A day in the life of a physiotherapist

For World Physical Therapy Day, Clinical Lead Physiotherapist Laura Smith talked us through her role and a typical day in the life of a physiotherapist.


I’ve been working as a physio in the NHS for 20 years. There has never been a more challenging time with increased demand and limited resources.

This means that we’re constantly looking at new ways of doing things. I’m currently involved in an innovative project to change the way we deal with referrals. Eventually this will create a one-stop-hub where we work together with our partner organisations to make things much more streamlined for our patients.

What do we do?

We see anyone aged over 16 with a neuromusculoskeletal disorder, which means anything which affects your movement or bones, muscles and nerves.

One minute we could be assessing a 90 year old with an arthritic shoulder, and the next a 25 year old with neck and arm pain. It may even be someone who has a life threatening condition which has not been picked up by their GP.

All of our patients have different personal histories and lifestyles, so no two treatments are the same. We set personal goals to help them get back to normal, whether that’s being able to get dressed or returning to work or a hobby.

We do this through one-to-one sessions or in special exercise classes.

My typical day

I see patients from 8.30am to 4pm, before trying to finish on time at 4.30pm. Others in the team work between 8am and 6pm to offer early and late appointments.

On most days I have a full diary of patients. We also need to keep on top of our paperwork, booking in our follow up patients and writing any letters regarding their care, as well as arranging referrals to other services.

I spend the morning assessing new patients and arranging their future care. That might be physio, onward referral to orthopaedics or further tests. My final patient before lunch is a follow- up who will often need new exercises and support.

In the afternoon I may have up to 30 patients who have been referred online to secondary care orthopaedics by their GPs. I have to decide whether they need an orthopaedic review, physio or treatment from another service.

I’ll finish off the day with a couple more follow-up patients, before heading home after completing any discharges and paperwork.

Why is physiotherapy important?

Physiotherapy and exercise play an important role to keep people healthy and are effective treatments for many conditions. If we can help keep people fit and moving well, it helps them to stay out of the health system and saves money for the NHS.

One lady saw me for six months after an injury from a mobility scooter. This was causing her pain and was affecting her mobility and sleep. Before physio she thought she would not get better, but after completing her exercises she went back to her usual activities and was sleeping again. She was discharged a happy, grateful lady!

I also saw a 21 year old man who had not worked or gone to his gym for over a year due to his back pain and reduced fitness. He had started staying up most of the night and then in the day was staying in his bedroom on his computer.

However, with pain education, support, motivation, sleep advice, exercises and gradually getting out and about, he returned to the gym and then to work at a warehouse. If he had not had physio he may have got worse and possibly never gone back to work. He would not be leading the pain-free, active life that he does now.

Some days you are battling with patients who do not want to engage with physiotherapy. You have to be very creative to try and get them on board, but sometimes patients just aren’t ready for physio at that moment in time.

We work hard and have long days, but it is very rewarding when a patient tells us that their pain has reduced and they have returned to their normal activities at home and work. It’s why I became a physio in the first place, and why I want to stay a physio.