How many Physio sessions until I am better?

January 18, 2021

“How many Physio sessions until I am better?” is often one of the first things patients want to know. Certainly, this is important to answer accurately as it helps set expectations and build trust. Above all, no one wants to feel like they’re being strung along by their therapist.

We want to help all our patents understand the “Clinical Reasoning” that goes into our decision making when developing a treatment plan. Consequently, this helps them to understand the commitment needed to ensure a successful outcome.

During the first appointment we always ask whether pain is from a recent injury or is it a more longstanding experience. Knowing this enables us to quickly start formulating an effective treatment plan.

“It is the timings from any injury that guide our treatment plan rather than pain levels!”

A different approach is required to pain that develops over time versus pain starting immediately after an injury. Pain associated with an injury is often there to support the healing process. Most importantly, it is the timings from any injury that guide our treatment plan rather than pain levels. The majority of soft tissue injuries heal within 12 weeks and even injuries to the massive leg bones can heal as quickly as 18 weeks.

In any of the above examples our teams’ main goal is to positively influence the period of healing. Physios (or anyone) cannot “heal” you. The body is amazing, it has an incredible ability to heal itself. Our role is to enhance this process, speed it up where possible and facilitate loading again. Visits to your Physio can often be intense over a short period, with multiple visits in the first few weeks. As such, as the healing slows the visits become more spread apart.

Where a patient reports ongoing pain for over 3 months, which may or may not be associated with a previous injury, our approach is different. In this case, our goal is focussing on improving movement and function despite pain. We find our patients often feel downtrodden by their ongoing pain. As such they are fearful of flaring their pain up and allowing their pain to dictate what they can and can’t do. For instance, on good days doing lots to get jobs done and, poignantly, on bad days doing comparably little.

“A progressive exercise approach”

We examine how our patients move and work out a plan to get them back to moving pain free. This involves a progressive exercise approach. This is a course of Physio over a longer time period with appointments spread apart giving time to build strength and for us to progress them appropriately. See here for what our patients say about their journey with us.

How many Physio sessions until you are better

Type of Patient	Week 1-2	Week 3-4	Week 5-6	Weeks 7-12	Month 4-6	Month 7-12
Pain from recent injury	4 appts	2 appts	2 appts	1 appt
Longstanding pain	2 appts	1 appt	1 appt	1 appt	2 appts	4-6 appts

It goes without saying that everybody’s journey is different and the recovery journey will be bespoke to the individual. There are things you as a patient can do to help yourself and reduce the number of Physio sessions you will need.

DO YOUR EXERCISES! Physios cannot make you stronger. The more you commit to your exercises the less you will need your Physio.
TRUST YOUR PHYSIO. They are here to empower you. Pain should not be feared, it should not be there to control what you do. Use your Physio sessions to understand and grow in confidence in what you know. Ultimately taking control of your body and overcoming pain!
HAVE FUN. Be honest with your Physio about what parts of your rehab you enjoy and don’t enjoy. The more you enjoy it the more you will do it and the quicker you will get to where you want to be.

Get in touch to find out how we can help you take control of your body and your pain. Our goal is enabling you to Move Better and Live Better.