how to find the best physiotherapist?
Is there a best physical therapist?
If you have a certain musculoskeletal problem for a long time, it certainly wasn't easy to find a top physiotherapist who specializes in your problem.
But is there the best physiotherapist in every situation?
Should you go to a physical therapist privately or through insurance?
Where should you look for a physiotherapist?
How to assess how good a physiotherapist is?
In this blog we will give you detailed guidelines how and where you should look for a physiotherapist and how you can ensure that you come to the real expert who knows what he's doing.
If you are not sure where to start your search we strongly recommend that you read this blog until the end..
The specialty of the therapist is the most important factor!
The first thing you need to look at when looking for the right physiotherapist for you is definitely specialization.
As physiotherapists, we work in a wide range of work and in significantly different specializations, i.e. with diverse groups of patients.
If you have a problem with sports injury then you will only seek tports physical therapist.
If you need rehabilitation after stroke you'll be looking for neurological physiotherapist.
If you are looking for rehabilitation for your child you'll be looking for pediatric physiotherapist.
If you had hip or knee surgery you'll be looking for orthopedic specialist physiotherapist.
This is the most important factor for you to choose a best physiotherapist!
Private therapy or insurance?
Here we have to tell you 2 real facts that may not be the favorite for everyone to hear.
1. fact is that the vast majority of physical therapy facilities that operate through health insurance are of extremely low quality.
2. fact is that if you want to go to the best physiotherapist, most of the time you will have to pay for it because the best physiotherapists are in the private sector.
If you have ever been rehabilitated in hospitals or spas you have probably noticed that you have not had any significant changes after the entire course of therapy.
Unfortunately, this is a problem of the Croatian public health system that seems not to be solved for a long time.
In the end, if you want the best possible rehabilitation, you will have to pay for it.
How to seek a physiotherapist?
The primary way we're all looking for the information we need today is of course Google search.
How to use Google more effectively to find a suitable physiotherapist for you?
You always need to look for a location that is suitable for you. Do not enter the “best physiotherapist” without a city or place in which you want therapy because there is a chance that you will get a result on the other side of the country. A much better search would be here "The best physiotherapist in Zagreb”.
Also a significant factor when searching will be the choice of a private physical therapist or physical therapy through insurance. Based on your decision, you will be searching “Private Physical Therapy Zagreb” or “Physical therapy through referral Zagreb”.
After you have found the therapist according to the location and type of service provided, be sure to check on his website what is his exact specialization! If you see that the therapist has listed your problem as one of the most common diagnoses solved by the therapist you have problem found the right one.
Finally, check out what types of services are provided by the mentioned therapist. Are these exclusively exercises, massage, dry needling, chiropractic or something else so you know what to expect.
How to check the quality of the therapist?
Have you received a recommendation from family or friends and you are not sure if the same physiotherapist will help you?
There are a few ways to check what others say about the same therapist and how they rate him.
The definitive number 1 way are Google reviews! Google reviews are a very reliable review mechanism because they are very difficult to fake. Enter the name of the physical therapist or his or her practice to find out what other patients write about him or her and how they evaluate him or her.
Other ways (slightly lower quality) are Facebook reviews. These reviews can be written by anyone and are not checked for fake reviews so they are a little less reliable. But if you don't have Google reviews available, this is also a solid source of verification.
How do you know if your therapist is lying?
There is a few signs that you have met a physical therapist that is not honest.
First he will tell you over the phone without initial exam that "you will need a package of 15 treatments”. It is impossible without an examination and detailed assessment of the patient to know the exact number of treatments and such therapists mostly want only financial benefit from you.
Runner-up it's the therapist that says there is only one technique you will be able to effectively use your massage/exercise/treatment and nothing else will help you. This is simply not true because all techniques and forms of therapy are just tools to speed up the rehabilitation process.
If after 4-5 treatments cherapists sees that he can't help you and he still makes an appointment although he's not sure what he's doing. Any top therapist will refer you for further tests if they see that there is no realistic solution for you.
The choice of therapist is extremely important!
Since we are talking about your body and health here, we believe that we do not have to emphasize how much of importance is the choice of a top physiotherapist.
Never compromise and go to unverified and bad therapists because it will not mean saving you, but big risk and throwing money away.
Always choose narrowly specialized top-reviewed physiotherapists who will have by far the greatest competencies to solve your specific problem.
Bsc. PT. Toni Marić
Toni is bacc. physical therapist and the owner of the Ad Sacrum clinic who has been treating top athletes for years and also teaches at the Dry needling courses for physiotherapists.
free guide
5 things to do before visiting a physical therapist (Croatian language)
Find out what you need to do before a first visit to a physical therapist. Carrying out these steps will enable you to have more successful and faster rehabilitation process!
