Here at Physiocomestoyou we pride ourselves on the standard of our service. We aim to raise the bar in our professionalism and treatment standards but there is one thing that makes us different from other physio companies.
The Right Therapist Understands
As a medical professional how you talk, what you choose to say and how you express yourself with your body language is one of the main influencing factors in whether or not a patient will get better. No therapist, however good their clinical knowledge is, or however up to date their treatment techniques are, will get you fully recovered as quickly or as effectively as the physiotherapist who speaks confidently, reassures you there is a treatment option, informs you fully of the diagnosis and prognosis for your condition, and fully understands your goals and worries.
For therapists, this takes time, practice and knowledge. It is hard to be confident or to fully ascertain a diagnosis if your underlying knowledge is not there. More importantly, how you are questioned or encouraged to tell the details of your problem is a fine art. A good physiotherapist will question you with open questions, not yes/no options. They will follow up on points you make along the way in your narrative. For instance, a good physio will pick up on you mentioning that you have reservations about a surgical procedure or particular treatment option available to you and they will question you further on the reasons behind this. It may be that you have had a previous negative experience of that hospital or that procedure from family and friends, and you’re worried the outcome may be similarly negative for you. These points need to be addressed as early as possible, as there is good evidence to say that worries left unexplored play on the mind, and can influence the success of a treatment. A great example of this is acupuncture – one person’s experience of this treatment will be totally different to another.
The Right Therapist Addresses Your Fears
We know that the brain and how we process things we are told is important to what we ultimately feel. Confidence in the explanation of a treatment and how it will potentially work on you, improves the outcome, whereas fear of the unknown and potential anxiety can worsen the outcome.
So have a think about your confidence in the health professionals you have seen before. Who made you feel that they fully understood your condition, what might help you and what part you were to play in the process? We feel it is important that throughout your experience with us, you feel supported in achieving the goals you set out to achieve rather than the goals the therapist thinks you need.
Post by Leanne Plenge, Physiotherapist and Bristol Manager.