What to expect during your first physiotherapy appointment

Your first physiotherapy appointment will be an initial assessment and will take around 45-60 minutes from start to finish! Please arrive a few minutes early.

When you arrive, you will check in with the wonderful front desk staff at Synapse. Here they will help you get set up with your insurance direct billing, and make sure that you have filled out any intake forms that need to be completed. You will have received your intake forms via email upon booking, so it is always helpful to complete these before coming in for your appointment. However, if you prefer to fill these out in the clinic you absolutely can, please just come 10 minutes early so I can ensure we still have the full time to spend together doing your assessment!

Now that you have checked in it is time to start your assessment! This process depends entirely upon what your concern is and the nature of the care that you need. Typically most of your first appointment will be us chatting about whats going on with your injury/concern, your medical and personal history, and your goals. Then we will get into an objective assessment where we I will be assessing the injury itself and trying to find out more about how I can help you.

Next, we will decide together on a treatment plan and plan for when we need to follow-up and you will be on your way with some exercises to work on independently until we see each other again. It is common to feel a bit sore after your assessment as often times, in order to identify the causes of your discomfort, we will be doing some of the movements that typically make you sore. We absolutely do our best to minimize this but just be prepared that this is a potential side effect.

Before you leave, you will check in with the front desk to book your next appointment and discuss insurance and billing. After your appointment, within 24 hours, you will receive an email with a digital copy of your home exercise program with instructions and photos of each movement. If you would prefer to have a printed copy of this, please just let me know before your appointment is over and I would be happy to provide you with a printout.

Tip #1 - Bring any doctors notes/referrals or imaging reports with you

If you were referred from your doctor or specialist to come to physio, it is a good idea to bring the referral note with you so that your PT can be aware of any pertinent information the doctor may want to pass along. Additionally, if you have received any recent imaging (ex. X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, bloodwork) that is relevant to your presenting concern, bringing in any results/reports is also a great idea. Otherwise, with your written consent, we can request the imaging report be shared with us directly from the imaging centre, but this likely will not be available until your follow-up appointment.

Tip #2 - Wear loose fitting clothing that exposes the area that is your primary concern

We can absolutely work around any clothing as many people attend their appointments straight from work or school. However, it is always helpful to wear clothing you can move in as we will be doing exercises, and clothing that allows your PT to visualize your area of concern if appropriate. For example, wearing a tank top for a shoulder injury, or shorts for a knee injury.

Tip #3 - Bring in any braces, splints, orthotics, or assistive devices you are currently using, or have questions about

If you have questions regarding use of any type of assistive device that you have for the injury, I would be happy to help answer these questions. It is always helpful to bring these things with you if possible so that we can review how to properly use the device, take it on/off, and trial using it during your functional activities to determine if it is a good fit for you. For example if you are using orthotics in your shoes, or a supportive knee/wrist/ankle brace, these are helpful things to bring along with you! But of course, I am still happy to answer these questions if you are unable to bring this to your appointment.

Tip #4 - Have a list of medications that you are currently taking prepared

We will chat during your assessment about medications and, most of the time, medications have many long complicated names and dosages that can be hard to remember. Therefore I recommend if you have medications that you take daily to prepare a list to bring to your appointment.

See you soon....

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