what is physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy is a treatment that promotes healing and well-being by use of physical means such as massage, manipulation, specific remedial exercise training and electro-therapy.
It can help repair damage done by injury or illness to joints, muscles, ligaments and other body structures that affects your ability to move.
Physiotherapy helps speed up the healing process, reduce pain and stiffness, and limit or reverse disabilities that may arise from injury or illnesses.
Physiotherapists usually take a holistic approach to health.
This means means they tend to look at your body as a whole and the implications of its health and function to your unique lifestyle and needs, rather than focusing narrowly on specific factors of an injury or illness that may not be as important to you.
Patient education is an important part of physiotherapy. As well as aiming to improve your strength and mobility, a physiotherapist can also advice you about how to manage your condition more effectively, for example by exercising regularly.
Who can Physiotherapy help?
Physiotherapists use their knowledge and skills to help people of age groups to overcome a wide range of physical health problems that cause damage to muscles, bones and joint, sports injuries (musculoskeletal problems), neurological conditions (those affecting the brain and nervous system), cardio-respiratory conditions, postural defects and physical deteriorations that occur with old age such as arthritis and osteoporosis etc.
Physiotherapists also provide pre and post surgical rehabilitation to manage pain, improve mobility and overall function.
Does physiotherapy work?
Yes, there is wealth of ever increasing clinical research evidence supporting physiotherapy as clinically effective and cost effective method of treatment especially for musculoskeletal disorders.
Early and timely intervention with physiotherapy has been proven to prevent acute problems from becoming chronic and to prevent and limit development of physical disabilities as a result of these problems.
Self referral to physiotherapy has been proven to be clinically successful with high patient satisfaction as well as cost effectiveness. (CSP)