New international research shows one in four physiotherapists provide treatments that aren’t based on evidence. These treatments aren’t likely to cause harm, but they might waste patients’ time.
The over-medicalization of back pain is a global concern. New research in Canada shows that people with lower income as well as rural and remote dwellers are less likely to access physiotherapy care.
A recent series on low back pain by the global medical journal The Lancet shows doctors often overlook recommended treatments, such as advice to stay active and to exercise.
Historically the advice to cancer patients was to rest and avoid activity. We now know this advice may be harmful to patients, and that every person with cancer would benefit from exercise medicine.
Private patients who stay in hospital for costly rehab after major knee surgery recover just as fast as people who go home and have physiotherapy. So, why pay more?
Our brains tell our bodies to move differently when we have pain. And there is emerging evidence to show changing how we move could actually contribute to the development of chronic pain.