Like all professions, physiotherapy can look very different depending on the person providing it. We are all shaped by our education, personality, personal beliefs & professional experience.
After almost 20 years as a physio, I have learned that these six styles of practice are just not for me.
⓵ Making people think they need me – The ultimate goal for me is not to see you (for this issue) again; to empower you with the tools and knowledge so you KNOW you’ve got this.
⓶ Showing off my knowledge of long, Latin words. – Me throwing a heap of anatomical terms at you (unless you know them too) is not for your benefit. It’s for my ego and is unlikely to empower you.
⓷ Never putting my hands on people (or only putting my hands on people) – This one can be controversial within the profession, but I believe there can be huge power in the experienced use of hands on treatment (especially in it’s impact on your nervous system). At the same time, I believe strongly in the power of movement, exercise & self management. It’s ALWAYS both things for me.
⓸ Short appointments so I can see 14 clients/day – The amount of time I USED to see people for as a new grad is how long I take just to chat to someone now! I don’t like feeling rushed or doing the rushing, I don’t like feeling like I missed a certain question OR that I could have done a much better job, if only I had more time. Seeing 14 clients a day just leaves my mind in a jumble of names, faces & body parts by the end of the day. It’s just not conducive to a job well done for this introvert 🙋🏼♀️
⓹ Seeing you once and booking your next 10 sessions – I know we all are desperate for definitive answers, but I just don’t believe, in the majority of cases, that I can know after seeing you ONCE how often and for how long you will need to see me. I can have a pretty good guess after so many years of experience, but I can’t possibly know how your lifestyle, self-management tools, family circumstances etc will impact your condition once you leave the room. What I DO believe in is communication BETWEEN appointments to inform our treatment plan. (Which btw, leads to WAY less appointment cancellations as well)
⓺ Treating the body part (or the MRI result) and not the person – Focusing only on the body part or the MRI result RARELY gets long-lasting results. When I can consider it in the context of the WHOLE person – how you move your entire body, what your beliefs are, what your goals are, how much sleep you’re getting…we can start turning the right dials for the most impact.