Have you ever heard someone say, or even said yourself – “physio didn’t work for me” Now let’s assume that you saw a good physio, there can be a few reasons why physio didn’t work for you.
Firstly – goal setting.
Did your physio and you talk about your goals? Did you discuss whether this was an achievable goal, the timeframes for achieving this and what this treatment plan would look like? This is often the first hurdle – helping you to see where you currently are, where you want to be with your goal, and that there is a gap between the two. Together we can then break down your goal into manageable and achievable chunks and make a plan. These mini-goals also need to be meaningful to you as well as your physio.
For example, how many people who have a sore knee would see the goal of being able to do 10 straight leg raises as meaningful? This is a goal that we physios love but doesn’t mean a lot to our patients. However, if we take the time to explain why this action is super important to being able to control your knee, and translates into being able to take a full stride, and go up and down stairs this now becomes more important to you.
When you realise that this is the first step to your next goal – being able to get out of a chair without using your hands, now we are talking the same language. We physios, might then give you the task of being able to do 10 sit to stands – which as you can see now directly reflects the goal. The next problem in rehabilitation is often whether you are ready to commit to this plan. Some considerations might be whether you have the time, the finances, the headspace. It generally takes 2 to 6 weeks to change muscle control, but 12 weeks to strengthen. And if you are not ready to commit to that timeframe – that’s ok. We can help you manage your symptoms until you are ready!
A good physio will discuss this with you, and together come up with a plan that you can commit to. This might be a short term plan to get you out of immediate pain, or a long term plan to not only help with your pain, but strengthen the muscles required to prevent your injury returning, or to achieve your long term fitness or health goal. So it may not be that physio didn’t work, it might be that it wasn’t the right goal, or the right time for you. So, if you or someone you know has “failed” physio and is wanting a second chance – give us a go. We will listen to what you want help with, plan appropriate and meaningful goals together with you, and discuss the right plan of action for you.
