Third Swell Physiotherapy — Rehab that holds up under load

Start where it hurts

Six complaints that fill most of the diary

If one of these sounds like your week, you already know what to put in the enquiry box. Each row is what people actually say, what tends to be driving it, and what the first session does about it.

Low backLocks up after a long sitting day, then eases once I walk

Usually driven by: Hips and mid-back doing almost nothing while the lumbar spine takes every rep of bending, lifting and standing up.
First visit plan: Movement screen under load, hands-on release through the hip and thoracic restrictions, then two drills to use at your desk and one to use before lifting anything heavy.

KneeFine on the flat, sharp on stairs and downhill

Usually driven by: Quadriceps and calf capacity that has quietly dropped below what your step length demands, so the kneecap absorbs the shortfall.
First visit plan: Single-leg strength and control testing, side-to-side comparison, a loading entry point that does not flare you for three days, and a stair strategy for the interim.

ShoulderCan't sleep on that side, can't reach the top shelf

Usually driven by: Rotator cuff irritability plus a stiff upper back, which turns overhead reaching into a pinch instead of a glide.
First visit plan: Range mapping in several positions, isometric loading to settle the pain response, and a night-time set-up so you stop waking at two in the morning.

Achilles & calfStiff for the first kilometre, sore the morning after

Usually driven by: Tendon load climbing faster than tendon tolerance — usually a jump in mileage, a new shoe, or hill work added too soon.
First visit plan: Calf endurance testing, a weekly load ceiling we agree on in writing, and heavy-slow work you can do with the kit you already own.

Post-operativeSurgery went well, but nobody told me what week six looks like

Usually driven by: A gap between the surgical protocol and real life, where early milestones are clear and the return-to-sport end is vague.
First visit plan: We read your protocol together, mark where you are against it, and build the next block of rehab with criteria for progressing rather than dates.

Neck & jawTight by Wednesday, headaches by Friday afternoon

Usually driven by: Sustained neck positions, shallow breathing patterns and a deep neck flexor group with very little endurance left.
First visit plan: Joint-by-joint assessment, manual therapy through the upper neck if it is indicated, and short endurance work that fits between meetings.

How we work

Settle it, then load it — in that order

Most people arrive having already tried rest. Rest reduces the signal, but it also reduces capacity, which is why the pain tends to come back the week normal life resumes. The studio is built around the opposite sequence: calm the tissue enough to move, then rebuild the tolerance that got outgrown in the first place.

Hands-on treatment has a place in that, and it is a specific one. Manual therapy, dry-needling-free soft tissue work and joint mobilisation are used to buy a window where you can move better than you could an hour ago. What goes into that window is the part that lasts: load, measured and progressed, with numbers written down so progress is not a matter of memory.

“If a plan cannot survive a bad week, a work trip and a late night, it is not a plan — it is a list of exercises.”

Every assessment produces three things: a working explanation of what is happening in plain language, a loading plan with a start point and a ceiling, and the criteria that tell us when to progress. You will leave knowing what to do on a good day, what to do on a sore day, and what would make us change course.

Therapist performing hands-on soft tissue treatment on a client lying face down on a treatment plinth — Hands-on work is used to open a window for movement, not as the whole treatment.

Sessions & fees

Four ways people use the studio

Fees are per session and include the written plan. Most problems need somewhere between three and six visits spread over six to eight weeks, and we will say so at the first assessment rather than at the fourth.

Initial assessment

55 MIN · £78 · FIRST VISIT

The long one. History, testing, treatment on the day if it is indicated, and the first block of your plan built before you leave.

Loaded movement screen and side-to-side comparison
Hands-on treatment where it changes something
Written plan with start loads and a weekly ceiling
Clear answer on whether physiotherapy is the right call

Follow-up treatment

40 MIN · £58 · ONGOING

Retest, adjust, progress. Half the session is usually hands-on and half is coaching the next loading step under supervision.

Retest of the measures that mattered last time
Plan updated the same day, not a week later
Technique coached with the load you will actually use

Movement review

45 MIN · £62 · NO CURRENT INJURY

For people who are not in pain but keep running into the same wall — a lift that stalls, a stride that feels lopsided, a season that always ends early.

Capacity testing for the demands you care about
Honest read on what is limiting you
Eight-week strength outline you can run yourself

Post-operative rehab block

6 × 40 MIN · £318 · BOOKED AS A SET

A planned run of sessions for knees, shoulders and ankles after surgery, scheduled across the phase where consistency matters most.

Your surgical protocol translated into weekly work
Criteria-based progressions instead of fixed dates
Return-to-activity testing before you go back to it

First visit

Fifty-five minutes, three parts

Wear something you can move and squat in, and bring the shoes you train or work in. Nothing about the session requires you to undress beyond what you are comfortable with.

