Covid-19 Update July 2020

It’s good to be back!
Physioworks is now open for Face to Face Physiotherapy Appointments.

We are following the protocols and guidelines from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, HCPC and Public Health England to help minimise the risk of transmission of the coronavirus.

Due to the changes this necessitates, our online booking system will show no availability for a while.
Instead, please email us for an appointment. reception@physioworks.co.uk

We will get back to you to identify your needs and discuss our Covid-19 secure practice protocols. Your appointment confirmation will have more information for you to read and an online form to fill in if we book a Face to Face appointment.

Remote Physiotherapy may still be the option of choice if you have symptoms, are shielding, or if your problem is best treated with this style of Physiotherapy.

We will update our Physioworks London Facebook Page regularly with our latest information https://www.facebook.com/physioworks.london/


Have you had the Coronavirus and are feeling weak and unable to progress in your recovery?
This is not unusual, consider an appointment with us to help you manage your possible post virus syndrome.
Please email reception@physioworks.co.uk

Physioworks Remote Physiotherapy & Remote One to One Pilates classes.

The current pandemic has shown that remote contact between Physiotherapists, Pilates Teachers and their clients can be extremely effective.

It can take out travel time and reduce potential contact with the airborne particles of the virus in confined spaces. This type of session may work well for you.

If you are considering this please email reception@physioworks.co.uk to organise your session with Warrick for Physiotherapy or Suzy for Pilates and we will get back to you promptly to arrange a mutually convenient time.

In the post-Coronavirus world these sessions will be a significant ongoing option.

Remote Physiotherapy

  • For all new musculo-skeletal conditions creating discomfort or pain
  • For discussion and advice on chronic or repeated episodes of physical conditions
  • Advice on current treatment and exercise programs that need to be updated
  • Advice on home working ‘office’ set up
  • For those who feel the physical effects of anxiety who want breathing and gentle exercise solutions

Physiotherapy sessions are secure and run through our Practice Software, Cliniko.


Professor Shirley Sahrmann suggested in 2014, that the role of modern Physiotherapy is to assess movement dysfunction and its effects on peoples lives, and then provide scientifically based solutions, appropriate to the stage of life of the individual.
Sahrmann, S.A., 2014. The human movement system: our professional identity. Phys. Ther. 94, 1034-1042


Clearly remote Physiotherapy does not involve ‘touch’ but neither does it mean that the placing of hands on a client is going to become irrelevant in the future. Physioworks champions the role of ‘touch’ within Physiotherapy. The primary focus in all Physioworks Physiotherapy appointments since the mid 1990’s has been to assess movement and improve altered movement patterns using specific exercise prescription as the primary tool to achieve this.

A remote (or virtual) physiotherapy appointment still uses the key observation skills, the knowledge of movement pattern faults, the ideal patterns to aspire to, along with the knowledge of how to help our clients acquire these new skills.

Physioworks promotes ‘Movement health’ as a key concept in current and future treatment strategies for most musculoskeletal conditions.
McNeill, W., Blandford, L. 2015. Movement health. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 19:150 - 159

Remote Pilates

These sessions are generally 1:1. Suzy has an excellent remote set up to observe and correct the participant while being able to easily demonstrate the exercises she chooses for your needs.

Suzy’s face to face appointment slots are usually oversubscribed so it can be difficult to secure an appointment with her. During this period of social distancing she has more availability, so consider a remote appointment to get a feel for her style and to experience the lightness of her cueing and the pinpoint targeting of her exercise choices.

The key difference between a you-tube Pilates class and an online remote Pilates 1:1 session is that in a pre-recorded session the Teacher cannot observe your execution of the exercise, or deliver personalised corrections. So to maximise the benefits of Pilates classes within the shortest time frame, corrections are imperative.

While an experienced Pilates class devotee who has developed physical awareness is likely to gain some benefit from a pre-recorded class, those with a history of pain and injury or new to the discipline should be very wary of such a style of teaching.

