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“Isn’t physiotherapy just a massage?”

Sep 23, 2021

In the world of physiotherapy, the quote above is a common misconception that we are often explaining to first time physio clients. If you are unfamiliar with physiotherapy, and are yet to experience a session personally – it’s easy to mistake a physiotherapy session for a massage, however they are very different, and each session will contain separate treatment options.

Generally speaking, physiotherapy is very integrative and your physiotherapist will always asses you and decide post- assessment which treatment you personally will benefit from most based on your condition. This is also subject to change as you go through your treatment plan, and begin recovery as you may need differing treatment styles.

As an overview, many physiotherapy clinics favour different styles of treatment and offer different services. Some clinics mainly offer hands on treatment, and this is where the confusion is born leading people to believe that physiotherapy is mainly massage based which is not true for every clinic. Is it particularly important to ensure the clinic that you choose offers you the correct services and options for your condition, for example – hands on treatment may be enough to resolve pain in one patient but could not be enough for another.

At A.L.O Physiotherapy clinic, there is a clear distinction between your physiotherapy sessions with us and our massage therapy. We provide you with options, and an individualised treatment plan of care because recovery isn’t always a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

We stand out from the crowd offering different styles of massage in our clinic, and we integrate our physiotherapy sessions with leading technology in pain reduction and recovery.

Within your physiotherapy session your physio may suggest any of the following treatments for you as part of your treatment plan should he/she deem it vital for your recovery:

  • TECAR Therapy
  • Vibra3.0 Therapy
  • Shockwave Therapy
  • Massage Therapy
  • Clinical Pilates
  • Cupping
  • Acupuncture
  • Exercise/Rehab Plan

In our clinic we understand that getting you back to doing what you love is a top priority, and this is why we offer specialist technology proven to maximise your recovery process and minimise your recovery time.

Since physiotherapy and massage differ in our clinic, our physios always recommend that you have separate massage therapy sessions on top of your physiotherapy. This is because your physio sessions will be actively working on pain reduction, whereas your massage therapy will be aiding in the maintenance of that pain reduction. As massage therapy is a maintenance tool, you may only require one massage per month, this could be a sports massage or this could be a relaxation massage. The type of massage you will need, will be decided by your physiotherapist based on your particular bodies needs post-physio. Many of our patients choose to have one massage monthly post-plan of care and others opt for weekly massages along side their physiotherapy plan of care.

If you’re craving relaxation and believe you could benefit from massage therapy, now is a great time to book in with us as for the following week only, all 5 session massage packages will come with a complementary 6th session!

All you need to do is call us on: 0207 636 8845 and quote ‘Massage6’ to book your package now.

 

 

 

TESTIMONIALS

Since seeing Louise (following an Achilles rupture repair), I have:

- Made it back onto tennis / squash courts to (tentatively!) celebrate 1 year anniversary of my surgery 
- Ran my fastest 10k at 43.57! 
- Ran 5k in 21:30 (vs pre-surgery PB of 20:18) 
- I increased my single leg calf lift to 59 kg (vs ~18 kg initially a few months ago) 
- I had a final appt with my consultant, who discharged me while congratulating me on a wonderful recovery

All the above is to illustrate that I'm absolutely delighted with the progress I have made since last summer when I couldn't do anything and the outlook seemed bleak. I'll be forever grateful for Louise’s guidance and support as I've navigated the long road back from my injury, and I appreciate the continued advice to help me prepare for more dynamic activity. Louise has been really fantastic and I couldn't have asked for better care.

Recovering from a full Achilles rupture. Started my work with Nina in feb and my progress has only been positive and upwards and I am almost at full speed again. Nina put me back together again almost from scratch. She is the best physio I have ever worked with and will again. Very knowledgable and very hard working. Can’t recommend enough.

Bojan

What a great find! My orthopaedic surgeon recommended them and I can't rate Luigi, Gloria and the team more highly. Excellent service and very effective treatment- recovering nicely!

Justine

I am 84 years old, and have always been fit and healthy and exercised regularly. 3 years ago I underwent emergency surgery for peritonitis, and had a colonoscopy bag for 6 months and straight after surgery to reversal of the stoma. After this surgery I felt my legs very weak. To complete my drama, during the last summer I developed an abdominal hernia and had surgery for hernia repair. This made me even weaker specially at my legs. I have recovered but felt weak. I started my sessions at ALO Physiotherapy at the beginning of January, with the Vibra Machine combined with specific exercises. I have now recovered my body strength, particularly in the legs. I am now walking normally and without pain. I am delighted!

Barbara

Great clinic with great people! I was so lucky to find this clinic and even more when I met Andre. He's a very talented therapist and a wonderful person who makes you feel comfortable every time. He helped me to resolve my back problems in few appointments and I will be always grateful to him! From my experience is the best clinic in London and I highly recommend them without any doubts!

Daniele

One of the best physiotherapy centres in the world! The professionalism and knowledge of this centre amazed me.

Pierre

I am so glad I found this clinic. Luigi has been amazing. After my 1st session I felt an improvement and now have ALOT more movement and significant reduction in pain. I couldn’t recommend this clinic & Luigi enough. So helpful and flexible whenever I have needed to amend appointments. Every one is fantastic. I will continue to come here for as long as I need.

Mital

Andre is the best physiotherapist I came across. As a dedicated martial arts practitioner, I regularly use his services. He has always managed to fix my various back and leg injuries. I would recommend Alo Physiotherapy to anyone who suffers from body pain.

Thomas

Where do I begin? The journey has been too long with Andre Oliveira and ALO Clinic , as he helped me both physically and mentally to overcome an injury I had in both of my knees. A small injury , after following wrong treatment became chronic and I found myself unable to walk/stand/run and do the simplest things- the mental impact was worse. I was introduced to Andre by Eleftherios Pavlidis who runs Laertion in Athens. lefteris with his team were the first to accommodate the problem and told me what I need to do. As a Londoner, I was introduced to Andre and ALO Clinic, and the rest is history. Since February 2017 when I had the first session with Andre and he identified the biomechanic nature of the problem, along with the use of Tecar the results were visible after one month. Since then, along with personal effort and strengthening I did always guided by Andre, I the problem is restored and the pain is gone. I highly recommend ALO Physiotherapy Clinic , and Andre Oliveira for anyone who suffers from sport injuries , amateurs or professional top athletes.

Constantinos

Very professional staff and friendly environment. I felt a lot better after very first session. Appointment are easily available. I would definitely recommend this place

Muhammad

The care I received from ALO Physiotherapy was outstanding from the first session to the last. Sessions with Louise were informative as well as practical, allowing me to understand the context/logic behind treatment as well as tips to prevent future injuries. Louise was always readily available to answer my questions and the treatment process was collaborative rather than being prescriptive. Beyond the expertise of the team the quality of the equipment and facilities was incredibly high and aided my recovery significantly. I would recommend ALO Physiotherapy to anyone who requires physiotherapy treatment in the Marylebone area.

ALO is an excellent well-run clinic and Louise Hynes who looked after me is a superb physiotherapist. Louise is knowledgeable, skilled and very efficient at her job. My sore shoulder was sorted out in no time thanks to her. Thank you, Louise, and thank you ALO.

Julian Webber, Harley Street Endodontist.

ALO is an excellent well-run clinic and Louise Hynes who looked after me is a superb physiotherapist. Louise is knowledgeable, skilled and very efficient at her job. My sore shoulder was sorted out in no time thanks to her. Thank you, Louise, and thank you ALO.

Julian Webber, Harley Street Endodontist.

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