FAQs

Initial session. Initial Physiotherapy Consultation and Treatment Session (approx. 45 minutes duration.

Follow up session. Follow-up Physiotherapy Treatment Sessions (approx. 30 minutes duration or more depending on the injury.) 

A chartered physiotherapist is a qualified member of their professional body, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).

Through this membership they have committed themselves to providing high quality services and protecting the quality of physical treatments. 

Chartered physiotherapists have:

Registered and fulfilled the high standards of professional practice described by the Health and Care Professional Council. 

Yes - both of our physiotherapists are registered with the CSP and the HCPC.

Alan Smith Physiotherapy Limited is recognised by the major private health insurance companies for physiotherapy treatment. Sometimes, a patient has to be referred by their GP or specialist in order to claim the cost of their physiotherapy treatment through their private medical insurance. 

Firstly, make an appointment to see the physiotherapist for a consultation and you will then be advised of the appropriate action to take.

Special questions to check with the insurance company are: 

Is there an excess on the policy? i.e. the policy holder has to pay for part of the treatment themselves. 

• How much insurance cover is available? e.g. set number of treatments or monetary limit. 

• Is the financial assistance provided for physiotherapist treatment alone or is it part of an overall sum for specialist services? This is important if a consultant is involved or if further investigations are being considered. 

• Is there a time limit for the treatment to take place? 

In certain instances, with some insurance companies, Alan Smith Physiotherapy Limited will invoice the insurance company directly. If you wish for the clinic to provide the service, it is important that you bring all of your insurance membership details and authorisation details with you to your first appointment. If your insurance company does not cover your treatment charges in full, any outstanding amount will be due from you as our client. 

• You do not need a letter of referral from your doctor but if you have one i.e. GP or consultant please bring it with you. 
• Your full insurance details and claim number, if you wish us to claim fees directly from your private health insurers and you have notified them of your claim. 
• Any x-rays or scan results that you may have relating to your injury or condition.
• You might want to bring a pair of shorts with you (we do keep spare shorts in the clinic) and/or a vest-type top depending on the injury.

A chaperone is more than welcome to attend appointments with you. 

This usually depends on factors such as: 

• How long you’ve had a problem 

• The severity of your symptoms and condition 

• What you want to be able to do. For example, a person wishing to get back to training for a specific sport or event may require a longer course of treatment for a knee injury than a sedentary office-worker. 

A fairly standard course of physiotherapy would be 3-5 treatment sessions but this can vary considerably. 

A person seeking advice on what they should and shouldn’t be doing in relation to their condition or problem might just attend for 1-2 sessions to be shown some specific exercises to do themselves at home and receive some general management advice for their condition. Similarly, an individual with a relatively minor injury might just need a few treatments to assess their condition and alleviate their symptoms. At the other end of the scale, a patient receiving treatment post-operatively or for a condition that has been present for some time may require treatment over a longer period to see them through to full rehabilitation. 

Soft tissues injuries heal quicker and with better quality when treated from the acute stage onwards.  The importance of early diagnosis and treatment is immeasurable.  Therefore, our availability is as follows. We endeavour to see URGENT cases within 24 hours, day time, evening and weekend appointments are available on request. If you have recently had surgery, your Consultant should advise you on when is best to start your physiotherapy. 

If you are still unsure please give us a call and we can advise you. Alternatively, you can book a callback through this website. 

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We get this query a lot especially from people who are just passing by the clinic and haven’t received a specific recommendation. 

We generally advise people that if they have a specific pain or injury, they might benefit from seeing the Physiotherapist first for a full assessment, diagnosis and treatment. The Physiotherapist will then refer on to the Massage Therapist if they think that this is appropriate. 

If the problem is tired or tense muscles, fairly generalised without a specific pain feature, often the Massage Therapist may be the most appropriate therapist to see in the first instance. 

There are many reasons for choosing to see a private Physiotherapist such as: 

• Being able to see someone more quickly if you are in pain or need to know what to do to optimise your recovery and not aggravate any symptoms that you are having. If it is URGENT, we will endeavour to see you the same day or within 24 hours. 
• Arranging an appointment time to suit you to fit in with your work or other commitments. We offer early morning, evening and weekend appointment times. 
• Receiving a more hands-on approach to your treatment including treatments such as manual therapy and soft tissue release treatments which are often not available on the NHS due to time constraints. 
• Being able to choose your physiotherapist and know how much experience and post-graduate qualifications they have. Both our Physiotherapists are highly experienced and also have further post-graduate qualifications.

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