Cognitive Functional Therapy
Physiotherapy which takes a mind-body approach to managing pain.
What is cognitive functional therapy?
Cognitive Functional Therapy is a physiotherapy discipline developed in Australia which takes a mind-body approach to managing pain problems when they become disabling and distressing. In contrast to more traditional physiotherapy where the therapist performs hands-on treatment, Cognitive Functional Therapy places the patient in charge of their pain condition. The physiotherapist coaches the patient in understanding and effectively self-managing their pain.
Our Physiotherapists have had post graduate training in this effective approach
Your story is the key to the solution
Most of the critical information about your condition is in your story. It’s like a person with a jigsaw puzzle; all pieces are present, but they can’t see what the picture looks like. Our job is to work with you to help you make sense of the puzzle.
First, we take time to hear your story, we’ll ask:
How your pain journey began
what provokes and relieves your pain
How your pain impacts on all aspects of your life (physical, social, work, emotional)
Your understanding of your pain problem and your thoughts about it
Your previous experiences of pain and how you managed those episodes
What strategies you’ve developed to cope
Whether you avoid things in life that are important to you
If you protect your painful body region how this affects your levels of confidence to engage in activities you value
Your short and long-term goals.
Your general health and emotional well being
We’ll also screen for any serious health conditions, and look at your scans if you have them.
What happens then? Assessing your body and how it functions
We know that when a person feels pain, the body’s response is often to tense up and over protect the painful body part. This can also change our perception of our body and alter the way we control it.
We are interested in the things that hurt you – and how your body moves during these activities. We are interested in your perceptions and the way you control your body. We’ll examine how you move, whether you can relax your body, and your confidence to move. We’ll also examine your strength and conditioning. We may also conduct tests of your nerves and assess the sensitivity of your tissues.
Based on all this information we will develop a treatment plan
There are now a number of clinical studies demonstrating that Cognitive Functional Therapy can result in long term reductions in pain and disability compared with other interventions.
Interested in learning more about CFT and how it could help you? Talk to us today.