Physiotherapy and exercise

Sir, – We need to reject the notion that a physiotherapist’s healing hands will relieve our pain.

Physiotherapists regularly placate patients with massage, which serves to offer limited short-term pain relief and a strong placebo effect.

Their real focus is the exercise programme they endlessly entourage us to do, but which we put off until “the next day”.

We wouldn’t skip a daily dose of prescribed medication, so why do we so easily dismiss the physio’s exercise prescription? – Yours, etc,

OLWYN O’CONNOR,

Athlone,

Co Westmeath.