01 · First 15 minutes

The story, in detail

When it started, what makes it worse, what you have already tried, and what you are actually trying to get back to. The target matters as much as the symptom.

02 · Next 25 minutes

Testing and treatment

Range, strength and control, measured and written down. If hands-on work will help you move better in the same session, it happens here.

03 · Last 15 minutes

The plan, coached

We rehearse the exercises with real load so you know what they should feel like, then you leave with the plan and a date for the retest.

Person working through a controlled mat-based movement exercise on the studio floor — Mat and floor work is rehearsed in the session so the home plan is not guesswork.

Opening pattern

When the studio runs

One therapist means a finite diary. Early and evening blocks go first, usually a fortnight ahead; midday slots are often free the same week.

Session blocks

Mon: 8:00 – 15:00Assessments and follow-ups. Last booking 14:10.
Tue: 8:00 – 19:40Evening block from 17:00 — the fastest to fill.
Wed: Post-operative dayRehab blocks and surgical follow-ups only.
Thu: 7:10 – 19:40New early block at 7:10; evening block from 17:00.
Fri: 8:00 – 14:00Movement reviews and return-to-sport testing.
Sat: 9:00 – 12:30Two Saturdays a month, released a month ahead.

Requests sent through the form are answered in order, usually within a working day. You will get two or three concrete times to choose from rather than a link to a calendar, because the right slot depends on what we are treating.

If the diary is full and your problem needs attention sooner, the reply will say so and point you toward a sensible interim step instead of holding a space you cannot use.

Request an assessment

Who you'll see

Mara Ellison, physiotherapist

Mara sees every client at Third Swell from assessment through to discharge.

Mara opened Third Swell after a decade split between a busy musculoskeletal outpatient department and the side of a pitch, where the question is never only “is this injured” but “can this person go back out, and at what cost”. That bias shows in how sessions run: a lot of testing, a lot of numbers, and no plan handed over without rehearsing it first.

Her clinical interests are tendon problems that have outlasted everyone's patience, knees after reconstruction, and the long middle stretch of rehab where motivation usually fails — the week six to week twenty window that decides whether a recovery actually holds.

Sessions are one-to-one for their full length. You will see the same therapist each visit, and if your problem turns out to be better served by someone else, you will be told that at the first appointment.

Commonly treated here

Tendon pain: Achilles, patellar, gluteal, elbow
Post-operative knee, shoulder and ankle rehab
Persistent low back and neck complaints
Return to running, lifting and field sport

Referred elsewhere

Acute injuries needing imaging or urgent review
Paediatric and vestibular presentations
Anything outside a physiotherapy scope of practice

Before you book

Questions people ask first

Do I need a referral from a doctor?

No. You can request an assessment directly. If your insurer requires a referral for reimbursement, or if something in your history suggests medical review is the better first step, that will be flagged in the reply before you book anything.

What should I wear and bring?

Clothing you can move, squat and lie down in — shorts are ideal for knee, hip and ankle problems, and a vest top for shoulder or neck work. Bring the shoes you run, lift or work in, plus any scan reports or surgical notes you have.

Will the treatment hurt, and will I be sore afterwards?

Testing can briefly reproduce your symptoms, because that is how we know what we are measuring. Hands-on work is kept within what you tell us is tolerable. Mild soreness for a day after a first session is common; a flare that lasts longer than that means the entry load was too high and we adjust it.

How many sessions will I need?

Most straightforward problems take three to six visits across six to eight weeks, with the gaps widening as you take over the plan. Post-operative rehab runs longer and is booked as a block. You will get an estimate at the first assessment and an honest update if it changes.

Can I claim this on private health insurance?

Receipts are itemised with session type, duration and date, which is what most policies ask for. Check your own cover limits and whether your insurer requires pre-authorisation before the first visit — the studio does not bill insurers directly.

What is the cancellation policy?

Twenty-four hours' notice releases the slot at no charge, and we will offer it to whoever is next on the list. Inside twenty-four hours the session is charged, because a single-therapist diary cannot absorb it. Illness and genuine emergencies are handled sensibly.

Do you see people during pregnancy or after birth?

Yes, for musculoskeletal complaints such as back, hip and pelvic girdle pain, and for returning to strength work afterwards. Pelvic health physiotherapy is a separate specialism and those referrals are directed to a practitioner who holds it.

Is the studio a gym I can train in between sessions?

No — the floor is used for appointments only, one person at a time. Your plan is written for whatever equipment you do have, whether that is a full gym, a pair of dumbbells, or a doorway and a step.