Physiotherapy is a type of treatment that helps restore, maintain and improve strength, function, movement and overall health. Physiotherapists use exercise and technology to help people regain muscle strength, joint mobility, and a sense of where their joints are after an injury or recovery from disease or a stroke.
What Do Physiotherapists Do?
Physiotherapists have a thorough understanding of the human body as well as clinical abilities to examine, diagnose, and treat injury and dysfunction.
A physiotherapist, who is trained to identify the root cause of injuries and other problems, will first assess your overall health and wellness before determining the types of movements and exercises you can and should do to help heal. A physiotherapist may use exercise, manual therapy, and hydrotherapy to treat and manage your condition.
Here are some of the most common ways physiotherapists treat patients:
Movement and Exercise
After analyzing a person’s health, mobility, and capacity to conduct physical activity, a physiotherapist may suggest home exercises to promote joint mobility, strengthen muscles, and improve balance and coordination. This helps with injury prevention, healing and chronic disease management.
Manual Therapy
If we get hurt, it can make it hard to move our joints. So, physiotherapists do manual therapy, which is defined as “skilled hand movements meant to improve tissue extensibility, increase range of motion of the joint complex, mobilize or manipulate soft tissues and joints, cause relaxation, change muscle function, control pain, and reduce soft tissue swelling, inflammation, or movement restriction.”
As part of the treatment, joints may be moved in certain ways and at different speeds to help them move again, or the affected joint may be moved passively (these movements are done by someone else and not by us, but we can stop them at any time by tightening our muscles).
Manual therapy is a type of physical therapy that is done with skilled hands instead of a machine. It is well valued and works well to treat injuries and pain.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy includes exercising in a 33-36ºC small pool to cure rheumatological, orthopedic, and neurological problems. Hydrotherapy has various unique advantages. Warm water relaxes muscles and eases joint discomfort. Underwater, our weight is supported, reducing stress on our joints and muscles. Water resistance can strengthen muscles.
Hydrotherapy allows people to conduct activities without overstressing their joints. This might help arthritic patients.
Dry Needling
Some physiotherapists employ dry needling, which involves inserting a thin needle into skin and muscle. This treats pain and restores muscular activity by targeting myofascial trigger points. Dry needling relieves pain and restores muscle activation and strength in people suffering from low back pain or stroke.
Dry needling’s success depends on the therapist’s ability to find myofascial trigger points. Before dry needling, anyone on medication, with diabetes, or who is pregnant should visit a doctor.
Traction
Traction stretches and “distracts” the spine to alleviate pressure and modify the disc-nerve contact of painful vertebral discs. It treats herniated discs, sciatica, degenerative disc disease, pinched nerves and other back disorders.
Who Needs Physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy is good for people of all ages and at any point in their lives. Physiotherapy is often used to help people with injuries, but you don’t have to be hurt to benefit from it. Physiotherapy can help people with long-term health problems like asthma prepare for a sporting event or childbirth.
How Often Should I Get Physiotherapy?
Your objectives and activity tolerance determine treatment frequency and dose. Understanding your needs and objectives is vital – particularly in the early phases of recovery. As it varies by person, a physiotherapist should examine you before recommending a regimen.
If you’re getting better, you can cut back on your physiotherapy visits.Your physiotherapist will examine this and advise you. If you need more time and specialized help, you can ask for more sessions to help you become independent and reach your goals.
If you need physiotherapy services in Brookwood, call us at (778) 278-4755 or visit Fraser Life online to learn more about how we can help you.