Regen Physio

Back

Sophie Crowley

Signs You Should Book a Physio Appointment

5 Signs You Should Book a Physio Appointment

What is physio?

Physiotherapy is a movement based rehabilitation, to keep you strong and mobile. Where needed we’ll use adjuncts like massage and shockwave to help speed up your rehab. However, our goal is to give you independence of your body and teach you how to keep active – without needing to rely on a therapist.

The main reason a client’s rehab journey will be long, is because they came to us too late. Ultimately, we’re here to teach you everything you need – so you don’t need us. If you have an area that feels tight and, you don’t feel like you know how to make it less tight? Come see us! You don’t have to be doubled over in pain or unable to do your sport to come and see a physio. The sooner you see us, the less complicated that journey is.

If you’re still not convinced, here are 5 very real signs you should probably stop ‘Googling’ and book that physio appointment (evidence included...).

1. Your pain isn’t going away (It’s been 10 days or more)

We’ve all done something silly at one point or another & irritated something. However, if you’ve ‘tweaked’ the same area more than once, or you’ve ‘pulled’ something and it hasn’t completely gone within 7-10 days, that’s a warning sign from your body – pay attention to it... Go and see your physio.

A study looking at over 1500 patient records, showed people who accessed physio within 2 weeks of their symptoms:

  • 2.01x more likely to have reduced pain
  • 1.74x more likely to achieve their treatment goals
  • 1.8x more likely to achieve functional scores

2. You’ve got recurring “niggles”.

When you’re active, its common to experience niggles but, if you feel as though you’re constantly having to ‘manage’ these... you’re missing a cause. Physio aims to look at you as a whole. If we’re getting recurrent injuries, there are multiple causes ranging from autoimmune diseases to low energy availability (LEA, a risk factor for RED-S).

Whilst it isn’t unusual to be injured in sport, seeing before it happens gives us the best opportunity to ‘screen’ you and prevent this from happening. We will NEVER tell you to stop doing your sport, unless you really really HAVE to. Please see us before it gets to this!

Some stats:

  • Tennis & rugby average just over 30 injuries per 1000 hours of training
  • Runners can anticipate an injury for every 1000-2000km ran
  • Powerlifters, 2.6 injuries per 1000 hours of training
  • Swimmers can expect 0.35 injuries per 1000 hours of swimming (mostly shoulders)

If you’re taking movement enough to sign up for events, factor in physio if you want to improve your odds of being at your best on that start line!

3. “I’m just stiff as a board”

A comment we hear A LOT in clinic. So many people just accept the fact that they are ‘tight’ and should ‘stretch’ more.

Real talk? You have a deficit in range of movement. You have a CLINICALLY relevant mobility issue... & no, we won’t just tell you to stretch.

Physio is so much more about function, than statically stretching (mostly because... it’s boring & we don’t do it every day either). There’s no point in being flexible, if you don’t have the strength to support yourself through that range.

Yes, we will give you homework to help this, but it won’t be turning yourself into a pretzel and staying there for 90 seconds. Where we can, we will always use hands on work to help you speed up this mobility process too.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that nearly 1 million people in the UK are unable to work due to their back/neck pain – a 28% increase since 2023. People are accepting their pain too easily and regretting it later. That stiffness you’re feeling? Get it assessed.

4. You’re avoiding movements you used to do

Are you getting your partner to bring the shopping in? Or avoiding squats because it hurts your back? Do you brace yourself before you walk down the stairs?

A healthy body should be unrestricted well into your later years. If there are movements you are avoiding now, what will you be like in 10 or 20 years time?

You don’t need to accept that you aren’t able to do something. In fact, you can probably do a lot more than you think you can – with the right tools.

A study looked at the risk factor for re-injury in people who had undergone ACL reconstruction, and found that people who had a greater fear of movement were:

  • 13x more likely to risk another ACL tear at 24 months
  • 4x more likely to be less active
  • 7x more likely to have a greater difference in their hop performance in left vs right
  • 6x more likely to have insufficient quad strength

You shouldn’t have to be worried to move & it does make a difference. Let us help you with that.

5. You’re relying on a chiro or massage to “crack” or “fix” it

You shouldn’t have to rely on someone else to treat your pain. What happens if that therapist moves away, or gets ill, or goes on holiday and can’t help you? Or maybe you haven’t found someone who is ‘good enough’ at their profession to ‘make it go away’.

The honest truth is you have the ability to ease your pain, and no one will be able to do it for you. Yes, we can help in MANY different ways, but you are the only one that can permanently help you.

If your symptoms ease with treatment, but come back? There’s a cause you’re not dealing with. Let’s look at that.

& if you’ve tried physio before and it didn’t work – ask yourself 2 questions:

  • How hard did you try?
  • How good was your physio?

This study showed hands on work alone, was more effective. However, participants who completed their exercise rehab at least 95% of the time – had significantly more symptom improvement than any other group or treatment method.

Invest in the process.

Sources:

  1. Murtagh S, Touloumis A, Olivier G, Butterworth J, Hammerbeck U. Physiotherapy Outcomes Are Associated With Shorter Waiting Times, More Treatment Sessions and Younger Age: Analysis of a Clinical Database. Musculoskeletal Care. 2024 Sep;22(3):e1924. doi: 10.1002/msc.1924.PMID: 39134408.

  2. Nielsen R, Ramskov D, Blacket CT, Malisoux L. Running-Related Injuries Among More Than 7000 Runners in 87 Different Countries: The Garmin-RUNSAFE Running Health Study. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2024 Feb;54(2):133-141. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2023.11959. PMID: 37970820.

  3. Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 26 July 2023, ONS website, article, Rising ill-health and economic inactivity because of long-term sickness, UK: 2019 to 2023

  4. Wlazło, M., Szlacheta, P., Grajek, M., Staśkiewicz-Bartecka, W., Rozmiarek, M., Malchrowicz-Mośko, E., & Korzonek-Szlacheta, I. (2025). The Impact of Kinesiophobia on Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Systematic Literature Review.Applied Sciences, 15(4), 2086. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15042086

  5. Manual therapy and neck-specific exercise are equally effective for treating non-specific neck pain but only when exercise adherence is maximised: A randomised controlled trial. Villanueva-Ruiz, Iker et al.Musculoskeletal Science & Practice, Volume 77, 103319