How do you know you are doing the ' right ' exercises ?
We love it when people take responsibility for their health. Lots of injuries or new pain can resolve by themselves with the help of some rest and a bit of first aid. However, sometimes you need professional guidance to get you back to 100%. We’ve also got a new tool to help you look after yourself so you can spend more time at home and less in the clinic.
When to see a professional
We know that you might be reluctant to go and see a physiotherapist, especially when your injury might feel minor. We’re all more conscious of how we spend our money, and private physiotherapy comes at a cost. You might also want to avoid adding your name to an NHS waiting list.
If you’re hesitating, think about how your pain affects your life. You might be taking anti-inflammatories or doing some stretches you found on YouTube without feeling any benefit. You’re struggling at work or unable to do the things you love, whether that’s running or playing with your kids. If your injury has lasted a while or your recovery has plateaued, come and see us. A consultation and a proper diagnosis can guide you in the right direction and help you get back to 100%.
Knowledge is power
Symptoms can point to more than one thing. You'll know exactly what you're dealing with when you’ve been assessed and treated by a physiotherapist. It’s much better than listening to that bloke in the pub who thinks you’ve got a frozen shoulder. A proper diagnosis lets you know what you’re dealing with and can reassure you. You might already be doing all the right things, but they haven’t worked yet. We can guide you to further treatment or tell you what to say to your GP if necessary.
It can be scary when something goes wrong with your body, but knowledge is power when it comes to getting the right help.
" Get a proper diagnosis so you're not working in the dark "
What guidance have you already had?
During lockdown, most physiotherapists were only able to offer telephone consultations. Even the best physios can only pick up so much from a conversation. They can’t see how you’re standing or walking. You might not know what’s important or relevant, so you don’t mention it.
If you’ve already had a telephone appointment, you may have been sent a sheet with exercises to do at home. Sometimes, these may not be the right ones for you if your physio hasn’t been able to do a full assessment. Alternatively, you might not know how to do the exercises correctly. An A4 sheet doesn’t let you see the movements in real life, so you can’t check what you’re doing. Thankfully, there is an alternative.
How we can help
We don’t like to offer a lot of advice until we’ve seen you and conducted a proper assessment. However, we have a tool that lets you look after yourself at home and only allowing us to, if needed, modify your exercises remotely rather than waiting until you come back to see us.
We use a system called Physitrack. It’s an online portal which lets us send you videos of the exercises you can do at home so you can see exactly how to do them correctly. We’ll email you a private link to log in to your own account so you can watch the videos whenever you need to. There’s also a section that lets you give feedback. For example, if an exercise causes you pain, you can let us know, and we’ll change it to a new one without you having to come in and see us. You can also log your progress, your pain rating and how many exercises you’ve done if you want to. It links straight to our treatment software, so everything we recommend is designed around you.
Conclusion
Self-care is wonderful and in many cases enough to get you back on track, but if you’ve been struggling with pain or an injury that hasn’t fully resolved, a professional diagnosis can help you to get back to 100%. We can give you a full assessment and access to tools that will help you to get better at home.
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