Physiotherapy helps people of all ages who have medical conditions, illnesses or injuries that limit their regular ability to move and function. A personalised Physiotherapy program can help individuals return to their prior level of functioning, and encourage activities and lifestyle changes that can help prevent further injury and improve overall health and well being.

Physiotherapists can treat a wide variety of medical conditions. Some conditions that can benefit for Physiotherapy include:

• Musculoskeletal dysfunction such as, back pain, neck pain , leg pain, hip pain
• Sports – related injuries, such as tennis elbow
• Neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke
• Hand therapy for condition such as carpal tunnel syndrome

During your initial consultation, your physiotherapist will conduct a comprehensive clinical assessment, which will include asking you a series of questions regarding the history of your physical complaint, the background to it, as well as what aggravates and eases the pain. They may also ask questions regarding your occupation, general routine and lifestyle, sleep patterns and how the pain impacts your life and hobbies – this information helps to give us a better picture of the problem and what may have caused it.

It is important to provide us with as much information as possible during the consultation, including any other medical conditions and any medication you may be taking, as this could have an influence on your musculoskeletal condition.

Your physiotherapist will then conduct a detailed physical examination, involving some movements and tests, that highlight the problem and potential causes of your condition. They will only do enough to help identify what is going on, if at any point you experience too much pain to continue, they will stop. It may be that you experience some soreness after the examination, this is entirely normal, and usually resolves within 24 hours.

Depending on where the issue is on the body, it may be necessary to remove some clothing in order to carry out the examination effectively (we always endeavour to protect and respect the modesty and dignity of our patients at all times).

The assessment will help the physiotherapist to accurately diagnose your condition and identify an appropriate treatment plan, which will take into account your current fitness level, lifestyle, work, any sporting activities and the levels of function you need to attain. All treatment plans are individually tailored to suit your needs.

Your physiotherapist will then discuss with you, the findings of their assessment, the possible treatment options open to you (including detailed advice and education) and decide where to start. This will incorporate their recommendations, your preference for treatments, and the likely timescale of rehabilitation. Sometimes, physiotherapy may not be the most appropriate course of action, and alternatives such as a referral for further investigations may be advised.

It is important that you understand your condition, before any treatment begins, and so please feel comfortable asking questions about your diagnosis and treatment plan.

As the assessment is normally very thorough, and time is dedicated to getting the right diagnosis, it is not always possible for your treatment plan to commence within your initial appointment.

Patients often wonder why they have to go through an initial assessment with a physiotherapist when their doctor, or other health care provider, has already determined what the cause of their pain is or potentially even had diagnostic imaging conducted to confirm a diagnosis.

To answer this, the most common reasons why an initial assessment is essential for a physiotherapist to give the right care, are:

1. Everyone is an individual – When physiotherapists provide care for a patient, it is personalised to that patient’s needs. Therefore, through an initial assessment, our physiotherapists are better able to better understand why a person is coming for treatment, what their goals for recovery are and what care is best for that individual. The most effective care is provided when it is tailored to a patient’s specific condition and needs
2. Even the same condition affects people differently – Although two people may have the same condition diagnosed, there is always variation in how this affects a person. Everyone is at a different stage in their lives and has had different experiences and therefore experience their condition differently. It is through an initial assessment that our physiotherapists can fully understand how a condition or injury has influenced a person’s life.
3. Determine a baseline – During an initial assessment our physiotherapists will take you through a number of tests (or outcome measures) to understand where a patient is on that very first day. This baseline – or beginning measurements – allow them to understand the current strength, mobility and overall functioning of a patient’s body or area of concern. Therefore, during the course of treatment, the physiotherapists can repeat some of these measurements and compare them to the original ones determined during the initial assessment. This comparison allows for patients and physiotherapists to better understand when significant changes to symptoms or other factors have occurred.
4. Imaging does not always reflect a patient’s pain experience – Research conducted to determine the ability for diagnostic imaging (e.g., X-ray, MRI, Ultrasound) to reflect a patient’s experiences with pain has demonstrated that the correlation between the two is very low, especially in regard to low back pain. Furthermore, the chances of finding asymptomatic spinal “abnormalities” are very common and increase with age. Therefore, physiotherapists cannot exclusively rely on a patient’s diagnostic imaging to determine that patient’s experience with pain as they often do not match up.

The most common reasons include:

• Irreversible damage, especially if the injury has been long standing.
• Wrong diagnosis
• Not having enough Physiotherapy sessions to allow the treatment to work properly
• Not having hands-on treatment if the problem requires it
• Not carrying out your prescribed exercise plan