Corporate Wellness and Musculoskeletal Specialists
Musculoskeletal and Chiropractic - Reading (UK)
Welcome to TotalMSK's website.
At TotalMSK, we look to identify and treat the root cause of your pain or aliment(s). Injuries often create pain, affect how we move and our enjoyment of day to day life. At TotalMSK a number of effective techniques are used to assess and treat you the patient. Techniques include McTimoney Chiropractic and soft tissue techniques such as Remedial Massage, Sports Massage, Gua Sha/IASTM and Dry Needling. Each type of therapy and indeed therapist is different in terms of methods of assessment and philosophy. Hence, just because in the past one has found a particular type of therapy to be ineffective, does not mean that will always be the case. TotalMSK currently operates a mobile service, offering both private practice appointments and corporate wellness, on-site, Pop-Up clinics. Patient's can be seen either in the comfort of their own home or within the workplace. Specialist, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly workplace clinics can also be arranged via your company and can run over mornings, afternoons or entire days. Further, details on Corporate Wellness and Wellbeing can be found via the Corporate Wellness Pop-Up clinics page.
Conditions successfully treated by our practitioners include:-
- Musculoskeletal pain affecting the:-
- Neck, Shoulders, Back, Ribs, Elbows, Arms, Hands, Hips, Knees and Feet.
- Joint stiffness & discomfort.
- Pubic Symphysis pain, Coccyx pain, Sacroiliac Joint (SIJ) syndrome.
- Stiffness or reduced range of motion.
- Migraine or tension headaches.
- TMJ or Jaw Pain.
- Neurological conditions.
- Disc related pain, Nerve impingements, Sciatica, Thoracic outlet syndrome, Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Sporting injuries
- Tennis elbow, Golfer's elbow, Plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, Rotator cuff injuries, Patella tracking, Bursitis, Runners/Snapping Hip/ ITB issues.
Tailored Chiropractic & Soft Tissue Treatment
Each of us is unique and this needs considering when assessing and treating. We are unique in terms of biology, social and psychological factors. Such factors affect who we are and the sorts of forces our bodies are subjected too. Tissues within the body change or adapt based on what happens to them. Some types of forces are beneficial for tissues, such as some types of exercise. That said, too much force or overuse can damage tissues and can lead to other problems. A problem in one area often leads to problems in other areas, as each part affects the next. Much like anything mechanical, when everything is working as normal there are no issues. Most people think nothing of car maintenance and know that all the parts need to work and move. If the parts are not working correctly then they start to wear incorrectly and break. It can then be expensive to fix the car, as one area affects another. The human body is not much different to a car in that respect. Unlike a car the body learns movement patterns which alter due to injury and which also need to change.
When treating the body one needs to consider a large number of factors. As a result, all new patients are thoroughly assessed prior to treatment. There are three aspects to the assessment and treatment process, which aid with better patient outcomes:-
- Patient history (Biological, Social and Psychological aspects)
- Structure and Function (Anatomy, Physiology, Biomechanics, Pathology)
- Movement Patterns (Neurological, Brain)
An initial consultation will cover the majority of these factors. The treatment and after care advice covers the other part of structure and function. Structure refers to bone and joint complexes (parts). Whereas function relates to how each part moves and how that affects the other parts. Movement patterns are more subconscious and learnt behaviour, which can adapt and change.There are lots of different therapy types which can affect structure and function. For treatment to be effective one needs to pick the most appropriate therapy type or 'tool' for the job. A therapist who has trained in lots of techniques usually has more 'tools' in the 'toolbox'. Having more 'tools' often means that it is possible to treat a wider variety of patients. This does assume that the therapist then knows how to assess and then apply the 'tools' correctly.
Training and experience teaches one that some 'tools' are better for structural changes. A McTimoney Chiropractor can treat the whole body and the technique works well on the structure. Functional issues are often treated with Sports Massage and types of Remedial Massage. There are many other soft tissue techniques including Gua Sha, Dry Needling (medical acupuncture) and Myofascial Release. Function and structure are both related and one affects the other and vice versa. Correct movement patterns need to be relearnt after treatment, to help prevent further issues. It is normal to give a patient prescriptive exercises to do as part of the treatment. Patients need to follow any aftercare advice to gain the best results. As a general rule, patients should see or feel some benefit within the first three or less treatments. If one has not seen any benefit in this time, then the chances are the therapist is not right for you. No two professionals are the same, due to individual interests and training.