5 things to look for when choosing a physio
Michael Dermansky has been working as a physiotherapist for the last 17 years and directing MD Health Pilates for the last 13 years.
Physiotherapists see patients for a number of reasons, usually to provide treatment for muscular conditions affecting movement or causing pain and discomfort. But how do you choose a physiotherapist? Is there one better suited to treat you than another? If you are looking for a new specialist, we suggest that you consider Michael Dermansky’s five tips before choosing a physio to treat your condition.
1. Start with a good history – Every consultation should begin with a thorough history of your injury, including an understanding of the behaviour of your pain, to determine the reason for the pain, but also to determine whether the pain is mechanical (can be treated by a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist) or more serious and needs to be taken care of elsewhere.
2. Examine the area thoroughly – All areas of the body, like the back, knees or shoulders can have a number of things that can go wrong and cause injury, so it is important that each area is assessed properly and completely to determine a specific diagnosis as this will radically alter the required treatment. Generic treatments will not be effective, they must to specifically based on a diagnosis to work.
3. Assess the area above and below the injured area – The body’s bio mechanics have a large impact on the function of each individual joint, therefore to effectively treat a knee injury for example, it is important to assess and determine the bio mechanical problems with the hips and ankles to solve the long term issues. If there is no time to address this in your first session, these other areas should be assessed in your subsequent sessions.
4. Provide a provisional diagnosis – After your initial session, your physiotherapist or exercise physiologist may not have an exact diagnosis yet, but they will have an idea of the potential diagnoses and need to explain these to you. The diagnosis will vary the treatment radically and will be the difference between an exercise being effective or ineffective in treating your injury or pain.
5. Provide a plan for your future sessions – when you go to the mechanics, your accountant or lawyers, they will give you an idea of what they need to work on, how long it will take and roughly how much it will cost, so why not your physiotherapist or exercise physiologist? You deserve to know where your treatment plan is going and what to expect from your treatment in the long term.
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