First appointment with a physio

Olicanian

Hi,

I have fairly severe arthritis in my knees and ankles. I also have mild arthritis in my wrists. I have my first appointment with a physio tomorrow but it is only by phone. In order to make the most of my time, does anyone have an suggestions about what I should say/ask?

Also who would you ask for a referral to an OT?

Thanks in advance.

stickywicket

Hi. I have, over many arthritic years, with many arthritic joints (including knees) had lots of physio appts. including a couple of telephone ones. A good physio will have read your notes and will, almost certainly, have questions for you. In my experience we need to listen more than ask. If you don't understand something then ask If you have difficulties in doing what's suggesred then explain. But, overall, just listen carefully. You'll, almost certainly, be emailed some exercises afterwards.

OT? You can self-refer by ringing your local council's Adult Social Care Dept.

Olicanian? I assume you're from Ilkley. Do you actually play for Olicanians CC.? My elder son used to play in Aire Wharfe and Bradford leagues.

Olicanian

@stickywicket My husband used to be a priest in Ilkley, we emigrated down to London about 7 years ago. My husband once used Olicanian as a nickname on an online platform and I have just used it since. Watched a few cricket matches but neither of us play. Nice to meet someone who knows Yorkshire well. I miss the peace and friendliness of northern life. It is all to busy and rushed here in London.

RogerBill

Hi @Olicanian Hope I'm not too late in replying. When I had my first physio appointment by phone I hadn't had my arthritis diagnosis at that stage. The key things I needed to outline were my symptoms eg how long they'd affected me, how badly they impacted my life, were they getting worse, did I use a walking stick, etc. I think it's important to present a realistic and balanced view. Don't underplay the symptoms and impact they're having but don't be overly dramatic. Mine was a video call so using the camera on my mobile phone I was asked to walk up and down in front of it.

The time allocated to your appointment might only be 10 minutes so I totally agree with @stickywicket that after describing your symptoms and answering any questions you're asked you then need to listen more than talk and don't fall into the trap of trying to diagnose your condition or propose treatment, etc. This would like telling someone how to do their job and I've heard that it's surprisingly common. However, if it's not suggested I would try to get a face to face appointment as the next stage of diagnosis for me involved a physio testing out the degree of movement I had, comparing my good hip with my bad, studying how I walked in more detail and how I managed on an exercise bike. After this I was then given a series of exercises and subsequent face-to-face physio appointments.

Planning to make the best use of the limited time available is essential. So be sure to have your symptoms written down in bullet list format and any questions to ask at the end if they haven't already been covered.

Hope your appointment goes well.

Olicanian

@RogerBill Thank you that is all very helpful. Making notes of things now ready for appointment.