When Should You See A Physiotherapist
The pain and discomfort, and the battle to get up and move around after an injury, illness or disease, can be pure torture. It can impact on your life, as well as on the lives of those around you. That’s where physiotherapists come in. But they are also there to help you when you are battling to balance, uncomfortable at your work desk, or feeling stiff as a result of aging.
Their aim is to turn things around, and to give you back a life that’s as near to normal as possible. To do so, they create treatment programs that will ease the pain, help you cope, and get back functionality wherever possible. Because not every situation, injury or type of pain is the same, the therapist will design each program in such a way that it meets individual needs.
Finding the Physio Package to Fit the Patient
Trauma, sports or accident-related injuries mainly call for restored function, preventing it happening again, and taking away the pain. Those in the grip of chronic illness or disease need pain management, too. But they also have to be shown how to cope with an affliction which, in the long term, slowly saps their ability to function and their mobility, while filling their lives with excruciating pain and discomfort. Particularly when they suffer from degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Fibromyalgia.
Physiotherapy is also beneficial for those who suffer from ailments ranging from aches and pains caused by bad posture or a sedentary lifestyle, to those suffering from inner ear problems that cause dizziness and balance problems. It can also help new mothers recover after pregnancy and giving birth has taken its toll on their bodies and left them with stretched or weak muscles.
Common Problems that Require Physio Treatment
Lower back and neck pain resulting from poor posture, and hours spent in front of the computer or TV are some of the most common issues clients bring with them to the physiotherapist. And then there are those who seek help to prepare for, or recovery from, surgical operations. This can be especially successful when the procedure involves knee or hip replacements.
Most of these problems (and others, like bladder and bowel weakness or leakage) involve weak, slack, stretched or tight muscles, and the impact these have on your ability to function. In some cases this manifests in pain or discomfort and in other instances it limits mobility or function. At the worst of times, it includes all of these effects.
However, physiotherapy does not stop with muscles. In addition to those with musculoskeletal problems, it is also used to treat issues related to the nervous system like strokes and Parkinson’s, as well as cardiovascular and respiratory problems.
What Treatments Does a Physiotherapist Use?
Contrary to popular belief, physiotherapy is not all about exercise, although exercise does play a major part in the program. A physiotherapist will often include manual therapy to manipulate joints, as well as resistance training, stretching, and electrotherapy, where necessary.
And, as preventing the situation arising again in the future is one of the therapist’s major goals, education, advice and training in coping mechanisms play an equally big role in the therapy program.
