Physiotherapy (MSK & ESP)

Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy relates to physiotherapy of the muscular and skeletal system, involving the muscles, tendons, bones, joints, nerves, ligaments and cartilage. Our team provides assessment, diagnosis and treatment for patients with musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.

Type

Adult Services - MSK Physiotherapy & ESP

Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy relates to physiotherapy for the injured and/or problematic areas of the muscular and skeletal (MSK) system.This includes;

  • Muscles and Tendons
  • Joints, Ligaments and Cartilage
  • Fractures / Broken Bones
  • Nerves

As a team we aim to promote, restore and maintain your physical capabilities, function and wellbeing, by providing specific advice and treatment to help you improve your function, return to your activities, and improve and maintain your quality of life.

Here at NHFT our physiotherapists are highly skilled, independent practitioners; each specialising in their own areas of further learning and specific skill sets.

Who is this service for? Adults and Young people aged 12 years old or older, requiring assessment, diagnosis and treatment for musculoskeletal conditions.

How to access this service You should see your GP if you think you would benefit from our service. You can also sign up with us directly if it is not to do with your neck or back, by completing a self-referral form. 

Before your GP asks us to see you, they will first attempt to resolve the problem using pain relief medication and basic exercises. 

Contact us

Patient Contact Centre

For any enquires relating to;

  • Self-referring
  • Booking/cancelling/rescheduling appointments
  • Questions for your physiotherapist.

Phone: 0330 555 6789

Email: northants.pcc@nhs.net

 

Refer yourself

Postal/printable self-referral

You may refer yourself for this service (unless it is related to your neck or back, hands/wrists or feet) by sending a completed referral form to the Patient Contact Centre by email northants.pcc@nhs.net. Download our referral form here:  Self referral form MSK Physio 

Online self-referral

You may refer yourself for this service (unless it is related to your neck or back, hands/wrists or feet) by sending a completed referral form to the Patient Contact Centre via our online self-referral form, you can fill out this online form by clicking below:

Self referral form for MSK physiotherapy services

Your care

We aim to

  1. Provide you with a better understanding of your problem
  2. Provide you with treatment to help resolve your physical problems
  3. Allow you to better manage your problem day-to-day
  4. Allow you to feel more confident whilst living with your problem
  5. Support you to live a less limited life.

During Your Appointment — the initial conversation

The most underrated part of the assessment— It gives us the foundations to build a thorough assessment on.

We want to know:

  1. What the problem is
  2. How the problem is affecting you
  3. What you have been through
  4. How you want us to help you
  5. What you want to achieve with physiotherapy.

This allows us to build a picture of everything that has come before to make the next steps as effective as possible. 

During Your Appointment — the assessment

We use this part of the assessment to confirm our diagnoses from the questions we have previously asked.

On completion of the assessment, we will:

  • Fully explain our findings and your problem
  • Explain the possible options for treatment

This allows YOU to be involved in each step of this assessment and allows us to provide the most successful and personalised treatment possible, based on the best and most recent clinical evidence and their own clinical experience.

To fully assess and observe how a joint / area of your body is working, there is a potential we will ask you to undress that area of the body. If you don’t feel comfortable to do so, please let us know!

Check yourself

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) forms in the deep veins in your body, usually in your legs.

It is important to prevent a DVT if possible, and to watch for early signs and symptoms.

Symptoms

DVT:

  • Pain/tenderness
  • Swelling
  • Discoloration (bluish, purplish or reddish skin)
  • Warmth
  • Numbness/tingling
  • Can also be present with no symptoms.

Pulmonary Embolism (PE) - A potentially life-threatening complication of deep vein thrombosis (DVT):

  • Shortness of breath
  • Chest pain (which may be worse with deep breath)
  • Unexplained cough (may cough up blood)
  • Unexplained rapid heart rate.

Caused when part of the blood clot breaks off and lodges in the lung. 

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should seek urgent medical attention at your GP or A&E at your local hospital.

Risk factors

Immobility:

  • Hospitalization
  • Being paralyzed
  • Prolonged sitting.

Surgery and Trauma:

  • Major surgery
  • Bony Fractures / Casts
  • Catheter in a big veins.

 Increased oestrogens:

  • Birth controls
  • Pregnancy and Post Pregnancy
  • Hormone therapy.

Medical conditions:

  • Cancer and chemotherapy
  • Heart failure
  • Inflammatory disorders
  • Blood clotting disorders.

Other risk factors:

  • Previous blood clot
  • Family history of clots
  • Clotting disorders
  • Obesity
  • Older age
  • Cigarette smoking
  • Varicose veins.

