How does Virtual Physiotherapy work?

Thinking of booking virtual physiotherapy but wondering exactly how it can work without hands-on therapy? 

Although physical examination, palpation and manual therapy are important to our work in our clinics, our experienced therapists have adapted to work online. Even without being able to treat you physically, they can provide diagnosis, treatment and management with online physiotherapy.

We can get the information we need to formulate a diagnosis simply by talking to you about your history and symptoms, exactly as we would in our clinics. 

The lack of hands-on therapy does mean treatment of acute pain, stiffness and loss of function is slower. We can’t change that, but we can do everything else we need to help you recover.  

Education 

Education plays a huge role in physiotherapy. Helping you understand your condition, pain and function is central to treatment and management.  

Having a greater understanding of your pathology, anatomy and physiology will help you understand and appreciate the purpose of the exercises we give you and the lifestyle adaptations we suggest. Through deeper understanding, we want to make sure you feel as involved and in control as possible.  

We can provide education on appropriate loading, pain management, swelling control and, injury prevention so you can get back to full fitness faster.  

Communication  

We always take a holistic approach. Whether online or in-clinic, we’ll listen and learn from everything you say. We may ask you questions that don’t seem immediately relevant, such as about your work and social commitments, family background and history, but there is always a purpose. Your answers might give us clues to the reasons for your pain and guide us to a more effective treatment plan.  

Emotions, stress and lifestyle can have a significant impact on how you experience pain. Understanding how you live your life is as important as addressing your physical condition.  

Goal Setting 

By getting to know you, your hobbies and impairments we can set goals. Goals guide and direct your treatment and give the whole process more meaning for you. Having a combination of both short and long-term goals allows us to judge and monitor progression as well as incentivising rehabilitation.  

We try to keep goals functional, or activity-based. Your goal might be being able to run 10k pain-free in under an hour. Or it might be being able to lift and carry your son without back pain.  

Goals also give you and us a realistic timeframe for your treatment. They mean you’ll know how long it should take before you’re back doing what you love.  

Exercise prescription 

Exercise prescription only works when the other aspects of physio are done effectively. Without education, communication and goal setting, the benefits of exercise are lost. These things are the groundwork. If we do not demonstrate the intent behind them, the end goal won’t be shared. 

We use the Physitrack platform to provide you with your home exercise program. This app comes with videos and explanations of the exercises we’ll set to help you with technique. Our therapists will also be able to check your technique on your video call, correct it where needed and check progress.  

Guided self-manual therapy during online physiotherapy

Although we won’t be able to do any hands-on therapy during your online physiotherapy consultation, we can guide you through self-mobilisation and muscle lengthening techniques. These provide relief from pain and stiffness and help you get on with your day.  

While online physiotherapy can’t completely replace everything we do in person, we’ve made sure it’s as close as we can possibly get.  

If you’re injured, or in pain, don’t suffer in silence, we’re here to help!