People seek physiotherapy for all kinds of reasons. Whether it’s a sports injury, surgical recovery, an accident, or increasingly, back pain from poor posture in uncomfortable chairs at work. Whatever the reason, for some people it can be a daunting prospect. It’s something new and different, and they don’t know what to expect. A lot of that anxiety can be addressed by finding out what you can expect from your first appointment and understanding how to prepare.
What can you expect from your first physiotherapy appointment?
More often than not, people seek physiotherapy because they have a pain that they can’t fully identify or because they’ve noticed a restriction in their movement. Our first step as clinicians is to identify exactly where the pain originates and what’s causing it. That’s why we offer a free 15 minute ‘Ultra Body Review’ to all prospective clients. It helps us to ascertain exactly what the issue is, what we can do about it, and whether you may need to seek alternative medical help. We can do this at one of our nine clinics across London. Whichever location most suits you.
Your appointment will be broken down into four main areas:
· Admin – During your very first appointment, you’ll be required to complete some essential admin. This is just to make sure that we know everything we need in order to care for you properly.
· Chat – We’ll ask you to tell us why you’ve made your appointment. To describe your pain. And to provide any insights you may have into its origin.
· Diagnostic – When you attend one of our clinics, we’ll then conduct a brief physical examination. This will help us to work out the best treatment plan for your specific needs.
· Treatment – We will then treat you with our hands on approach rather than only giving you rehabilitation exercises from the outset.
How can you prepare for your first physio appointment?
Think about your pain
The more you can tell us about your pain – location, severity, type (burning, aching, stabbing, shocking, dull, sharp) – and when and how it started, the better able we’ll be to help you find a solution.
Arrive on time or early
We want you to get the very best from your physiotherapy experience and part of that means ensuring that you get a full session every time. However our experts have a busy schedule. If you are late, we may not always be able to accommodate you.
Wear comfortable clothing
Physiotherapy is a necessary hands-on practice and we never ever want our clients to feel uncomfortable. So, the best advice we can give is for you to wear clothing that allows the easy exposure of the affected area. If it’s your knee, elbow, or ankle, that’s easy enough to contrive. But with hip pain, you may find that you prefer to wear close-fitting shorts or leggings. And with back or shoulder pain, you may be required to remove your top. In which case, we recommend wearing a vest beneath.
Bring any pertinent medical documents or scans
If you’ve had any scans, x-rays, or previous medical treatment on the affected area, bring any info you have along with you. This will help us get to the bottom of the problem much more quickly.
Make a list of questions
We find that our clients typically have a lot of questions about both their condition and their treatment. However we also find that they completely forget to ask us any of them during their first few sessions! So, we would encourage you to jot down any questions that come to mind in the days before your first appointment. And we’ll do our best to answer them.
Be ready for homework
This is the part of physio that some people don’t expect. But while we always do what we can during your appointments, most of the physiotherapy has to be done by you at home. This may not happen immediately, but as we get to understand your pain and your needs, we’ll create a personalized homework schedule for you. These will be small activities for you to work into your daily life to help expedite your recovery.
The first step towards a resolution for your pain is to book an appointment with a professional physiotherapist. At Ultra Sports Clinic, we know that your time is precious, so we’ve created an online booking system that you can access 24/7. Our aim is to provide physiotherapy services that fit in with your life and your needs. Don’t ignore your pain. Do something about it and book an appointment today.
If you have an injury or any ongoing pain, physiotherapy could help. Book your first appointment with Ultra Sports Clinic.
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