Preparing for your physio appointment – your initial consultation
Whether you have been referred to a physiotherapist by your doctor or you have been advised to book an appointment, having physiotherapy can be a daunting thing if you have never had it before. Many patients worry that the pain will worsen, that it will be expensive, and that they will be seeing a physiotherapist for the rest of their lives with no improvements! Advantage Physio aims to get rid of some of those worries by telling you what you can expect from your first physio appointment with a member of our team.
Key things for your initial consultation
During your initial consultation, your physiotherapist will conduct a thorough and in-depth assessment to understand your pain symptoms and how this effect you. You will discuss things including:
· Health history and medications
· Current symptoms and lifestyle choices
You will have a physical examination completed by your physio to assess your overall health and understand any potential underlying medical conditions.
Your initial consultation will last between 30 mins. Once we have worked out a diagnosis your physiotherapist will want to get straight to work on your symptoms.
What should you wear to your first physio appointment?
It can be daunting attending your first physio appointment, particularly when you don’t know what to expect. That’s why the physiotherapists at Advantage Physio try to make things as simple and supportive as possible for all their clients. Before you attend your first physio appointment, you will have the chance to ask any questions or voice any queries you may have, including whether your physio is likely to hurt and what you are supposed to wear. We want you to be as comfortable as possible when you see a trusted member of our team. Please speak to our lovely reception team when you book your appointment.
For your physio appointment, we would like you to be able to get comfortable for the duration of your stay. For this reason, we recommend wearing loose clothing that you will be able to remove if necessary. This may be a vest top underneath a jumper or hoodie and a pair of shorts underneath a pair of jogging bottoms. For women, you may also wish to wear a sports bra to avoid the digging of the underwire; however, this is your choice. Lastly, we recommend trainers or shoes that are easy to slip on and off, so you don’t have to worry about doing up laces or struggling into shoes straight after your appointment.
Your physio appointments won’t last forever
Every patient and their symptoms are different. Our aim is to help your pain ASAP, but also teach you how to keep this pain away. Your physio will work with you using a variety of methods to not only alleviate your symptoms but get to the root cause of the problem and work to resolve this as well. Physiotherapy is not like taking a painkiller. The pain may not disappear straight away. This is because physiotherapy works to find and solve the cause of your pain for a long time rather than just a couple of hours.
Once you and your physio have worked together to relieve you of pain for the long run, you may be given some exercises to take home and complete on a regular basis. Often these exercises are based on strengthening the muscles or stretching surrounding your injury site so you can avoid the injury from occurring again in the future. Your physio may wish to see you again in the future, but further physio appointments to follow up are likely to be further apart and occur at more infrequent intervals until you no longer need to book another appointment.
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Get to the root cause of your pain with a physio appointment at Advantage Physio
Advantage Physiotherapy has been working with clients across the Home Counties and London since opening in 2009. During this time, we have built a great reputation for being reliable and successful physiotherapists. Working closely with local GP centres and as an outpatient rehabilitation service, our aim is to ensure all our clients get their independence, mobility and health on an even keel.
If you are looking for the support of a physiotherapist but you are worried and have questions before you begin, get in touch with Advantage Physiotherapy today, who will be happy to answer any concerns you have before getting started with your first physio appointment. We look forward to helping you with your physio needs soon!