What is physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy may be best described as the treatment of physical ails by physical means. Just like seeing your doctor who has studied medicine, they may give you medication to help with your problem or if you go and see a surgeon, they will undertake surgery.

A physiotherapist will use physical techniques to help improve your pain, stiffness, weakness or loss of function, by means of many things including exercises, stretches, movement advice and manual therapy including massage and joint manipulation.

Why choose physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy is a respected, structured and highly trained profession, standing out amongst the raft of other musculoskeletal therapies. We follow a minimum of a 3-year degree course where our training is within large universities and teaching hospitals.

We follow the medical profession very closely in its ideology, academic structure and ethos. We are all members of the HCPC, the same as other mainstream medical practitioners.

Because our training is so complete within the hospital and university system, physiotherapists are the go-to people for all musculoskeletal disorders from hip and knee replacements, back pain and spinal surgery to ACL reconstructions. Physiotherapists are the most qualified and experienced experts for musculoskeletal disorders you can see.

Whether it’s helping your aged relative with their hip replacement or a professional footballer who breaks their leg, you can guarantee it will be a physiotherapist picking them up from the start of their injury, treating and rehabilitating them back to full health and fitness.

You will find no other manual therapists working within orthopaedic wards, professional sports clubs, emergency departments and main hospital clinics who are more capable in having the right expertise to deal with such a variety of conditions.

Of course, there are other allied professionals such as osteopaths and chiropractors working in the private sector, these professions simply do not get the training, experience and exposure that physiotherapists get.

If you browse through the list of specialist clinicians and conditions we treat within PhysioNet Bristol, you cannot help but be impressed by the range of experience the physiotherapists have from working with England Rugby, premier league football and being part of the GB Olympic medical staff.

Physiotherapists are the go-to people for musculoskeletal conditions. PhysioNet Bristol are the go-to people, the elite physiotherpaists in Bristol, Bath, North and Central Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

How to find a physio?

PhysioNet Bristol is a simple and easy to use directory to help find a physio near you.

To connect you with a specialised physiotherapist clinic use our find a physio tool or watch our video below to explain more.