Concierge physiotherapy · UK
Physiotherapy for back pain + sciatica - first-line care, done properly.
The NICE-endorsed first step for low back pain and radicular leg pain. A chartered MSK physiotherapist, red flags screened before anything else, graded exercise that actually progresses - and a mapped route onwards if it will not settle.
Why patients choose us
- 01
An MSK physiotherapist who treats spines all day
A named chartered physiotherapist with a genuine musculoskeletal spine caseload - not a generalist squeezing your back between ankle sprains.
- 02
Red flags screened, escalation route ready
Cauda equina symptoms, unexplained weight loss, night pain - screened at the first visit. And if radicular pain will not settle, the route to an MSK consultant, injection or surgical opinion is already mapped.
- 03
Independent, and free
We are paid by no clinic, so the recommendation - including whether you need physiotherapy at all, or simply time and sensible activity - is impartial and costs you nothing.
Indicative pricing
What private physiotherapy costs in the UK.
Indicative ranges across our partner physiotherapy clinics. Send the details and we quote firm figures across two or three options, with cover checked.
In short
A block of six sessions in our network: £250–£500, first assessment within days.
| Session | Indicative range | Typical duration | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial physiotherapy assessment (45–60 min) | £60–£120 | 45–60 min | Treatment starts same visit |
| Follow-up session (30 min) | £45–£85 | 30 min | Weekly or fortnightly |
| Block of 6 sessions | £250–£500 | 4–8 weeks | Reviewed at session 3 |
| Home-visit physiotherapy | £90–£150 | 45–60 min | At your home |
| Extended session with rehab gym (60 min) | £80–£140 | 60 min | Clinic gym setting |
| MSK consultant physiotherapy opinion (London) | £150–£250 | 45–60 min | Report within days |
Prices vary by city - central London sits at the top of every range - by the physiotherapist’s seniority, and by format (clinic, rehab gym or home visit). Most straightforward episodes need four to eight sessions. We come back with a firm quote within one working day.
The problem
Seen early, screened properly, and a plan that actually progresses.
Back pain care fails in predictable ways - weeks on a waiting list while the episode entrenches, no proper red-flag screen, and sessions that repeat rather than progress. We fix all three.
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Days, not months, to be seen
Early guided movement changes the trajectory of an episode. Waiting weeks for a first appointment is where acute pain turns persistent.
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Screen first, treat second
Cauda equina symptoms, weight loss, fever, night pain - checked at the first visit, with an urgent route out if anything is found.
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A programme, not a subscription
Every session should load you a little further towards a discharge date and a self-management plan - not book the next appointment by default.
The journey
From enquiry to discharge - what happens, in order.
One team from first message through assessment, the exercise programme, reviews and a self-management plan you keep.
Phase 1 · Before your first session
Triage, red-flag check, booking
Phase 2 · Your first assessment
Examination and first treatment
Phase 3 · After
Programme, reviews, discharge
- 01
Before
You tell us what is going on
A short, confidential form. Where the pain is, whether it runs down the leg, how long it has been there, what makes it better or worse, and any red-flag symptoms.
- 02
Before
We come back with a recommendation
Within one working day: the right physiotherapist, a realistic view of how many sessions you are likely to need, an indicative price. If it needs a doctor first, we say so.
- 03
Before
Red flags checked before anything else
Saddle numbness, bladder or bowel change, progressive leg weakness, unexplained weight loss, fever or night pain reroute you to urgent care - not a physio couch.
- 04
Before
Booking around your week
First assessment within days, at a clinic near work or home - or a home visit. Loose clothing you can move in is the only preparation.
- 05
First session
Your first assessment session
45–60 minutes. Your story, a movement exam, a neurological check of the leg, and a working diagnosis explained in plain English. Treatment starts the same day.
- 06
First session
A plan you leave with
A short, specific exercise programme, directional-preference movements if they help your pain, advice on pacing, work and activity - written down, not just spoken.
- 07
After
The programme, reviews and discharge
Follow-ups to progress the loading as pain allows, reviews at agreed checkpoints, and discharge with a self-management plan - or escalation to an MSK consultant if the leg pain will not shift.
Typical start: first assessment within days of enquiry. Most back-pain episodes settle in 6–12 weeks; sciatica can take longer.
When it helps
When physiotherapy is the right step.
The situations we see most, plus the one red flag that means A&E now rather than a physiotherapy booking.
