Theodore Ntetsikas


Expertise

Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, sports related injuries, Manual Therapy, Postural and gate assessment and correction.

Qualifications

Bsc Physiotherapy, Member of the Health and Care Professional Council and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

The last course you attended

“Understanding Red Flags and Serious Spinal Pathology” – as a clinical physiotherapist, the initial assessment is a fundemental part of my job as it allows me to gain vital information about clients’ injuries, mechanics, postural adaptations and motor behaviours.  I can then formulate a set of differential diagnosis and develop an effective treatment plan

The most challenging case to treat

I like challenges in general, so I am always enthusiastic to treat clients with a long history of chronic pain, after they tried all sort of therapy and doctors, without arriving yet at a final resolution. The most common challenge I often encounter is when patients become accustomed to live with pain.  I believe patients must be explained the source of their pain, how pain behaves and the multifactorial aspects that can exacerbate it.  My priority is to educate every individual to develop confidence with each treatment session, while teaching them something new about their body, how it works and how to improve their quality of life.

What makes a good physiotherapist
I found very important the ability to modulate and tailor the therapeutic plan on the client’s expectation and personal goals, modulating between manual therapy, stretching, strength and conditioning.

Moreover, the passion for learning and a good open mind are always fundamental as well as the ability to listen and notice beyond the words, those little but very important hidden details like for posture, body language, chosen words, type of breath, quality of movement, etc.

What is the most common advise you give to your patients?

To listen to their body. There is no point to push a training or an exercise if there is some pain or discomfort which is a clear message of something wrong. In fact, I ask them to forget the classic “no pain no gain” which is for body building and not for rehabilitation. I prefer them to substitute it with “less is more” and “focus and intention plus attention”. In this way, they can learn how a few daily exercises, with the right alignment avoiding compensations, can do much more than an extreme effort, overall if paying the right attention to what is happening in their bodies and what sensations they can perceive. Finally, I remind them how doesn’t exist a good strength without a same level of flexibility, so a good myofascial stretching needs to become part of their daily life.