Each week, a physiotherapist will see between 101-200 patients. If you’ve been considering physiotherapy services, one of the first things you might’ve asked yourself is, what is physiotherapy treatment?
Do I need it?
Before you finish skimming through this post, you’re going to have the information you need. Stop living your life in pain and begin working on managing that pain.
So what is physiotherapy, and how can it help you?
What is Physiotherapy Treatment?
In simple terms, physiotherapy treatment is used to help stimulate recovery from a sustained injury or disability. This allows people to regain some of the independence they’ve lost due to these injuries and illnesses.
As you undergo physiotherapy treatment, it’s essential to lead a life that is also healthy. These two things in combination with one another will help someone to heal than if they weren’t doing one or the other.
Not only do people seek out physiotherapy treatment to help improve their ailments, but they also do so because this form of therapy allows the client to play a vital role in their recovery journey.
Types of Physiotherapy
There is more than one type of physiotherapy, and it’s important to know what they are to choose the one that works the best for your pain management needs. The first type is neurological physiotherapy.
If you’re being affected by an illness that affects your nervous system, this is the type of treatment you’ll receive. It focuses on the problems causing issues with your system.
An example is helping someone who has had a stroke begin to do things like talk or feed themselves again.
It’s not about returning to the way you were before your stroke took place. It’s about finding a new normal and helping you engage in these new ways of living your life.
5.5 million people are affected by Alzheimer’s worldwide. Geriatric physiotherapy is used to treat diseases like this and others typically only common in older adults.
This is how it got its name. Geriatric physiotherapy will take place in a person’s home or rehabilitation setting. This is because people’s mobility at this stage in life is limited.
When older people continue to do these kinds of treatments, it can help them maintain the mobility they have left. And sometimes restore mobility they’ve lost.
Orthopedic physiotherapy focuses on the treatment of the bones and muscles within the body.
Orthopedia physiotherapy is commonly used by people that are in roles where they have to use their bodies to perform different sports regularly. This form of physiotherapy can also be used when someone has arthritis issues.
Shockwave therapy is another therapy that can be used to increase blood flow in the affected area. By doing this, the number of nutrients and stimulation the area receives increases promoting further healing.
Physiotherapy Technique Types
Just like there are various types of physiotherapy, there are several techniques used for treatment. The most common form of treatment is physiotherapy taping.
This is when the therapist uses a series of taping techniques to provide the client with pain relief.
Most people have heard of the tape that is used as kinesiology tape. It provides support when people are injured; it can also promote blood flow throughout the injured area.
Acupuncture is more than just a way to increase the relaxation a person feels throughout their body. It can relieve pain in the area where the needles are being applied.
What happens is the therapist will take the needles and insert them into the various pressure points in the body.
By doing this, your body will then naturally release endorphins that act as painkillers. The constant use of this form of treatment will help your body change its response when you’re in pain.
Manual manipulation is another form of physiotherapy. It’s when the therapist uses the techniques to help increase strength and muscle movement.
You might find that you’re asked to perform a series of balance and core strengthening exercises.
If you have issues with your balance, the chances that you’re core is strong is low. Your core is the center of your body; therefore, the stronger it is, the better your balance will be.
What to Expect from a Physiotherapy Treatment Session
If you’re scheduling a physiotherapy treatment, you might want to know what you’re getting yourself into. The first thing that will happen during the session is you’ll sit down with the physiotherapist before any treatment happens.
You’ll provide information about your medical history.
This will help the physiotherapist create a treatment plan that will help to improve your current condition. Once your medical history has been collected, the physiotherapist will perform an assessment of your condition.
This will help them to diagnosis your problem.
After this, it’s time to begin discussing the treatment plan that will be used to help improve your condition. This is done by setting goals that you hope to achieve.
The patient that’s suffered from a stroke might have goals of walking or feeding themselves with minimal assistance. By setting these goals, you can remind yourself throughout treatment of what you’re working towards.
Lastly, the physiotherapist will give you a list of exercises you need to do regularly to see improvement. They’ll work with you to show you each exercise and how to do them correctly.
Although you’re going to perform these exercises in your physiotherapy sessions, it’s important to continue performing them outside of treatment. This will help you to get stronger.
What Do Treatments Include?
Your treatment should always be a personalized plan for you. Although you might have the same injury as another person, this doesn’t mean you’ll respond to treatment in the same way.
Your personalized plan will focus on your needs and what you need to maintain and improve your range of motion.
Treatment also encompasses a balance between exercises and controlling the pain. After you’ve done treatment, it’s likely the area will swell. This is because you’re using it to combat the swelling; your physiotherapist will suggest icing the area.
By icing the area, you can halt the swelling and calm the inflammation. If you’ve got extensive pain, your physiotherapist will use joint manipulation to improve the stiffness you might be suffering from.
Is Physiotherapy Holistic or Scientific?
Typically when you think of treatments, it’s assumed that they can be either holistic or scientific, but not both. When it comes to physiotherapy, it’s a combination of both.
By making conscious lifestyle changes, a person can increase their chances of healing from an injury or disability. While also regularly undergoing physiotherapy treatment. These things work together to improve a person’s way of life.
Improvement when it comes to injuries can be halted if someone has issues mentally, and that’s where the holistic idea comes into play. You’ve got to treat someone as a whole person and not just the affected area.
What to Look for in a Physiotherapist
Equipped with this information, it’s time to consider important factors as you look for a physiotherapist. The first thing you should always check is a person’s professional title.
If they don’t have a title, you should seek treatment from somewhere else. However, if you’re questioning the title of someone, you can check to ensure they’re listed on the physiotherapist board.
Next, you’ll want to check their qualifications and certificates to ensure they’ve undergone the proper education to provide treatment.
Most physiotherapists will not only have an undergraduate degree, but they’ll also have taken the time for extra training and earned a master’s degree. It’s crucial your physiotherapist continues to educate themselves with continuing education.
With changes being made in the healthcare field, new techniques that are important to know are constantly emerging. Your physiotherapist should take the time to learn these techniques and keep themselves up to date to provide the best treatment possible for their clients.
Lastly, if you’re unsure of the work provided by a physiotherapist, you can always check their client testimonials. Reviews are the best way to gain insight into the things a therapist does and doesn’t do well.
If you know someone that’s seen a physiotherapist in the past, you can ask them about their experience and if they’d recommend you work with this therapist.
Physiotherapy Treatment 101
What is physiotherapy treatment? Not only have we answered this question, but we’ve gone in-depth about the different types of treatment and the techniques used in this line of treatment. If you require shockwave treatment, you might look for products you can use in your home or business. If this sounds like you, contact Oceanus and let us help you find the products you need.