I completed my Physiotherapy degree in 2010 and my first role was in palliative care. This is when I first trained to do acupuncture for managing pain, nausea and complex symtoms experienced by those in end of life care. Then I worked at a private hospital with inpatients and outpatients with varied and complex needs. I saw neurological, chronic fatigue/ME patients, musculoskeletal patients and became a senior memeber of the team. I then joined the Queen Victora Hospital in East Grinstead, specialising in musculoskeletal physiotherapy and brought specialist skills to the team, including; dizziness assessment and vestibular rehabilitation, headache and migraine management. Many of these patients would also report issues related to their jaw, sometimes debilitating and therefore I became particularly interested in the tempormandibular disorder (TMD) patients that were referred from the specialist Maxillofacial Surgery unit. The maxillofacial team recognise the importance of physiotherapy in both surgical and non-surgical TMD patients. Queen Victoria Hospital is internally renowed as a specialist centre for reconstructive surgery, plastic surgery and burns care, historically famous for the "Guniea Pig Club", who received experimental revolutionary surgeries. It was therefore an exciting and unique place to treat patients with TMD. Over the years it became abundantly apparent that these patients had varied and complex presentations, that were often misunderstood, dismissed and incorrectly treated prior to there referral to the hospital. The great variety of symptoms experienced, often lead to many referrals to rule out other causes and frustration for patients. The average number of clinicians/professions seen by a person with TMD is ten before they are finally diagnosed correctly and referred to see a trained physiotherapy. Unfortunately, it is still the case across the country, that many still don't get specialist physiotherapy, as awareness is low. Historically this was because TMD was incorrectly thought to be solely a dental problem and so patients were advised to seek dental treatments, invasive surgeries and procedures. This also meant that TMD was not including in most physiotherapy degree courses. Fortuantely, myself and a small number of physiotherapist across the country, are working to change this and promote specialist training amongst physiotherapists, but also awareness amongst patients and our clinician colleagues including; dentists, neurologists, ENT, Maxillofacial, GPs etc. I mostly treat conditions of the head, neck and jaw (also known as cranio-cervico-mandibular) but they can not entirely be separate to the rest of the body and an understanding of this relationship is essential. It is due to my particular skill set, understanding of the patients and their symptoms and my passion, that I dedicate all my time to this area. I continue my NHS work alongside the wider multidisciplinary team involved in their care, but also privately to meet the demands of the patient group. I also work with patients who have had complex, often life changing injuries and require specilist assessment and treatment.

To find a specialist TMD physio: https://acptmd.co.uk/find-your-nearest-tmd-specialist/

To find a specialist Vestibular physio: https://acpivr.com/find-a-physio/

About Me