The Need & Benefits of Physiotherapy

By: Jack Louis

Physical therapy, also known as Physiotherapy, is the process by which trained professionals help people who are suffering from some kind of injury, illness or disability at the physical surface level. This treatment is done using a variety of tested techniques designed to heal different kinds of health requirements. These techniques include electrotherapy, exercise, shockwave modality etc. Physiotherapy can be very beneficial and helps patients recover fast and prevent reoccurrence.

The Benefits Of The Process Can Be Listed As Follows:

1. Reduce or eliminate pain: Therapy exercises and techniques such as joint or tissue mobilization, ultrasound etc. can help relieve the patient from pain and restore muscle function. This therapy will also help in preventing the further occurrence of pain.

2. Avoid surgery: If physiotherapy helps in reducing or eliminating pain surgery might not even be required and even if it is therapy helps in pre-surgery preparation and post-surgery care. Therapy will make the person stronger before going into surgery and therefore recovery time is reduced significantly.

3. Improve mobility: If a person is having trouble walking, standing or moving at any age physiotherapy is a great way to help. Professionals will help in doing exercises to bring back muscle and joint smoothness and strength and assist in getting the patient crutches, a cane or any other assistance they might require.

4. Manage heart and lung disease: Daily functioning and exercising after a heart attack or surgery will make the heart and lungs stronger. When dealing with lung diseases people require a series of strengthening, conditioning and breathing exercises and in some situations, liquid may need to be pumped from the lungs. Listen to your Doctor and other Professionals guiding you on your recovery journey and do the exercises suggested.

5. Manage age related issues: As humans’ age they might have to undergo the procedure of joint replacement or may develop arthritis or osteoporosis. Often, Physiotherapy is the best way to help recovery, relieve pain and get people back to their daily routines.

People Trained in Physiotherapy use their skill set to treat a number of conditions which can be associated to almost every different part of the body. This includes:

• Neurological: Neurological physical therapy is useful for patients suffering from a neurological disease which includes stroke, chronic back pain, Alzheimer’s disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), ALS, brain injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, facial palsy and spinal cord injury. People with such diseases generally face impediments like impairments of vision, loss of balance, difficulty in doing activities of daily living, movement and loss of muscle strength or functional independence. The techniques of neurological physiotherapy are wide and require special and elaborate training.

• Cardiovascular: This is specialized therapy is used for those with chronic heart disease or someone who is rehabilitating after a heart attack or surgery. Primary goals of this therapy include giving the patients increased functional independence and improving endurance.

• Neuromusculoskeletal: These kinds of injuries include back pain, sports injuries, arthritis, as well as sprains or strains from acute trauma. The treatment for these diseases includes joint and spine manipulation, dry needling (similar to acupuncture), therapeutic exercise, neuromuscular techniques, muscle reeducation, hot/cold packs, and electrical muscle stimulation. For sports injuries, on the other hand, different pain releasing, and fast healing techniques are used but these techniques are used depending on the person and their level of athleticism.

• Respiratory or Pulmonary: Patients having asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, lung diseases or other pulmonary surgeries require Pulmonary Physiotherapy. There are various scientific ways to stimulate the nasal tract which are used for such therapy along with breathing exercises and other techniques.

A customized Physical Therapy program may help people go back to their normal functioning as fast as possible and improve overall health and well-being. Physiotherapy is generally carried alongside or in conjunction with other medical procedures. It can be used by people of all ages and helps people manage pain due to injury or prevent or heal aftermath of a disease. It is a degree based medical profession and requires immense knowledge so that the treatment produces results.