We will start doing a 'Did you know' series, highlighting some aspects of physiotherapy or our service that you may not be aware of. First up - home visits!
There are certainly advantages to come into the clinic. From having access to our treatment rooms with electronic beds to consumables such as needles and taping to our rehabilitation equipment. However, we also can see patients in their home!
There may be several reasons for this. Firstly, patients may be too sore to come into the clinic. This often happens with very severe pain, and mostly back pain, that limits patients from being able to get ready to leave the house, get into and out of the car and drive to the clinic. The aim here is to provide as much pain relief as possible, in conjunction with painkillers, anti-inflammatories and heat packs. The other aim here is to assess the patient to make sure that there is nothing sinister, or nothing that requires hospital attention. There are some back pains that are not suitable for physiotherapy treatment, however physiotherapy assessment can be a key component is referral for imaging or the hospital to prevent significant issues (which can involve paralysis).
The other instance for treatment at home is for those who can not physically get to us - through functional disability including age. We are seeing more and more patients at home through home care packages and the NDIS to provide at home rehabilitation and treatment. This would commonly involve exercises, home exercises and the prescription of some basic exercise equipment. This is a great way to try to prevent further functional decline and provide safe and effective strategies to remain in the household.
We travel all over Kingston and even as far as Hampton and Cranbourne to see some patients. There is tiered pricing depending how far you are to the clinic and for those close by, we don't charge a full travel surcharge which can provide great value if you can not come to us. We also treat out of local gyms, GP clinics and nursing homes. So if this is of interest to you, please give us a call on 95801985 to learn more.