Treatment Style

As with any journey, a single end point can have multiple ways of getting there. For example, all schools buses lead to school, but depending on the circumstance of each student, different buses will travel different routes. Some will be more efficient than others, while other may experience bumps along the way. In a similar fashion, different physiotherapists can treat and rehabilitate the same injury in completely different ways. Many will end of at the same end point, ie. a strong and stable knee, but they may have different ways of getting you there. One physiotherapist may be more “exercise based” than another, others may use more passive modalities (such as ultrasound or TENS), while others may turn to manual therapy (such as massage, joint mobilisation, or joint manipulation). Many use “combination therapy”, which as the name suggests, is comprised of all the above. It is worth asking yourself, and your surgeon, what type of therapy would be the conducive to your desired outcome. It is also worth mentioning, that though these different techniques often reach the same results, there are cases where research supports certain types more than others. For example, research supports exercise-based and active rehabilitation after a total-knee replacement. This means that one should look for a physiotherapy program that involves a home exercise plan comprised of strength and mobility exercises, and not just massage, to ensure proper restoration of function to the knee. Read reviews, asks around, and even call the Physiotherapist’s office, to ask what types of treatment the physiotherapist practices.