Alessio Barone
Alessio Barone
Senior Physiotherapist & Director
Expertise
Qualifications and professional membership
- HCPC registered, CSP member.
- BSc in Physiotherapist, Sport Science and Physical Education.
- MSc in Sport Science.
- Certified in Advanced Myofascial Induction Therapy, Pilates Fisios, Head&Neck, Advanced Acupuncture, Mulligan Concept, Sirpa UK, TMJ, Neuromuscolar Taping, Back-Neck-Bone School, Vertigo School, CBT for Autism, Energy Healing and Acupressure, Mindful Breathing with Movement, Firs Aid, CBT for Physio, Wellbeing and mindfulness strategies, Sound Healing and Gong Master.
Background and previous job/roles/experiences
Obsessed with discovering new techniques, methods, etc. Thirsty of new things to learn, looking for lifetime answers to the greatest questions.
Previously primary school PE teacher, Cognitive Behavioural Trainer for Autism, Volleyball and other sports coach, Personal trainer, Gym Instructure, Gym manager, Senior Physiotherapist in some of the best Physiotherapy Clinics in London.
Q&A
The last course you attended and how you put it into practice
Last year I qualified in Advanced Acupuncture which included a little dive into the vast world of Chinese Medicine and the use of the 5 elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal) for diagnosis and treatment. It made me even more interested to know more and more about Chinese medicine! It was a revelation to discover how illnesses come in a certain cycle so if one organ or element is suffering now, we can predict which one was affected before and which one will be the next. Plus, it is incredible how the elements are part of our daily life, and they are part of our body, organs, relationships, cravings, thoughts, mindset, sleep etc. For example, I’m a wood person, then I should eat certain foods and avoid others, I should think or enjoy wooden things/furniture or crystalline water (water sooths the wood). I would be out of balance if eating dump food (cheese, eggs, etc) which would bring me too much towards the earth element or spicy food which would bring me towards the fire. A water partner would sooth me, but a fire partner would “burn” me and so on. As wood I would be easy to anger but never violent like a fire person or someone self-contained like a metal element person. In my sleep easily I could have long dreams and wake up not fully rested but just needling a liver point I could address this issue.
These are all incredible information to understand client’s symptoms and conditions and deliver the best possible treatment.
Last year I also became a sound healer and gong master so I’m daily impressed about how the sound can really bring changes in the physical body but also in the moods, so now I get incredible results applying needles while playing the gongs or the Himalayan bowls.
The most challenging client's conditions you have treated
I had many challenging cases in my career, since I love to solve them.
However, I cannot forget when I helped a 94yo lady stuck in bed with osteoarthritis and zero motivation to walk again. It took me 6 months of weekly myofascial releases and exercises to bring her back to stand and then walk with a walker, drastically reducing her daily intake of painkillers.
Another case it was about a lady with back pain, but I detected something wrong with her left ovary. We fixed the back pain in a few sessions, but I insisted with the GP to book her for an ovary scan. The GP couldn’t believe or maybe accept that a physio would ask for an ovary scan based on his palpation but at the end she gave up and prescribed the scan. They found a benign tumour in the left ovary which was removed a few weeks later, and the client was not only pain free and safe but also so grateful that I supported her during the entire process.
I also saw a teenager girl with headaches and migraine since she was 7yo and she arrived to me after trying any sort of medication and seeing so many specialists. Within 6 sessions she was pain free however we also discovered how there was a link to some frustration towards her mother so further psychotherapy helped to get more clarity and healing.
Another time, there was an 11yo girl with back pain all along the spine and very random that no doctor could understand her case and find a solution. The mum was desperate also because she loved horse riding and she had to stop because of the pain. Talking to them and assessing the spine I couldn’t find anything wrong. However, the pain started after her first period. Through further discussions and manual therapy to give her myofascial release, we found out that the girl wasn’t accepting her new phase as teenager leaving the childhood toward adult life. Further psychotherapy helped to fully recover while the pain was already gone after 2-3 sessions.
Once, instead, a guy presented with left frozen shoulder, a condition where you start getting some shoulder pain but then you lose most of the shoulder mobility. We improved the mobility within 5 sessions, but I wasn’t happy and I wanted him to gain full range again. I asked him if anything else happened in his life when he started getting left shoulder pain. He told me that in that period he was arguing a lot with his wife (left relates to a female energy) and then he gave up and they never clarified (the shoulder relates to the throat chakra and unexpressed feelings or emotions). I told him that I didn’t want to know any detail about their argument (since I wasn’t his psychologist) but I suggested to him to try to go home and clarify and find connection again. He did it and one week later when he came for the follow up, the left shoulder was almost fully mobile and in full recovery.
Of course, I have so many other cases to share but It would never ending.
What are your next professional and personal goals
I’m planning to expand the business adding a personal branding and probably a new location in central London. I would like to qualify in Classical Chinese Medicine and explore more trauma releases, Kundalini techniques and Polyvagal theory. I already play many instruments, but I would like to definitely improve with the Didgeridoo.
In my personal life I want to continue to be best possible father for my daughter and husband for my wife.