(Please read this entire post before making conclusions about what I’m saying)
I recounted this story to my husband last night (who’s a PT, as I said above). He said it all sounded pretty normal, except for the rubbing against you, which caused him a little concern, but he also said that could happen accidentally in the course of an exam and could just be poor body positioning on his part.
Re, the bending over exercise, he said that he was probably looking at the shape of your back. He said that this really needs to be done either from a front view or a rear view, in order to really see what’s going on. He also said all the other exercises sounded normal for a first time exam, especially if your complaint has to do with disc problems.
My husband also said that this might have been just a problem of really poor communication & explanation on the PT’s part. He also said that when he has a female patient, especially one on the young side who’s never had PT, he is extremely careful about draping, explaining exactly what he’s doing, and even having another female (PT assistant, receptionist, another therapist) come into the room with them (which is an option you might want to exercise with any physio).
Despite all of that, none of us were there and can in no way tell from what you said the exact tone of voice that was used, body language, etc., so you shouldn’t really listen to anyone here…do whatever you feel is necessary. You’re the only one here who had firsthand knowledge and knows all of the nuances of the situation. The rest of us are just making WAG’s and advising you based on a short version of the incident. My opinion, though, for what it’s worth, is that reporting something that could very likely ruin someone’s career should be taken very seriously and weighed very carefully. If it were me, I would try to be extra careful that what happened was well and truly an instance of sexual harrassment before I took that step.
I wasn’t there. I’m full of shit too. Ask anybody. There’s swimmingriddles, let’s ask her. “Swimmingriddles, is inertia full of shit?” Swimmingriddles, “I’ll buy that for a dollar.”
Honestly, I kinda’ did wanna’ piss you off, but not too badly. I do think you might be over-dramatizing your encounter with the guy. Why? Well, if you were so sure he had molested you in some way you wouldn’t need to post it on this site.
Mega: Do file a report on the therapist. He obviously made you uncomfortable enough to bring it up here, and I haven’t seen you to be an alarmist.
At 20, I had a breast biopsy, and the examining physician in the Student Health Clinic at the University I attended took advantage of me. I won’t go into detail, but it sucked, and I was too scared and naive to file a report. I trusted his position. A few years later I ran into the guy again, and my then more mature alarm bells resounded the Jerk alarm. He had moved up on the ladder, and was still an ass. I wish I’d reported his actions when he was a resident.
I just stumbled across this blog and just couldn’t ignore being a uk registered male physiotherapist. All the tests mentioned by mega roo are standard tests most Physio’s use for movement analysis.However there are strict guidelines on gaining informed consent and offering chaperones, especially while conducting assessments which require undressing. I do not want everyone who have vulgarly commented to abuse physiotherapists. If you have been asked to do something which you don’t feel comfortable with, just walk off or refuse treatment. You are all adults who can make decisions for yourself. I hold my head high as a physiotherapist and a manager and all I can vouch is to speak highly of this wonderful rewarding profession helping people to achieve the best quality of life.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers - Physio boy
