New grad struggling with chronic patients expecting passive treatment only (Esp. WC) [Aus]
New grad physio here (~3 months into private practice in Aus working with foreign speaking population). How do you guys manage inherited chronic patients (work cover) who strongly expect passive treatment/manual therapy every session?
I recently found myself inheriting a couple of work cover cases from another physio who recently left and by reading their notes, it appears they have had years of massage/passive treatment with barely any active-rehab/self management. I saw one patient last week who didn't let me finish introducing myself and then lay down on the plinth expecting a massage.
I've seen that a few patients have recently had physio rejected by insurance due to said passive treatment, so I am wondering how you would approach this clinically without losing the rapport of the patient.
Is it also normal that some of the work cover patients have had very little improvement over 2-3 years? I am seeing a 0.5-1kg increase in functional capacity over several years for some patients.
Thanks for any input!