Since qualifying Clare has held many posts including working within a variety of Private Physiotherapy Clinics and the NHS, working for Cardiff City Football Club Academy and has been Head Physiotherapist for both the Celtic Crusaders Rugby League Under 18's and Wales Under 18's Superleague International squads.
Currently, Clare combines her Private work with Step Forward Physiotherapy with her continued work within Cardiff City Football Club, as Head of Academy Medicine.
Clare's experience in managing and treating many musculoskeletal problems, both acute and chronic has allowed her to develop a refreshing and exciting philosophy into physiotherapy. She believes in a holistic approach focusing on the importance of each individual patient and their own needs. Her skills include manual therapy, massage, ergonomics, sports specific rehabilitation, acupuncture and combined with her degree in Science in Health, Exercise and Sport, she is able to transfer her knowledge to facilitate her patient's treatment and rehabilitation.
After graduating Neil worked for the NHS, gaining experience in many areas of Physiotherapy but specialising in musculoskeletal conditions.
On leaving the NHS, Neil worked for Cardiff City Club Football Club initially as Senior Academy Physiotherapist before progressing to Head of Academy Sports Science and Medicine, where he had the responsibility of overseeing all medical and Sport Science matters related to any of the children registered with he Academy.
Neil has been working in Private Practice over 10 years and currently combines his work with Step Forward Physiotherapy with a First Contact Physiotherapy role in a local GP Surgery. Neil also has experience of working in a number of Occupational Health settings including Manufacturing and Call Centers. He is fully qualified in acupuncture, movement analysis, massage and specific strength training. He has a keen interest in back, shoulder and sports injuries, but believes he can transfer his rehabilitation skills to both a work and home environment to suit his client's needs. He also has a previous degree in Sports Science and all this has enabled him to develop a unique and innovative outlook to the treatment, management and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal conditions.
Understanding what may be the cause of your injury or pain can have a very positive influence on your recovery. Also, understanding the road to recovery and the nature of the injury can aid this. We will be able to discuss your condition/injury with you in order to improve your knowledge of the situation. We are also able to offer education on ways to prevent the injury re-occurring, advice on exercise, nutrition, work and leisure environments.
Soft tissue massage involves direct physical action on the soft tissues of the body. The target structures include the muscles, tendons, ligaments, or other connective tissue such as fascia. We will use a variety of techniques including a whole range of massage depths, pressures and durations in order to aid your recovery.
Manual therapy is the use of skilled, specific hands on assessment and treatment techniques to diagnose and treat muscles, ligaments and joint structures. We will use a number of techniques including mobilisations, massage, release techniques and PNF for the purpose of modulating pain; increasing range of motion (ROM); reducing or eliminating soft tissue inflammation; inducing relaxation; improving contractile and non-contractile tissue repair, extensibility, and/or stability; facilitating movement; and improving function.
Strapping and Taping have many roles such as to support the ligaments and capsules of unstable joints by limiting excessive or abnormal anatomical movement, enhancing proprioceptive feedback from the limb or joint, support injuries by limiting movement and reducing swelling through compression. We will use our knowledge of taping and strapping in order to aid your recovery and rehabilitation from your injury.
Acupuncture is a system of healing that has been practised for over 2,500 years, having originated in China and other far Eastern cultures. Acupuncture is a gentle and effective treatment that focuses on helping the whole person, aiming to improve their overall health and wellbeing, and today it is widely used and accepted all over the world. It involves the use of a collection of procedures involving penetration of the skin with needles in order to stimulate certain points on the body. It has been shown to be extremely beneficial in the treatment of both acute and chronic injuries; pain; swelling; reduced range of movement and improving function. You'll find our therapists fully trained and experienced in the use of acupuncture.
Rehabilitation is an important part of treating any injury. A rehabilitation programme aims to return the injured body part to normal function by gradually introducing it to movement, exercise and full function. An appropriate rehabilitation programme can not only aid recovery from injury but can also prevent recurrence of the injury, compensatory movements occurring and can in a high number of cases improve function and performance.
We are able to offer a number of appropriate rehabilitation programmes including:
Injury Specific rehabilitation
Sport Specific rehabilitation
Occupational health and rehabilitation
We have extensive knowledge and experience of dealing with a number of paediatric conditions and injuries. These include:
Osgood Schlatters
Severs disease
Soft tissue injuries
Hip pathologies