Many of you will have been to see a Physiotherapist in an NHS or Private Hospital Outpatient setting or a private Physiotherapy clinic. You may have seen a physio for a sports injury, ache or pain, or recovery after a surgical procedure.  Others may have no idea what we physios do…in fact a common question we get asked is ‘What is the difference between a Physiotherapist, an Osteopath and a Chiropractor?’

 

Well the answer to that question is…a lot!! Typically a Physiotherapy assessment will include a face to face consultation where we get a lot of information about the problem at hand, we will watch how you move your body, test you on specific movements including sports specific tasks and tasks you do on a day to day basis. Only then would we use our hands to confirm what we already know from the information we have gained from the earlier parts of the assessment!! Yes laying our hands on your body is the smallest part of our physiotherapy assessment.

 

Subsequent treatment then typically includes a bespoke exercise programme for you and your body (we don’t do one size fits all at WDC) as the most important part of your treatment plan, with manual techniques such as massage, mobilisations and acupuncture to compliment this.

 

In these uncertain times with social distancing, our face to face contact has temporarily stopped, Physiotherapy consults have had to move more to phones and video consultations in order to protect us all.  The good news is, online physiotherapy is something we already do a lot of at WDC, in order to help our clients who travel for work or struggle to attend face to face appointments for a variety of reasons.  And you know what, online physiotherapy really works!

 

We have had fantastic feedback from our clients who we have used video consults with and we can’t wait to do more of these appointments now we all have to stay at home!!

 

Yes, it’s a different way of working and for most it’s a different way to see a physiotherapist but it’s a great alternative to having no access to a specialist physiotherapist and it means we can help more people from all over the UK and the rest of the world who wouldn’t normally get to access our team here at WDC.

 

Yes we cannot do the ‘hands on’ techniques that some people find so beneficial, but there is lots we can do. Over the last 5 to 10 years, Physiotherapy practice has moved away from a reliance on complex machines and towards rehabilitation programs carried out under the expert guidance of specialist physiotherapists and this is just as easy to do online as it is in our gym in the clinic.

 

Physiotherapists are specialists at diagnosing musculoskeletal problems – that’s anything affecting your bones or muscles!  We can work out what is causing your pain just by what you tell us in your subjective assessment (the talking part of your assessment!)  This can then be confirmed by looking at your posture, range of motion, movement patterns, how you perform specific tasks, and your muscle tone.

 

Particular injuries will have specific signs and symptoms. For example if someone tells us they get locking of their knee where they have to use their hands on the knee to unlock it we know there is a problem with the meniscus (the knee cartilage) before we even lay our hands on them. Literally the hands on bit in a physical assessment is used only to confirm our diagnosis.

 

Once we have our diagnosis, we will formulate a treatment plan, and we will always involve you in the decision making on this.  After all, the treatment must make sense to you, and work towards your specific goals or you will think it’s not worth the time or effort.

 

Most people’s traditional view of Physiotherapy treatment is that it involves “hands on” treatment.  In reality, this is only a portion of what specialist Physios do to assist with injury, pain and post-operative management.

 

Educating you about your condition, identifying contributing factors from your lifestyle, as well as instigating a structured and tailored bespoke exercise program created just for you and your body, are some of the most important things a specialist Physiotherapist will do.  Trust me when I tell you, we can still help you without using our hands.

 

As part of our service to you, at WDC Physiotherapy we will send you a detailed bespoke exercise program to you via your email to ensure you stay on track with your recovery. This will include videos and instructions of all your exercises so you can perform them correctly and not risk worsening your condition.

 

Doing exercises you found on YouTube, Google or what your friend told you they do for their body is NEVER a good idea! We’ve seen too many people try this route and end up in clinic seeing us worse state than what they were to start off with.

 

Also please know this, if we at WDC Physiotherapy can’t help you with whatever it is you are struggling with, we will let you know and point you in the direction of someone who can help.  This is rare, but again by us asking the right questions will quickly let us know if we cannot help you and if we need to refer you on to someone else.

 

So the message here is clear…schools are closed, businesses are closed, leisure centres are closed, but your aches and pains will still be there.

 

You may have just had surgery, and all your post-operative rehabilitation has been cancelled.  You might have now started working from home and your workstation posture is giving you a pain in the neck! You may have gone for your first run in 5 years, as part of your daily once a day exercise and now you have a raging achilles pain.  Or perhaps you have decided to embark on a new DIY project and all that hammering and drilling has triggered an old shoulder injury.

 

And because we know that you still need us, that means we are not closed.

 

We are taking more calls and receiving more messages than ever from people that need our help, and the fun thing is, we can help people in the wider community, not just those who live nearby!  The wonders of modern technology open up a whole world of possibility for us.  And we cannot wait to help you navigate through this crazy, uncertain time.

 

To access our specialist team all you need to do is call us on 01702 613542, email us at wdcphysiotherapy@gmail.com or you can find us on Facebook and message us there at https://www.facebook.com/WdcPhysiotherapySportsInjuryClinic/ or contact us through the contact forms on our website www.wdcphysiotherapy.co.uk

 

Take care and stay safe and if you need us you know where we are 🙂

 

Beth Dolman

Specialist Physiotherapist