Initial Assessment

What is an Initial Assessment?

An initial assessment is your first step to understanding and fixing your injury. During this session, I’ll take a detailed history of your problem, assess your movement, and perform specific tests to diagnose exactly what’s going on.

Unlike a quick 10-minute NHS appointment, you’ll get my undivided attention for 45-60 minutes. I’ll listen to your story, understand your goals, and create a plan that actually works for your lifestyle.

This isn’t a conveyor belt system. You’re not getting palmed off to a physio assistant or given generic exercises from a photocopied sheet. You’re seeing a chartered physiotherapist who’s HCPC registered and a CSP member - the same level of qualification as NHS senior physios, but with the time to actually do the job properly.

How I Approach Your Assessment

I don’t believe in generic treatment plans. Every assessment starts with understanding YOU - your sport, your training load, your goals, and what’s been tried before.

From there, I use evidence-based clinical tests combined with my experience treating elite athletes to pinpoint the exact issue. No guesswork. No unnecessary treatments.

Whether you’re a weekend warrior training for a marathon along the Chester Greenway, a CrossFit athlete pushing for new PBs, or someone who’s just fed up with persistent pain getting in the way of daily life across Cheshire, the approach is the same: listen, assess, diagnose, plan.

Common Injuries That Bring People Through the Door

Most people book an initial assessment for one of these problems:

Back Pain

Lower back pain is the big one. Whether it’s from deadlifting, sitting at a desk all day, or just bending down to pick something up and feeling something go. Common among gym-goers pushing too hard too fast, and office workers across Chester and Cheshire who’ve spent years hunched over a keyboard.

I’ll identify whether it’s disc-related, muscular, or joint irritation, and build a plan around your specific movement patterns and triggers.

Knee Injuries

Runner’s knee, meniscus tears, patella tendinopathy, ACL rehab. Knees take a battering whether you’re running, jumping, or squatting heavy. Particularly common among runners training along the Chester Greenway and footballers across Cheshire.

Knee assessments involve detailed movement analysis, strength testing, and sometimes watching you run or jump to see exactly where the problem lies.

Shoulder Pain

Rotator cuff issues, impingement, frozen shoulder, post-surgical rehab after labral repairs. Shoulders are complicated joints and they don’t respond well to rest alone.

I see a lot of shoulder problems from overhead athletes - swimmers, climbers, CrossFitters - and from people who’ve been told to “just rest it” for months without any proper rehab.

Ankle Sprains and Chronic Instability

That rolled ankle that never quite healed properly. Or the fresh sprain that you want to sort out before it becomes a chronic problem. Ankle injuries need proper rehab or they’ll keep coming back.

Common among footballers and netball players across Cheshire, and anyone who’s done the classic “stepped off a kerb wrong” move.

Neck Pain and Headaches

Tension headaches, nerve-related pain down the arm, stiffness from poor desk setup or sleeping awkwardly. Neck problems often come with referred pain into the shoulders or upper back.

Post-Surgical Rehab

ACL reconstruction, meniscus repair, shoulder stabilisation, hip arthroscopy. If you’ve had surgery and been discharged from hospital physio but still don’t feel right, or you want more intensive rehab to get back to sport faster, that’s where I come in.

What Makes This Different from NHS Physio

Let’s be clear about what you’re getting here versus what you’d get through the NHS.

This isn’t a dig at NHS physios - they’re doing a brilliant job under impossible time constraints. But the system doesn’t give them the time or resources to do what’s needed. Private physio fills that gap.

Do I Need a Referral?

No. You can book directly with me without seeing your GP first.

This is called direct access physiotherapy. It’s completely standard practice and it’s often faster than going through your GP, waiting for a referral, then waiting for an NHS physio appointment.

If during your assessment I think you need medical imaging (X-ray, MRI, ultrasound) or specialist medical input, I’ll guide you on the best route - whether that’s back to your GP, a consultant referral, or private imaging if you want to move faster.

But you don’t need anyone’s permission to book a physio assessment. Just book and we’ll get you sorted.

What if I’m Not Sure I Need Physio?

Good question. Here’s when you should book:

When in doubt, just ask. Drop me a message and I’ll tell you straight whether I think physio will help or if you need a different route.

What You’ll Leave With

By the end of your initial assessment, you’ll have:

If you follow the plan and put in the work, you’ll be back to winning ways in no time.

Realistic Recovery Timescales

People always want to know “how long until I’m better?” Here’s the honest answer for common injuries:

Acute muscle strains - 2-6 weeks depending on severity. Grade 1 strains might settle in a fortnight. Grade 2 tears need 4-6 weeks of progressive loading. Grade 3 complete ruptures might need surgical referral.

Tendinopathy - 3-6 months, sometimes longer. Tendons are slow to adapt. Anyone promising to fix your Achilles tendinopathy in three sessions is talking rubbish. But with the right progressive loading programme, most people see significant improvement by 12 weeks.

Post-ACL reconstruction - 9-12 months to return to pivoting sports like football or rugby. You might feel good at 6 months, but the research is clear that returning too early massively increases re-injury risk. Patience pays off here.

Frozen shoulder - 12-24 months to fully resolve naturally, but physio can speed that up and manage symptoms better. It’s a frustrating condition but it does get better.

Runner’s knee - 6-12 weeks with proper load management and strength work. The key is addressing the underlying weakness or biomechanical issue, not just resting until pain settles then doing the same training that caused it.

Lower back pain (non-specific) - Most acute episodes settle within 6 weeks. Chronic back pain needs a longer-term approach focusing on movement confidence, strength, and pain education. Timescales vary massively depending on how long you’ve had it and what’s driving it.

These are broad ranges. Your specific timeline depends on injury severity, how long you’ve had it, your training age, and how well you stick to the rehab programme.

Location and Booking

I run a clinic at 59 Silver Road in Chester, with appointments available Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to fit around work and training schedules.

Book online to see available slots, or get in touch if you’ve got questions before booking. No hard sell. No obligation. Just honest advice on whether I think I can help.

If you’re tired of pain getting in the way, or you’re fed up with rest not working, book an initial assessment and let’s get you sorted.