Expert Physiotherapy Services in London

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Rebeca Nonaka is a qualified physiotherapist and craniosacral therapy expert based in London at the Rebeca Physio Clinic. See how her expert physiotherapy services can help you improve your health and wellbeing.

Rebeca Physio Clinic offers three main services to all her clients: Physiotherapy, Craniosacral and Acupuncture. She has the appropriate accreditation for all three disciplines.

Acupuncture Services

Western medical acupuncture is always implemented after a medical diagnosis. Acupuncture is sometimes available from NHS GP’s or physiotherapists, however, there is only limited access. Therefore, patients often pay for acupuncture privately. The cost of the treatment can differ with initial sessions usually costing between £40 and £70. Any further sessions will vary from £25 to £60. If you're thinking about having a course of acupuncture or you are already receiving this treatment for an existing health condition, you should talk to your GP about it.

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Craniosacral Services

Craniosacral Therapy is a process which addresses patterns of physical and psychological disease caused by injuries and illnesses that are picked up by people as they go through life. The patterns are absorbed into the tissues of the body, causing further bad health and dysfunctional behaviour.This form of therapy is split into two sections. Firstly, it enhances what is called the ‘Breath of Life’, which creates health and well-being in all areas of a person’s life. Secondly, it releases any blockages that stop this vitality’s movement through the body.

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Physiotherapy Services

Rebeca provides several types of physiotherapy including chest physiotherapy, posture correction and vertebral manipulation. She specialises in treating back and neck derangement, postural problems, occupational problems as well as sports injuries. Rebeca can also advise on the management of exercise routines.

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Acupuncture Services

How Acupuncture Works

Western medical acupuncture is the use of acupuncture following a medical diagnosis. It involves stimulating sensory nerves under the skin and in the muscles of the body.

This results in the body producing natural substances, such as pain-relieving endorphins. It's likely that these naturally released substances are responsible for the beneficial effects experienced with acupuncture.

A course of acupuncture usually creates longer lasting pain relief than when a single treatment is used.

Traditional acupuncture is based on the belief that an energy, or "life force", flows through the body in channels called meridians. This life force is known as Qi (pronounced "chee").

Practitioners who adhere to traditional beliefs about acupuncture believe that when Qi doesn't flow freely through the body, this can cause illness. They also believe acupuncture can restore the flow of Qi, and so restore health.

Uses of Acupuncture
Acupuncture practitioners – sometimes called acupuncturists – use acupuncture to treat a wide range of health conditions. However, the use of acupuncture isn't always based on rigorous scientific evidence.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides guidelines for the NHS on the use of treatments and care of patients.

Currently, NICE only recommends considering acupuncture as a treatment option for:
- chronic tension-type headaches
- migraines
Acupuncture is also often used to treat other musculoskeletal conditions (of the bones and muscles) and pain conditions, including:
- chronic pain, such as neck pain
- joint pain
- dental pain
- postoperative pain
However, in many conditions where acupuncture is used, there's less good quality evidence to draw any clear conclusions over its effectiveness compared with other treatments.
Acupuncture on the NHS

Acupuncture is sometimes available on the NHS, most often from GPs or physiotherapists, although access is limited.

Most acupuncture patients pay for private treatment. The cost of acupuncture varies widely between practitioners. Initial sessions usually cost £40 to £70, and further sessions £25 to £60.

If you're being treated by an acupuncture practitioner for a health condition or are considering having acupuncture, it's advisable to discuss this with your GP.
How Acupuncture is performed

An initial acupuncture session usually lasts 20 to 40 minutes and involves an assessment of your general health, medical history and a physical examination, followed by insertion of the acupuncture needles.

Courses of treatment often involve up to 10 separate sessions, but this can vary.
Insertion of the needles

The needles are inserted into specific places on the body, which practitioners call acupuncture points.

During the session, you'll usually be asked to sit or lie down. You may also be asked to remove some clothes so the practitioner can access certain parts of your body.

The needles used are fine and are usually a few centimetres long. They should be single-use, pre-sterilised needles that are disposed of immediately after use.

Acupuncture practitioners choose specific points to place the needles based on your condition. Up to 12 points may be used during a typical session, sometimes more depending on the number of symptoms you have.

The needles may be inserted just under the skin, or deeper so they reach muscle tissue. Once the needles are in place, they may be left in position for a length of time lasting from a few minutes up to around 30 minutes.

You may feel a tingling or a dull ache when the needles are inserted but shouldn't experience any significant pain. If you do, let your practitioner know straight away.

In some cases, your practitioner may rotate the needles or stimulate them with a mild electric current (known as electroacupuncture).
Acupuncture safety and regulation
There's no statutory regulation of acupuncture in England, but many non-medical acupuncture practitioners are required to register with their local authority.

If you choose to have acupuncture, make sure your acupuncture practitioner is either a regulated healthcare professional such as a doctor, nurse or physiotherapist or a member of a recognised national acupuncture organisation.

The British Acupuncture Council holds a register of practitioners that has been vetted and approved by the Professional Standards Authority. If you decide to have traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture, you can visit this website to find a qualified acupuncturist near you.