About us

Physioworks Chartered Physiotherapy & Pilates Clinic


Chartered Physiotherapist Warrick McNeill & Pilates Teacher Suzy Barton are both experts in analysing movement that causes or results in pain and injury. They both use exercise within their respective professions approach, sometimes moving their clients between them as needs develop.

A number of Physioworks clients come from theatre, dance, & circus worlds, both professional and undergraduate, though the vast majority of clients work in London in careers and personal lives that involve sustained postures. Sitting at computers, driving, commuting by train and standing in queues.

Physioworks understands that their clients exercise habits vary from the negligible, or include frenetic repetitions of a limited movement palette (such as machine based cardio-vascular machines, or a quick run), or are often practiced in a short time frame. Physioworks also see those with exercise specialisms that can lead to overuse syndromes from dedicated practice.

Physioworks may use the words ‘client’ or ‘patient' to describe those who come to use our professional services, but we actually we see all as people who have their own sets of concerns, history, needs and desires, that deserve a response that is tailored just to them. This is our first care, and on top of that we are friendly and welcoming.

We work closely with medical providers and recommend who might be the best consultant for onward referral. We are part of an interlinked chain of care. We spend time with those who need us and refer on to more appropriate healthcare sources as required.

Physioworks commercial services

Physioworks provides ergonomics for the commercial sector including workstation assessments and lectures tailored to a specific audience. Please contact us directly for further information.

Warrick McNeill

Warrick McNeill

Director Physioworks, Chartered Physiotherapist, Pilates Foundation Matwork


Warrick’s mission is to deliver a personable and tailored style of physiotherapy to his clients, identifying the most important needs they present with, in a way that respects their individuality and personality.

The common sense approach he has used since starting Physioworks in London’s West End nearly three decades ago, pays huge respect to the the continuing development of Movement and Pain sciences. He has been associated with Kinetic Control and the Performance Matrix ( now Comera Movement Science ) throughout his career.

Warrick studied Pilates under one the UK’s leading Pilates based academic, Suzanne Scott. He believes that the systematic delivery of ‘layered exercise,’ building on the foundations and elements that make up movement is fundamental to producing effective results.

He has learned, particularly from working with the motivated undergraduate professional dance students he has treated since the 1990’s, how to apply significant physical change to a human body.

Warrick explains science, injury and the process of recovery to his clients in a motivating, understandable and progressive way, helping them adopt life changing habits.

He has delivered lectures and courses in Holland, Belgium, South Africa and in the UK. His role for 10 years as an Associate Editor to the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies till 2019, led to over 25 publications with currently 91 citations in the fields of movement and Pilates.

He is a TPM Active Movement Specialist and a member of the Comera Movement Science Team.

Warrick McNeill

Suzy Barton

PF Comprehensive Pilates Teacher


Suzy started life in gymnastics but then, with her parents blessing, she ran away to the circus. Her time with the ‘Ringling Brothers’ in America was followed with West End, Paris and European performances and circus skill teaching, notably with the musical Barnum. Suzy’s Aerial work became her passion till an accident in 2000, led to a long period of rehabilitation, and a change in her career’s focus.

Suzy’s rehabilitation process involved Pilates, through which she eventually developed a new passion, teaching movement. Suzanne Scott who worked closely with Suzy in her rehabilitation inspired her to undertake a full Pilates Training.

It is Suzy’s understanding of the full range of physicality; including the intricate movement, strength and flexibility demands of aerial performance, with a post injury journey where injury created weakness and pain altered movement, that marks her out as an excellent teacher.

Suzy’s spare use of language, her demonstration and physical cueing creates a flowing class that also attends to the needs of individuals within her class. Her 1:1 Studio teaching has led to her being a very sought after Teacher of Teachers. This is due to her skill in reading a clients movement needs and the decisions she makes on which path to take the client on. Her understanding of the higher levels of Pilates exercise is rare.

