Spire Alexandra Sports & Physiotherapy Clinic

I visited Spire Hospital as a self-funded patient to assess and resolve elbow, shoulder and neck pain which had been plaguing me and had resulted in not being able to work or even drive a car for 6 weeks. My first appointment was with a Physiotherapist named Lorcan. The appointment involved him asking me some routine questions and then physically doing some tests which were very forceful and I came away with more pain than I went in with. The diagnosis was vague and the focus was on strengthening my muscles which he believed was the main problem, which ignored the fact that I had been in good physical condition before the onset of the elbow pain – keeping my arm immobilised was what then subsequently led to the muscle weakness! On my next appointment I was given 5 minutes of acupuncture and a 5 minute massage. This appointment lasted 20 minutes but I was charged for the full 30 minute appointment. I felt no better than when I came in. My subsequent two appointments were with a different physiotherapist called Mona. Mona had apparently replaced Lorcan and they were both locums so not permanent staff. Her bedside manner was much friendlier than the previous physio, however she was also very vague on the cause of my pain and her approach seemed very “one size fits all”. She gave me an extremely painful trigger point massage and the appointment lasted only 15 minutes but once again, I was charged for the full 30 minutes. That massage left me in pain for 48 hours afterwards and I decided to give up and try another private physiotherapy clinic. I’m so glad I did, because I have now been correctly diagnosed with lateral and medial epicondylitis along with nerve inflammation stemming from problematic trapezius muscles, levator scapulae and intercostal vertebra. The physio I visited was able to explain all of this to me confidently and in detail and has been giving me treatment which is actually helping and never leaves me in pain after the session. On another note, the clinic space at Spire is very minimal and cramped which gives the impression that bringing someone in with you is not encouraged, and the bed is very uncomfortable. In short, I would strongly recommend against using Spire for physiotherapy as I was misdiagnosed and the appointments were rushed and painful. Other private physio clinics offer a far better service at a similar price, and I’m pleased to say I’m now on the road to recovery.

Excellent physiotherapy for paediatrics