5 Simple Ways To Find The Best Physio Near You
Finding the Best Physio near you can be a daunting process. You have to find someone that knows how to guide you out of pain and back to feeling great again. Someone who understands what you are going through…someone who you can trust.
“But how do I even start to look for the best Physio near me?”
This guide answers that exact question, I firmly believe that there is the right physio out there that knows how to help you get back to full health.
Here are my top 5 simple ways to help you find the best Physio near you:
Ask your TRUSTED friends…
Set Your Location Limit
Use Social Media
Do your Google Research
Ask The Clinic Questions
Ok, let’s get into it
1. Ask your TRUSTED friends…
This is by far the most powerful recommendation you would ever get!
A solid recommendation to the best physio, to meet your needs is worth its weight in gold and could potentially save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in physio bills.
Word of Mouth is so powerful!
People simply do not give recommendations if they have had a poor experience.
It’s like your friend giving you a recommendation to eat at McDonald’s when you were looking for a Michelin Star restaurant... This is clearly not the recommendation you were after.
Trust needs to be earned, a relationship needs to be established, and the person who is telling you about the Physio Clinic needs to have first hand experience(from already being their client).
Beware of the double-edged sword
So, a friend has recommended you to see a physio, AWESOME! You are one step closer to finding the right person.
However, some quick advice, read through the next points below to really know whether they are the right fit for you.
2. Set Your Location Limit
Finding the right Physio clinic can be a chore, especially when you have recommendations for a clinic that may be a 40+ minute drive away.
Driving for 40+ minutes is all well and good for one or two treatment sessions, however, if you do need more frequent care, this can start to add up and getting a good result may be nearly impossible.
Not only does this leave you frustrated with only half the results, but this also leaves your Physio frustrated and finding it hard to get the results they know they can help you achieve.
I advise you get the best physio within a distance you are actually willing to frequently travel to. If you make treatment convenient, that fits in with your lifestyle, you are more likely to stick to a plan and have a fantastic recovery.
3. Use Social Media… the good, the bad and the… land of never-ending opinions…
It is so easy to ask for all sorts of advice on social media, people love to help, love to give their opinion…their two cents.
But is this always a good thing?
Over my years as a physio, being tagged in countless posts where people are looking for a physio, while I am very humbled that they looking for me to help the person I have always felt a disservice to myself and our clinic if I shamelessly plug our clinic as the solution to their problem…
I don’t even know what their problem is yet!
Seek out those people that are looking to serve you with better information and guidance, rather than “screaming from the rooftops” how amazing they are at fixing the exact problem you have or that they have done this course or that.
Ready to ask for some advice on social media?
Here are my tips on how to create a post to get the right answer:
1. Post it through YOUR OWN PAGE FIRST!
This allows your trusted circle of friends to help you first. As you already know them, the trust levels are higher.
If you are a part of a Facebook “Specific Interest Group” like Perth Trail Runners then this may not be a bad place to post if you have a running specific problem.
2. Be specific about what you are after
DO NOT BE VAGUE! Things such as… What is your injury? What were you doing? What location are you wanting a physio?… Is great information that your trusted friends need to give you better advice about the best physio for your specific problem.
Vague example: “I need a physio - who knows one?”
This obviously will get a lot of responses, unfortunately they won’t get you closer to what you are looking for.
Here is a better example:
Specific example: “Looking for a physio for my left shoulder, did it rock climbing, happened 3 weeks ago now, still sore in the front of the shoulder. I have not had physio for it as yet, looking for a physio near “location where I live” that knows about climbing injuries, I want to get back climbing again.”
Being specific will give you some stellar answers that can lead you in the right direction.
3. Beware of... “Ye who yells the loudest”…
Every Tom, Dick and Harry has an opinion on social media. Sift through all of the advice that is given, beware of the people who give you solutions before they know what is going on. This is a recipe for disaster.
Once you have a few recommendations…
Check out their Social Media Business Pages
What content do they post?
Do their posts help you get an idea of what they are about?
Does it resonate with you, do you like the feel of the clinic’s personality?
Do they have Ads or Specials on at the moment?
You are happy with their social page? Next step… GOOGLE time!
4. Do Your Google Research…
Google allows you to have limitless information and is a place that can give you some fantastic guidance on who to choose.
A little on how Google works…
Whenever you do a Google search, the Google algorithm is always trying to help solve your problem with the most popular and logical solution first. Not typically the best.
Hence it will show you the clinics with the highest ratings, that are close by and that mention what you typed into your google search.
So be specific… Google is always trying to help, but you need to give it the best information first.
For example: “Physio near me” will only show you the closet physio clinics. Not the ones that specialise in treating your problem.
Typically the first few Google listings are clinics who are using paid advertising to get to the top of the Google list. These are not a bad thing, still do your research.
Google reviews
When to listen, when to ignore…
5 stars are great, however, 3 and 4 star reviews actually give you better information. They give you honest feedback about what they experienced.
Look for the reviews that outline exactly what they experienced, the good and the not so good.
1 star ratings without an actual written review are not worth considering, UNLESS these are the only reviews they have… then BEWARE, run away!!
The clinic should reply to the reviews too, this shows the business cares.
Watch out for businesses with lots of reviews
When a physio clinic has “excessively more” than the majority of other physio clinics around, then you should start to raise some questions.
Some clinics use incentives or even pay for people to write reviews. If you get the vibe that this is the case, then they may not be as genuine as they appear.
Don’t be afraid to read the reviews, see what people have written. Make sure they make sense, they should give you an overall feel of the clinic.
So you have found a clinic that looks like it might be the one! Well done!
Here is an easy 4 step process to navigate a website to get the information you need.
Check out their homepage
How do they describe their clinic?
Are you their ideal client?
What is their treatment approach?
Passive care? Rehab? Strength Training? Pilates?Teamwork makes the dream work
Look at their experience - have they treated what you have before? Do any of the team have the same interests as you?
Finding a Physio you can relate to is very important in the treatment process, find some common ground.
Other services matter
Do they have other services that may also help your recovery? Massage? Rehab? Strength Training?
These can help you get specialised care along your journey to full recovery. One clinician is typically not great at treating every pain in the world.
Check out their Blog
Clinics usually write content about the type of work they specialise in. Have a look at the content they share.
How old is it? Who wrote it? Is it a great article or just generic information?
5. Ready to book? Ask some questions first
If you shortlisted your clinic of choice then give the clinic a call and have a chat with their reception team. This will give you an idea of who the best physio in the clinic is to help you with your exact problem.
Here are some ideas to guide your phone conversation with the Physio Clinic.
What is involved with the initial consult?
Will I get treatment on the first session?
How long does the Initial consult go for?
Do they have experience treating … insert problem here… Mention as much information as you feel comfortable to the reception team this helps them guide you to the best Physio suited to your problem.
What is the cost and can I claim Private Health in the clinic (Physio cover) - this helps you determine what gap you have to pay.
Mention if you have a preference of a male or female therapist too.
Time to wrap it up
Well done!! You have gone through the 5 simple steps, I hope this guide has allowed you to shortcut the process of finding the best physio near you, we know it can be a tedious and frustrating task.…
If you have not found someone as yet, do not be dismayed, keep on looking! I believe there is always a physio out there that is the right person to help.
If you have any questions about how to find a physio that is right for you, please don’t hesitate to ask our team at Fieldwork.
Happy searching!