What to Expect During Assessment
The assessment is performed on your first visit by one of our Physiotherapists. One hour is booked for the initial assessment. This is to allow adequate time to from a diagnosis and understand the best approach to treat your pain and injury.
It is important to come in a few minutes early to fill out some paperwork. This will also include questionnaires pertaining to the area of your body that you are being seen for. This questionnaire is a measure of your injury and can be used to measure your progress.
The next step is to take a history of your pain and injury. This is to help the Physiotherapist make a diagnosis. There are also special questions that are part of the history to help rule out serious health problems such as infection and other serious problems that may be better dealt with by your family physician.
After the history is taken, the physical exam is performed. This takes up the bulk of the one hour assessment. The Physiotherapist will then watch your ability to move the injured area to gain an appreciation of your amount of movement. Strength testing of the muscles in the area is also performed.
Next, special tests are performed that help to identify a specific structure that may be injured. Often times the Physiotherapist performs a combination of tests to help make an accurate diagnosis.
Once a diagnosis has been made, the Physiotherapist will explain in detail your injury and cause of your pain. This is performed with the help of anatomoy models and diagrams. You will be encouraged to ask as many questions you like. It is your body and it is very important that you have a good understanding of your diagnosis. The more you understand the better chance you will appreciate the importance of Physiotherapy and the exercises you may be asked to perform.
Finally, a treatment is performed on the first day. It is not uncommon to be sore after the assessment due to moving the injured area. Don't be alarmed! This is normal and will improve. The treatment you receive on the first day can reduce this discomfort. You will also be provided with some educational material about your injury/condition as well as home exercises and self treatments you can perform.