Following the Government announcement of the new 4 week lockdown, we are happy to let you know that Keith James Physiotherapy is currently open for business as usual.

Some temporary changes have been made to our Massage Therapy appointments (but these will come to an end on 3rd December when 40 minute appointments will resume).

We will be looking out for any changes in the guidance from the Government and our professional bodies, but as of now we are not being asked to close.

We take the safety of our patients and staff very seriously so we will be following all of the procedures in our Coronavirus policy – and asking you to do the same.

Do not come into the clinic if you have symptoms of Coronavirus (or have been in contact with someone who has the virus). Please wear a face covering at all times while you are in the clinic and use the hand sanitiser provided.

If you have any questions about your appointment at Keith James Physiotherapy, give us a call on (0117) 330 6820 or email us at [email protected]. As you can imagine, we are busy dealing with the challenges thrown up by Coronavirus and this latest announcement, so please be patient if your call or query is not answered immediately. We will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you for your understanding.

We are delighted to welcome our new Massage Therapist, Kate Stone to the Keith James Physiotherapy Team. Kate graduated in 2005 with a First Class Honours in Sports Conditioning and Coaching from the University of the West of England. Her training included Sports Therapy, Massage and Sports Rehabilitation.

She went on to work in the Pharmaceutical Industry for 5 years, and then moved to the Dental Industry for the following 10 years, where she took on a number of roles supporting colleagues and training new starters.

Kate has now had the opportunity to change her career to focus on an area she has always been passionate about – Sports Therapy and Massage. She has joined the team at Keith James Physiotherapy and will be offering Sports Massage and Personal Training, while she is continuing her MSc in Sports Therapy at Gloucester University. Kate is a member of the Society of Sports Therapists.

Kate will be taking over from Racheal, who has now left Keith James Physiotherapy to begin her new and exciting career in Physiotherapy.

Kate will be working in the clinic on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings. Call us on (0117) 330 6820 or visit the online booking page of our website to make your appointment.

You will know her as our Massage Therapist Racheal Duncan, but as of today, Racheal is officially a qualified Physiotherapist! Not only that, she got a first for her degree!

At the same time as working at Keith James Physiotherapy, Racheal has been studying hard for her Physiotherapy degree at UWE for the last 3 years.

But don’t worry, Racheal isn’t about to leave us just yet. She will still be delivering massage therapy at the clinic, so book in to see her if you would like to benefit from her skills and expertise.

Well done Racheal! We are all very proud of you!

We are delighted to announce that from Tuesday 21st July our Massage Therapists will be offering appointments for Sports Massage and Deep Tissue Massage. At present we are offering appointments of 40 minutes duration, so that our therapists can really get to work on any aches, pains and tight muscles that you might have developed over the last few months.

Our Massage Therapists Racheal and Kirstie will be following the same safety procedures that we already have in place at the clinic, so you can be confident that we are following guidelines and wearing PPE as required during you appointment. If you would like to book in for a 40 minute massage appointment, please call the clinic on (0117) 330 6820 or email [email protected]. Appointments will cost £36 for the 40 minute session. For more information on the benefits of massage therapy click here.

When the Coronavirus lockdown came into action at the end of March, we were told that we should stay at home – with the exception of the 1 hour that we were allowed to take exercise outside of the home. And judging by the number of people that we have seen walking and running around the local area, the idea of daily exercise seemed to really catch on.

The BBC have reported that more than 858,000 people downloaded the NHS-backed Couch to 5K app between March and the end of June. The figures represent a 92% increase over the same period in 2019, when it was downloaded 448,000 times. The NHS has urged people to keep going if they started exercising during the lockdown and hailed running as good for physical and mental health.

For those who didn’t want to run, a number of other options became available to help us to exercise at home. One of those was the PE classes run by Joe Wicks – designed for children who were unable to do their PE classes at school – but evidence from social media suggested that lots of parents were taking part in these classes too! And via the various social media platforms, it was possible to take virtual classes in Pilates, yoga and much more, run by teachers from health and fitness centres based all over the world.

Keeping fit in these challenging times has been really important for our physical and mental well being. However, there are some downsides to exercising on your own, without support from trained exercise professionals who can watch what you are doing and correct technique as necessary. One of those is the development of aches, pains and injuries.

