Additionally, this is an unusual thing for a clinic to publish about Joint Treatment, so let me explain the reasoning.
If you’re considering a funded Joint Treatment for a long-standing joint problem, MBST, shockwave, injections, laser, or stem cell therapy.
However, you’re being asked to spend a significant sum on information supplied largely by the people selling it.
That’s an awkward position to be in regarding Joint Treatment.
Consequently, most people manage it by trusting their instincts about whether the clinic seemed credible.
Here’s something better: ten questions. Ask them of us, and ask them of anyone else you’re considering. The answers will tell you more than any brochure.
1. “What do you think is actually wrong with me?”
Why it matters: Treatment should follow a diagnosis, not precede it. If somebody is discussing a course of treatment before they’ve examined you and explained what they think is causing your symptoms, the order of operations is wrong.
What a good answer sounds like: a specific explanation of what they think is going on, based on your history and their examination, including what they’re uncertain about.
What should worry you: any version of “well, whatever it is, this should help.”
2. “What does the evidence for this actually show?”
Why it matters: There’s an enormous range in how well-supported different treatments are, and that range is invisible from most clinic websites.
What a good answer sounds like: an honest description including the limitations. For newer or less-established treatments, that should include phrases like “the evidence base is limited,” “most of the studies are small,” or “this hasn’t been compared against placebo in large trials.”
What should worry you: unqualified claims of proof, “clinically proven” without specifics, or dismissing the question.
Our own answer, for the record: the published research on MBST is limited. The main overview available is a scoping review, which maps what’s been published without formally appraising study quality or determining effectiveness — the authors state this explicitly. A good deal of the supporting data is observational rather than controlled. Evidence for electromagnetic therapies in osteoarthritis more generally has been mixed. It is not a guideline-recommended treatment in the way exercise is.
We’d rather tell you that ourselves.
3. “What are the alternatives, including the ones you don’t provide?”
Why it matters: Any clinic can tell you why their treatment is good. Far fewer will lay out the full landscape, including the free and NHS-available options.
What a good answer sounds like: a genuine survey — exercise-based rehabilitation, weight management, medication options via your GP, injections, and where relevant surgical referral — with an honest sense of where each sits.
What should worry you: the suggestion that everything else has already failed you, or that this is your last option.
4. “What happens if it doesn’t work?”
Why it matters: You should know before you pay.
What a good answer sounds like: a clear description of what proportion of people don’t respond, what the plan would be, and what the refund or repeat policy is.
What should worry you: the implication that non-response doesn’t happen, or that it would mean you need to buy more.
5. “What’s the total cost, and what’s included?”
Why it matters: Assessment fees, the course itself, follow-up appointments, and any recommended add-ons should all be on the table at the start.
What a good answer sounds like: a single number for the full course, with everything itemised, provided in writing before you commit.
What should worry you: pressure to decide today, discounts that expire, or costs that emerge progressively.
6. “How will we know whether it’s worked?”
Why it matters: “How do you feel?” is a poor measure. Your impression on any given day is affected by sleep, weather, mood and what you did yesterday.
What a good answer sounds like: agreed, specific, functional measures recorded before you start — walking distance, stairs, sleep disturbance, a particular activity — and re-checked at set points afterwards.
What should worry you: no baseline measures at all, which makes any later claim of improvement unfalsifiable.
7. “What else should be in my plan?”
Why it matters: This is the most revealing question on the list.
For most long-term joint problems, the foundations are well established. NICE identifies therapeutic exercise as a core treatment for osteoarthritis — not as an optional extra, but as the treatment — alongside weight management where relevant.
What a good answer sounds like: a plan where the paid treatment sits alongside strengthening, load management and, where appropriate, GP involvement.
What should worry you: a machine offered on its own. If nobody has discussed exercise with you, you’re being sold a component rather than a plan.
8. “Am I actually suitable for this?”
Why it matters: Every treatment has people it isn’t appropriate for.
For anything using electromagnetic fields, that includes people with pacemakers and other implanted electronic devices, and various other circumstances. You should be screened thoroughly before anyone discusses booking.
What a good answer sounds like: a detailed set of questions about your medical history, medications, implants and other conditions — asked before the sales conversation, not after.
What should worry you: being booked in without anyone asking.
9. “Is there anything that should be ruled out first?”
Why it matters: Some joint symptoms need medical assessment rather than treatment.
Prolonged morning stiffness, several small joints swollen symmetrically, a hot and acutely swollen joint, joint pain with fever or unexplained weight loss, or a history of cancer with new bone pain — these need a GP rather than a course of anything.
What a good answer sounds like: the clinician has already considered this and says so.
What should worry you: no interest in your general health at all.
10. “What would you tell a member of your own family in my position?”
Why it matters: It’s a disarming question and the answer is usually revealing. It invites somebody to step outside the sales frame.
What a good answer sounds like: something specific and occasionally inconvenient — “honestly, I’d want you to do three months of proper strengthening first and see where you are.”
What should worry you: an answer identical to the sales pitch.
What This Isn’t
This isn’t an argument against paying for treatment. People spend money privately on all sorts of things that improve their lives, and doing so for a joint problem that’s been limiting you for years is an entirely reasonable choice.
It’s an argument for making that decision with proper information, from someone willing to tell you where the limits are.
Two Things Worth Holding Onto
First, be wary of anyone who is certain. Long-term joint pain is a field with a great deal of genuine uncertainty in it. Confidence is easy to project and it isn’t the same as evidence.
Second, the foundations aren’t optional. Whatever else you do, the strengthening and load work still has to happen. It’s less exciting than a machine, it’s harder work, and it has considerably more evidence behind it than most of what’s sold alongside it.
Any treatment that helps is best thought of as something that makes that work easier or more tolerable — not something that replaces it.
Ask Us These Questions
We’ve published this list because we’re comfortable answering it, and because we’d rather you made a considered decision than a rushed one.
We offer a free discovery visit at no cost and no obligation. Bring these questions. You’ll get a proper assessment, honest answers including where the evidence is thin, and a straight view on whether what we do is right for your situation.
If it isn’t, we’ll tell you — and we’ll tell you what we’d suggest instead.