The Appropriateness of Physiotherapy as a form of Post Operative Treatment
Taylah McGregor
Medical Negligence Lead | NSW Business Development at MedicoLegal Assessments Group Pty Ltd
I hope that your February has been pleasant!
I had the pleasure of being able to visit our MAG Saigon office last week and had the best time ever!
I last visited Ho Chi Minh City with my family almost 10 years ago so I was very excited to see how much things had changed since my last visit. I made sure to indulge in as many Vietnamese Iced Coffees as I could and try all of the delicious local cuisines that I enjoy so much here at home.
We didn’t get too much of a chance to do any sight seeing which was perfectly fine, I much more enjoyed attending restaurants and cafes where I could sit down and chat face to face with colleagues that I’ve been working remotely with for years.
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Here’s a photo from the trip!
I just wanted to share the statistics for our Medical Negligence Triage Service from January 2025.
In December there were 50 Medical Negligence Triage Cases lodged through our service!
Out of those 50 cases, 21 of them requested Free Preliminary Opinions, there were a total of 11 Teleconferences that took place and 8 Triage cases proceeded to a full report! We're still working on a majority of the requests received last month and will continue to do so until the desired outcome is provided.
4 out of the 21 Free Preliminary Opinions requested received a “negligence not probable” response from the specialist and did not proceed any further.
We are happy to have been able to provide the plaintiffs with the closure they need as well as helping them avoid the emotional and financial burden of proceeding straight to a report, only to receive an unfavourable/unsupportive opinion.
This month’s topic is The Appropriateness of Physiotherapy as a Form of Post Operative Treatment.
The main goal of physiotherapy is to reduce pain and restore (or maintain) optimal physical functioning. A wide range of non-pharmacological treatment modalities can be accessed by physiotherapists, including manual therapies, electrophysical agents, thermotherapy, hydrotherapy and graded exercise.?
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We’re seeing an increase in cases come across our desk where the surgery itself was performed perfectly adequately and met the standard of care however there has been a breakdown in communication when the patient has been referred for aftercare. This can mean that the physiotherapy plan designed for them can in fact do more harm than good, leading to in some circumstances medical negligence.
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I’ve invited Exercise Physiologist Mr Rod Diamond to provide some insight into the role of an exercise physiologist in a post operative setting.
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An exercise physiologist prescribes, designs and supervisors exercise and rehabilitation programs for healthy populations and patients with medical and health conditions
In a post-operative setting a typical example would be following surgery the patient will see a physiotherapist for the acute initial phase of approximately 1 to 2 months
Following this period, the patient is then referred to an exercise for the medium to long-term rehabilitation
Following receipt of the referral and a medical clearance from the treating doctor, the exercise physiologist will?conduct an initial assessment on the patient.
An initial report is then provided to the treating surgeon and doctor with the exercise physiologist’s findings from the assessment and an outline of the proposed exercise rehabilitation exercise programme. ?
It is imperative at all times to follow the treating surgeons and doctors’ recommendations with regards to the rehabilitation program. This may include the exercises prescribed including the range of movement, the frequency the exercises are to be performed, the volume of exercises to be performed?and the amount of weight that the patient is allowed to lift and or carry.
If the exercise physiologist is in any doubt they can clarify and discuss with the treating doctor their concerns. ?
If the treating physiotherapist and exercise physiologist do not follow the treating surgeons and doctors’ recommendations, this can lead to the patient not recovering correctly or at all, re-injuring?themselves or injuring other areas of their body.?
Spotlight on Our Medical Negligence Specialists
A.Prof Katherine Brown is a sexual health and forensic physician.? In the public sector Katherine provides clinical services for the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmissible infections and HIV as well as sexual assault forensic examinations. Her interests include genital skin, genital pain, sexual function, reproductive health, the diagnosis and management of chronic or recurrent vaginal discharge and clinical forensic medicine. Genital skin conditions include chronic conditions such as lichen schlerosis, lichen planus, dermatitis and chronic candida as well as acute presentations of a range of conditions affecting the anogenital region.
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She has been instrumental in the development and delivery of a number of continuing professional development courses for health practitioners delivered online covering sexually transmissible infections, genital dermatology, genital pain and sexual assault medicine. She is a past president of the Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine. In 2009 the RACP awarded Katherine with a College medal for outstanding service.
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Dr Jennifer Harasty is a Certified Practising Speech Language Pathologist paediatric and adult as well as speech neurocognitive scientist with many (over 50) international publications in top ranking journals. She has conducted research in prevalence of communication disorders, dementia, dyslexia and language dissolution, aging. She has worked as a tenured academic at University of Sydney (over ten years) and Senior Research Fellow at UNSW and was a National Adviser Evidence Based Practice for Speech Pathology Australia.
She is committed to providing services to disadvantaged groups. Her practice supports many vulnerable and CALD families and supports UNHC for Refugees for over 10 years. She is interested in innovative service provision and research into health services across all aspects of the health system such as neurobehavioural therapy, NDIS, allied health private services, hospital and community health sectors: all of which she has provided services to. She has been the first National Advisor Evidenced Based Practice for Australia and effected great change in this role. She has worked clinically with specific literacy disorders for over 30 years including many recent primary school students to great effect.
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Mr Anton Crous is a Prothetisit/orthotist. After completing his National Diploma in Orthotics and Prosthetics in South Africa in 1994, Anton spent the next two and half decades honing his craft in public and private practice in South Africa, Burundi and Saudi Arabia, including an eight-year stint in the Saudi capital’s Riyadh Military Hospital. Now happily settled in Australia, Anton is passionate about using his extensive knowledge and experience in Prosthetics and Orthotics to improve the lives of his clients. Anton is certified for all Micro-processor prosthetics for the lower and upper extremities, with a particular interest in myoelectric arm prostheses. His interests include:
socket design, schial-containment sockets, Hybrid versions of this design philosophy, Adjustable sockets (RevoFit system) for the lower and upper extremities, Gait analysis using the innovative Tekscan Foot Function Analysis system to diagnose various foot function abnormalities that can lead to lower limb foot problems like plantar fasciitis, diabetic ulcer offloading effectiveness using in-shoe pressure sensors, amfit CAD-CAM foot orthotics and shoe modifications to improve foot function and all Micro-processor prosthetics for lower and upper extremities with a special interest in myoelectric arm prostheses.
?Please do not hesitate to contact me with any queries, questions or concerns?via my direct line or email address.
Kind regards,
Taylah McGregor
Medical Negligence Lead & NSW Business Development
Direct Line: (02) 9056 4471
Medical Negligence Bookings & Queries: (02) 8090 7616
Don’t forget to connect with me on LinkedIn
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