ONP Hospitals

Physiotherapy

For patients who have suffered an accident, sickness, or handicap, physiotherapy may help regain mobility and normality. A physiotherapy session consists of manual treatment, patient education, and advice from a practitioner. Patients of all ages may benefit from physiotherapy, which can help alleviate pain and prevent future injuries or illnesses. A patient’s physical health and well-being may be improved and maximised while the underlying difficulties are addressed via physiotherapy.

Everything You Need To Know About Physiotherapy

What is it?

A variety of illnesses, ailments, and impairments may be evaluated, diagnosed, and treated using physical techniques in physiotherapy, which is also known as physical therapy. Physiotherapy or physical therapy is considered mainstream medicine when practised by physiotherapists or physical therapists. Diagnoses are made in a variety of ways, with physical exams and tests being the most common. Massage, heat or electrical treatments, and support with mobility aids like walkers and crutches may all be part of a treatment plan.

When is it needed?

The following are just a few of the numerous conditions that may be helped by physiotherapy:

  • When you are harmed playing a sport or lift something wrong and feel immediate agony
  • Daily inconveniences such as discomfort while working or driving are minor examples
  • Sporting performance and injury prevention are the goals of this programme
  • Mobility and making it easier for you to go about
  • Hospital stay, bed rest, or surgical recovery and rehabilitation
  • Arthritis and osteoporosis are examples of chronic (long-term) musculoskeletal diseases
  • The inability to move one’s joints or muscles in any way

Procedure

Techniques used by physiotherapists may vary depending on the type of the injury and the specific condition being addressed. These are the most common:

  • Manual manipulation: Excess fluid is flushed from the body, and too tight muscles are relieved by moving the soft tissues and joints.
  • Electrical stimulation of the nerves: Electric currents may be delivered to the afflicted area at a controlled intensity to keep the pain signals from reaching the brain.
  • Acupuncture: In addition to relieving pain and relaxing tense muscles, this technique stimulates the central nervous system (CNS).
  • Demonstration: To assist the patient in recovering independently, the therapist should demonstrate and teach optimal movement patterns to the patient.
  • Functional testing: To provide a more accurate picture of a patient’s health, it is necessary to track their physical motions.
How quickly does physiotherapy work?

Tracking your development and ensuring you’re making improvements in range of motion, function, and strength is a competent physical therapist’s job. A normal physiotherapy programme will last between six and eight weeks, which means that the healing process for soft tissues is often lengthy.

Benefits of Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy has several advantages, including the following:

  • Reduce or eliminate pain: Therapeutic exercises and manual therapy methods like joint and soft tissue mobilisation or treatments like ultrasound, taping, or electrical stimulation may help alleviate discomfort and restore muscle and joint function. Such therapy may also help prevent pain from recurrence.
  • Avoid surgery: Surgery may not be necessary if physical therapy relieves your pain or speeds up your recovery from an accident. Even if surgery is necessary, physical rehabilitation before surgery may be beneficial. In many circumstances, you’ll recover more quickly from surgery if you go in stronger and fit. Avoiding surgery also saves money on medical expenses.
  • Enhance mobility: Physical therapy may assist anybody, regardless of their age, who is experiencing difficulty standing, walking, or moving. Your ability to move may be restored by engaging in stretching and strengthening activities. Assistive devices like canes, crutches, and orthotics can all be prescribed by physical therapists. Individual care plans may be tailored to fit an individual’s needs, allowing them to practice and modify any essential activity.
  • Recover from a stroke: After a stroke, it’s usual to lose some function and mobility. Improved gait and balance may be achieved via physical therapy. Stroke patients who cannot get out of bed on their own might benefit from physical therapy to enhance their capacity to transfer and move in bed, allowing them to be more self-sufficient and less reliant on their caregivers.
  • Sports injury recovery and prevention: Several sports might put you at greater risk for certain sorts of injuries, and physical therapists know this (such as stress fractures for distance runners). They’ll be able to help you build a rehabilitation or preventative workout plan that will help you return to your sport safely.

Conclusion

Patients’ lifestyles and other aspects of their lives are considered more holistically in the treatment process in physiotherapy. As a result, it helps prevent impairment and injury, controls chronic and acute health disorders, manages and improves the patient’s physical performance, offers rehabilitation after the accident, and teaches patients how to avoid any subsequent recurrence.