If you are visiting in office hours (9am- 5pm) our receptionist will greet you at our first floor reception. If your appointment is outside office hours there will be nobody on reception. We will greet you personally if we can but if nobody is around please take a seat whilst we finish with the previous patient.

Chaperones

Some patients like to bring a chaperone with them. This can be anybody you know and are comfortable with. This person can either wait in reception or come into the appointment with you. You should be aware we will ask lots of questions about your health history (see below). Your chaperone should be somebody you are comfortable discussing this in front of. Please note our receptionists cannot act as chaperones as they have to help other people in the building.

Health History Questions

We will ask questions about your full health history including gynaecological health (eg regularity of periods, previous pregnancies, self examination etc) Even if you come in with a simple condition like an ankle sprain. This is because we work to very high standards, taking responsibility for your full health. So please rest assured we have your best interest at heart. If you are not sure why a question is relevant please feel free to ask.

Undressing

We ask people to undress down to their underwear for examination and treatment. This will involve a standing and movement exam (see below). We understand this can make people feel vulnerable. We do this because it is important for us to see exactly how your body moves and identify any restrictions or postural differences. Full briefs and bra are the ideal underwear for this purpose. However, if you don't feel comfortable with this we regularly treat people in shorts, leggings, tracksuit bottoms, sports bras, crop tops, T-shirts or whatever people do feel comfortable in.

Standing and Movement Exam

This will involve you standing in front of us whilst we examine your body for signs of tight muscles, trauma and or postural differences. You will be required to do certain movements which will also help us identify any restrictions. We will then palpate the muscles and joints. This means feeling them to assess their condition to see if they might be contributing to your symptoms. This may include other regions of the body because it is important for us to to see how the whole body is compensating for, or maintaining your symptoms.

Ask questions

We will try and explain what we are doing and why at every step of the way but please remember this is second nature to us. We might, and do occasionally, forget to explain something which is normal to us but might seem a bit strange to you. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions.

Finally

You have the right to stop treatment at any time and you do not need to explain why. If you wish to stop any part of treatment or even the whole treatment please just say so. You have control!