Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy: The Ultimate Guide

You might take some comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. Millions of people across the world have musculoskeletal conditions that can prevent them from living life the way they want.

The good news is that musculoskeletal physiotherapy can help reduce pain, alleviate your symptoms, and get you back on the road to recovery.

In this ultimate guide to musculoskeletal physiotherapy, we’re going to provide you with everything you need to know about this important area of physiotherapy, including:

1. What is musculoskeletal physiotherapy?
2. How to treat the most common sports injuries with physiotherapy
3. Physiotherapy advice for knee pain
4. Children’s physiotherapy: All you should know
5. CK Physio: Your manual therapy clinic in London

What is musculoskeletal physiotherapy treatment? 

Physiotherapy is a broad area of healthcare and can help patients effectively manage and recover from a wide range of neurological, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal conditions.

Musculoskeletal physiotherapy is a specialised area of physiotherapy that solely focuses on conditions affecting your muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons.

So, if you’re suffering from a sprain, strain, fracture, repetitive strain injury, or suffer from arthritis, for example - you’ll want to see a physiotherapist who has expertise and experience in musculoskeletal physiotherapy.

The aim of musculoskeletal physiotherapy is to alleviate pain and ensure fast, effective recovery or better management of chronic conditions. It restores normal function and range of motion so you can get back to normal everyday life and the activities you enjoy.

The techniques that a musculoskeletal physiotherapist might use are likely to include manual therapies such as joint mobilisation, manipulation, and massage. It's also possible that personalised exercise programs are recommended to help strengthen muscles and improve your flexibility.

Your physiotherapist might also provide education and advice about how to manage your condition and prevent any injuries from reoccurring - especially if they stem from having incorrect technique in certain sports, or poor ergonomics in your working environment.

In certain circumstances, depending on the severity of your condition, more innovative techniques, such as electrotherapy or shockwave therapy, might be recommended.

The benefits of a musculoskeletal physiotherapy treatment

When you visit a licensed physiotherapist with your musculoskeletal issues, the first thing they are likely to do is conduct a thorough assessment of your injury or condition, so they can develop an individualised treatment plan based on your unique needs and circumstances.

If musculoskeletal physiotherapy forms part of your treatment plan, you can anticipate a number of different benefits:

Pain reduction

Through techniques like joint mobilisation, soft tissue manipulation, electrotherapy, and shockwave therapy, your physiotherapist is likely to be able to provide you with immediate relief from any pain you might be experiencing.

Improved mobility and function

Tailored exercises can help strengthen weak muscles, improve joint flexibility, and develop more stability in joints, so you can enjoy everyday life more.

Injury prevention

As part of your musculoskeletal physiotherapy your physiotherapist might identify issues with your posture, workplace ergonomics, or your technique and form when playing sport that might be contributing to your condition.

Or it may be the case that weaknesses in certain areas of your body are making you more predisposed to injury.

Your physiotherapist might use a combination of tailored physiotherapy exercises and education to help you prevent future recurrences of your condition.

Enhanced sporting performance

If you're a keen athlete, musculoskeletal physiotherapy can also help you achieve and maintain peak performance.

Techniques such as agility exercise and plyometrics can help improve your speed, power, and endurance so you're always performing at your best.

How to treat the most common sports injuries with physiotherapy

Whether you play sports at a professional level or just to keep yourself fit -  if you compete for any length of time, you’re bound to pick up an injury at some point.

If it's a mild strain or sprain, you might be able to self-treat your injury with rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

But for any injury that is more severe, it's important to get the right medical attention so you can have a full, fast and effective recovery.

Let's take a look at some of the most common sporting injuries that we treat in our West London clinic:

Torn ACL

If you play dynamic sports that involve sudden stops or changes in direction, you're more at risk of ACL injuries.

This can be quite a serious condition, with a long rehabilitation process that might involve surgery in the most severe cases.

But the majority of ACL tears that we see it is often treated with physiotherapy techniques to improve strength, flexibility, and stability in your knee and the supporting muscles in your quads and hamstrings

Runner's knee

If you're a keen and regular runner, you might experience symptoms of runner's knee - also known as patellofemoral pain syndrome.

This is often caused by a combination of overtraining and poor running technique and can be treated in various ways, including custom orthotics, strengthening exercises, and education about correct running form.
Golfer's elbow and tennis elbow
Both of these conditions are caused by repetitive stress on the tendons in your elbow.

