Your Health Care Team: A Love Story

By Andy Haycroft

We’re all in this together *clap*

We often hear that communication is key in any kind of relationship. This seems to be well established as a universal fact and I’ve not personally met anyone who would say it’s not important. In fact, even really hard times can be much improved if the communication within is easy and thorough.

With that in mind, have you ever pondered that your health care team acts as a relationship as well? Not just with you, but with each other too! Hang on, let me explain!

They all have a mutual interest (YOU!), they are all working towards a better future together (your better health), and they all get giggly and happy when the dates go well (the dates = your health goals). Sure there is less wine involved, but all the people you see for your health are in a relationship with you and with each other, and those relationships require stellar communication. We’ve all been on a date filled with long, awkward silences and it’s the worst (I promise that’s the end of the relationship analogy!).

So, what do you if you’re not used to playing matchmaker?

Okay that was the last one! There might be some connections that haven’t been made yet. Have you had a physio refer you to a psychologist? “That seems weird” I hear you say. But believe it or not, sometimes physical presentations of trauma might need mental strategies for holistic healing. Not only that, but a connection such as this may also assist your physio in avoiding a trigger of unnecessary pain throughout your healing process.Has your dietitian sent you to an osteopath? Did you know certain back conditions can refer pain to your gut, and even more commonly some gut issues refer pain to your back!
These are just a couple of examples of bodily pathways that can be treated with a multi-faceted (and therefore multi-modality) approach, so how good would it be if your healthcare team we across it all, together?

There are the obvious connections like when you are directly referred by one practitioner to another like doctor to physiotherapist or physiotherapist to myotherapist, but have you thought about asking your physio for some guidelines for your personal trainer so you can keep training everywhere that isn’t injured?

So here it is, the overview. We all have the same goal – you being your best self! So, if there are practitioners relationships that you’d like to ignite, always feel free to ask. Particularly your practitioners here at Performance Medicine. If you’re unsure if there is a clinically relevancy, ask! We’ll always take the time to talk it through with you to work it out together. We exist for you, so never feel weird about playing matchmaker with your health professionals, communication is key in the successful outcome of our job!