If you are finding that you have a niggling ache or pain that has developed during lockdown, make an appointment to see one of our therapists. They will be able to work out what is causing the problem and help you to strengthen your body so that you can carry on with your exercise regime with confidence – and keep up all of the good work that you have achieved over the last few months.

From 1^st July Keith James Physiotherapy is open for face-to-face appointments, as well as video consultations. At the present time Massage therapy is still unavailable.

Based on advice given from Public Health England and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, we have made the following changes to our practice to maximise the safety of our patients and staff.

• When booking an appointment, we will ask you a brief set of medical questions.
• We will offer you the option of video consultations or face-to-face contact.
• We will ask you to arrive at your appointment time and not any earlier.
• Patients should come to their appointment alone (unless they are a child or require a carer).
• We ask that you bring with you a face covering and wear it while on our premises. If you do not have a face covering, we have disposable masks available (£1 charge).
• If possible, please use your own bathroom prior to your visit. You can, of course use ours, but please notify the reception staff.
• Please use the hand sanitiser on entry to the clinic.
• Please minimise your contact with handrails and furniture.
• Payment will be with card or BACS transfer (no cash).
• Please wear appropriate clothing for your appointment. Patients with upper limb issues should wear a vest top and patients with lower limb issues should wear loose fitting shorts.

To reassure you, we have changed our practice protocols so to avoid patient interaction/contact:

• We have staggered our appointment times to reduce waiting room traffic
• Appointment times are spaced allowing us to clean between each appointment.
• PPE gear will be worn by all therapists
• We will be limiting our contact time to 15 minutes (inside the 2-metre distance guide).
• Patients using the gymnasium will be required to wear medical gloves (costing 50p)
• In addition to our normal cleaning protocols, staff will be cleaning all clinic areas with regularly with disinfectant.
• We are staying up to date with advice and guidance on best practise.

Should you have any concerns or queries, please contact us on (0117) 330 6820 or email: [email protected] for more information.

After what has been a very strange period for us all, we at Keith James Physiotherapy will be opening our doors for face-to-face consultations on Wednesday 1st July. Over the past 3 months we have stayed at home and followed government advice to help stop the spread of Coronavirus. As lockdown measures ease, we are slowly, and cautiously, returning to some kind of normality and we look forward to welcoming you back to our clinic.

To keep in line with the regulations set out by the government and our professional bodies we have had to alter the way we work. For example, fewer therapists will be present in the building at any one time, a screen has been installed on our reception counter and all staff will be wearing Personal Protective Equipment. All of the changes we have made are designed to keep our patients and staff as safe as possible.

If you would like to make an appointment, please telephone us on (0117) 330 6820 or send an email to: [email protected]. Our Reception will be open from 10am-5pm, Monday to Friday from 1^st July. One of our Reception team members will be here to answer your queries and get you booked in. At present we can offer appointments for Physiotherapy, Acupuncture and Podiatry. Current guidelines mean that we are unable to offer Massage appointments just now, but we hope to be able to do this again soon.

When you call to make an appointment, you will be asked a few medical questions. This will establish if you might be in a position to spread Coronavirus. If this is the case, we can still offer you an appointment via video to avoid any need to come in to the clinic. If you do attend for a face-to-face appointment you will find that our waiting room has been reorganised to comply with social distancing requirements. In addition, you will be asked to arrive at the time of your appointment (not before) and spend as little time in the waiting area as possible.

Currently, our professional bodies have specified that during appointments, therapists should spend no more than 15 minutes at less than 2 metres distance from a patient. This reduced close contact time is necessary to meet current guidelines on social distancing but may, of course, be subject to change as the situation in the UK develops. Under these guidelines we can offer appointments for Physiotherapy, Acupuncture and Podiatry. We hope to be able to offer appointments for Massage Therapy very soon, but at the moment this is not possible due to the 2 metre social distancing guidelines.

We are delighted that as of 1^st July we can provide the opportunity to be seen in person by one of our therapists. However, if you still feel a little unsure about coming in to the clinic to see us, we will be continuing to offer remote consultations by phone or video. Our goal is what it has always been – to get you back to where you want to be: a better, fitter, stronger you, without the pain or restriction of movement or function.

We look forward to welcoming you back shortly.
Best wishes,
Keith