Physio by Phone

stickywicket

I honestly wondered what was coming and presumed it'd just be the taking of a few details about me with a ‘real’ appointment to follow. But, no.

She rang me, we’d never met before but she was brilliant.

The call lasted about half an hour. I tried to explain that, after almost 60 years of this, I was now built like several corkscrews loosely welded together. She was very patient, very thorough. We both asked questions and we both answered them. I told her of exercises currently and previously done, how my main problem was the ancient TKR but how my consultant’s worry, and reason for marking my appointment ‘urgent’, was the THR above it which was breaking into my pelvis and which he will only operate on as a last resort since, if he did, he’d be likely to break the pelvis too. Not a good move.

She gave me her phone number to ring any time with any problems or questions and she fixed up another telephone appointment anyway for late January. She told me how and when to do each exercise and when to have a day off. About half an hour after we hung up, the tailor-made programme arrived in my inbox. Three and a half pages of A4, with videos, some familiar: others not.

I’m typing this because I know a lot of people feel that phone appointments are no good. Personally, I think this is a brilliant solution to a difficult problem and I see no reason why it shouldn’t be as helpful as a face to face one. If you get the chance do go for it.

Saltmarsh

Wow! What a helpful post! Many thanks 😊

Lilymary

My physio has also been doing phone and zoom appointments. I haven't had to use them (helped by the fact that she lives a few doors from me!) but if they're any good there's a lot a physio can do over the phone in terms of diagnosis and exercise programmes. Obviously different if you need actual hands on treatment, but she's doing that as well, wearing PPE and thoroughly cleaning the room after each patient.