Oftentimes, your first visit to a physiotherapy clinic has to do with an injury you sustained or chronic pain that affects your daily life. Or, a doctor may have referred you to a physio clinic after invasive surgery on your hip. You may also have to pay a visit after suffering a heart attack or stroke. Whatever you’re here for, our staff at Premier Care physiotherapy clinic will help you feel like yourself through pain relief and fitness rehab regimens.
A physiotherapy clinic can not only work as a sports injuries clinic, but can also provide multi-disciplinary health ranging from acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic therapy, and physiotherapy. We’ll work with whatever your doctor has prescribed to get you feeling normal again.
We’ll go over what you can expect for your first physio appointment and how long it usually takes and detail what you should wear for your first physio appointment to help our staff do the best job they can.
Premier Care Physiotherapy is an approved provider for Extended Health Insurance and Ontario Auto Insurers. Not sure if you are covered? Give us a call and we will direct you to the appropriate resources to find out.
What Can I Expect At My First Physiotherapy Clinic Appointment?
Every physiotherapy appointment is different and your first one is always unique to your conditions. Because it’s all about you and your specific needs, our qualified team will first learn about your medical history, assess and properly diagnose your condition, and create a treatment plan with set goals to achieve. From here, you’ll be prescribed a course of exercises to perform and assistive devices to help you if required.
During the assessment of your condition, we will evaluate your body’s various structures, existing limitations, and underlying issues. It’s common to fill out a health questionnaire to help your physiotherapist know you better, as we will ask you a set of subjective questions to better understand your situation, expectations, and current physical complaints.
From here, you may be asked to perform different physical tests, depending on the severity of your injury or ailment which may include an assessment of walking, posture, strength, mobility, etc. This is done to check the integrity of the different tissues involved in an injury. Afterwards, the physiotherapist will take time to explain your condition, what’s been affected, and the treatment plan you should follow for recovery.
If there is time left, some treatment modalities will also be performed to fully assess your condition. Treatment modalities will vary depending on the parts of the body affected and any issues that need to be treated. Education is key to this part of physiotherapy, where treatments include personalized exercise programs and the use of manual therapy techniques; examples of this are joint mobilizations, myofascial release techniques and neural mobilizations. If the right situation calls for it, analgesic modalities like cryotherapy, thermotherapy, and electrotherapy may also be utilized for pain relief.
There’s plenty to unpack from your first physiotherapy clinic appointment, but many patients ask how long each appointment can take. As we discussed before, that really depends on the person.
How Long Will My First Physio Appointment Be?
Taking into account all the things we covered so far, the average length of time of your first physio appointment will be around 40-60 minutes. Again, this largely depends on the amount of questions you have to ask your physiotherapist and the time it takes for them to evaluate your physical condition. If you’re younger and dealing with a short term, acute injury like a sprain or broken body part, your appointment will be shorter than an older patient dealing with chronic pain.
Our focus is solely on the patient and getting them back to peak health. We realize the recovery process is different for everyone and always stress the importance of prevention and rehabilitation for our patients. If you’re patient and willing to take time out of your day for your first physio appointment, you’ll get the most benefit out of your visit.
What Should I Wear To My First Physio Appointment?
Although there’s no strict dress code for your first physiotherapy appointment, please follow the rules as dictated by the clinic. Some will be more casual and lenient while others may want you to dress in a certain way. Nonetheless, it’s important to wear clothing that will expose the area of the body being evaluated. This allows physiotherapists to properly check on its condition and track the healing process, letting them do their jobs better. If your doctor has given you a prescription and test results from the injury or chronic condition, be sure to bring that along with you too.
At Premier Care Physiotherapy, we’re always welcoming new patients and we’ll make your first appointment with us a great experience. Contact and visit us at our Richmond Hill physiotherapy clinic today to get started on your road to recovery!
