Nicola Powell

Nicola graduated from Teeside University in 2002 and obtained registration with the Health and Care Professions Council and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. She started her career working for the NHS at Maidstone Hospital and then later Sevenoaks Hospital. During this time, she gained valuable experience with a wide range of ages and conditions.

Nicola found early on in her career that she was particularly interested in spinal conditions. She completed the Certificate in Spinal Manual Therapy and progressed to complete the Certificate in Manual Orthopaedic Therapy at Curtin University, Perth, Australia in 2005. Since then she has completed annual spinal courses in order to keep up to date with the latest research, evidence and treatment techniques.

Having gained these additional qualifications she obtained promotion within the Ministry of Defence. She then spent two years working as the sole Physiotherapist within an Army Regiment. This continued to build on her knowledge and experience of sports injuries, back injuries and other musculoskeletal conditions.

Nicola started working at The Tonbridge Clinic in 2007. She has a special interest in persistent back pain disorders, chronic back pain management, sports injuries and returning people to health and physical activity. She works closely and holistically with patients to meet their individual needs and goals.

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Cognitive Functional Therapy

Over the last 14 years Nicola has developed a specialist interest in Cognitive Functional Therapy.

“Cognitive functional therapy was developed as a flexible integrated behavioral approach for individualizing the management of disabling Lower Back Pain. This approach has evolved from an integration of foundational behavioral psychology and neuroscience within physical therapist practice. It is underpinned by a multidimensional clinical reasoning framework in order to identify the modifiable and nonmodifiable factors associated with an individual's disabling LBP.
_{Peter B O’Sullivan, J P Caneiro, Mary O’Keeffe, Anne Smith, Wim Dankaerts, Kjartan Fersum, Kieran O’Sullivan, Cognitive Functional Therapy: An Integrated Behavioral Approach for the Targeted Management of Disabling Low Back Pain, Physical Therapy, Volume 98, Issue 5, May 2018, Pages 408–423, https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzy022}

There is significant research and continuing research to evidence the effectiveness of Cognitive Functional Therapy compared with other forms of physiotherapy, pain management and psychology in helping patients with disabling pain manage their symptoms and improve their life. Nicola often successfully uses this approach after patients have undergone many failed treatments elsewhere, including surgery and has successfully helped many people return to a normal life where pain is not preventing them from doing the things they love.

Sports Rehabilitation

Following three years experience in the NHS working with musculoskeletal conditions, Nicola sought promotion in the Ministry of Defence. She then spent two years working as the sole Physiotherapist within an Army Regiment. This continued to build on her knowledge and experience of sports injuries, back injuries and other musculoskeletal conditions.

Since 2007 Nicola has worked at The Tonbridge Clinic. She has expertise in the complete management of musculoskeletal and sports injuries, from early treatment through to full exercise rehabilitation. She is additionally skilled in sports injury prevention through the use of musculoskeletal screening.

Nicola has a special interest in back related sporting disorders and has completed several courses on “the sporting back”.

Nicola also treats many golfers and has completed a course on ‘Fitness for Golf’. She is able to analyse the biomechanics of the individual’s golf swing to enable her to address any muscular weaknesses and imbalances. She can analyse the balance, rhythm and control of the swing, advising on how to prevent injury. She is able to comprehensively analyse the patient’s individual fitness needs to improve on the strength, power and flexibility required for the optimum fitness for the game of golf.

Personally Nicola competed ponies and horses at National level from the age of five into early adulthood. She has an excellent understanding of the fitness and skill of riding and produced show ponies and three young riders for competition in her early career. Now she keeps fit in the gym, playing tennis, and attending spin classes.

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Nicola is recognised by all the major health insurance companies.