Adam Meakins: The Problem With The Most Popular Physiotherapy Treatments

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Apr 5, 2021

Adam Meakins, known for his evidence-based approach to physiotherapy, discusses the problem with popular treatments like acupuncture and ultrasound. He emphasizes the importance of educating patients and using uncertainty in supporting physio patients. Meakins also criticizes manual therapy and highlights the need for open, honest conversations and cost-effective treatments. Additionally, he explores the adaptation of pain tolerance and the future of physiotherapy in collaboration with other professionals for holistic care.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

The Effectiveness of Popular Physiotherapy Treatments

03:08 • 2min

The Neglected Role of Natural History in Musculoskeletal Injuries

04:47 • 28min

Criticism of Manual Therapy in Physiotherapy

33:10 • 8min

Understanding Pain Tolerance and its Adaption

41:34 • 4min

The Future of Physiotherapy: A Proactive Approach

45:39 • 7min

In today's episode, Stuart welcomes Adam Meakins on. Adam, @adammeakins on Instagram, is well known for his evidence-based approach to physiotherapy, strong views and his willingness to call out some of what he describes as nonsense surrounding his profession. He's got a novel approach to helping his patients and in this episode, they get into how he describes physiotherapy, the line between personal training and physio, finding good physios, the problem with manual therapy and a lot of other popular rehab techniques as well as a number of analogies to help you think about the myths surrounding injury and pain. Timestamps are below.

Timestamps:

[01.47] - how he explains what physiotherapy is?
[03.39] - how would he help a trainer think about physiotherapy if they've only had positive experiences with treatments like acupuncture, massage and ultrasound?
[08.47] - The over and under-treatment paradox of healthcare
[10.37] - How he re-educates patients who believe in treatments that have no evidence behind them?
[12.37] - The importance of using uncertainty in supporting physio patients.
[22.07] - How to find good physiotherapists?
[23.47] - does physio need to be in-person?
[25.27] - How much of his job involves reassurance?
[30.58] - Helping people better manage pain that arises for no real reason.
[33.22] - Why he doesn't use manual therapy anymore?
[39.47] - Why giving yourself more pain (through something like a scraping technique) can give you less pain than you felt originally?
[41.47] - The circle analogy of pain tolerance or capacity?
[44.22] - Story of a practitioner who did surgery on his knee to better understand pain.
[46.57] - Is physiotherapy and personal training becoming more blurred due to approaches like his that include more education on movement and lifestyle?

Find Out More About Adam:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/adammeakins/ (@adameakins)
Website: https://www.thesports.physio/
His podcast: https://www.thesports.physio/the-naf-physio-podcast/

Find Out More About LTB:

Website: https://liftthebar.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/ (@liftthebar)