Our Treatment Approaches

Find your specialist

At Solent Specialist Physiotherapy, treatment approaches are selected based on clinical need, not offered as standalone services. Our focus is always on understanding what is driving your symptoms and choosing the most appropriate interventions to support recovery.

Not every approach is suitable for every person. Decisions are guided by assessment, evidence, and specialist clinical judgement.

Exercise-based rehabilitation

Exercise forms the foundation of most rehabilitation programmes. This may include targeted strengthening, mobility work, movement retraining, or graded loading strategies.

Exercises are prescribed and progressed carefully, based on diagnosis, stage of recovery, and individual goals — rather than generic programmes.

Manual therapy

Manual therapy may be used selectively to support movement, reduce symptoms, or facilitate engagement with rehabilitation.

It is never used in isolation, and is always integrated within a broader, goal-directed treatment plan.

Dry needling

Dry needling may be used to address muscle-related pain or protective muscle tension where clinically appropriate.

It is applied as an adjunct to rehabilitation, rather than a standalone treatment, and only when it supports the overall plan of care.

Learn more about dry needling →

Acupuncture

Acupuncture may be considered as part of pain management in selected cases, particularly where symptoms are persistent or complex.

Its use is guided by clinical reasoning and individual response, and is typically combined with rehabilitation and education.

Learn more about acupuncture →

Imaging request and interpretation

Where imaging is likely to meaningfully inform diagnosis or decision-making, we may recommend appropriate investigations such as X-ray, ultrasound, or MRI.

Findings are interpreted within the clinical context, rather than in isolation, to avoid over-reliance on imaging results that may not fully explain symptoms.

Learn more about imaging and interpretation →

Joint injection therapy

In some cases, injection therapy may be considered as part of a broader management pathway — often alongside rehabilitation and reassessment.

Decisions around injection therapy are made carefully, based on clinical findings, response to previous treatment, and individual circumstances.

Women’s health physiotherapy

Women’s health physiotherapy focuses on conditions related to the pelvic region, pregnancy, postnatal recovery, and hormonal or life-stage changes that can affect movement, pain, and function.

Assessment and treatment are guided by specialist training and clinical reasoning, and may include pelvic health assessment, exercise-based rehabilitation, education, and symptom-specific strategies tailored to individual presentation.

Care is always delivered sensitively and within an evidence-based, specialist framework.

Learn more about women’s health physiotherapy →

Working within a wider clinical pathway

We recognise the importance of integrated care. Where appropriate, treatment may involve liaison with GPs, orthopaedic consultants, imaging providers, or pain services to ensure care remains joined-up and appropriately guided.

A note on clinical decision-making

Not every treatment approach is required — and not every option is appropriate. Our role is to help guide decisions with clarity and confidence, using the right tools at the right time.

If you would like to understand which approaches may be relevant for your condition, this can be discussed during assessment.