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A new episode of low back pain
Most episodes are “non-specific” - no serious cause - and settle in 6–12 weeks. Early guided movement gets you there faster than rest.
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Sciatica - pain running down the leg
Radicular pain from an irritated nerve root, commonly disc-related. Slower to settle than back pain alone, but most cases still recover without surgery.
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Recurrent back pain that keeps returning
Episodes that come back every few months usually mean the loading and habits between episodes need work - that is a programme, not a quick fix.
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Back pain that flares with sitting or bending
A clear directional pattern - worse bending, better walking, or vice versa - often responds quickly to McKenzie-style directional-preference exercise.
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Stiffness and fear of moving
When pain has made you guard, brace and avoid, graded exposure and reassurance are the treatment - fear-avoidance itself prolongs episodes.
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Getting back to sport, lifting or a physical job
The gap between “pain settled” and “back to deadlifts or a manual job” is progressive loading - the part rest alone never delivers.
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After an injection or spinal surgery
Structured rehabilitation after an epidural, nerve-root block or discectomy protects the result and rebuilds capacity.
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Red flag: saddle numbness or bladder change
Numbness between the legs, new bladder or bowel dysfunction, or rapidly progressive leg weakness can mean cauda equina syndrome - that is A&E now, not a physio booking.
Treatment options
The approach depends on your pattern - and your goal.
What each element involves - the exercise backbone, the adjuncts that support it, and the escalation route that catches the cases exercise alone will not fix.
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Graded exercise and progressive loading
The core of NICE-endorsed care. Movements and loads built up steadily as pain allows - restoring capacity rather than protecting a “weak” back.
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Directional-preference (McKenzie) work
Repeated movements in the direction that centralises your pain - a strong predictor of good outcome when leg pain retreats towards the spine.
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Manual therapy as an adjunct
Joint mobilisation and soft-tissue work can ease pain short-term - always alongside exercise, never instead of it.
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Pacing, activity and work advice
How to keep moving, keep working and modify rather than stop. Staying at work, even adjusted, predicts faster recovery.
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Addressing fear-avoidance
Education and graded exposure for the entirely human instinct to guard a painful back - one of the strongest levers in persistent pain.
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Neural mobilisation for sciatica
Gentle nerve-gliding exercises for radicular leg pain, layered onto the loading programme as the nerve root settles.
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Rehab-gym based programmes
For the return-to-sport and manual-work end: supervised strength work in a clinic gym, bridging clinic exercises to real-world load.
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Escalation when it will not settle
Persistent radicular pain beyond expected timescales earns an MSK consultant review, MRI where it will change management, and a conversation about injection or surgery.
Our vetted UK network
A small panel of physiotherapists, we picked them.
Chartered MSK physiotherapists and rehab clinics across London and the major UK cities. Introductions are made privately, once we understand your case.
Selection criteria
How we choose every physiotherapist in our network.
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Chartered, HCPC-registered physiotherapists with a dedicated musculoskeletal spine caseload
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First assessment within days, with evening and weekend slots and home visits available
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Rehab gym facilities on site for progressive loading and return-to-sport work
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A mapped escalation route to MSK consultants, imaging and spinal opinion when needed
Safety and recovery
What to expect through a course - honestly.
Physiotherapy is a very low-risk treatment. The things worth understanding are the timescales, the role of imaging, and exactly what triggers an escalation.
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No anaesthetic, no needles, no theatre
This is a course of assessment, exercise and hands-on treatment in a clinic or rehab gym. You drive yourself home from every session.
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Imaging is usually not needed early
NICE guidance is clear: routine early MRI for back pain does not help and can mislead - disc changes are common in pain-free people. Imaging is for red flags or when it will change management.
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Expect some post-exercise soreness
New loading makes muscles ache for a day or two - that is adaptation, not damage. Your physiotherapist calibrates the dose so flares stay small.
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Most back pain settles in 6–12 weeks
Non-specific low back pain has a genuinely good natural history. Physiotherapy speeds the return to normal life and cuts the risk of recurrence.
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Sciatica takes longer - be patient with the nerve
Radicular leg pain can take weeks to months to settle as the nerve root calms. Improvement that is slow but steady is still the right trajectory.
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Bed rest is not treatment
More than a day or two of rest delays recovery. Relative rest, then graded movement, is the evidence-based path - your plan is built around it.
