Is Your Physio/Osteo/Chiro Helping You… or Taking the Piss?

Full disclosure – I’m a fitness professional, and like any industry, there are good operators and bad ones. Over the last 14 years, I’ve watched countless members of my gyms and personal clients share the advice they've received from their allied health professionals – whether that’s a physio, osteo, or chiro. Some of that advice has been sound and helpful, while some has been downright rubbish.

The point of this blog is to empower you. If you're reading this, you might be dealing with pain, an injury, or some niggle that’s stopping you from training, working, or simply living the way you want to. You’ve probably spent good money on someone who’s supposed to help, and maybe you’re not sure if they’re actually doing that – or just keeping you on the hook.

Let’s shine a light on some of the dodgy practices in the allied health world and give you some tools to figure out if your physio/osteo/chiro is genuinely helping you… or if it’s time to walk away.

The Rebooking KPI Trap

Here’s something not many clients know: some clinics have Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for rebookings. That’s right – your recovery could be treated like a sales target. Certain allied health professionals are encouraged, or even pressured, to book you in for a certain number of follow-up sessions before they’ve even assessed your progress properly.

Now ask yourself – is that in your best interest? Or is it more about hitting numbers and filling appointment slots?

Rebooking KPIs can create a dynamic where you’re kept reliant on them, rather than being empowered to recover and move forward. That’s not healthcare – that’s a business strategy.

Pain Shouldn’t Be a Subscription Service

Let’s keep it simple. Barring major injuries (like a broken bone or significant tear), most body pains or movement issues should be 90% better within 3 sessions. Yes, three.

If after three appointments you’ve seen no clear progress – no reduction in pain, no better range of motion, no better understanding of what’s going on – that’s a massive red flag.

For major injuries, your allied health professional should map out a clear recovery timeline, with markers and milestones to work towards. They should say things like:

• “In 2 weeks, we should see X”

• “By week 6, you should be able to do Y”

• “We’ll aim for a return to sport by Z”

If they can’t give you this, or if they’re vague about timelines, that’s a concern. You need clarity, not mystery.

Movement Is Medicine – Not Something to Avoid

One of the clearest signs of a great allied health professional is how they respond when you get injured.

A good physio, chiro, or osteo will never just say, “Stop training.”
Instead, they’ll take the time to explain:

• What you can and can’t do safely

• How to modify or scale your training

• What movements might help with healing and mobility

They understand that movement is medicine. In most cases, there is always something you can do to stay active, keep progressing, and maintain your routine.

A bad practitioner, on the other hand, will give you a blanket statement:
“Just stop training until it’s better.”
No guidance. No education. No plan. Just more confusion and less progress.

If they don’t understand that you can work around injuries, they don’t understand your goals.

Beware the Pre-Packed Treatment Plan

If you hear the phrase:
“You’ll need 12 sessions to fix this” (or insert any arbitrary number), RUN. This is not how injury recovery works.

No one can accurately predict the exact number of sessions needed from day one – not unless they’ve got a crystal ball. Healing and recovery vary from person to person, depending on your body, the injury, and your response to treatment.

A good practitioner will assess, treat, reassess, and adapt. They’ll only recommend what you need, not what’s convenient for them.

“But My Physio Said It Was My Trainer’s Fault…”

Let’s address the elephant in the room. A common counterargument is that it’s the fitness professional – the PT, coach, or group trainer – who caused the injury in the first place.

Here’s the reality: injuries can happen. They happen during training, playing sport, walking down stairs, or even just sleeping in a weird position. Sometimes you can pick up a niggle from doing nothing at all – prolonged sitting, stress, bad posture, or simply the wear and tear of life.

Yes, sometimes training can expose a weakness or bring on an issue. But the goal of training is to build resilience, get stronger, and move better – not to break people.

Any experienced fitness professional will tell you that injuries are a part of life, not just fitness. What matters is how they’re handled. When something does go wrong, the focus should shift to rehab, recovery, and getting you back in action – not playing the blame game.

Also, let’s be clear – not every physio/osteo/chiro will throw a trainer under the bus, just like not every trainer is perfect. Just like any industry, there are good and bad operators on both sides.

Don’t worry – I’ve got a follow-up blog coming soon that covers exactly how to know if your fitness professional is any good. So if you’re wondering whether your trainer is helping or hindering, I’ve got you covered.

Final Thoughts

You’re paying good money, and more importantly, you’re in a vulnerable place – often in pain, frustrated, and unable to do the things you love. You deserve someone who genuinely wants to help you get better – not someone who’s trying to make you a lifetime customer.

The goal of allied health should always be to get you out of their office and back into your life.

So ask the questions. Look for the red flags. And remember – you are allowed to seek a second opinion or change providers if something doesn’t feel right.

Take control of your recovery. You don’t have to settle for average.