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Meet Tammy, a physiotherapist with OrthoCanada for the past 10 years.

Over the past decade she has helped hundreds of clinicians choose good quality equipment that would best meet their needs. Tammy has also tested many different brands of treatment tables that come from different parts of the world.

Whether you are opening a new clinic or simply replacing an existing physiotherapy table, it’s the one piece of equipment you will use with every patient that walks through your clinic door. It’s best to invest in one that is reliable, well made and will last many years.  

Here is what Tammy has to say about selecting a physiotherapy treatment table: 

"On the one hand, you want a bed that patients feel 100% safe and comfortable on. And on the other hand, you need a bed that can adapt to suit your treatment needs so you can work in an ergonomic manner that protects your body over the long term." 

Today we are going to share Tammy’s reviews of CSC's seven best selling physiotherapy table and equipment, including which type of practice these tables are most suited to and some pros, cons, and benefits that may help you make a better decision. 

In general, Tammy recommends that when buying the best physiotherapy table for your clinic, you should always consider these important features: 

1. A one hand adjustable head rest: Manual therapists find this feature ‘handy’ as they can cradle the patient’s head with one hand while easily adjusting the head section with the other.
2. A backrest with a hydraulic cylinder that adjusts smoothly, quietly and almost effortlessly to sit patients up during treatment.  
3. A peripheral footswitch or height adjustment bar system. This is a useful and convenient feature, especially when the treatment table height is changed often during a treatment. Tammy has sold various brands of tables, all with different types of bar system. In her opinion, the motionless one by Seers Medical is by far the best design she has seen and has been trouble free for several years.  No need to push the bar up or down or toss it from side to side to engage the motor.
4. The amount of lateral shift:  This is a consideration in clinics with smaller treatment rooms.  Some tables have a lateral shift of approximately 12” from the lowest to the highest height.  The Seers medical tables have a lateral shift of approximately 4”.
5. Height range:  Having a table that can go quite low was something that was important to Tammy.  As a physiotherapist, Tammy performed thoracic PIVM’s with patients sitting on the treatment table and needed a table that went low enough that she could have one foot on the floor and her other knee on the table.  The Seers Medical table is perfect for this as it has a low height range of 18”. This feature is also nice for wheelchair transfers.
6. A table that sits on its frame/retractable wheel design:  This is a sturdier design, which manual therapists appreciate. This physiotherapy table design is also easy to move, if necessary.
7. The Martindale rating:  This is a rating that not many clinicians know about and it’s very important. The Martindale rating is an upholstery abrasion (the number of rubs) test for durability. The higher the Martindale rating, the longer lasting the upholstery fabric will be.  Most vinyl upholstery are rated at 50,000 rubs. Seers Medical tables have a rating of 100,000 rubs. If well taken care of with the right cleaner, this brand of physiotherapy treatment table will last many years.