Case example: Kieran
Let’s look at a case example:
Our patient is Kieran, a 42 year old with a four day history of moderate to severe low back pain. He has no symptoms below the buttock and no significant history of low back pain. His pain started suddenly when he caught his child who was falling. The pain was mild at first but worsened over the next 24 hours. Now the pain isn’t improving and he is avoiding moving his back. He saw the GP three days ago who prescribed NSAIDs and advised to see a physiotherapist if it was not improving quickly. He plans to return to work as a manager tomorrow where he has flexibility to walk and stand throughout the day. He has a 30 minute drive to work. His goals are to return to work and return to the gym.
The physiotherapist in the following video is assessing Kieran’s educational needs at the end of the patient interview. Some skills to note during the video include:
- Checking the patient’s understanding
- Checking that what he has been told fits with what he understands
- Asking about concerns, especially with important tasks like returning to work
- Checking to see if he has found strategies to help before offering solutions.
