Musculoskeletal & sports physiotherapy
Every course of treatment at Cairn starts with a 50-minute assessment and ends with a written plan you can actually follow at home, in the gym or on the road.
What we treat
Find the line that sounds most like your week. Each one describes what the first session usually involves, so you know what you are booking.
Desk-bound stiffness, a sudden lock-up while lifting, or a flare that keeps returning every few months. We test movement direction by direction before we treat anything.
First session: movement screen, hands-on release, two loading drills to start the same day.
Stairs, hills and long car journeys are the usual complaints. We look at how the joint tolerates load rather than only where it hurts, then build tolerance back in stages.
First session: strength testing, gait check, a graded plan with clear weekly targets.
Overhead work, frozen-feeling mornings, or pain that wakes you when you roll onto it. Shoulders respond slowly, so we set expectations for the whole course, not just week one.
First session: range mapping, rotator cuff testing, sleep positioning advice.
Shin pain, Achilles niggles, calf strains and the hamstring that goes every pre-season. We keep you running where it is safe and adjust the weekly volume rather than stopping everything.
First session: training-load review, calf and hamstring testing, a modified running week.
Knee, shoulder and ankle surgery follow-up. Bring the surgeon's protocol if you have one; we work inside it and fill in the detail it leaves out.
First session: protocol review, current-stage testing, a schedule for the next six weeks.
Pain that has outlasted the original injury needs pacing and graded exposure more than it needs another scan. Sessions are calmer, longer-term and built around what you want to get back to.
First session: history in full, activity mapping, a starting baseline you can sustain.
Your first visit
The first appointment is 50 minutes. You will leave with an explanation, treatment already started and something to do before the next session.
We take the history properly, then test movement, strength and the specific tissue under suspicion. If something needs a doctor rather than a physiotherapist, we say so at this point.
Hands-on work, joint and soft-tissue techniques, dry needling where it suits the problem, and immediate exercise so you can feel the change before you leave the room.
You get a written plan with sets, reps and a rule for what to do on a bad day. Most people are reviewed weekly at first, then fortnightly as the plan takes over from the treatment.
Between sessions
Treatment in the room buys a window. What you do in the six days after the appointment is what actually changes the tissue.
Complete rest de-conditions tendons and muscle quickly. Unless we have told you otherwise, keep moving at a level that settles within 24 hours of finishing.
Some discomfort during exercise is expected. The measure that matters is how the area feels the following morning — worse for two days means the dose was too high.
Positioning and a consistent bedtime do more for irritable shoulders and low backs than any extra stretch. We will set up positions with you in the session.
Session fees
Fees are per session and payable on the day. Nobody is sold a package up front — we agree the next few sessions as the plan develops.
Full history, testing, first treatment and a written starting plan.
Re-test, hands-on work and a progression of the exercise plan.
For complex or multi-area problems, and for most post-operative rehab.
Treadmill observation, training-load review and a rebuilt weekly schedule.
Gym-based coaching of the loaded stage of your plan, once pain has settled.
Clinic hours
Early and late slots go first and are usually booked two weeks ahead. Assessment appointments are held open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Questions
No. You can book a physiotherapy assessment directly. If your insurer requires a referral before they will reimburse, check their policy first — we can provide an itemised receipt either way.
Assessment can reproduce your symptoms briefly, because that is how we identify the source. Hands-on treatment should be firm rather than painful, and you can ask for less pressure at any point. Exercise may feel achy during and after; it should settle within a day.
Most simple joint and muscle problems take three to five. Tendon problems, post-operative rehab and persistent pain take longer and are reviewed less often but over more months. You will get an honest estimate at the end of the first appointment.
Something you can move and be examined in. Shorts for hip, knee or ankle problems; a vest or loose t-shirt for shoulders, neck and back. If you are coming straight from work, bring kit and use the changing space.
Usually not. Most musculoskeletal problems are diagnosed clinically, and scans often show changes that are not causing your symptoms. If imaging would genuinely change the plan, we will tell you and explain the route to arranging it.
Almost always, in a modified form. We would rather adjust your volume, intensity or exercise selection than stop you entirely — keeping conditioned makes the return much faster.
Yes, from age fourteen upwards. A parent or guardian should attend the first appointment and can stay for the whole session if the young person prefers.
Let us know at least twenty-four hours ahead and we will move you at no cost. Inside that window the session is charged, because the slot can rarely be filled at short notice.
Request an appointment
Send a short description of the problem and when you are usually free. We reply with the next two or three suitable slots rather than sending you into a booking system.
If you are unsure whether physiotherapy is the right first step, say so in the notes — it is a fair question and we will answer it honestly.