09/07/2026
【Heart to Heal #01 | After 20+ years as a physiotherapist, this is what disappoints me most】
Not that the public doesn't understand us.
It's watching fellow physios treat what they've learned as their centre's "secret weapon."
A profession grows through public recognition of the whole field — not through being "better" than the physio next door, or being the "best centre in town."
Putting business above profession is slowly killing physiotherapy, just as we're finally starting to be seen and respected.
Building a profession means building trust within it — sharing knowledge, cases, and resources. Look at doctors, dentists, even chiropractors: they share their cases, experiences, and struggles within their own circles, and lift the profession together.
Yet some physios learn a so-called "exclusive technique," then tell clients: "What we do is better than the others."
The truth is simple.
Different stages need different management.
Every physio has their own strengths.
When a case is beyond us, we refer to a colleague who handles it better — that's what professionalism looks like.
Our real job is to prepare and guide clients toward their best possible recovery.
We are not gods. We have never healed anything.
We guide the body — and the person — to heal, physically and emotionally.
Telling clients you're better than other physios doesn't lift you up. It bleeds the whole profession, slowly.
When someone has back pain, who do they think of first? A chiro? Tit tar? Or a physiotherapist?
We are not fighting each other for clients. We are supposed to raise this profession together.
We don't need a lone hero. We need Avengers — covering each other's gaps, not for personal gain, but so the public understands what physiotherapy, as a team, can do for them.
I know money is real, and people are human. But after 20+ years in this profession, my one wish is this: in another 5 to 10 years, when people have a problem, they know to see a physio. When they have doubts about their body, they come to us for consultation.
That day will come when we stand together —
not when one of us stands alone at the top.
疗事疗非 | Ask the Physio — I'm Avery.
This one's for my fellow physios, and for everyone willing to understand us.
