Out hiking one day where, admittedly, she says she does her best thinking, Vernon physiotherapist Cheryl Witter was mulling over in her head the news that her city would have no more walk-in medical clinics following the closure of the one at the Sterling Centre.
Then, as she traversed along the trails, it hit Witter: old information, but news that a lot of people are not aware of – physios can look at people with soft-tissue or musculoskeletal injuries.
“So many people don’t know, they think they need a doctor’s referral,” said Witter, owner of Spine and Sports North End Physical Therapy and Massage Therapy. “With muscles, joints, sprains and strains, we can let people know they don’t have to bog down their doctor or emergency. Come to physio.
“We’re fantastic at assessments. They’re long, about 35-to-40 minutes, one-on-one. We do observation, go through range of motion, strength, all our special tests to come up with a working diagnosis.”
Ali Coupe is a registered physiotherapist in Vernon with Flow Physiotherapy and Wellness. She and other physios are trained to diagnose within the scope of their practice.
“We can assess when things need to be referred on to the doctors,” said Coupe, who works with a family doctor in her physio practice. “We can diagnose red flags and send patients to their doctors or if it’s something outside of our practice.”
Combined, the two women have 60 years of experience.
Both see bodies all day long. Both are used to rotator cuff problems in a shoulder, blown knee ligaments, or sprains. If something to them looks different and turns out to be different, they can still fully assess it.
They, and all of the other physios in the North Okanagan, know what they’re doing. They can diagnose the soft tissue and musculoskeletal problems. And if something does look funny, they can send a patient to their doctor for consultation, x-rays, and medication.
Physiotherapists are muscle, joint, and bones specialists. Witter likens physios to carpenters in the building of a dream home.
“An architect can design a beautiful house with beams and windows, show some grandiose ideas,” she said. “Physios are the carpenters who come in and say, ‘No, that beam’s not going to work there.’ We’re the unsung heroes. People think all we do are stretches and exercise. We’re good at diagnosing.”
The family doctor Coupe works with at her practice is quite in tune, she says,with musculoskeletal injuries. But seeing somebody with such an issue might not be the best use of the doctor’s time, especially now with no more walk-in clinics. The doctor, said Coupe, could be seeing somebody that she or Witter or any physio can’t help with.
“It’s common for her to mention she gets a lot of musculoskeletal patients, and then she refers them to the appropriate channel,” said Coupe. “Is that worth two patients a day out of 30 people they see? Could those patients find an easier stepping stone to what they’re doing?”
“People don’t realize we can provide diagnoses,” added Witter. “If you fall on the ski hill, twist your knee and your knee is swollen, don’t go sit in emergency for six hours. Look at physios in Vernon online and book an appointment on a Sunday from your couch.
“We want to let people know, we’re going to give you a working diagnosis, educate you, and teach you things to do. It doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily treat you.. But we can assess you.”
Both physios, however, remind would-be patients that they are in private practice. If you walk in to emergency, you expect the visit to be covered under the Medical Services Plan.
“We don’t want to make it sound like you come to physio with a black-and-blue ankle that you can just bill it to MSP. Private practice is still private practice,” said Coupe. “Most people have some kind of coverage.”
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