If you go to see any health care provider, whether it’s a physio or not, there are 4 questions to which you need an answer.

1. What is wrong with me?

You’ll want to know a diagnosis. What the problem is (and what it isn’t).

Sometimes it is difficult to be definite straight off the bat, but it is important to have at the very least a provisional diagnosis or at least a guide to what the problem ISN’T, and a short list of likely explanations.

 

2. How long will it take to get better?

Naturally if you have pain or some other symptom, you want to know how quickly it is going to improve.

It is important that this is realistic too. The last thing you want is to expect it to get better in five days and it takes five months!

 

3. What are you, the therapist, going to do to help me?

What treatment does the therapist propose?

Has it been explained in a way that you understand?

You’ll want to know the likelihood of success. 

It is more than reasonable to ask if there is any scientific evidence behind the proposed treatment.

 

4. What can I do to help myself?

Just as important is finding out the things you can do to speed the process up, or to allow healing to happen more easily. 

Is there any information about the  do I need to understand? 

Are there any exercises that I should be doing?

We understand that if you don’t get an answer to these questions, you are likely to feel dissatisfied with any healthcare consultation.