Have you sustained an orthopaedic injury?
I take pride in the way that I work and the service I provide. I’m also, always looking at trends in what conditions I am treating, the ages of the patients I treat and so on and so forth.
Now, over the last week I have seen three cases that have come through to me which have raised some concerns. Each one has been a patient from the NHS and two out of the three cases have had to have surgery. Unfortunately, for some reason, they have not been referred for physio at their follow up appointments. When I have asked them why, each one told me that they were told that it was not necessary! I have tried to reason some of this clinically alongside other clinicians that I know, as not every operation needs physiotherapy aftercare but orthopedic issues sustained by a person who is generally fit and well will probably need physiotherapy, especially if they are active. In fact, it is one of the mainstays of treatments to make a full recovery.
I want to:
1. Ensure that each patient is healing in an acceptable manner and at a reasonable rate
2. Help you to return to your previous level of activity and function
3. Prevent recurrence of injury or complications associated with surgery
4. Provide reassurance as my patients recover – the body goes through some complex physiological processes as it tries to heal
5. For those of you that have children, I want to make sure that any injury they might have does not have a long – lasting impact on the development of their bodies
I could go on with this list.
I am not trying to highlight the shortcomings of the NHS which I know provides a very good service but we do know that the service is currently stretched and ‘cuts’ are happening in every industry right across the board. I wonder whether Brexit is a contributing factor to some of these situations?
If you or someone you know has sustained an orthopaedic injury, whether it be a sprained ankle or a fractured collar bone, if you know someone who has had surgery and they aren’t sure whether they need physiotherapy, I urge you to THINK DISTINCT! I am happily providing FREE consultations over the phone and if you follow my Instagram story, I am offering one 30 min free consultation to one lucky person each week!
It is better to be safe than sorry and DISTINCT PHYSIOTHERAPY is here to support you, your friends and your family.