About Us

Aches and Pains Online
Kestrel
Swanpool
Falmouth
Cornwall
TR11 5BD
England

t: 01326 312156
f: 01326 211149

The primary driving force behind our research, books, courses and this Web site has been the need to help move forward our profession's current understanding of acute and chronic pain and how it affects our patients. These are very exciting and rewarding times for the physiotherapy and the health profession.

Louis Gifford MAppSc. BSc. FCSP

Louis Gifford, who commissioned this web site, has been in practice for 21 years and teaching for the past 18 years.

Louis gained a BSc. in Zoology in 1975 and his Physiotherapy Diploma from Sheffield Polytechnic in 1981. He went on to earn his Graduate Diploma in Advanced Manipulative Therapy from the University of South Australia in 1985 and his Masters in 1993. He worked as a partner in Geoff Maitland's practice from 1986 to 1988 before returning to his own private practice in Cornwall. Since then Louis has strived to make better sense of clinical pain states. This has involved a vast synthesis of pain and stress biology, tissue pathology and healing, pain psychology and the much broader social and cultural influences that relate to the everyday patient and their often troublesome and ongoing problems.

In October 2001 Louis was awarded a Fellowship of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.

Louis continues to practice at his clinic in Falmouth Cornwall, treating patients from all over the UK. Although his time is also stretched between writing, teaching and lecturing he believes a hands-on approach through his patients is essential to the continual learning process. This dedication has been an essential ingredient to his understanding and underlines the practical application of his work to date.

 

Philippa Tindle BSc. BA. MCSP

Working in partnership with Louis is Philippa Tindle. In a similar career pattern to Louis, Philippa gained a Zoology degree in 1977 and qualified as a Chartered Physiotherapist in 1981. Working in Liverpool and London before travelling to Adelaide, South Australia in 1985 Philippa completed her Graduate Diploma in Advanced Manipulative Therapy in 1986.

Returning to the UK in 1988 Philippa has worked in Falmouth Physiotherapy Clinic to date. In 1994 she was course co-ordinator for NOI (UK), relaunched as achesandpainsonline in 1999.This has brought her into contact with many other Physiotherapists throughout the country and overseas, something that she enjoys very much.

She believes that UK Physiotherapists should be exporting their talents. She is active in promoting the Topical Issues in Pain series as a showcase of writing talent. Contact information on the excellent authors that have contributed to the Topical Issues in Pain series is available below.

 

Louis Gifford: Published Material - articles, chapters and books:

Gifford, L S (1987). "Circadian variation in human flexibility and grip strength", Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 33, 1, 3-9.

Butler, D S and Gifford, L S (1989) "Adverse Mechanical Tension in the Nervous System - Part 1, Testing for dural tension", Physiotherapy 75, 622-629

Butler, D S and Gifford, L S (1989) "Adverse Mechanical Tension in the Nervous System - Part 2, Examination and Treatment", Physiotherapy 75, 629-636

Gifford, L S (1993) Examining and treating signs of neural tension. In Touch: The Journal of the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice, 68: 16-24

Gifford L S and Gifford M J 1994 Connective Tissue Massage, In Pain Management in Physiotherapy 2nd Ed , Bowsher Frampton and Wells (Eds). Blackwell Scientific London

Gifford, L S (1995). "The influence of circadian variation on spinal examination", In: Boyling, J and Palastanga, N (eds) Grieve's Modern Manual Therapy, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh

Gifford, L S 1995 Pain mechanisms and their recognition for physiotherapy - a new approach for the late 1990's. Swiss Journal of Physiotherapy: June 1995: 4-16. Article in German.

Gifford, L S 1995 Fluid movement may partially account for the behaviour of symptoms associated with nociception in disc injury and disease. In: Shacklock, M O (ed) Moving in on Pain. Butterworth-Heinemann, Australia.

Gifford L S 1997 Neurodynamics. In: Pitt-Brooke (ed) Rehabilitation of Movement: Theoretical bases of clinical practice Saunders, London 159-195

Gifford L S 1997 Pain. In: Pitt-Brooke (ed) Rehabilitation of Movement: Theoretical bases of clinical practice Saunders, London 196-232

Gifford L S, Butler D S 1997 The integration of pain sciences into clinical practice. Hand Therapy 10(2): 86-95

Gifford L S, Butler D B 1998 Integrering av smertevitenskap i klinisk praksis. Fysioterapeuten nr 9 August: 10-20 (Norwegian translation of Gifford and Butler 1997)

Gifford L S 1998 Pain, the tissues and the nervous system: A conceptual model. Physiotherapy 84(1): 27-36

Gifford L S 1998 Acute low cervical nerve root conditions: Symptoms, symptom behaviour and physical screening. In Touch The Journal of the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice Winter issue No. 85: 4-19

Gifford L S 1998 The mature organism model. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain. Whiplash - science and management. Fear-avoidance beliefs and behaviour. CNS Press, Falmouth 45-56

Gifford L S 1998 Central mechanisms. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 1. Whiplash - science and management. Fear-avoidance beliefs and behaviour. CNS Press, Falmouth 67-80

Gifford L S 1998 Output mechanisms. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 1. Whiplash - science and management. Fear-avoidance beliefs and behaviour. CNS Press, Falmouth 81-91

Gifford L S 1998 Tissue and input related mechanisms. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 1. Whiplash - science and management. Fear-avoidance beliefs and behaviour. CNS Press, Falmouth 57-65

Gifford L S 1998 'Pain memory' In Touch The Journal of the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice Autumn issue.

