Back to Basics: What is a Physiotherapist?

With World Physiotherapy Day quickly approaching, we went back to basics to explain what a Physiotherapist is, what they treat, and what you should expect when you see a Physiotherapist.

What is a Physiotherapist?

A Physiotherapist is a university trained health professional whose goal is to help their patients improve their health. We use hands-on treatment techniques combined with exercise prescription to resolve or improve a range of different health issues or concerns.

We’re trained to work with sudden injuries, chronic conditions, rehabilitation, management of an existing problem, or injury prevention.

Learn more about our Physiotherapists here.

What do Physios treat?

You may not know that Physios can treat more than back pain, neck pain, muscle tears or sprains. While many people come to see us with these common forms of muscle or joint disorders, we can help with many other conditions too, including:

Pregnancy related pain
Chronic pain
Mastitis
Vertigo
Jaw dysfunction
Dance injuries
Rib pain
Type 2 Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Many other conditions or injuries

You don’t necessarily need to be experiencing pain or a specific injury to see a Physiotherapist, it may just be a matter of wanting to safely and effectively improve your overall health, or you may feel that your body isn’t working as well as it could.

In our treatments, we use a range of techniques including hands-on therapy, education, dry needling, and Ultrasound. Where appropriate, we can also develop challenging exercise programmes for you to carry out at home, at your gym or within supervised classes here in our Pilates Studio or Gym.

See the full range of conditions Move treats here.

What should I expect at an initial assessment at Move?

You have the chance to explain your story. Every person who sees us is unique, coming to us for completely different reasons and each with different goals. Getting the chance to tell your story is one of the most important parts of the assessment process, as it allows us to understand where your priorities lie and what to start on first.
A thorough assessment. We will assess both how you’re moving and what the quality of your movement is like. Depending on which area needs treatment, we may also do some more specific muscle or nerve tests to get a better idea of the “big picture”.
We use a range different treatment techniques, which may include massage, joint mobilisation, movement re-training, stretching, taping or ultrasound. We believe that exercise can be an integral part of the treatment process, to help strengthen or stretch muscles in different ways. The exact techniques used within each treatment depend on the needs of each individual.
We will explain what we’ve found during your assessment, the possible causes for your issue, and give you an overall plan for you to improve your health. We will happily answer any questions you have about your treatment – no question is a silly question!

Book your initial appointment online here.

We believe that Physiotherapy can be a powerful and useful form of treatment for many people, which can not only help to identify the cause of a problem, but show you how to solve it as well.

To book your initial appointment with one of Move’s experienced Physios online, click here, otherwise please call us on 8373 5655. Our friendly reception team will be able to answer any questions you may have, and let you know how to get started.

To learn more about World Physiotherapy Day, click here.