After contacting Jacoline Scott Physiotherapists to make an appointment, please arrive timeously at our practice. You will firstly be required to complete a few forms regarding your general details, medical aid / COID information and a questionnaire regarding your condition. Please feel free to ask for more information regarding your account / rates etc. should you need more information.
Following completion of all the documentation, you will be evaluated and treated by one of the physiotherapists. Please dress comfortably – you will have to perform some test movements and get on and off the treatment bed. As physiotherapists perform hands-on treatment and, depending on the condition treated, you may need to remove some of your clothing. Please inform the physiotherapist if you feel uncomfortable in doing so – shorts and gowns are available in the practice for this purpose as well.
During your first evaluation or consultation you must provide the physiotherapist with as much information as possible regarding your condition, injury or pain problem. Bring along any x-rays/scans or other investigations results as well as the names of the medication you are using. Questions the physiotherapist might ask you during the evaluation could include the following questions:
A patient suffering from pain:
A patient suffering from pain:
- “How long have you had the pain?”
- This gives information if the pain is chronic(long period) or acute(short period)
- How did you injure it? (specifics)
- Trauma/injury, sudden pain, no particular event, gradual increase in pain
- “Where do you feel the pain?”
- This gives an indication of the area and structures involved that must be considered to be tested by the therapist.
- “Describe the pain?”
- Provides detail to the structures involved (e.g. sharp pain could indicate nerve entrapment or impingement, or joint capsular pain or a dull vague pain indicating muscle and joint)
- “What makes the pain better?”
- Detail on which structures are involved in causing and relieving your pain (e.g. muscles – heat, massage, exercise or joint – Only certain positions or movement)
- What makes your pain worse?
- Factors that could be aggravating the pain (e.g. work, stress, exercise)
- “What medication have you tried?”
- Reaction to medication may indicate the type of pain and efficacy thereof.
- On a scale from 0-10, how much is the pain? (0=No pain, 10=Want to Die)
- Pain is subjective but unique to every patient. You grade your pain, we know a 3/10 is an irritating pain, as to a neck pain after injury can be 9/10, indicating severe pain.
- How long does the pain stay?
- Constant, a few hours, only short sharp pain. Indicates the nature of the pain, thus how often you get the pain and realistic goals to relieve the pain.
- When during the day is the pain at its worst? (Morning, after work)
- Indicates possible contributing factors resulting in your pain.
Your physiotherapist has been trained to use their knowledge and clinical reasoning based on the information given, in order to formulate a working diagnosis. Additional information may be required in order to assist in diagnosing and may therefore be referred for further investigation. This is for your own benefit – an accurate diagnosis is needed to provide optimum treatment.
The treatment will now commence and may include manual therapy, electrotherapy (machines applied including interferential therapy, shockwave, ultrasound, laser), exercises etc. but your therapist will explain all parts of the treatment to you as it is applied. Home exercises may be prescribed and compliance thereof is of the utmost importance – please do this diligently. Your therapist will inform you regarding follow-up appointments. Completion of a treatment regime is required to obtain the best long term results. Should you be unhappy or uncertain about anything concerning your treatment, please inform your physiotherapist or the practice owner, Jacoline Scott.
Cancellation policy:
Patients must cancel an appointment at least TWO HOURS prior to the appointment time, in person at our offices or per telephone. Please: we do not monitor e-mails or SMS messages throughout the day and night, and therefore DO NOT ACCEPT SMS OR E-MAIL MESSAGES AS MEANS OF CANCELLATION.
Should appointments not be cancelled 2 hours prior to the appointment, a patient not show up for an appointment or arrive late, the patient (not the medical aid or compensation commissioner) will be held liable for payment of that appointment @ R300.00 per appointment.
This is the Emergency Procedures as well as the floorplan of the practice, also showing emergency evacuation routes:
