Physiotherapy

If you have a problem and noone else can help you and you can find them (okay it's not the A Team)...

Whenever anyone comes to me in class and says they have a problem my question is always "Have you seen your doctor or a physiotherapist?"

After years of back pain and a very nasty almost slipped disc I finally saw a physiotherapist, and it was the best thing I ever did. GPs are great at prescribing pain medication but in order to resolve many problems we need to know what it is we're doing wrong, which movements to avoid and which to do more of.

Unfortunately for my back problem this year my physiotherapist agrees that it's not entirely a muscular or skeletal problem. Some exercises help but I also need to look at other areas of my life, rest, relaxation and yes, even diet. But even after one session and a little bit of advice on stretching differently I saw improvement. (My GP told me to stretch more, my physio told me to stretch more but in short bursts - not for long periods - which has made a huge difference.)

A qualified physiotherapist has been trained with a deep understanding of how the body works. A treatment can include sports massage (I do not always enjoy), usually a course of exercises or stretches, sometimes working with them in their on-site gyms (now this can be painful) or even strapping up an injury or advice on shoes or other supports. For an acute injury (for example when I tore a muscle last year) I go straight to a physio, however it took me much longer with a gradual injury, so next time I'll definitely go sooner!

I go to Pure Sports Medicine who have a few locations and who treat professional sportspeople as well as anyone who just finds it uncomfortable sitting at their desk or picking up their kids.

As at November 2012

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