VTherapy Chronic Pain And Injury Rehabilitation Specialist

18/08/2025

There are on average 8 appointments to get to a treatment for a mainstream musculoskeletal problem…

1: GP appointment
2: referral to physio
3: referral back to GP
4: referral to consultant
5: MRI scan
6: back to consultant
7: ‘injection’ by specialist
8: referral back to physio

That seems like a lot of steps to get a problem sorted…and that’s BEFORE you consider how long you have to wait for each of those phases:

1: on average around 10 days to wait for a GP appointment
2: a further 6-8 weeks for referral to physio
3: another 10 days for a GP appointment
4: 18 WEEKS for referral to specialist
5: 6 weeks for a referral for an MRI
6: around 6 weeks for a referral back to the specialist
7: 1-2 weeks for an injection
8: 1-4 weeks for referral back to physio

If we just mushed that all together and took something somewhere in the middle accounting for some people waiting longer and other people waiting for less time we are looking at around 10-11 months to get treatment for a painful shoulder, back pain, knee pain etc

Now let’s consider not just the time, but the impact, the cost of being in considerable discomfort for that period of time. The time off work, the activities you can’t do, your kids you can’t pick up or bath properly.

Then consider how much a swift resolution, faster pain relief and a quicker return to the things you love actually mean to you.

Then consider why you don’t see this incredible body of yours as worthy of spending money on!

If it was your car…???

11/08/2025

Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome…

The harsh realities of having overbearing and all consuming fatigue that no one can see, no one can feel, no one can truly understand.

The never ending, indescribably delicate balancing of where precious energy resources get allocated and the guilt that comes from letting someone down for the sake of yourself, or letting yourself down for the sake of someone else and having to deal with the consequences.

The struggle of constant weighing up and decision making around how to manage simple daily activities, your own needs and the needs of others, knowing you only have one shot at it or the house of cards comes tumbling down.

If you’re supporting someone who is living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, understanding the mental struggles as well as the physical ones is critical.

It’s hard for you to know how to support them, but at the very least reassuring them that you aren’t and won’t be the source of guilt can unburden the heavy load, even if it’s just by one brick at a time.

09/08/2025

Let’s talk about imaging…

How big a role does it and can it play in the successful outcome for a patient in diagnosis and treatment?

Needless to say this is largely dependent on the specifics of the case:

Using my own situation as an example, it took about 3-4 months to get a diagnosis that could ONLY be 100% confirmed with MRI imaging. Not just normal imaging, it had to be done in a specific machine with specific speeds and with a radiologist who had enough experience to spot something very subtle.

That however was not enough to be able to proceed with surgical intervention with 100% certainty and success because they then had to pinpoint using a CT myelogram. Even this wasn’t enough as I had to have further, higher speed imaging in order to catch the fluid fast enough to pinpoint its location.

There was no other option but for me to have surgery to fix my problem and I had to have imaging in order to know that.

The flip side of the coin is when imaging is immediately called on and relied upon as the only reliable source of information and data, without considering context and patient experience and actual examination.

For example, I recently read about a case where a patient saw a consultant presenting with lower limb weakness and where lumbar imaging was ordered, which came back negative.

The consultant didn’t examine the patient, didn’t do any testing and didn’t listen to the other patient symptoms and therefore missed a significant cervical myelopathy.

Because the lumbar MRI didn’t show anything.

There are nuances around when imaging should be considered which I’ve discussed before but as I keep saying, we are more than just data, so we as humans need to be seen and heard as a whole.

22/07/2025

Just taken on my 4th active patient suffering with TMJ Dysfunction…this clearly needs talking about…

🧠 TMJ Dysfunction: It’s Not Just Jaw Pain — It’s a Window Into the Nervous System

TMJ dysfunction affects over 10 million people in the U.S. alone, yet many still treat it as a localized jaw issue. In reality, it’s a complex neuromuscular condition deeply tied to chronic stress, emotional trauma, and nervous system dysregulation.

🔍 What is TMJ Dysfunction?

The temporomandibular joint connects your jawbone to your skull — but it’s not just a hinge. It’s part of an intricate system involving:
• Muscles of mastication
• The trigeminal nerve (the most sensory-rich cranial nerve)
• Cervical spine posture and alignment
• The autonomic nervous system (fight, flight, freeze)

When this system becomes overloaded — due to clenching, grinding, poor posture, trauma, or unresolved stress — dysfunction follows.

⚠️ The Deeper Issue: TMJ & Mental Health

A growing body of evidence points to a biopsychosocial model of TMJ dysfunction. It’s not “all in your head,” but what’s in your head may very well be a major contributor.

📊 Research Highlights:
• A 2021 study found that 75% of TMJ patients also experience symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.
• Chronic stress and emotional suppression can cause bruxism (teeth grinding) during both wakefulness and sleep — a direct driver of TMJ pain.
• PTSD and somatic symptom disorders are significantly more prevalent in individuals with myofascial TMD (temporomandibular disorders).

🧘‍♀️ Healing Requires More Than a Mouth Guard

Yes, splints and physical therapy help. But lasting relief often comes when we treat the underlying causes:

✅ Myofascial release and craniosacral therapy
✅ Nervous system regulation (polyvagal-informed practices)
✅ Breathwork & somatic therapies
✅ CBT for anxiety and catastrophic thinking
✅ Addressing trauma, not just symptoms

⸻

Bottom line: TMJ dysfunction is a systemic condition masquerading as a local one. To truly heal the jaw, we must listen to what the body — and mind — are trying to say.

