What does online physio looks like at physionext2u? (Musculoskeletal)

I have couple of my friends, client or even my business partner asked me

How on earth can a physiotherapist help people online?

I get it .. I get it! Many people think of physiotherapist are like these

or this

Funny enough, these are the photo I search online using "physiotherapy".

Many people cannot even differentiate physiotherapist and massage therapist. To be honest I can't tell the difference until I have studied physiotherapy.

Long story short, let me cut to the point:

Physiotherapist are expert in Musculoskeletal (which means muscle and bones, including joints, nerve, ligaments and pain) problems. Our treatment are supported by MILLIONS of research, and hands on therapy (or what people call it massage, which technically is different) is only a very little part of a holistic treatment.

Let me give you one example on a very common condition Tennis Elbow.

Many patients come to me with tennis elbow, they have tried rest, they have tried massage, and they have tried different medicine and it has not been better for months.

When they come and see me, they usually have improvement after the first session of treatment with 1 simple exercise I teach them.

This is because research has shown that "tendinopathy" such as tennis elbow recovery with strength base exercises not rest nor massage! Many research have shown that massage only gives short term relief.

So you may ask alright I get it, I know physiotherapy does electrotherapy, taping, dry needling and other stuff too. How can online physiotherapist benefit me then?

Let me put it out there

Online physiotherapy is the most cost effective and convenient physiotherapy you can get! It is an adjunct to traditional physiotherapy not substitution.

Let me explain what I meant by that...

Online physiotherapy can not do the hands on stuff as traditional physiotherapist does with their expertise, such as manual therapy, stretching, feeling for the joints, taping etc. so you can relax and enjoy for half and hour.

It will never be the same even if we teach you how to do it yourself or how you can ask your carers or nurse or family member to do it.

Because we have spent day in day out doing it.

BUT...

What we can offer is professional knowledge, prevention strategies, targeted therapeutic exercises, tips and tricks to ease pain without medicine and more. Because we are doing it online, the cost will be significantly lower and more convenient to you too.

So you can get to us as soon as you feel any discomfort, you can text us or arrange a quick online face to face consultation with our friendly and expert physiotherapists. Just like catching up with a friend who is a physiotherapist. How convenient is that?

Save you time from considering: is it a bit over my budget for the week? or is it worth a visit to physiotherapy? or what if I book it today and I am better tomorrow? or it is so troublesome to book an appointment! etc. Because it is so affordable and convenient.

The sooner you treat your problem, the better the outcome will be.

When you have a consultation with us, and tell us about your problems and symptoms, we will be able to diagnosis your problem, find the cause of your problem and give you advice in either changing habits, doing some easy stretches or exercises, or giving you some tips and tricks for recovery. And if your problem is out of our ability to treat, we will refer you to professionals that you have to see to treat your problem immediately.

Let me use Tennis elbow as an example again to let you know how online physio can help:

When you started to have a bit of elbow pain on the outside of the elbow, because you have been lifting boxes at work and you contacted us.

Through questions and asking you to do a couple movements, we can rule out any fractures, ligament, joint and nerve injuries (if we are unsure we might ask you to get a scan). So we are down to the diagnosis of a tennis elbow. Then according to what equipment you have at home and what are your requirements at work, we might ask you to start with massaging the particular muscle that is affecting the pain area, then do an easy strengthening exercise that will help your condition, follow by advising which brace or taping you can use to support your elbow during work. Last but not least, a general education on pain medication, diet, supplement, physical activity and sleep.

After the initial assessment and treatment, we will be in touch in couple days to progress the treatment till you fully recover or help you solve any new problems. Since you are treating it earlier, you might be able to manage and treat your condition in 2-3 weeks instead of 1-3months. And since online physiotherapy session is around 1/4 or less than the price of traditional physiotherapy sessions, you can have more frequent treatments so you can make sure you are on the quickest route to recovery.

Does the example make sense to you. If not please make a comment below.