21/10/2026
🤔UR JUST A PT🤔
I hear this one a lot.
Now, with absolutely no disrespect to the many excellent top class personal trainers out there, our jobs are not the same.
A good personal trainer is an expert in helping people get stronger, fitter, healthier and perform better.
And all respect to them! 🫡
But a good physiotherapist should be an expert in recognising when something that looks like a simple ache or pain… isn’t.
Is that shoulder pain inflammatory arthritis?
Is that back pain spinal cord compression?
Is that neck pain cervical myelopathy?
Is that pain a stress fracture, an infection, a vascular issue or neurological condition thats gone unnoticed and needs urgent investigation, not another set of squats?
That’s the difference between a physio who uses exercise and a personal trainer.
Resistance training is one of the most useful and powerful treatments I use with almost everyone I see with painful issues because it works for many things for many reasons!
But it’s utterly useles against things that are more serious or sinister!
So before I prescribe any squats, deadlifts, or shoulder presses, my first responsibility is always making sure it’s safe to do so.
That’s why I’ve spent years learning anatomy, pathology, differential diagnosis, clinical reasoning, red flag recognition and risk assessment, not just exercise prescription.
If everything checks out? Then we’ll absolutely prescribe exercise. Because that’s often exactly what’s needed.
But if it doesn’t…
The last thing that person needs is someone confidently counting reps while missing the diagnosis.
That’s not being a glorified personal trainer.
That’s being a healthcare professional who also understands the immense value of strength training.
There’s a difference.
And for some people, it’s a fu***ng important one.
And to those of you who cant recognise the difference… youre idiots!
