Complete Injections offers a cutting-edge service, providing diagnostic musculoskeletal sonography and ultrasound guided steroid injections at an affordable price. Our team of pioneering physiotherapists have qualified as musculoskeletal sonographers, independent prescribers and injection therapists. They have extensive experience in using a combination of clinical testing and diagnostic ultrasound imaging to provide an accurate diagnosis and are able to perform ultrasound guided injections when indicated.
Due to the success of our ultrasound guided steroid injection service, across the city of London, we have now expanded our service to include Cambridge.
Local clinician, Luke Millward, will be leading our new Cambridge service.
Luke says,
“I am really excited to be opening this ultrasound guided injection service with Complete Injections. I have lived in the local area for years and know there is a great demand for a convenient, accurate, safe and effective injection service for people living with musculoskeletal pain. Being able to help local people, living in Cambridge and the surrounding area, get out of pain and get back to life will be great!”
Luke qualified as a physiotherapist in 2007 with a first-class honours degree, and has extensive experience working in the NHS and in private practice. During this time Luke has undertaken further training, gaining a postgraduate certificate in musculoskeletal sonography and is one of the first clinicians in the country to obtain a postgraduate diploma in interventional sonography (ultrasound-guided injections). There is no need for a GP referral as Luke is an independent prescriber which allows him to prescribe the medication for injection, as well as assess whether an injection is suitable and safe for you. Luke also sits on the executive board of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists with a specialist interest in Orthopaedic Medicine and Injection Therapy (ACPOMIT) and is a tutor teaching musculoskeletal ultrasound skills with the UK’s largest ultrasound education group known as the Sports Medicine Ultrasound Group (SMUG).
Luke runs a busy weekly NHS musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound service for the radiology department at Newham University Hospital, completing thousands of diagnostic ultrasound scans and injections every year.
Luke has a clinical interest in injection therapy for chronic conditions including knee, shoulder, thumb and toe osteoarthritis as well as frozen shoulder. Additionally, Luke regularly treats other conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, planter fasciitis and shoulder bursitis. He is currently completing a master’s degree in health science and is in the process of publishing a research article examining ultrasound guided steroid injections from the patient perspective.
Luke Millward adds,
“Over the past few years, I have seen lots of people suffering from frozen shoulder. This is a very painful condition, and it feels great to be able to offer an ultrasound guided injection service that can give people rapid pain relief. We know, for frozen shoulder, a steroid injection must be given directly into the shoulder joint. Without the ability to see the needle on an ultrasound machine we would not be able to say, with any confidence, that what we are doing is safe and effective. The satisfaction I get from helping people live a pain free life, get the first full night’s sleep they have had for months or return to exercise is the reason I love my job”.
Why is diagnostic ultrasound important?
Diagnostic ultrasound allows us to see what is going on under the skin. Unfortunately, within musculoskeletal medicine there are very few injuries that can be accurately diagnosed without the confirmation of diagnostic imaging. Fortunately, research has shown diagnostic ultrasound to be the imaging tool of choice for assessing many musculoskeletal pathologies, including tendon injuries of the shoulder. It has also been proven to be as effective as MRI for diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome (Sconfienza et al., 2017). Furthermore, a diagnostic ultrasound scan can be completed in clinic as part of a comprehensive assessment and allows muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments to be visualized in a variety of positions and whilst you move!
Why chose an ultrasound guided injection?
Research has proven ultrasound guided steroid injections to be significantly more accurate and more effective than other, non-guided injection techniques (Daniels et al., 2018; Hashiuchi et al., 2011; Curtiss et al., 2011). Ultrasound guided injections are not only more targeted but are also safer, with reduced post injection complications (Brinks et al., 2010; Cushman et al., 2019). An ultrasound guided injection places a dose of corticosteroid (a powerful anti-inflammatory drug) mixed with a local anaesthetic (short acting numbing agent) directly in or around the injured tissue. The effects of the local anaesthetic can be felt almost immediately with the more long-acting anti-inflammatory action of the corticosteroid starting to work within 6 hours. The drug remains in the body for between three to four weeks and in that time helps to reduce the inflammatory process, allowing you to partake in a personalised physiotherapy program. To ensure you are treated quickly and safely Luke has close relationships with the physio at the coach house and, if required, an onward referral can be arranged to address the underlying issues associated with your pain.
Where is our new clinic?
Our new service is located at the Coach House Health Care Centre, The Courtyard, Anstey Hall, Maris lane, Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 9LG. The centre has off-road parking and is perfectly located 2 miles from Cambridge city centre and 1 mile from the M11, making this the ideal location for local service users and convenient for patients coming from further afield including Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire Suffolk and Norfolk.
We treat a wide variety of conditions and have strong links with sports physicians, rheumatologists and orthopaedic consultants in Cambridge local hospitals including Addenbrookes, The Spire Cambridge and Cambridge Nuffield. Complete injections is well known across the country and regularly work alongside specialists from Essex, Kent and London. We are therefore able to gain fast access to world class healthcare advice, specialist consultations and further imaging such as MRI.
The Coach House Health Care Centre has a multidisciplinary team of clinicians including physiotherapy, podiatry, sports massage and orthopaedic consultancy and now diagnostic ultrasound and ultrasound guided injections. With this wealth of experience, you can be safely assured that you will receive the best care available, all under one roof.
If you would like to book an appointment or would like more information before booking, please call 020 7482 3875 or email info@complete-physio.co.uk