Dr. Chris Miller, Golf Physio

🤔JUST A PT🤔 I hear this a lot. And with absolutely no disrespect to the many excellent top class personal trainers out there, our jobs are not the same. A good personal trainer is an expert in helping people get stronger, fitter, healthier and perform better. And all respect to them! 🫡 But a good physiotherapist should first be an expert in recognising when something that looks like a simple ache or pain… isn’t. Is that shoulder pain inflammatory arthritis? Is that back pain spinal cord compression? Is that neck pain with those clumsy hands cervical myelopathy? Is that pain a fracture, an infection, a vascular issue or neurological condition that needs urgent investigation, not another set of squats? That’s the difference. Resistance training is one of the most powerful treatments I use with almost everyone I see with many painful issues because it works for many things for many reasons! But it’s utterly useles against these things. Before I prescribe a squat, deadlift, or shoulder press, my first responsibility is making sure it’s safe to do so. That’s why physios spend years learning anatomy, pathology, differential diagnosis, clinical reasoning, red flag recognition and risk assessment, not just exercise prescription. If everything checks out? Then we’ll absolutely prescribe exercise. Because that’s often exactly what’s needed. But if it doesn’t… The last thing that person needs is someone confidently counting reps while completely missing the diagnosis. That’s not being a glorified personal trainer. That’s being a healthcare professional who also understands the immense value of strength training. There’s a difference. And for some people, it’s a fucking important one.