What Is A Good Physio?

a 4-minute read

Over the years, I’ve often wondered what the difference is between a good and bad physio!

Early in my career, I thought that to be a good physio you need to have all the knowledge and certifications in all the different treatment techniques.

But it’s not this simple!

Sure, knowledge and expertise are important, but they are not enough to make a good physio… or osteo, chiro, sports therapist, doctor etc, etc…

Lots of bad physios I've met had many certifications and qualifications, which they often liked to brag about. Yet many of the best physios I’ve met had minimal qualifications and sometimes very little knowledge and expertise.

And that’s because you need so much more than just knowledge and expertise to be good at something. You also need the right attributes and attitudes.

A lovely paper that highlights this very well is this review by Kleiner et al (2023), which examines the qualities that constitute a ‘good’ physio.

It highlights the importance of physios needing both technical competence but also many other attributes.

In brief, they found six attributes that make a good physio. These are…

Responsiveness

This is about actively listening, validating a person’s experiences, and demonstrating you give a shit about them.

It’s about being attentive and adaptable to each patient’s unique needs and not just blindly following historic protocols or procedures.

It's more about the person rather than the protocols.

Ethical

This is about demonstrating integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, respect, as well as practising within professional boundaries.

It’s about prioritising a person’s health and welfare, which means being brutally honest about what our treatments can and can't do and not promoting unnecessary or ineffective interventions.

It’s more about difficult truths rather than comfortable lies.

Communication

This is more than just talking; it's about clearly conveying information and actively listening, helping others understand their treatment plans and feel heard in their concerns.​

Its about giving clear explanations without complex jargon or fear inducing bollocks. It's about inspiring confidence and empowerment.

It's more about meaning than just explanations.

Caring

This is about demonstrating genuine concern and empathy. It's about building a therapeutic relationship where the patient feels supported and valued.​

It’s about exhibiting compassion, understanding, reassurance, support, friendliness, and warmth.

It’s more about being a human than a clinician.

Compentant

This is about having the necessary knowledge, clinical reasoning, and confidence to help others understand what’s going on and what needs to be done.

It’s about staying up to date with current research and best practice.

It’s more about evidence than experience.

Collabrative

This is about working with others and involving people in their own decision-making and helping lead them to better outcomes.

It's about adapting approaches to an individual's needs and fostering a partnership.

It's more about them than you.

So in summary, a good physio understands and recognises the importance of human connection and that it’s not just about the techniques or treatments.

Good physios know it's about earning trust and respect before applying interventions like manual therapy and exercise, and expecting them to work.

Good physios know it's about skilled interactions more than skilled interventions.

So, to try and be a better physio, look to these things first before worrying too much about your certifications or manual therapy skills.

Until next time

Stay strong

Adam