Physiotherapy is a highly regarded clinical discipline, which is used extensively in many different types of health care settings, from acute hospitals to family health clinics, as well as in the community and people's own homes. The main benefit of physiotherapy is that it can be used both to prevent illness or disease, as well as help people recover from any type of surgery or operation they may have had.
What is physiotherapy?
A physiotherapist will have completed a highly specialised degree covering the movement and function of the human body and is likely to have a significant amount of clinical experience as well. This knowledge gives them a unique perspective on how best to help people regain movement and use of the body following an accident or operation, and also how to apply certain techniques and exercises to help the body maintain and build on its unique strengths afterwards.
Benefits of physiotherapy.
Helping people to reduce pain levels is a hugely important part of physiotherapy, especially following any type of clinical intervention. The human body often needs time to correct itself after trauma, and a physiotherapist can help guide the body both physically and emotionally back to its more normal state, which by its very nature helps to alleviate pain.
Avoiding surgery
A physiotherapist can often become involved in someone's care before surgery, offering hope that such a clinical intervention can be avoided. They will work with other healthcare professionals to manage the individual's condition and sometimes their involvement can help improve or heal the condition itself, and reduce or mitigate the need for surgery.
Rehabilitation after surgery
A physiotherapist will often be involved in a patient's care following any type of surgery. The very nature of an anaesthetic itself, irrespective of the surgery that is done under an anaesthetic, has a deadening effect on the body which needs time to recover afterwards. The physiotherapist will have a strong sense of how best to help the body regain its coordination and movement, either by itself or with the help of specific exercises and aids. They will also understand the timeframe involved and make sure the patient is challenged to move forward when they can, but without putting pressure on them to try and get better before they are ready to.
Pregnancy and childbirth
Physiotherapy plays a huge role in helping women to prepare for the birth of their child and often plays a part afterwards, especially if the child has any breathing difficulties, or was born prematurely. Physiotherapists are experts in the use of suctioning, a technique that is used to help keep the lungs clear of fluid allowing a baby or child to breathe more freely.
Sports
Physiotherapists have a big role to play in preventing and managing all types of different sporting injuries. While this can certainly apply to professional athletes and sportsmen and women, their work is also much in demand for anyone who plays any sport at any level. They often have a unique insight into the nature of many sporting injuries and can help prevent many injuries that can occur as a result of bad habits and training that would otherwise develop over time.