Is physiotherapy a waste of time?

cashmonger

I have sort of put it almost as low as homeopathy or acupuncure in terms of its actual practical benefit. Not that low maybe since those have absolutely no medical value other than placebo but close.

I mean isn't it just doing stretches?

I ask because I've had a knee problem for nearly a year and went and got an mri scan recently. The results, my doctor said, showed no signs of damage and that they would refer me for physio if I wanted to and that I should contact them for a referral if so.

If physio is just stretching then what is the point? Couldnt I just
watch a couple of youtube videos to get the same information?

EDIT: I just read the NHS blurb about it and it has vague spurious new age terms such as 'holistic' and even mentions acupuncture as part of the treatment options in some cases which seems to reinforce my suspicions that is was indeed on par with that rubbish.

Proxima_Centauri

Have you seen the NHS page about physiotherapy?

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/physiotherapy/pages/introduction.aspx

cashmonger

Proxima_Centauri wrote: »

Have you seen the NHS page about physiotherapy?

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/physiotherapy/pages/introduction.aspx

I said I had read it in the OP?

Jackieboy

cashmonger wrote: »

I have sort of put it almost as low as homeopathy or acupuncure in terms of its actual practical benefit. Not that low maybe since those have absolutely no medical value other than placebo but close.

I mean isn't it just doing stretches?

I ask because I've had a knee problem for nearly a year and went and got an mri scan recently. The results, my doctor said, showed no signs of damage and that they would refer me for physio if I wanted to and that I should contact them for a referral if so.

If physio is just stretching then what is the point? Couldnt I just
watch a couple of youtube videos to get the same information?

EDIT: Yes I just read the NHS blurb about it and it has vague spurious new age terms such as 'holistic' and even mentions acupuncture as part of the treatment options in some cases which seems to reinforce my suspicions that is was indeed on par with that rubbish.

I had phsiotherapy privately for RSI which cured me after acupunture was added in to the treatment. Absolutely no stretching was involved, only various machines.

My friend had physio before and after her knee replacement surgery to build up the muscles in that area to help her recover after the operation which was a great success.

I don't know where you got the idea about stretching from.

MallyGirl

I am currently having physio for a tendon injury. Yes you can look up videos on the internet but the physio will tell you which ones are right to address the issue. If fact my physio actually sends me an email with links to videos of what I should be doing. When I get there she has a plan for what I should be moving on to, depending on how much progress has been made since the last visit, but then she demonstrates, I copy, she adjusts technique/form and in one case this week she struck something off the plan after hearing the noise my knees made doing it!
If you self diagnose you could end up doing more harm than good.

thebigstillmeister

Depends what sort of injury etc it is, I am in my 30's now, but when I was in my late teens I did alot of athletics/sprinting,.. I had a few injuries over the years which physio really helped, especially the ultrasound and then specific exercises to help strengthen certain areas to stop injuries coming back due to imbalances in strength etc.

I did see a chiropractor for a while, and I would walk out feeling great, then 2 days later I'd be in pain again, it seemed to be a never ending treatment and I don't think he ever looked at the main causes, he'd just fix me up and 2 weeks later id be back in pain again.

After years of training i suffered more with lower back problems, physio did nothing for me at all so I went to a osteopath which helped massively (he also did acupuncture). Although my back was much improved he couldn't fix me 100% and he wrote to my doctor and I ended up seeing a specialist at the hospital and ended up having cortisone injections twice about 3 years ago,.. that really helped, although I am starting to suffer again which is a bit annoying,

So I think they all have their pro's and con's, just depends on what the injury is,

Hermia

MallyGirl wrote: »

I am currently having physio for a tendon injury. Yes you can look up videos on the internet but the physio will tell you which ones are right to address the issue. If fact my physio actually sends me an email with links to videos of what I should be doing. When I get there she has a plan for what I should be moving on to, depending on how much progress has been made since the last visit, but then she demonstrates, I copy, she adjusts technique/form and in one case this week she struck something off the plan after hearing the noise my knees made doing it!
If you self diagnose you could end up doing more harm than good.

Indeed! I had a tendon injury too and the physio spent some time working out which were the best exercises for me. There was one exercise that a lot of people mentioned on the internet that she said I absolutely had to avoid because of other issues. My particular injury could have been made worse by so many things so I was very glad for her guidance.

Given that physiotherapists are the people that help get seriously injured people walking again I am not sure where the OP got the idea that they are just woo-merchants from.

Proxima_Centauri

cashmonger wrote: »

I said I had read it in the OP?

You did when you went back in and edited your post at 11.08

esmy

I had physio for a knee problem that was very successful and hasn't recurred. GP referral to the surgery's in house physio team. From memory the excercises were not about stretching but strengthening and improving the range of movement. Most of the excercises were done at home, two or three times daily for a number of weeks.

If you are not paying for it, isn't it worth a try?

Nick_C

I also paid for private physio after getting really bad achilles tendon injuries at an exercise class. The physio was brilliant, giving me advice about correct footwear, exercises to do at home and in the gym between sessions, and ultrasound and massage. Worth every penny.

My GP was useless, and simply told me to rest.

Faith177

I've had physio several times and each time it has worked like a charm

I had sciatica 2 years ago 8 months of physio and I'm pretty much pain free

I too had friends suggest exercises to me but it turned out the problem had been caused by the middle of my spine having hypermobility which had caused the pain in my lower back so the exercises I had been doing were a waste of time.