Hi, I am in my 50s and have a complicated medical history including joint hypermobility, rheumatic fever leading to juvenile arthritis and the added complication of AuDHD which makes it vital that anyone dealing with me understands that I process information in a different way to most people although a professional history in dance and dance teaching does give me an understanding of the concept of exercise.

An old injury on my knee began to act up during lockdown and I was unfortunate enough to fall under a different physio (not Surrey Physio) who tried to prescribe treatment remotely (by e mail). This resulted in me developing tendinopothy in my hip on top of the inflammation and baker cyst which was now restricting the movement in my right knee to the point where I was having far too many falls and was in constant pain. This meant that I was struggling to move around my house and garden and had many sleepless nights due to the pain in my knee and hip.

The final straw was when my knee started audibly "banging" and a couple of times I ended up face down in a flower bed while weeding. Although I don't have much good to say about previous NHS physio this really wasn't a sustainable situation.

I have to say after my experience of the first physio I was sceptical when my GP referred me to you but your clinician Sam was a revelation. He actually LISTENED to what I was telling him and took time to understand my problem which is very important to me. He then took x rays and looked deeper into the problem to find the actual underlying issue which it seems is arthritis in my knee. I went in believing that my primary symptom - Baker cyst - was a condition in itself but apparently it is actually a symptom of a problem elsewhere.

I was given exercises to do - but properly supervised and with the necessary follow up appointments so that if anything was overstraining my hypermobile joints it was dealt with and not left to do further harm. I was also advised to speak to my podiatrist and have my orthotic shoe inserts reviewed because they were out of date and that too was further straining my knee and hastening the arthritic decline.

I followed the course of treatment and at several follow up appointments I always felt that Sam made every effort to tailor his advice to my particular concerns. I was never expecting a complete cure but just to have the tools and the knowledge to manage my condition at home and to know that I have someone "in my corner" as and when it flares up again is most reassuring.

When you add neurodiversity and "age inappropriate" problems (you're far too young for arthritis is a thing I have been hearing for 35 years) it is easy to feel gaslit by the medical profession but this time I did feel that I was given the time and understanding that I needed and the approach that was taken including addressing my shoe inserts which were impacting on my balance was an holistic one that recognised that you can't just treat "a bad knee" or "a dodgy hip" because those faulty parts are all attached to a sentient being and you have to treat the person as an entirety.

Certainly the best care I have received. I am back to my gardening now and most important of all I am not in pain when I drive my car.