristics. This examination helps
them understand your physical function and limitations. We may try to replicate your pain, so
we can understand the biomechanics of your problem. We may want to palpate your joints or
muscles. We may do special tests on you, which usually involve moving a joint to a particular
range of movement. This helps us to form a diagnosis.
We’ll aim to form a diagnosis with all the parts of the puzzle. We’ll explain to you what we
think is going on. We’ll talk through with you options, through a process of shared decision
making. If we are unable to form a diagnosis, we may need to get further information such as
information from your last blood test, scans, or X-rays. We are happy to write letters for you
to take to your GP should further medical investigation be advised. But in most cases, we
can form a clear diagnosis and create a treatment plan.
Most patients want hands-on treatment, or rehab. We always try to offer patients what we
reason is best for their recovery using evidence based practice.
Often, we will give you exercises to do at home to help your progress. They will make sure
you understand how to do them correctly to prevent further injury. We use Physiotec
programmes which we email to you with pictures and videos to remind you what to do at
home.
We need you to do the exercises so you actively affect the structures causing your problem,
in-between appointments.
The goal of your physiotherapist is to help you get better, and they are there to support you.
We do our best to help you.
As well as assessing and treating injuries we run 50+ clinical pilates classes from beginner
level to advanced and Reformer classes. Often we will advise our classes to continue your
rehabilitation when physiotherapy has finished. This helps with the ongoing management of
your injury and you health and well being in general working on your joint range and muscle
strength and flexibility. This acts a prevention of injury for the future.
So whether you have pain / discomfort from sitting too much for work or injury from a
sporting mishap, or postural related issues… we are here to help.
