Whether you’re active or not, the odd sprain or injury is inevitable. Many can be eased with painkillers and a few nights sleep but occasionally they develop into something more severe, restricting your movement or causing persistent pain. Seeing a physio at the right time can stop the former becoming the latter.

But how do you know the right time to book an appointment?

The trick is to think of muscular, ligament or joint problems no differently from other health problems. If you have a headache today, a few painkillers, water and rest will usually ease it.  But if you still have that headache next week, you’ll be rightfully concerned.

Back pain, for example, is no different. Any pain lasting longer than a week should be seen to by a professional, otherwise it risks becoming chronic.   The wait and see approach will often cost you in the long run.

Take the Achilles tendon. This is a part of the body where problems often develop slowly, starting with slight discomfort or stiffness that you can easily shrug off for months. Then, one morning, you try to get out of bed and can’t walk.

Because you ignored it for months it then takes months of rehabilitation to recover.

If you had seen us within the first few weeks, you’d normally be back to normal within weeks rather than months. You would also know how to avoid the problem developing in the future with simple, take home preventative exercises. This quick, in and out treatment is the typical patient experience here.

The age where small niggles can turn into longer term injuries starts at around 35. After this age little niggles tend to remain and become significant issues if they aren’t addressed. It’s also around this time when I can say to them, “We’ll help your injury but if you don’t change your lifestyle, it will come back.”

Seeing a physiotherapist won’t just cure of your aches and pains, their advice can protect you from them in the future. Unfortunately, the problem often needs to be debilitating before people take their physical health seriously. Don’t wait until then. Call us today on 0207 093 3499, or email enquires@physiolondon.co.uk if you have any concerns.

Keep moving,

Cameron Tudor