Hello and welcome back to another instalment of the ThreeSpires Physiotherapy blog where we take a look at all things physiotherapy related. This time I thought we could look at an aspect of our physiotherapy service that I haven't actually discussed on the blog before: the amazing role physiotherapy assistants can play in helping patients recover. 

So, I guess first thing to address is: what is the difference between a physiotherapist and a physiotherapy assistant? Well, a physiotherapist is someone that has a degree in physiotherapy and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a physiotherapist. They will also likely be a member of our professional body the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and definitely will be if they are a physiotherapist working at ThreeSpires Physiotherapy. A physiotherapy assistant is someone who does not have those specific qualifications but who has had experience at helping patients with rehab and exercises and helps the physiotherapist with carefully selected patients. Commonly they may be described as being a Band 2, 3, or 4 assistant if they work in the NHS and this relates to how much experience they have had and how much responsibility with patients they can take.

So, what can physiotherapy assistants do, how can they help patients and why wouldn’t you just see a physio instead? Well, not all patients need to continue seeing a full qualified physiotherapist but they do have an ongoing need for guided exercises and rehabilitation work. To give an example: our physiotherapy assistant works with patients who have initially been assessed by a physiotherapist, the patient is doing well and has no need for further assessment (at least at present) but the patient does need help following and doing their rehabilitation programme. Often these patients will have had a stroke or possibly a long hospital admission which has caused them to lose mobility and they benefit from visit regularly from our physiotherapy assistant to check their exercises, go through things with them and make sure they are on track. If things ever change significantly our physiotherapy assistant will book a follow up appointment with the supervising physiotherapist. Often patients with long term conditions such as Parkinson’s or MS will be very stable in terms of strength and mobility but they need to be following a regular exercise programme and seeing a physiotherapy assistant regularly enables them to keep doing this. Often having our physiotherapy assistant visit regularly provides them with motivation to do their rehab programme between visits.

Hopefully this blog has helped you understand the valuable contribution that a physiotherapy assistant can make. If you or anyone you know may need help with physiotherapy or ongoing exercises and rehab then please get in touch. We are a home visit physiotherapy service based in Lichfield and serving Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Rugeley, Cannock and Walsall.