What is Physiotherapy?
What is Physiotherapy? You have probably heard about it many times, but possibly never by this name. Physiotherapy is another name for Physical Therapy, which plays an important role in recovering from injuries and enhancing life.
Physiotherapists work with their patients to overcome the effects of injury, surgical procedures, or to help them improve their physical capabilities which have decreased through aging or other issues.
A physical therapist may use massage, joint manipulation, stretching, and varying forms of exercise to work on improving the health of their patients. Where some forms of massage and therapy are looked upon with skepticism by medical science and doctors, this is one form of treatment they embrace and highly recommend. You will find Physiotherapists working in almost every hospital, visiting nursing homes, and even having their own independent practices.
Many injuries and surgical procedures will cause a joint, or muscles, to become weak, and to severely decrease the range of motion. A physical therapist will design a set of stretches, exercises, and resistance training to start strengthening the area, and to increase the range of motion. Their procedures will be challenging, but with very little risk of re-injuring a body part. Many of the stretches they use push your joints and muscles well beyond their normal range, so you can expect discomfort. Many patients will actually tell you to expect pain during physical therapy. This is one of the important jobs of the therapist, to keep their patients motivated, even though they are experiencing pain in working through their injuries.
In many cases a physical therapist will begin working with the patient on a one to one basis in the hospital or office. They will train them how to do the stretches and exercises. Usually they will then give the patient a list of continuing exercises and stretches to work on by themselves, and will schedule less frequent visits. On each visit they test the patients strength and range of motion to determine the level of improvement and to make adjustments to the treatment plan. For some patients, especially the elderly, their treatments may always be administered by the physical therapist. Their physical abilities, strength, and balance will not allow them to do the treatments on their own without risking potential injury.
Another item used commonly by physical therapists is hydrotherapy. This can be in the form of whirlpools, or heated water tubs, to relax the muscles and increase circulation to the afflicted areas. This is commonly followed by massage, or additional stretching techniques to further increase the range of motion and flexibility.
What is physiotherapy’s role for normal healthy individuals? Take a look at any professional sports team. Almost everyone of these teams keeps a physical therapist on call, or full-time on their staff to work with their athletes. Even if the athlete is not recovering from any major injuries the therapist will work with them on improving their physical condition, and getting over the annoying little aches and pains which come from the daily grind. It is unlikely most of us will use a physiotherapist during our day to day lives, but when an injury occurs they play an important role in our recovery.
