There's nothing worse than when you injure something, but you're not sure what you should do about it straight away to get the best recovery outcome.

"Should I see my doctor?"

"Do I go to the physio?"

"Do I put ice on it? Heat?"

These are all questions that go through most people's head whilst they are dealing with the initial pain and inconvenience of injury.

The good news is that you can be rest assured that Physiotherapists are well equipped with qualifications to be a first-contact practitioner in most musculoskeletal conditions. This means any bump, knock, strain or sprain - your local Physio can be your go-to, first point of contact to assess and manage your injury.

Both research and clinical experience show that most musculoskeletal complaints can be managed effectively and efficiently with physio as the primary care modality, eliminating the need to involve GPs, emergency departments or specialist referral. In fact, there are a number of Emergency Departments around Australia employing Physios as part of their ED team to triage and manage musculoskeletal injuries.

Some recent research has shown that as little as 1% of injured patients triaged through physiotherapists require review from a doctor, and only 12% of these requiring a prescription of medication.

At Leading Edge, your physio will work with your GP or one of our network of Sports Doctors/Physicians to ensure that if you do have a condition requiring medical referral (ie for imaging, medication, specialist referral etc), then we can point you in the right direction.

However, in most cases you can be rest assured that your Leading Edge Physio can be your first point of contact in the case of a musculoskeletal injury and get you moving in the right direction towards full recovery!