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Paying for ultrasounds in France


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Please can anyone give me an idea of the likely cost in France of ultrasound treatment for a shoulder problem.  I have been having physio in the UK, but will be in France for about a month and thought of trying ultrasound whilst there.

I would be happy to pay for this if not too expensive and wondered if anyone had an idea re the likely cost.  I do have an EHIC but do not expect it would cover this.

Many thanks.

WendyG

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When I was in rehab' my physio went on a training course.  We discussed ultrasound when she came back and she told me that recent research which the expert imparted as part of the course, has confirmed that ultrasound has no proven value as a physio' treatment.  It may have a placebo effect of course.  I don't know if that helps, Wendy, as you may want to go ahead with it anyway but it might save you some cash. 

I told my mother this (she was a physio') and she was most amused as she reckoned she had been telling people for years when she was still working, that it was completely useless.  She never got any positive outcomes from using it, even though it was a very common treatment from the 60s onwards.

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[quote user="cooperlola"] We discussed ultrasound when she came back and she told me that recent research which the expert imparted as part of the course, has confirmed that ultrasound has no proven value as a physio' treatment.[/quote]

For my physio sessions my GP suggested massage, corrective exercises, use of a tens machine and ultrasound. The massage was really great, the exercises were so so, the tens machine helped quite a bit but the ultra sound I thought was a waste of time. But I suppose it might depend on what exactly is wrong with your shoulder.

Anyway I digress ... the charge by my conventionné,
highly regarded physiotherapist was 15,30 euros per session of between 30 and 40 minutes. As I am resident the state paid 60% and my mutuelle paid the remainder.

Sue

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Thanks everyone for info - think in circumstances will not bother with the ultrasound!

Have had a massage today which seems to have made slightly improvement, will continue with the exercises and massage - presumably one can easily find a female masseur (should it be masseuse)  in France.

The physio charge sounds reasonable and I would be happy to pay for this, massage in UK is approx £25 a session.

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[quote user="WendyG"]The physio charge sounds reasonable and I would be happy to pay for this, massage in UK is approx £25 a session.[/quote]

The charge will most likely vary according to location. A friend who lives in Rennes pays around 25€ a time for her kinésithérapie sessions.

Sue

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I believe that location doesn't come into it: kinésithérapeutes are conventionnés; they have to charge according to the scale of fees determined by the of the Sécu. What varies is the nature of the "acte(s)" and so the charge will be anything between 20 and 30 euros. Naturally, if you can get a medical prescription for "séances de kinésithérapie" - which most medecins traitants seem very liberal with - then it is all fully reimbursed (the usual 65% by the Sécu, the remaining 35% by your top-up health insurance if you have one.

What does vary a lot though, is the area of expertise of individual kinés, and the approach they use. Some do favour older and more traditional methods which involve a fair amount of "hands-on" (massage and manipulation). Others will rely much more on TENS machines, ultrasound, hot and cold application, etc. I have personally found a huge variation of skills and techniques between the 4 different kinés I have been to over the past year, for a very, very painful frozen shoulder. The last two were supposed to be shoulder specialists. Of these, the first didn't do much good, as he seemed to follow the same protocol for any kind of shoulder problem. However, I struck gold with my current kiné,  who uses a much more individualised approach, with a lot of hands-on work - both massage and various manipulations of both shoulder and arm. He, too, had specialised shoulder training. He has (rarely) used ultrasound as a complementary part of the treatment, but I can't comment on the efficacy, since it was only a part of the session. I should add that the sessions were 3 times a week, until significant improvement. He also gave me some very specific exercises to do at home, which were graduated, depending on general progression.

I have found that some kinés hardly do any massage at all.[:(] That is probably why it is better to have a personal recommendation whenever possible, rather than pick a name out of the yellow pages.

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For frozen shoulder I tried numerous physio sessions including ultrasound / accupuncture and pretty much everything else the physio offered. The condition did not improve and I was waiting for surgery. My G.P. suggested cortisone injections, the first one didn't change much but the second one worked a treat so I cancelled the surgery.[:)]

edit: this was in the U.K.

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That is excellent advice 5-e, especially about the choice of Kiné.

I have nearly always been very disappointed, with sessions where we are several people doing very standard exercises as if in a gym, and a kiné who passes from time to time to see that we haven't actually had a heart attack without ever touching us..

I have found an excellent osteopath on the other hand who solved a problem I had. He has  'débloqué' one of my ribs, which was giving me referred pain to the shoulder. He takes a careful medical history, spends an hour or so one-to one, and is very careful before he moves onto 'manipulation'

Unfortunately he charges 60€ a session which is not reimbursed, although my mutuelle pays half. On the other hand I only needed one session.

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