A Patient’s Story

Feb 11 3:00pm.

De Vitre st car park. Patience* told me later that she was feeling sick in her stomach walking into the physio room. Mostly worried about the future. And whether I was someone who could help. And the pain — unremitting this morning, a knee that felt like ‘glass’ or a ‘chair with one leg missing’. Her sense of humour still intact she said: ‘i’d like a new leg please – preferably an Elle Macpherson if you’ve got one’.

Hah. Well I don’t have an Elle but I’ve got a second hand Anna Kournikova out the back…?

Patience had a rough time at the last physio. Xray -> ‘terrible-very-bad-no-good arthritis’ -> prescribed 3 x 20 squats and a cup of concrete to harden up + treated with a weird machine that had lights that flashed and went ‘bing’ when it finished — like a microwave. She’d left feeling discouraged and demotivated and her pain worse than when she started. She wanted to be pain free and to get back to her girl squad fitness classes and maybe even wear heels to a wedding in 2 months.

My job was simple: Reduce pain + Start her muscles working + Give her hope. My straight talking explanation meant she knew up front it wouldn’t be quick but that if she worked hard she could get back to her fitness classes within 3 months.

March 17.12pm. Brightside Physio

Patience shows off. She does the talk-to-the-toddler squat without pain and tells me about her 45mins outdoor exercise class on Monday done with some stiffness but no pain and how much she realised she had missed her mates and coffee gas bagging. And more importantly for her was the feeling (with slight chin-quiver) that she could see a life not clouded by constant pain. She felt like herself again.

I’ve got the best job in the world. To start the journey out of pain book today:

www.brightsidephysio.com.au