Gifford L S 1999 A medico-legal report to a solicitor. Manual Therapy 4(4): 229-235

Gifford, LS 2000 Schmerzphysiologie. In: Van den Berg, F (Ed) Angewandte Physiologie 2, Organsysteme verstehen und beeinflussen. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 467-518 (Chapter in German)

Gifford L S 2000 The patient in front of us: from genes to environment. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 2. Biopsychosocial assessment and management. Relationships and pain CNS Press, Falmouth

Gifford LS 2001 Editorial: Criticism, is it destructive or productive? Physiotherapy Pain Association News: Issue 11, May, p3-5.

Gifford LS 2001 Editorial: A plea for descriptive research - part 1 Physiotherapy Pain Association News: Issue 12, December, p3-5.

Gifford L S 2001 Acute low cervical nerve root conditions - symptom presentations and pathobiological reasoning. Manual Therapy 6 (2) 106-115

Gifford LS 2002 Editorial: Quite a pill eh? Physiotherapy Pain Association News: Issue 13, May, p3-4.

Gifford L S 2001 Perspectives on the biopsychosocial model - part 1: Some issues that need to be accepted? In Touch, The Journal of the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice. Autumn, No 97

Gifford L S 2002 Perspectives on the biopsychosocial model part 2: The shopping basket approach. In Touch, The Journal of the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice Spring issue No 99: 11-22

Gifford LS 2002 Editorial: Therapist and patient fear of bending: Does the McKenzie approach - need a shift? Physiotherapy Pain Association News: Issue 14, May, p3-8.

Gifford LS 2002 Memes, dreams and dualism... the flexion-extension debate and beyond. Physiotherapy Pain Association News: Issue 15, May, p14-20.

Gifford L S 2003 Perspectives on the biopsychosocial model part 3: Patient example - using the shopping basket approach and graded exposure. In Touch, The Journal of the Organisation of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice Spring issue No 102: 3-15

Jones M A, Edwards I, Gifford L S 2002 Conceptual models for implementing biopsychosocial theory in Clinical Practice. Manual Therapy 7(1): 2-9

Gifford L S 2002 An Introduction to evolutionary reasoning: - Diet, discs and the placebo. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 4. Placebo and nocebo. Pain management. Muscles and pain. CNS Press, Falmouth

Gifford L S, Thacker M 2002 A clinical overview of the autonomic nervous system, the supply to the gut and mind-body pathways. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 3. Sympathetic nervous system and pain. Pain management. Clinical effectiveness CNS Press, Falmouth 21-52

Gifford L S, Thacker M 2002 Complex regional pain syndrome: Part 1. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 3. Sympathetic nervous system and pain. Pain management. Clinical effectiveness CNS Press, Falmouth 53-74

Thacker M, Gifford L S 2002 Complex regional pain syndrome: Part 2. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 3. Sympathetic nervous system and pain. Pain management. Clinical effectiveness CNS Press, Falmouth 75-102

Thacker M, Gifford L S 2002 A review of the physiotherapy management of complex regional pain syndrome. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 3. Sympathetic nervous system and pain. Pain management. Clinical effectiveness CNS Press, Falmouth 119-142

Thacker M, Gifford L S 2002 Sympathetically maintained pain: myth or reality? In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 3. Sympathetic nervous system and pain. Pain management. Clinical effectiveness CNS Press, Falmouth 103-118

Gifford L S 2003 Behov for helhedstaenkning. Fysioterapeuten Nr 20/November/ 85.argang (Danish translation of Gifford L S 2000 The patient in front of us: from genes to environment. In: Gifford L S (ed) Topical Issues in Pain 2. Biopsychosocial assessment and management. Relationships and pain CNS Press, Falmouth)

Gifford L S 2004 Unnecessary fear avoidance and physical incapacity in a 55-year-old housewife. In: Jones M & Rivett D (Eds) Clinical Reasoning for Manual Therapists. Butterworth-Heineman, Edinburgh 61-86

Gifford L S 2004 Laast sich chronischer Schmerz vergessen? Manuelletherapie. 8:181-182

Gifford L S Thacker M and Jones M 2005 Physiotherapy and pain. In: McMahon S, Koltzenburg M. Wall and Melzack's Textbook of Pain, 5th Edn pp:603-617

Robson S, Gifford LS 2005 Pain and brain - a revolutionary approach to chronic injury. Peak Performance Issue 221: 1-4

Robson S, Gifford LS 2005 Pain And Brain - The Biopsychosocial Method Of Chronic Injury Rehabilitation. Peak Performance, Issue 222:8-11.

Gifford, LS 2005 Schmerzphysiologie. In: Van den Berg, F (Ed) Angewandte Physiologie 2, Organsysteme verstehen (2nd edn). Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 481-535 (Chapter in German)

Edited Books:

Gifford L S (ed) 1998 Topical Issues in Pain 1. Whiplash - science and management. Fear-avoidance beliefs and behaviour. CNS Press, Falmouth

Gifford L S (ed) 2000 Topical Issues in Pain 2. Biopsychosocial assessment. Relationships and pain. CNS Press, Falmouth

Gifford L S (Ed) 2002 Topical Issues in Pain 3. Sympathetic nervous system and pain. Pain management. Clinical effectiveness. CNS Press, Falmouth.

Gifford L S (Ed) 2002 Topical Issues in Pain 4. Placebo and nocebo. Pain management. Muscles and pain. CNS Press, Falmouth.

Gifford L S (Ed) 2006 Topical Issues in Pain 5. Treatment. Communication. Return to Work. Cognitive-behavioural. Pathophysiology. CNS Press, Falmouth.