5 Common Myths About Physio
There are endless misconceptions surrounding physio…what it is, when to see a physiotherapist, what’s involved, the list goes on and on. Partly, this is our fault as a profession, we haven’t done the greatest job of marketing what our value is for you and your health. In this blog, we’re aiming to highlight some of the main misconceptions around physio in order to clarify how we can help you get back to or excel at the things you love.
If there’s one myth in particular you’re interested, you can skip ahead by clicking on a specific myth in the list here:
1. You should only see a physio when you’ve been injured
There are some intuitive times when you should visit a physio, such as when you’ve sprained your ankle, recently undergone surgery, or have pain that is worsening over time. However, you don’t need to have any of those things to justify seeking the guidance of a physio. In fact, going in before things progress can do you a big favour in the long run. If you seek advice earlier, when you start noticing aches, pains, mobility issues that may impact some aspect of your life or difficulty with a particular movement, you might have an easier time than if you wait for them to become a bigger issue. Our number one goal as physiotherapists is to keep you training, playing your sport, thriving at your work, and generally making sure you can do the things you love. The main point here is that if there’s something about your body or what you’re experiencing that you want to understand better, you don’t have to wait until it’s a big issue to see a physio. If you come in, we can provide you with guidance to keep you thriving in the activities you love.
2. Physio is about ‘fixing you’
As a society we are hammered with the mirage of a quick fix….lasers, ultrasound, theraguns, sometimes surgery, and even sometimes the perfect corrective exercise. There’s no doubt that this is appealing, but in reality physio is not a quick fix. Instead, most of the things you do in a single session of physio will not fix your problems, even if they do provide temporary relief. What we promote is coaching-based-physiotherapy. A coach works intimately with you to help steer you in the right direction, hold you accountable, educate you, and identify solutions that will help you recover and thrive. This style of physio provides you with the skills necessary to navigate your present and future issues. We believe that if you view your physiotherapist as a coach and your journey as a process, you will get far more out of the experience than if you go in looking for a quick fix.
3. All physio is the same
In reality, there are differences between every physio clinic and every physiotherapist, this is no different than any other profession or service. Some physiotherapists will claim to be able to fix you, point out all your dysfunctions, give you generic exercise sheets and spend little time listening to your concerns or to the specifics of your story. Other physiotherapists will address all your concerns, help you feel capable/optimistic/in-control and take the time you deserve to hear all the details of your individual story. There is also everything in-between! The main point is just because one physiotherapist didn’t work for you, doesn’t mean that another one won’t. Don’t give up because ‘physio didn’t work’, you may just not have seen the right physio for you!
4. Physio exercises are different than my normal exercises or training
Many people believe that physio exercises are different than normal exercises, that there are special exercises that a physio can provide you that unlock the secrets you’ve been waiting for. In reality, they’re all exercises and they exist in the same bubble. The main difference between ‘physio exercise’ and ‘exercise’ is the rationale behind their application and the specificity of their dosage as opposed to the individual exercise programmed. For example, your back may hurt when you bend forwards. In this case, we may have you performing a modified type of deadlift instead of your normal deadlifts. This is more about building up tolerance to a sensitive movement than picking special exercises to fix you before you can start deadlifting again. In reality, ‘physio exercises’ might include individualized mobility work, specific accessory strength exercises, or training modifications to return you to the exercises you may have been struggling with prior to attending physio. There is nothing special about these exercises save for the specificity of the movements used and the dosage used.
5. Physio is about ‘correcting my movement’ or ‘correcting my posture’
So many of our clients believe that they got injured from moving incorrectly, poor form/technique, or from having bad posture. This leads them to expect their physio to correct the technique, or help them fix their posture and thus remove their pain. This would be nice and simple, and it would make our lives as physio’s very straightforward….just fix the movement or posture and boom, you’re better! Certainly there are times where we may modify technique or add variation to your daily positioning but there is typically more to the story. Generally when people experience pain with a movement or posture there is a whole messy story that leads to this occurring. Often it involves progressing activity or training too quickly with inadequate preparation, being less active than usual, spending a lot of time in one particular position, fear of further injury after a prior injury, increased life stress (financial, social, etc.), and any combination of factors. Where a physio fits into the equation is helping you tease out what that story might look like for you, help you develop a plan, and guide you along that plan through bumps in the road. This involves getting to know you, your lifestyle, and your current understanding of your situation so that we can best facilitate your recovery and return to the things you love.
If you’re looking for a physio that has a coach’s mindset, we will take the time to address all your concerns, help you understand your problem, and help you take control of your health. Schedule a free consult with us and we’ll talk about how we can get you back to what you love.