Whether you’re dealing with an acute injury, something more persistent, or something that comes and goes, working with a physio can be beneficial to guide you towards your goals with a little more precision. One of the most important things to understand about seeing a physio to help you with your recovery is that it is not something that is done to you. Rather, recovery is a process that is shared between you, your physio, and everyone else in your life. In essence, this means that there is plenty that you can do on your end to facilitate optimal recovery. The purpose of this post is to provide you with an understanding the things that we feel increase the chances of having a successful recovery.

Find a clinic that inspires you

The first step is to find the right place for you to recover. All clinics are not created equal, there are some that may suit your needs better than others and this includes both the physiotherapist and the facility itself. In terms of a physiotherapist, look for someone who goes well with your personality and perhaps has similar activity interests. Most places do free consults, so this could be a good opportunity to meet a physio and see if you get along well with them. Further, you can look on the clinic’s team page on their website and read a bit more about each professional. For example, if you look at ours you’ll see that each of us have different interests and personalities. With respect to the facility itself, see if there are photo’s of the space and ask yourself if this is a place you could see motivating you to get back to what you love. If you’re a runner and the clinic doesn’t seem to have a treadmill from after 1976 or if you hurt yourself lifting weights and there’s no dumbbell over 15 pounds then maybe you need to look elsewhere to get value out of the experience. You can also look into google reviews and social media…what are people saying about the clinic culture and how engaged are they with their community? Social media can give you a great sense of what the culture and environment is like and whether or not it’s something you could see yourself becoming a part of.

Commit to the process

Once you’ve found a physio that you think you can work well with and a place that you can see yourself recovering in, the next step is to commit to the process. Time and time again, the people that crush their recovery are the ones that commit and stick to it even when things aren’t going well. By nature, recovery from pain and injury is a non-linear process and it’s normal for things to be up and down along the way. It’s important to make a decision to commit to the process so that you can ultimately reach your goal(s). Many injuries take months to get better, the vast majority of things can’t be solved in a week (as much as we would love that to be the case). You may be the exception, but more than likely you can expect to be working with your physio for the medium to long-term future. The people we see having poor outcomes are often the people seeking and/or expecting quick results and then quit before there’s been a chance to improve.

Trust your therapist

Rehab can often be a scary process. Sometimes it involves trying things that aren’t comfortable with the potential for a flare up of your symptoms, or returning to activities that you love but that you got injured performing. As a result, if you’ve done your research, found a great physio, and committed to the process then it’s important to trust the advice and recommendations your therapist provides you. It’s still important for you to think critically about the advice, but it’s important to trust that even if things aren’t immediately fruitful, your therapist may still have you on the right path. Beyond this, it means a willingness to be vulnerable and share information. Many things can influence your trajectory, even things you may not have thought of, so trust your therapist with what you are feeling and thinking. One major key is that not everything needs to be positive, sharing your disappointment or your worries is a form of trust and keeping this to yourself may potentially delay your recovery. Trust that your physio can help you navigate these things, whether that means listening, providing you with advice/reassurance, or taking you through exercises/tests that could alleviate your anxiety. Finally, remember that your physio is invested in you getting better, so when you’re noticing improvements, no matter how small, be sure to let them know!

Engage during your recovery

Go to your appointments prepared and ready to engage. This means being in proper attire to move in, no phones to distract you from your session, and being ready to ask questions. After your sessions, this means keeping up with the program and sticking to your plan. At The Movement, we build in communication and accountability but this involves using the tech to check-in and provide updates. Showing up is the first step but engaging with the process is going to maximize your recovery. Remember, recovery is a commitment and you’ll get so much more from the process if you are actively engaged with it.

Learn from your setbacks

The human body is endlessly complex, and pain is something that can be a challenge to predict. As a result of this fact, it is common for rehab to be a bit of a bumpy ride. Most people will experience flare ups throughout the process. Even though it is normal and expected, it can be distressing….especially when you’ve been making progress. We encourage you to acknowledge the frustration, but then it’s important to take a healthy perspective to overcome it. As you’ll see in this post by Nick Hannah (a physiotherapist in London, Ontario), flare ups are like traffic jams not detours. This means that you’re still on the right road, but you’re slowed down a bit. You can work with your physio to learn from this experience, so that you can be better prepared moving forward.

If you’re looking for a place to help you get back to what you love, check out our Dundas location then get in touch with us and find out how we can help.