Ashtead Chartered Physiotherapy and Osteopathy Service

Denise is an excellent practitioner. She has expert knowledge and experience in a variety of areas. She is clear and direct in diagnosing a problem and the treatment needed. I was throughly relieved to find out what was causing my pain and she provided the appropriate treatment and exercise plan. She follows up but does not continue appointments that are unnecessary. I would highly recommend her to anyone with a muscular or skeletal complaint.

Denise Coleman is a well-known and highly respected physiotherapist, both to her clients and the wider medical profession with whom she has close links. I have sought her help on two occasions.

Six years ago, I incurred acute back pain, extending to the groin, from gardening and lifting heavy furniture so consulted my GP who sent me for an X-ray. The X-ray, which is unable to view soft tissues, revealed there was no fracture and the pain was therefore treated as muscular for which I was prescribed pain killers. The pain persisted so I consulted Denise who diagnosed a slipped disc with the soft tissue pressing on the spinal cord. This is a potentially dangerous condition and she immediately contacted my GP. From then on, matters moved swiftly from MRI scan to appointment with a consultant neurosurgeon she had recommended and, within two days, I was admitted to a hospital and operated on successfully. It was a particularly stressful period because many of the orthopaedic and neurosurgeons she had recommended were on their summer holidays, so was very lucky to secure the services of a particularly gifted surgeon. Throughout this period Denise remained in touch and, once I had recovered sufficiently, started a course of physiotherapy, initially at her clinic and subsequently in my own home. Within 3-4 months I had fully recovered, which surprised even my surgeon who, given my age, had predicted a 90% regain of original strength.

The second consultation with Denise was more recent when I slipped and fell backwards pulling a heavily laden wheelie bin, incurring a sharp pain as I tried to get back up again . There was no pain from the spine itself and I had booked an appointment with Denise but saw my GP first who treated it as muscular and recommended an X-ray 'to be sure'. The X-ray revealed a fracture and, given my history, I was immediately admitted to A&E for further tests and later to the hospital itself for 'observation'. On contacting Denise to cancel the appointment, and explain what had happened, she immediately sent my wife a series of text messages with practical advice and questions to ask the physicians handling my case. Fortunately, I didn't need an operation this time as the collapsed vertebra was deemed 'stable' and likely to heal itself given time. Again, after a few weeks, the pain largely disappeared and I commenced a series of physiotherapy exercises to strengthen the muscles, as per last time.

What all this reveals is that Denise Coleman is an exceptionally gifted physiotherapist who is very experienced and professional and who, at times, provides a service well beyond the call of duty.

Nicholas Pettinati
Ashtead, Surrey

I've just been back to Denise again - I have visited her, on and off, for a couple of different ailments over the last 5 years (as has my husband and a couple of friends). She's been absolutely brilliant - she's very experienced, professional, pragmatic and friendly. She has helped us enormously and I would not hesitate to recommend her to friends and family.

I was referred to Denise for a problem with my shoulder, but after 5 sessions she has helped tremendously with not only that but 3 other issues which I mentioned to her. She was interested and very willing to help. Her professionalism and competency is excellent. I cannot recommend her highly enough and am very pleased to have found her!

Denise has been our family's physiotherapist for more than three decades and is worth every one of these five stars.

In fact, Denise is always my first port of call when I feel something doesn't feel right, or a minor strain isn't mending, rather than going to a GP who generally tells you to take pain relief.

Over the years Denise has treated me for a wide range of issues from minor running niggles in my younger years to more serious injuries - such as bulging lumber disc and fractured navicular, both of which she correctly diagnosed despite my GP's insistence I was just suffering from a strained back and a bad foot sprain. And that was despite having a foot X-Ray!

In fact, if it hadn't been for Denise's timely intervention and support to obtain MRI scans, I'm convinced it would have been many months before I received the correct treatment for both, and perhaps my full recovery might have been thwarted.

And in addition to the excellent treatment, Denise always accompanies treatment with clear, concise advice. I've always been interested in an holistic approach to human health and Denise patiently answers all my queries I throw at her and willingly shares interesting nuggets of information about health and general well being.

I can't recommend Denise highly enough.

Denise is amazing! I made so much improvement after just my first visit! she is very easy to talk to and is great at listening to the problems you are experiencing. With this she is very quick at finding ways to solve the issue with various exercises and explains them well with demonstrations. i would highly recommend visiting this practice!

After suffering shoulder pain for some time, I referred myself to Denise on the recommendation of friends (including another physiotherapist). Denise assessed my problem thoroughly and recommended certain medical tests to rule out certain conditions. After an NHS ultrasound scan, she confirmed that I could be cured but warned that it might take several months of the exercises she prescribed. She was right about the time and I am now immensely better. Very knowledgable, very professional, very competent. I'm delighted to be able to recommend her.

I only had two sessions with Denise but that’s all I needed as she managed to work miracles! I came to her with a running related injury and through the exercises she gave me and the work she did during our sessions I’ve made a great recovery. Finally running pain free again and couldn’t be happier!