Less severe cases may be suitable for treatment with the RICE method at home, but manual therapy, stretching, and strengthening exercises under the supervision of a licensed musculoskeletal physiotherapist can often be beneficial.

Sprains and muscle strains

Sprains and strains are the most common types of sporting injury, but it's important not to underestimate their impact on everyday life or assume that they don't require medical attention.

If you're struggling to bear weight on a sprained ankle or you notice severe swelling around the affected area - speak to your GP or physiotherapist. Getting the right diagnosis and the right course of treatment can help you achieve a full recovery faster. 

Physiotherapy advice for knee pain

If you've ever suffered from a knee injury or had persistent knee pain, you'll understand how debilitating it can be.

Isolating the root cause of knee pain can sometimes be challenging, as sources of pain can relate to issues with your tibia, femur, patella, or any of the ligaments, tendons, or muscles surrounding your knee.

This is why any recurring knee pain should be taken to your GP or physiotherapist to make sure you get the correct diagnosis and treatment.

At CK Physiotherapy, we take a four-stage approach to musculoskeletal physiotherapy for knee pain to help you get back on the road to recovery. 

Initial consultation

We’ll start off by discussing your symptoms, your medical history, your lifestyle,  and when you first started noticing the symptoms of your knee condition.

We’ll also ask if you can pinpoint the specific cause of your injury or if it has developed gradually over time.

Physical assessment

By assessing the strength, sensitivity and range of motion of your knee, and observing how different movements impact the pain you experience - in most cases we’ll be able to get to the root cause of your condition.

Tailored treatment plan

After your physical assessment, we’ll devise an individualised treatment plan to relieve pain and get you on the road to recovery.

With the complexity of some knee conditions and the importance of your knee joint for enabling you to move freely, it’s likely that you might need follow-up appointments with your physiotherapist to assess progress and make any adjustments to your treatment plan.

Ongoing exercises for knee pain

As part of your musculoskeletal physiotherapy treatment plan, your physiotherapist is also likely to advise some exercises you can complete at home to help you strengthen your knee and improve flexibility. 

Common physiotherapy exercises that are recommended include:

• Knee extensions
• Mini squats
• Leg extensions
• Straight leg raises
• Knee straightening
• Knee bends

Children’s physiotherapy: All you should know

If you're a parent or carer, you'll appreciate how important it is for your child to get the best possible care if they're suffering from physical pain from a musculoskeletal issue or have a condition that impacts their movement.

Children's physiotherapy, also known as paediatric physiotherapy focuses on alleviating your child's pain, aiding their physical development, and improving their overall wellbeing so they can fully enjoy life.

Children's physiotherapy can treat a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions, including sprains and strains, sports injuries, scoliosis, developmental dysplasia, and the symptoms of juvenile arthritis.

One of the biggest questions you’re likely to have as a parent or carer is whether paediatric physiotherapy is safe. The good news is that if you choose a chartered, licensed physiotherapist with experience and expertise in children’s physiotherapy - your child’s health is in safe hands.

A good children’s physiotherapist will work closely with children, parents and other healthcare providers that might be involved to make sure that any physiotherapy treatments are suitable for your child and complementary to a holistic approach to their care.

Children’s musculoskeletal physiotherapy needs to be carefully tailored so it’s engaging and age-appropriate and is likely to include a combination of physiotherapy techniques, including:

• Core stability exercises
• Flexibility exercises
• Hydrotherapy
• Manual therapies
• Movement and exercise
• Postural education

Parents and carers also play a huge part in achieving successful outcomes from children’s physiotherapy, with your physiotherapist likely 

CK Physio: Your manual therapy clinic in London

Whatever your age, background, or nature of injury, CK Physiotherapy has the experience and expertise to help you overcome the challenges of your musculoskeletal condition and reclaim your quality of life.

If knee pain Is impacting your enjoyment of everyday life, our physiotherapists will develop a personalised treatment plan to alleviate your pain and help you regain freedom of movement.

If you’ve received a sporting injury, we can help you achieve a full and fast recovery so you can get back to doing what you love. We can also provide advice to help you avoid injuries reoccurring and optimise your sporting performance.

Our expertise in children's physiotherapy enables us to develop engaging and age-appropriate treatment plans to help your child overcome physical injury or developmental issues.

Our West London Clinic is fully equipped with the latest Innovations in physiotherapy technology, including shockwave therapy and electrotherapy machines.

However, the majority of musculoskeletal conditions that we help patients to overcome can be successfully treated with education and manual therapies such as joint mobilisation, soft tissue manipulation, massage, and tailored exercise programmes.