Musculoskeletal conditions

Outpatient physiotherapy

Overview
What problems do we treat?
What we aim to provide our patients
What can you do prior to your appointment?
How long will my assessment or treatment session last?
How to access this service
Opening times
Useful links

Overview

Addenbrooke’s musculoskeletal outpatient physiotherapy service offers face-to-face assessment and treatment sessions for people with any musculoskeletal pain or problem.

Our team of physiotherapists, therapy assistants and desk staff aim to ensure our patients are treated with a professional and courteous manner in all contact with our department; ensuring patients receive the best care for their problem. We have specialist physiotherapists working within many areas of the hospital, allowing us to have unrivalled links with the consultants within Addenbrooke’s. These include links with:

orthopaedics
rheumatology
neurology
pain clinic
occupational health
haemophilia
paediatric orthopaedics
oncology

In our large department within the outpatient clinics, we have excellent facilities to allow us to optimise our treatments. Facilities include:

large treatment area
individual treatment rooms for private consultations
hydrotherapy pool
regular exercise classes within our large and recently updated gym
one-to-one exercise programmes set up with a physiotherapist specific to your condition and your aims.

As a large teaching hospital all our staff attend regular teaching sessions to ensure our knowledge is up-to-date, allowing us to make sure our treatments are as researched and based on evidence as possible.

We tailor our treatments according to patients’ needs, expectations and concerns. Our aim is to allow our patients to understand their pain or problem and work alongside our therapists to get the best possible outcome for them.

What problems do we treat?

We are happy to assess and treat anyone with a musculoskeletal (eg joint, muscle , nerve or ligament) problem. Common things we treat include:

acute back pain including sciatica and disc problems
chronic back pain
neck pain, including whiplash
headaches
shoulder pain
elbow pain
wrist pain
repetitive strain injuries
injuries post trauma, including fractures
post orthopaedic operations (spinal, shoulder and knee surgery, joint replacements)
post spinal surgery
sacroiliac joint pain
hip pain
knee pain
ankle pain
rheumatological conditions (AS, RA etc)
haemophilia related musculoskeletal problems
sports injuries
work related injuries
sprains and strains / soft tissue injuries
paediatric orthopaedic and musculoskeletal conditions

If you have a problem which is not listed here, and wonder whether we may be able to help, please do not hesitate in contacting us to discuss this further. Our contact details are listed on the right of this page.

What we aim to provide our patients

You will have an initial assessment which will involve discussion about your pain or problems and a thorough examination. From this we will aim to provide you with an explanation of your symptoms and agree a plan on how to help you achieve your goals and your best possible outcome. The range of treatment options we have available to help with your condition include:

manual therapy techniques (joint mobilisations, manipulations)
soft tissue techniques (massage, myofascial release, trigger point techniques, stretches, PNF)
patient-specific exercise prescriptions
structured exercise classes and programmes (back class, leg class, ACL reconstruction class, shoulder class, osteoarthritis class, pilates, individually tailored programmes)
hydrotherapy
advice and education
chronic pain management advice
functional restoration programme for those with long standing pain.
acupuncture (only in combination with other physiotherapy treatments) *
electrotherapy

* NB: Please note, we do not accept referrals purely for acupuncture.

Your therapist will establish with you the best combination of treatments to help achieve your goals.

Our classes have a large educational component and are designed to along with condition management advice promote the importance of regular exercise. They enable patients to have the confidence to continue with exercising, either independently, at a local gym, or linking in with the Start-Up scheme.

If for some reason you fail to reach your expected outcomes, our therapists can liaise directly with specialists who are able to assist your onward referral for more specialist medical assessments.

What can you do to help us with your treatment

During your first appointment, we will need to find out from you about your problem, how it started and how it is affecting you. We may also need to ask you several questions about your problem to allow us to fully understand your problem. We will discuss with you what your goals and concerns are about your problem. To properly assess your problem area, we will ask for your permission to remove some of your outer clothing so that we can see the affected area and perform movements and test on you to establish exactly the cause of your problem.

There are several things that you can do to help us to help you at this time:

please bring a list of your current medication
we will spend time talking to you about your aims for treatment. It is helpful to us if you have some ideas of what you would like to achieve from your Physiotherapy so that we can work with you on this and ensure the best from your assessment
we will ask you to remove some of your outer clothing to ensure a thorough assessment of your pain or problem. You may feel more comfortable bringing a vest top and shorts (dependent upon where your problem is) to put on whilst we do this
we aim to run as close to time as possible with our appointments. In order to allow us to do this, please allow for plenty of time to reach Addenbrooke’s site, park and get to the outpatient centre for your appointment time.

How long will my assessment or treatment session last?

Dependent upon your problem, your initial assessment may last up to 45 minutes.

Follow up treatment sessions may last up to 30 minutes.

If you attend a class, you should expect to attend for up to 45 minutes.

How to access this service

There are several ways for you to access our service at Addenbrooke’s Hospital:

ask your GP to refer you through the Choose and Book appointment system
consultant referrals

If you live within Cambridgeshire PCT, we also are happy to accept referrals from:

Physiodirect telephone referral system (telephone 01480 434980)
Physiodirect self-referrals (self-referral sheet linked below)

PhysioDirect self referral sheet (29 KB)

If you have used the Physiodirect referral system, you can request for your Physiotherapy treatment to be received at Addenbrooke’s physiotherapy department.

We work in close collaboration with Cambridgeshire Community Services, who provide community clinics in sites across Cambridgeshire. Patients can choose where they would prefer to have their physiotherapy treatment and this preference can be indicated on the referral form.

Opening times

Monday	8.15am – 5.00pm
Tuesday	8.15am – 5.00pm
Wednesday	8.15am – 5.00pm
Thursday	8.15am – 5.00pm
Friday	8.15am – 4.30pm

Unfortunately we do not open on weekends or Bank holidays.

Patient feedback:

“…. was patient and supportive. I was given lots of information on how to help myself”

“My treatment was taken a lot further that I thought I would have been”

“I had never had PT before so didn’t know what it could do for me. It has helped me to deal with my niggling injury to the point where mobility has been restored. Pain is much diminished. That is a result!”

“Staff sensitive to my individual requirements with good attitude, promoting confidence in care”

“In my experience, you are given the treatment you need in an excellent environment with excellent physios”

“Understanding physio. Amazed at length of allocated time to me – excellent treatment from this department”

“They have a range of treatments, hydrotherapy, Pilates, exercise classes to help meet my goals”

(from outpatient physiotherapy patient satisfaction survey, 2011)

Useful links

> Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

> Health Professions Council

> NHS Choices (general health website for all conditions)

> Control Pain (chronic pain: relaxation, pacing, goal setting)

> Rheumtological conditions

> Arthritis Research UK (patients with inflammatory arthritis, OA, neck / back pain, medication)
> Backcare (back pain)

> Expert Patients Programme

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