The Benefits of Virtual Physiotherapy!
With social distancing being the new norm for the known future, we are continuing to manage our caseloads with a “hybrid” approach to care. This involves the skilled incorporation of both in-person and virtual care to minimize exposures and maximize outcomes. For anyone concerned about exposures we are continuing to offer virtual care as we recognize that self-managing injuries can be an overwhelming hill to climb, and it is never fun feeling like you have to put your goals on hold. Virtual physiotherapy allows you to immediately start on the path towards getting back to what you love and crushing your goals.
What does a virtual physiotherapy session look like?
Our virtual physiotherapy sessions are much the same as traditional physiotherapy, but are instead performed over secure-video conferencing software. Using this video conferencing software our physiotherapists can:
Take you through a thorough clinical history to provide an accurate diagnosis
Examine your range of motion and perform a functional movement exam
Evaluate your strength
Prescribe you exercises and stretches – with supporting photos/videos
Help you with your exercise technique and provide you cues to perform them more effectively
Provide you self joint mobilization & soft tissue release techniques
Program you a comprehensive rehab plan to follow in the comfort of your home
Educate and advice you on your injury or condition
Train another person to assist you with your rehab plan as appropriate
Is virtual physio effective and safe?
At The Movement Physio & Performance, we place an emphasis on education, advice and exercise programming tailored your stage of recovery. Further, our philosophy is that the more you understand your body, the more empowered will be to take control of your own health. As a result of our approach and philosophy, we felt confident that virtual physiotherapy was something we could use to benefit our clients. It’s natural to be uncertain of something when you first start with it, but within our first few weeks of engaging in virtual physiotherapy, we realized that the outcomes we were achieving were equal to in person services. Our clients have been engaged during the sessions and have found it beneficial to be able to work together without having to drive to a clinic. Between the sessions and virtual accountability check-ins they’ve felt confident in their plans and ability to follow the routines we’ve programmed for them.
It also turns out that research has come to the same conclusions that we have been experiencing in our practice. Although this is the first time many people have heard of virtual physiotherapy physiotherapy, it has been around for a number of years and has been used effectively to treat a variety of conditions. The research has looked into virtual physiotherapy’s effectiveness for chronic muscle & joint pain, knee osteoarthritis, frozen shoulder and more. (See the links below if you are interested in the specifics of the research.)
If you can perform in-person care why are you continuing with virtual care?
We have implemented procedures and protocols to reduce risks for both our clients and ourselves which are in-line with both government and World Health Organization guidelines. That said, the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario has recommended that physiotherapists do their best to minimize exposure and as such we’re continuing with virtual care and offering hybrid care for those who require in-person visits.
Certainly there are particular conditions that are more conducive to treatment in virtual physiotherapy than others. If you are unclear whether virtual care will be beneficial for you, our team would be happy to do a free 20 minute consult to discuss it further with regards to your particular case.
Book a free consult now with one of our trained physiotherapists and let’s get back to what you love.