Physiotherapists evaluate and treat people with limited or painful movement due to injury, illness, or old age. They use specialised exercises and equipment to facilitate the movement of extremities and joints.
This could be done through a combination of exercises, massages and manipulation of the body.
Physiotherapy is very important in order to help patients’ quality of life and aid recovery. It can also help prevent further complications in a wide variety of conditions.
Whether you suffer from a bad back, a physical injury, arthritis or nerve damage for example, physiotherapy can help.
So, how can you access a physio in Spain if you need one?
Public health system
If you pay into the social security system, you will have access to public health in Spain.
The first point of call will usually be your GP who can refer you to a physio if they deem it to be necessary. But hospitals may also refer you if you came in through A&E because of an accident.
Unfortunately, there is a severe lack of these physiotherapists working in public health and it can often take a long time to be referred or for your turn to come up on wait lists, sometimes years.
According to the Annual Report of the National Health System, there are around 1,714 physiotherapists working in primary care and 5,882 in hospital care, that is, a total of 7,596.
This equals one physiotherapist for every 10,000 inhabitants, which can easily explain the problem.
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For reference, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends one physiotherapist for every 1,000 inhabitants.
In some clinics in the country there is in fact only one physiotherapist for 40,000 inhabitants, according to Isabel Moreno, spokesperson for SATSE, the Syndicate of Nurses at a state level, and a physiotherapist at a Madrid hospital.
“The waiting list sometimes balloons, from one to three months. That is outrageous, but it can be as high as six or eight months. It is not good for us because the patient’s recovery is delayed. The worse you are, the longer it will take you to move forward,” says Moreno.
The average waiting time across the country is 152 days for an appointment with the public physio. The Canary Islands, has the worst situation with an average of 15 months (469 days); then Cantabria, with more than 8 months (261 days); followed by Galicia, with more than seven months (227 days), and Andalusia, with more than six months (197 days).
Many patients complain that doctors just send them home with pain meds instead of being able to provide a solution.
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In some regions, such as Catalonia, they get around this problem, they have group rehabilitation sessions that run for example once a week for six weeks. For these, the wait time is much less, but it’s not true physiotherapy.
It usually involves teaching patients about pain management and showing them generic exercises to help their condition. It does not involve massage, manipulation or additional therapy such as heat or ice. Sometimes there may be machines to aid recovery, but not always.
The attention and exercises are not individual. You may be in a group of 9 other people with chronic back pain for example, all there for different reasons. While the exercises can help, they are not a substitute for personalised physiotherapy.
Many people who are waiting too long, turn to private and pay out of pocket instead.
Private Physiotherapy
Meanwhile, the situation looks a lot different for those who have private health insurance or who can afford to pay privately.
According to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), Spain has a total of 66,178 physiotherapists working in private healthcare.
Some private insurers will even let you book an appointment directly with a specialist, so you may not even need to wait for a referral from a GP.
But, not all of them will cover it. For example, some seguros (insurance policies) only cover it for certain illnesses rather than injuries and others will only cover it after you have contracted the insurance for 3-6 months first.
It’s best to look at your policy or contact your insurer to find out.
Many people therefore forced to pay extra, out of pocket.
According to the price comparison platform ChronoShare, the national average price per session is €30-50, often depending on the type of treatment you will receive.
This can add up to a lot if you need sessions every week for several months.
There are some English-speaking physiotherapists in Spain’s big cities and tourist hotspots but elsewhere you’ll probably have to explain your physical problems in Spanish.
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