What happens at your first physio appointment
Most of the nerves about a first appointment come from not knowing what happens. Here is the whole thing.
Before you arrive
Bring anything that helps explain the problem: scan or X-ray reports, a referral or care plan if you have one, your Medicare card, and your private health card if you plan to claim.
Wear or bring clothes you can move in. If the problem is a knee, shorts help. If it is a shoulder, a singlet or loose t-shirt makes assessment much easier than a tight jumper.
If English is not your first language and you would rather bring a family member to help, that is completely fine and common.
The conversation comes first
The first part is talking, not treatment. When did it start, what makes it worse, what makes it easier, what does it stop you doing, what have you already tried, and what do you actually want to get back to.
That last question matters more than people expect. Getting back to gardening, back to work, back to walking to the shops, or back to sleeping through the night are all different goals and they change the plan.
Then the assessment
This is watching how you move. How far the joint travels, where it catches, what is weak, what hurts when tested and what does not.
Physiotherapists use specific tests to tell one cause from another, because pain in the same place can come from very different sources. A shoulder that will not lift because the joint is stiff needs a different plan from one that will not lift because the muscle is not firing.
Treatment on the day
Most first appointments include hands-on treatment: manual therapy, joint mobilisation, and sometimes dry needling or taping if it fits the problem.
You should leave with an explanation you actually understood, and usually two or three exercises. Not twenty. Exercises only work if they get done, and nobody does twenty.
Afterwards
Some soreness for a day after hands-on treatment is normal. Sharp or worsening pain is not, and is worth a phone call.
If you were referred by your GP, a summary goes back to them, so your doctor knows what was found and what the plan is.
General information only, and not a substitute for individual advice. If something is worrying you, see your GP or book an assessment.