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Physiotherapy Advice & Patient Stories

What we see most in clinic, and what actually helps

Real cases from the clinic. People who felt stuck, frustrated or exhausted by pain, and what actually changed things.

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Why we publish these

These are real cases from the clinic, shared with permission. They are here because most people arriving at BetterMe have been somewhere else first, often more than one, and it helps to know you are not the only one.

What they have in common is not a technique or a magic exercise. It is that in each case something had been missed, and finding it changed the outcome.

Patient stories

Back Pain

“You just need more exercises”: the advice that kept Laura in back pain for years

Laura spent years being handed more exercises for back pain. Here is why that advice failed and what actually changed things.

Read the story Persistent Pain

Laughed out of a pain clinic: what to do when every specialist has given up

What to do when you have seen every specialist and been told there is nothing more to be done.

Read the story Back Pain

Moving house and changing your car because of back pain

When back pain starts dictating major life decisions, the advice to just live with it has gone too far.

Read the story Back Pain

Six physios, millions of exercises, one irritated back

Why doing more of the same was never going to work, and what changed when the approach did.

Read the story Whole Person Care

“It really feels like you are being listened to”

Why understanding the whole person, not just the injury, changes what treatment can achieve.

Read the story

Josh Devine treating a patient's neck and shoulder

Patient story

★★★★★

“Josh is excellent. He really listens to the issue you present and is supportive in helping you follow advice. After three sessions my issue was resolved.”

Amanda

Find the page for your problem

Back Pain

The most common reason people come to us.

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Sciatica

Nerve pain into the buttock and leg.

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Neck Pain

Whiplash, stiffness and headaches.

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Persistent Pain

Pain lasting longer than three months.

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Questions we get asked most

Can I use this advice instead of being assessed?

Use it to understand what is going on, not to self diagnose. These articles describe patterns we see often, but the same symptom can have very different causes and the plan changes accordingly. If something here sounds like you, that is a good reason to get assessed, not a substitute for it.

Do you offer acupuncture in Rainham?

Yes. Medical acupuncture is available as part of treatment where it is clinically appropriate, at our Rainham clinic.

Is medical acupuncture the same as acupuncture?

Medical acupuncture uses fine needles to reduce muscular tension and pain. It is different from traditional acupuncture in its reasoning, but the technique overlaps. We use it alongside hands on treatment where it is clinically appropriate.

See all physiotherapy questions