When it's carried out by a qualified practitioner, acupuncture is generally very safe. Some people experience mild, short-lived side effects such as:
- pain where the needles puncture the skin
- bleeding or bruising where the needles puncture the skin
- drowsiness
- feeling sick
- feeling dizzy or faint
- worsening of pre-existing symptoms
If you have a bleeding disorder, such as haemophilia, or are taking anticoagulants, talk to your GP before you have acupuncture.

Acupuncture is also not usually advised if you have a metal allergy or an infection in the area where needles may be inserted.

It's generally safe to have acupuncture when you're pregnant. However, let your acupuncture practitioner know if you're pregnant because certain acupuncture points can't be used safely during pregnancy.

What does it involve?

Cranio-Sacral Therapy is most often carried out with the client lying down, fully clothed in a quiet and peaceful environment. Treatment is usually experienced as a very profound relaxation which may pervade the whole person, physically, mentally and emotionally, often accompanied by a feeling of lightness and ease.

The gentle approach of Cranio-Sacral Therapy is entirely non-invasive. The subtle interaction of two systems - brought together by this light contact - stimulates and enhances self-healing mechanisms within the body to respond, release and open up to a more balanced healthy state.
What can it treat?

Cranio-Sacral Therapy treats people rather than conditions. It is primarily concerned with creating and maintaining a healthy, balanced state on all levels - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. This underlying state of well-being enables the bodies own healing mechanisms to operate at optimum level, and therefore enables the body to eliminate disease and restore health. Cranio-Sacral Therapy works on many different levels and influences many different structures within the body.

It influences the musculoskeletal system, the nervous system, the cardio-vascular system, the immune system, the organs, the connective tissues, the fluids and the energy systems of the body.

Because it treats the whole person it can influence all conditions affecting the whole person or any part of the person. Cranio-Sacral Therapy therefore has a very wide range of applications. It is suitable for every age from newborn babies to the elderly, including all ages and stages in between.

It is particularly valuable in babies and children since the establishment of healthy patterns at an early age sets patterns for the whole future of that individual, both in their health and in their abilities. It is also particularly renowned for its profound influence on the effects of Birth Trauma - the effects of which may range from learning difficulties, hyperactivity, ear infections and colic to epilepsy and cerebral palsy - as well as profoundly influencing an individual’s capabilities, their skills, their underlying level of health, and their very nature and constitution.
What conditions can be helped with Craniosacral Therapy?
Cranio-Sacral Therapy is also particularly valuable in solving and resolving intransigent, and persistent conditions. The following are just a few examples of the many conditions, which might benefit from Cranio-Sacral treatment:
- Headache, Migraine
- Asthma
- Sinusitis
- Bronchitis
- Cystitis
- Frozen Shoulder
- Arthritis
- Sciatica
- Chronic Sprained Ankle
- Joint Disorders
- Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
- Digestive Problems
- Menstrual Disorders, Period Pains
- Back Pain, Neck Pain and Persistent pain anywhere in the body
- Tension
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Insomnia
- Visual Disturbances
- Depression
- Post Operative Effects
- Adhesions
- Baby Care
- Colic
- Pyloric Stenosis
- Feeding Difficulties
- Compression of the skull due to a difficult birth, with its many after effects
- Learning Difficulties
- Squint
- Lazy Eye
- Hyperactivity
- Autism
- Epilepsy
- Cerebral Palsy
- Behavioral Disorders
- Tantrums
- Obsessional Behavior
- Poor coordination
- Dental and Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) Problems
- Shock and Trauma – from traumatic incidents, accidents, or conditionings
- Head Injuries, and their subtle influence on personality and mental state
- Meningitis and its chronic consequences
- Post Viral Syndrome
- ME
- Glandular Fever
- Fatigue
- Lack of Energy
- The after effects of any chronic illness or debilitating disease
- Ear Infections
- Glue Ear
- Tonsillitis
- ENT Problems
- Problems during and after Pregnancy
- Birth Trauma - with its profound physical and psycho-emotional consequences
- Dyslexia

Craniosacral Services

How Does Craniosacral Therapy Work

Cranio-Sacral Therapy involves a very gentle touch of the practitioner’s hands, both for diagnosis and for treatment. This light contact may be taken up on the cranium (the head), the sacrum (the tail-bone) or any other part of the body as appropriate, identifying subtle disturbances to the free motion of body tissues, the free circulation of body fluids, and the unrestricted flow of fundamental energy, potency, or vitality - the Breath of Life.

This underlying vitality is expressed throughout the body as rhythmic motion - Cranio-Sacral motion. Any disturbance to health and wellbeing - physical or psycho-emotional - influences this movement, creating asymmetries or restrictions to Cranio-Sacral motion. The Cranio-Sacral Therapist can therefore diagnose and identify the nature and source of the condition through the corresponding patterns expressed through the Cranio-Sacral system.

By responding appropriately to these patterns - following the subtle internal pulls and twists manifested by the Cranio-Sacral System until points of resistance are encountered and dissolved - the Cranio-Sacral Therapist can facilitate the release of restrictions, thereby restoring the free flow of the Breath of Life and consequently restoring a healthy, balanced state.

For expert physiotherapy services, choose the Rebeca Physio Clinic