Warrick McNeill

What is this trend for Physio’s and Pilates Teachers to discuss ‘Movement’ on their websites?


Usually, about here in a Clinic’s website is a list of all the conditions they treat, with the mentions geared to draw prospective clients to make an appointment.

It isn’t the injured tissue itself that is important in physical therapies, rather, it is the complex equation that leads to the injury, that should be the important focus.

  • how regularly a particular movement is performed, if it is new and unaccustomed or if it is practiced beyond tolerance
  • altered movement patterns. Alterations are due to lengthened, shortened or weakened muscles or joint structures, which means movement can become imprecise and injurious
  • poorly encoded movement instructions, and, information transmission errors from the brain to the muscle system
  • faulty or ignored reports back to the brain on the quality of movement execution

So, named conditions such as sciatica, a torn rotator cuff, shoulder impingement, tennis elbow, achilles tendonitis, tension headache, meniscal tears, and sprained ankles all just indicate the site of a ‘weak link’ that is the result of an individuals patterns of behaviour, on a body that has adapted, over time, to the lifestyle of its owner.

There is a difference in types of injury - acute and slow onset. Acute injuries can sometimes be easily diagnosed as the story of an incident can clearly identify which tissue is damaged. Rolling an ankle sprains an ankle ligament. Other injuries, however, can occur slowly. Diagnosing slow onset injuries can take detective skills to work out their key causes. A prolapsed lumbar disc (a ‘slipped’ or bulging disc in the low back) is a great example of a slow onset injury. This common condition is often degenerative, taking years to develop. Most of the time, it is the individuals poor sitting habits that creates the undue loading on the front part of the disc that eventually creates the symptoms. This is because the low back is allowed to excessively round, or slouch, during sitting activities and the resulting de-tuned low back becomes vulnerable in lifting activities. The effect is that the structural outer portion of the disc degrades over time from the low back rounding and this allows the gel like inner substance to bulge out in the area that nerves exit the spine.

Just naming where an injury is (a patho-anatomical description) doesn’t necessarily help the client understand how the injury started and how to fix it, but a ‘movement diagnosis’ that describes the patterns that have aggravated the injury, can suggest the remedial patterns that may manage the symptoms.

A movement diagnosis for a prolapsed lumbar disc can be ‘a forward bend low back pain’ as it describes the movement or behaviour pattern that results in the injury. It is not specific tissue dependent so while the movement diagnosis accepts that the problem may be related to a lumbar disc, it does not rule out that other structures of the low back may also be implicated. It is pattern recognition and pattern changing that physical and movement therapies aim to change.


Cutting to the chase

  • repeated movements and sustained postures are responsible for slow onset injuries
  • an adept reading of movement habits can identify the causes of injury
  • stopping aggravating movement behaviours and maximising settling factors start the recovery process
  • specific exercise movements firmly link the brain with the musculo-skeletal system
  • specific exercise movements can shorten, strengthen or lengthen elements of the musculo-skeletal system
  • physio or clinical Pilates led movement aims to allow an injury to heal and to prevent future episodes.

This is why Physiotherapy Clinics and Pilates Teachers are on about, movement, movement movement.


And this is why we are too.

Warrick McNeill

What is Movement Health?

Being in good ‘Movement Heath’ involves a brain and a body operating efficiently together to continue to create optimal movement.

  • a brain that is ready for a wide range of movement challenges and well practiced in reacting to unexpected changes in movement.
  • a body (its muscles, joints, bones, and signalling systems) to be unrestricted, well adapted to movement loading and ready to swiftly communicate with its brain.

The opposite of Movement Health is Movement Dysfunction. Dysfunction can eventually lead to injury and pain. Movement dysfunction can often be present but silent for a long time before an injury is felt…

It is Physioworks job to see where Movement Health problems lie and to teach our clients how to address them for themselves.