The Physioterrorist

When I broke my arm some 4 years ago part of my treatment was to be assessed by the physiotherapy department at the local hospital. The doctor who initially assessed me jokingly referred to them as the physioterrorists. Apparently this is a joke that profession has heard often enough but in fact I found the treatment at the hospital to be quite a relief and they managed to return full movement back to my arm.

I’ve been struggling with back ache for quite some time now and finally went to my GP a few weeks ago to have it checked. They initially prescribed me with anti-inflammatory drugs which I can safely say had sod-all effect whatsoever but they did refer me to  the physiotherapist and I got so see her this week. The treatment was mainly a set of tests to try and work out what was wrong – apparently there is some misalignment in my lower back. She also did “something” physical to my back (which I’m not entirely sure about) and gave me some exercises to do at home. So far, it seems to be OK although it’s early days and I’m still rather mistrusting of moving my body in any way that is likely to cause me extreme jabbing pain.

I’m actually quite glad that I have been referred to the physiotherapist as they do seem to have treatments that are based on some sort of scientific premise. Various people have suggested that I visit a chiropractor. On the face of it they both appear to offer similar services but I’m rather put off the chiropractors as they often seem to collocate with practitioners of acupuncture, homeopathy, herbalism and other such non-mainstream medical practice. There may well be something in it but I’d far rather deal with someone who is more likely to associate with medical school graduates than witch doctors or shaman.

At the moment I’m feeling OK and whilst I’ve got some general backache and stiffness I haven’t had the jabbing pain that I’ve been suffering from and I haven’t sat down in a chair to discover that I’m stuck. I’ve got another appointment next week so I’ll see how this progresses. Failing that I suppose there is always the faith healer.