02/07/2025

25/06/2025

Had a patient in this week…

She’s seeing 3 different therapists…

2 different NHS physiotherapists

And ME 😌

She’s recovering from knee surgery back in October

And for every session we have had I have had to spend a large portion of it undoing the nerves, lost confident and hesitation around what she’s been asked to do rehab wise but without proper instruction, guidance or reassurance.

The transformations we have seen session after session after session have been profound…like AMAZING 🤩

And it’s ALL down to understanding what her needs are and carefully selecting the words to help encourage and empower her.

One minute she can’t stand up from the chair, the next minute she’s doing sit to stand for reps with no pain, no fear and no weird funky movements around it…

Just confidence

Just reassurance!

We as therapists have a duty of care around the state we leave our patients in to ensure that it is not us that leads them to feel anxious, nervous and lacking in confidence.

24/06/2025

VERY few people know or understand that complex but very real and debilitating relationship between sugar intake and an increase in central sensitisation…

Now, I’m not about to go full on you and suggest that a complete withdrawal from all forms of sugar is what you and everyone else should be doing…

That absolutely isn’t the case and sugar isn’t all bad…

But an excess, a spike in certain types of sugar can impact your pain experience quite profoundly if you’re someone who suffers from Chronic Pain or Complex Stress Illnesses.

Massive intakes of sugar can:

❌ trigger an inflammatory response from the central nervous system by over activating certain cells into releasing inflammatory molecules.

❌ over sensitise the responsiveness of the CNS to perceived or real pain signals increasing pain perception

❌ lead to oxidative stress and tissue damage leading to an increase in inflammatory responses by the immune system

❌cause nerve damage and elevated cortisol

It’s certainly something that anecdotally I have observed consistently with my chronic pain patients in terms of pain flare ups and spikes…

But…there is a fine line to be found between also not further frightening someone who is already stressed and confused and highly disregulated into thinking all sugar from all sources at any time will totally derail their progress.

✅ a little bit of what you like in a life that is so often short of pleasure, can sometimes have a more positive effect than absolute denial or indulgence or any kind.

We just won’t encourage binging on sugar or eating high volumes every day and we do encourage having an awareness of any relationship you notice between an increase in your pain and any increase in sugar.

05/06/2025

I have just 2 spaces available in the next 2 weeks for 1-1 chronic pain coaching…only 2!

This is a deeply profound and transformative process for those who suffer from complex chronic pain, stress illness, stress and anxiety who feel like they have no other options available and are ready to take back control.

A free assessment is available so please get in touch by sending me a DM or book online at:

www.vtherapy.co.uk

Prices will be increasing at the end of June.

03/06/2025

Worth watching 👍

26/05/2025

“Success lies on the other side of your comfort zone…”

But very few people talk about what also lurks in the shadows of those who are chasing success…

For entrepreneurs who are ‘hustling’ and ‘grinding’ and ‘making the sacrifices’ we expect of those who have taken that leap of owning and running a business.

I’ll tell you what’s there…

I’ll tell you from the lips of those who are desperate and desolate as they sit in my treatment room, holding their head in their hands, broken by stress…

Loneliness
Fear
Frustration
Exhaustion
Pressure
Burnout
Vulnerability

And what that leads to is

Sleepless nights
Headaches
Muscle pain
Joint pain
Digestive issues
Anxiety
Wrecked immune systems

Because amongst what looks great on social media, what the bizzness gurooozz make look so glamorous, is also the dark side of what not honouring and allowing yourself to feel and seek support for does to your mental and physical health.

Because all this chasing means we live with relentless pressure and stress for prolonged periods and we are just not designed to sustain that.

So seek time, indulgence, rest, support, space as well because I will tell you now that if you don’t when the success comes you won’t be in a fit state to enjoy it!

17/05/2025

A gorgeous teachable moment for a 9yr old who was asking about the heart rate and why it changes.

So we played a game…

Start to think of things that REALLY excite you 🤩 don’t do anything with your body, just sit and think of your favourite things, things that make you happy and excited and grateful…

And we watched as his heart rate went up and up and up, without moving a muscle.

20bpm in just a few seconds.

Now think of something really calming. Things that make you feel all snuggly and safe and comfy and cosy and sleepy 🥱

And we watched as the heart rate slowly started to drop back down…

Here’s the thing that struck me though…

It took SO much longer for the heart rate to lower back down, for the system to calm, than it did for the whole thing by to ramp right up.

Which indicates to me how much more time we should be allowing for ourselves; our minds and bodies, to recover after exposure to high stress whether that be physical or mental.

And yet how many of us do AT ALL???

Especially after emotional or mental stress?

We don’t even log it as an anything tangible, we just keep on keeping on…and yet the body needs the time to slow back down, it needs MORE time that it doesn’t get!

So think about that if you’re someone who has Chronic Pain, or Illness…and also chronic stress…

Because if your system is ramped up with stress

And also ramped up with pain

But it is given no time to calm back down…

How likely is it that you’re for a chance in hell of overcoming your current health issues?

16/05/2025