What matters?

Hello everyone, I am the physiotherapy lead for NHS Lanarkshire and have been a practicing physiotherapist for more than 30 years. 

Physiotherapy has changed dramatically in many ways and continues to change and improve according to scientific evidence of what actually helps patients to get better. 

As people age they begin to develop age related aches and pains and with an increase in the ageing population it is no surprise that we see many more people referred to us. 

We try to provide person-centred care for all, and one of the key elements of this is considering “what matters to you”. When agreeing a rehabilitation plan with you, we will focus on this and tailor your rehabilitation plan to achieve realistic goals; this could be walking a short distance to the local shops, fulfilling your role as a carer or returning to competitive sport.  As well as providing rehabilitation treatment we try to encourage people to look after themselves and to make lifestyle changes which help maintain physical fitness and health.

• Physiotherapists routinely provide:
• Information so their patients are able to understand their condition and make informed decisions about their treatment
• Advice and guidance when agreeing a rehabilitation plan
• Support and instruction so that their patients are able to self-manage their rehabilitation and ongoing condition.

This approach has seen an improvement in patient outcomes and reduced the number of visits for patients attending our clinics.  This in turn has enabled us to see many more people to start them on their journey to better physical health and active fulfilling lives.

Some recent feedback from patients attending our Outpatient Clinics:

“very reassuring and encouraging”

“boosting confidence”

“listened well and set out good actions to go ahead with my rehabilitation”

“very good at explaining what I need to do to help myself to manage the problem”

This positive feedback reassures me that we are taking account of “what matters” to our patients and empowering them to take an active role in managing and improving their conditions.

There is excellent advice available to help you to understand and manage musculoskeletal problems. 

You may find the following links useful:For further information on self management of musculoskeletal problems you can visit the Musculoskeletal Zone of NHS inform www.nhsinform.co.uk/msk/