This is part 3 of a series of blogs which looks at what patients wants from physiotherapy.  This looks at what the scientific research says patients value about physiotherapy and what they look for when booking a physiotherapist.

This part of the series looks at what patients want their treatment to look like. It follows part one on desired personal characteristics of your physio and part two – the key questions you want answering.  Anyway lets get going

What do you want your treatment to look like?

• Expectation of treatment type

We know from the evidence that some people want active treatment (things they do for themselves) whilst others want passive treatment (things done to them), some of course want a bit of both.

We also know many people don’t know what physiotherapy is.  There are a lot of treatment techniques that people associate with physiotherapy from acupuncture to massage to manipulation and other manual techniques, to various exercise types and education.  Physiotherapy is in itself, hard to define, as there is so much variation in the profession. This does not help matters

At Weymouth Physiotherapy we help you to understand what we can offer.  We do this prior to you booking your appointment.  We call all our patients before booking to discuss their problem.  The main purpose of this is  to a) make sure we can help you and  b) to ensure we are a good fit for each other.

• Expectation of treatment effect

The science tell us expectation of treatment effect plays a huge part in the final outcome.  If you believe a treatment will work there is a good chance it will and if you don’t, well we know it is less likely to work.

This is why it is important you believe in the treatment plan and is why we always come up with a treatment plan with you not just for you.

• Involvement in treatment plan

The evidence tell us patients really value this.  You want to play an active part in your treatment plan and be involved.  This is understandable.  The research suggests that patients who feel actively involved get a better outcome.  That is why we always discuss your opinions and preferences.

We will always discuss with you the options for treatment and the pro’s and con’s and rationale for each them. Ultimately it is then  for you to decide what your care looks like.

Summary

You are all individuals and you will all want slightly different things in terms of what treatment will look like.  At Weymouth Physiotherapy will fully recognise that and always place you at th forefront when making decisions about your care.  To discuss your problem with us, book a call back slot by filling the form at www.weymouthphysiotherapy.com/callback.