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Manual therapy has limits
Hands-on treatment can ease pain but does not “put anything back in place”. Anyone promising realignment over a course of open-ended sessions is selling, not treating.
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When escalation is the safe choice
Progressive weakness, unrelenting radicular pain beyond expected timescales, or pain stopping sleep and work despite good rehab warrants a consultant review - we arrange it.
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Red flags at any point
Saddle numbness, new bladder or bowel change, progressive leg weakness, fever, unexplained weight loss or constant night pain need same-day medical assessment - A&E for cauda equina symptoms.
Reading your treatment plan
Your treatment plan in four parts. Read the last one first.
Whatever mix of exercise, directional work and hands-on treatment you have, the plan your physiotherapist sends you keeps to the same shape.
A quiet reminder
Rehab language is precise and can read coldly - we translate it for you.
If you would like us to talk you through the plan and the review criteria before your next session, just ask.
- 01 Header
Working diagnosis and baseline
What your physiotherapist thinks is driving the pain - non-specific back pain, radicular pain, or a specific pattern - and your baseline movement, strength and pain scores.
- 02 Screening
Red flags and neurological findings
Confirmation that cauda equina and other red flags were screened, and the neuro exam of the leg - power, reflexes, sensation - recorded so change over time is measurable.
- 03 Plan
Your exercise programme and progressions
The specific exercises, sets and loads, the directional-preference movements if used, and how the programme steps up at each review.
- 04 Impression
Timescales, review points, escalation criteria
Read this first: the expected recovery window, when you will be reviewed, what “not on track” looks like, and exactly what triggers referral onwards.
Recognised by major UK insurers
Physiotherapy is one of the most commonly covered private treatments - most policies fund a course with a GP or specialist referral, and some allow direct access. We confirm cover and session limits before booking.
Frequently asked
Everything we get asked about back pain and sciatica.
Quick answers on scans, timescales, rest versus movement, cost and the NHS route.
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What actually causes sciatica?
Sciatica is leg pain from an irritated or compressed nerve root in the lower spine - most commonly from a disc bulge or herniation, sometimes from narrowing (stenosis). The pain typically runs below the knee, often with pins and needles or numbness. Importantly, most disc-related sciatica improves without surgery as the inflammation settles.
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Do I need an MRI scan first?
Usually not. NICE guidance advises against routine early imaging for low back pain and sciatica because disc bulges and degenerative changes are common in people with no pain at all, and scans rarely change early management. Imaging earns its place when red flags appear or when an injection or surgery is genuinely on the table.
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What happens at the first appointment?
A 45–60 minute assessment: your history, screening for red flags (including cauda equina symptoms), a movement exam and a neurological check of the leg. You leave with a working diagnosis in plain English, your first exercises, and a written plan - treatment starts on day one, not at session three.
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How long until I feel better?
Most episodes of low back pain settle substantially within 6–12 weeks, and physiotherapy speeds the return to normal activity. Sciatica is slower - the nerve root can take weeks to months to calm - but steady improvement is the expected pattern. If you are not on track at review, the plan changes rather than simply repeating.
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Should I rest, or keep moving?
Keep moving. Beyond the first day or two, bed rest delays recovery, and staying at work - adjusted if needed - predicts a better outcome. Your programme is built on graded activity: enough load to rebuild capacity, not so much that flares set you back. Fear of movement itself is one of the strongest drivers of persistent pain, and we treat it directly.
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What are the risks of physiotherapy?
Very low. Expect some post-exercise muscle soreness for a day or two as loading increases, and occasionally a short-lived flare after manual therapy. Serious harm is rare because the treatment is assessment, education and exercise. The real risk is the untreated red flag - which is why screening happens before anything else.
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How much does private physiotherapy cost in the UK?
An initial 45–60 minute assessment is typically £60–£120, follow-ups £45–£85, and a block of six sessions £250–£500. Home visits run £90–£150, and an MSK consultant physiotherapy opinion in London sits at the upper end, £150–£250. We confirm firm figures within one working day.
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Can I get this on the NHS instead?
Yes - many areas offer self-referral to NHS MSK physiotherapy and NICE guideline NG59 underpins the same treatment approach. The constraint is time: waits of several weeks to months are common, and sessions can be short or group-based. Privately you are typically assessed within days, with the session length and continuity a spine problem needs.
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All tests & procedures
Every test and procedure we arrange.
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