Trust me, I'm a doctor...

Posted by Nell Mead at 12:00 on 20 Jan 2011

I was going to demonstrate a simple exercise for back pain today, but I've just seen this article in the Daily Mail online and it's taken priority.  Normal service will be resumed very soon!

To summarise, it seems that this chap "Dr Charles Ahme" - a 50-year-old football referee with an online first aid qualification - set up a "physiotherapy and sports injuries practice" in Levenhulme, Manchester.  Wearing a white coat, he asked female patients to strip naked and then massaged them, in some cases indecently.  He wasn't investigated until a GB athlete visited his practice for treatment and realised that his practice wasn't exactly standard.  She reported him and he is now apparently "facing a lengthy prison sentence".  Good.

OK, so where do I start?  How do you choose a physiotherapist, or in fact any healthcare practitioner?

• Word of mouth is a sensible place to start.  Ask around: if your friend or colleague has seen a really good practitioner, the chances are that they may be able to treat you well, too.  Most of my patients come to see me because one of their friends has recommended me.
• Check their website - most good practices have one these days, and you should be able to get a feel for what's available: does the therapist offer services you think you will need, and do you like the tone of the site?  If you like what they write, the chances are that you will like the therapist.  Good rapport between patient and therapist is an excellent first step to successful treatment, as if you trust your therapist, you will relax and the treatment will be more beneficial.  Most websites will also include testimonials from past patients and, provided that these are genuine, they will also give you an idea of the therapists' areas of particular expertise.
• Chartered status is no guarantee of quality, but it does at least mean that the therapist has been received the training that they say they have, and that their insurance and qualifications are up to date!  You should check that your therapist is registered with the Health Professions Council.  Physiotherapists should also be registered with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy; any private physiotherapist registered here or here is a CSP member.
• Instinct is possibly the most important thing.  Don't automatically trust the therapist who wears a white coat!  We are programmed to do this, but as Stanley Milgram showed in his famous experiment, someone who wears a white coat (or other uniform or clothing that denotes professional status) is not necessarily what he seems.  The therapist should greet you, make you feel at home and always explain what they are about to do to you, what you are doing and why they are doing it.  You should always be able to ask questions, and if you feel uncomfortable at any time, tell them so and they should stop what they are doing immediately and discuss it with you, modifying any treatment so that you are comfortable with it.  If they don't, or if you are not happy with the treatment in any way, let them know; and if you're dissatisfied with their response, you are perfectly within your rights to raise your concerns to the Health Professions Council who will investigate.

Please don't get taken in by a bogus therapist!

For an appointment with Nell (a totally genuine Chartered Physiotherapist with years of experience treating musculoskeletal injuries!) please contact us or send her an e-mail.  She is available at The Foundry on Mondays and Tuesdays, and at The Back Shop on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Welcome to Victory

Posted by Nell Mead at 10:51 on 30 Aug 2010

Hello, I’m Nell Mead, the clinical director of Victory Health & Performance.  Welcome to my blog!

I am a clinical specialist physiotherapist, and specialise in sports medicine and back pain.  I have just left the Army after 10 years in the Royal Army Medical Corps.  During that time, I did an operational tour in Iraq and travelled all over the world with Army sports teams including rugby, football and tennis.  I finished my time in the Army as a Major, in charge of the physiotherapy and rehabilitation team for British Forces Cyprus, where I spent a fantastic two years culminating in becoming the physiotherapist for the Cyprus Davis Cup team.  (I was very excited when, the following week, Marcos Baghdatis beat Roger Federer for the first time – obviously all down to my treatment!)

Victory Health & Performance is a new venture.  It is an interdisciplinary medical rehabilitation centre, which we will be setting up in London as soon as my team and I can find the right premises.  I want to have a team of health and performance professionals (doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, nutritionists, podiatrists, massage therapists, rehabilitation therapists etc) working together to help our clients achieve their goals, and surpass their expectations with regard to performance in sports and work.

I am setting up the clinical team at the moment, and will introduce the team members gradually.  Most of them have a military background, and we plan to maintain our links with the armed forces by treating former service personnel on a not-for-profit basis.  Help for Heroes have agreed in principle to subsidise their treatment, so if you meet their criteria then please e-mail me for more information.

The aim of this blog is to introduce you to the Victory concept (of which more, later) and to keep you up-to-date with our latest news.  We will be launching the full website soon, which is very exciting, and opening for business as soon as we have proper premises.

In the mean time, I am busy seeing private clients.  I consult for Back in Action on Fridays and may also be able to visit you at home if you live in the London area.  I am also going to be involved in the next series of School of Hard Knocks plus Sarah Key’s next Back in a Week and the Back Show.  My operations director, Sacha Macey is hard at work finding premises and then getting them set up so that we can put our plans fully into action - I’ll introduce her tomorrow.

I will be posting further on these events – watch this space!

If you would like an appointment with me, please e-mail me

If you have any other comments or questions, I would love to hear them so please feel free to comment below (I will respond!) or to e-mail me.