Prevention

  • Regular activity
  • Take regular breaks to stretch your legs and move around
  • If your legs tend to swell, raise your legs regularly
  • Do not smoke
  • Avoid prolonged pressure on the back of the knee.
  • Stay hydrated
  • Maintain an ideal body weight.

If you are hospitalized or planning for surgery, you may be given a blood-thinning medication (anticoagulant) or special stockings designed to prevent blood clots.

Make sure you discuss your own family history and risk factors for developing a clot with a doctor.

 

Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES)

 

CES is a rare but serious back condition. It can lead to permanent damage or disability. You will need to be seen by an urgently by an Emergency Specialist Spinal Team.

Symptoms

  • Loss of feeling/pins and needles between your inner thighs or genitals
  • Numbness in or around your back passage or buttocks
  • Altered feeling when using toilet paper to wipe yourself
  • Increasing difficulity to urinate
  • Increasing difficulty when you try to stop your flow or urine
  • Loss of senseation when you pass urine
  • Leaking urine or recnet need to use pads
  • Not knowing when your bladder is either full or empty
  • Inability ot stop a bowel movement or leaking
  • Loss of sensation when you pass a bowel movement
  • Change in ability to achieve erection or ejaculate
  • Loss of sensation in genitals during sexual intercourse. 

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should seek urgent medical attention at your GP or A&E at your local hospital.

 

 

 

Surgical wounds

Most surgical wounds heal up rapidly without and problems. However, a minority of surgical wounds do become infected. This occurs when germs enter the cut that the surgeon makes through your skin in order to carry out the operation.

Many germs live in and on our bodies and also in our environment. Most are harmless or even useful. Our bodies have natural defences against the germs that can cause harm. Our skin normally prevents germs from entering our bodies, but any break in the skin (whether due to injury or surgical incision) can allow them to enter and cause an infection.

URGENT: Any suspected infection should be taken seriously. If it is left untreated it can progress into a much more serious problem.

Signs and Symptoms

  • The skin round your wound gets red or sore or it feels hot and swollen
  • Your wound has a fluid discharge, often green or yellow coloured pus
  • Your wound opens up
  • You feel generally unwell or feverish, or you have a temperature.

If you experience any of the above symptoms, you should seek urgent medical attention at your GP or A&E at your local hospital.

ESP

Did you know an Extended scope practitioner (ESP) is a clinical physiotherapy specialist with an extended scope of practice.

This involves working beyond the recognised scope of physiotherapy practice by:

  • requesting investigations e.g. ultrasound scans/nerve conduction studies
  • using investigations to assist clinical diagnosis
  • organising further management of patients; listing for surgery and referring to other professionals.

Important information

Don't worry about what you read in MRI reports

When you have a scan the report will always show "stuff“ (disc bulges / degeneration / dehydration and facet joint degeneration) however research has shown this is rarely linked with pain.

People who have never had low back pain also have “stuff” on an MRI, the “Stuff” can create a lot of worry that can distract from helpful activities like exercise. These things are normal parts of the aging process – like grey hairs or wrinkles.

A scan is only essential if serious disease is suspected.

 

Don't be put off by common terminology

You may have heard the terms;

  • "out of place"
  • "slipped“

Research has clearly shown that this does not happen to discs, bone or joints in your back. Anatomically your back is a strong stable structure capable of lots of movement. If a person experiences a severe episode of back pain when lifting, nothing has “fallen out of place” – though it might feel like it!

 

The team

We have seven teams spread out across the county.

Each team consists of;

  • Admin support
  • Physiotherapy assistants 
  • Physiotherapists 
  • Extended scope physiotherapist.

Each team consists of physiotherapists with a wide range of specialist interests, genders and ages.

 

Join our team

The perfect start to your career - physiotherapy at NHFT

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) is an exciting and innovative NHS Trust with a diverse and extensive range of opportunities available for both newly qualified and experienced physiotherapists to meet your development needs and career progression.

These include; a range of specialist departments - featuring internationally recognised clinical specialists, funded external courses, strong academic links and funding for post graduate qualifications.

Currently we offer both static and rotational vacancies and are flexible with our approach. There is something for everyone.

Find out more: physiotherapy at NHFT - the perfect start to your career [pdf] 1MB

If you are interested, please contact Maureen Bartlett (Physiotherapy MSK Admin) on 01536 748091 or email Maureen.Bartlett@nhft.nhs.uk for more information on how to apply. Or click here to view our current vacancies. 

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