1) Don’t wear complicated clothing or you’ll have to take more off. Shorts and t-shirt are ideal and bring your trainers

2) Women don’t wear a sports bra if you are having neck treatment. They massively get in the way!

3) Don’t wear see-through underwear to physio. Ever.

4) Please wear underwear to physio. Always.

5) Please don’t spend a lot of time researching your condition before the appointment. Google is a poor diagnostician as there is no context to it.

6) Tell the physio what has gone wrong with other treatments you’ve had so that it doesn’t happen again.

7) Know what your desired outcome is. Do you want to run this year’s London Marathon or do the Santa 5kRun this year? Be prepared for a realistic discussion around your goals.

8) Do your rehab homework, but if you haven’t, be honest. If someone isn’t improving despite them doing their rehab, this can lead to onward (and more costly!) referrals.

9) Believe your physio when they say you don’t need a scan. Unless you need surgery, the likelihood of a scan changing your management is minimal for MOST (but not all) conditions.

10) Find someone who speaks your language. The physio-therapist relationship is key for progressing an injury, particularly long term, and having faith in the physio and what they are saying is statistically proven to have huge implications on the outcome. If you’re not happy with your treatment, be honest (in a nice way), and an alternative can be found for you.

BONUS: Those who laugh a lot in their sessions tend to do much better too, so don’t be alarmed if the physio is trying to steer you away from chatting about your pain. Too much focus on the negativity can be really destructive.

Have a happy physio session!

Kate x