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physiotherapy Definition
Physiotherapy is a group of services provided by a health care professional. It helps preserve, develop, and restore physical function. It can help restore physical health that has been lost to injury, disease, or other causes. The goals are to relieve pain and promote fitness and health.
What is the information for this topic?
Who provides physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy services are provided by a physiotherapist. A physiotherapist is specially trained and educated at university. A physiotherapist may specialise in certain kinds of problems.
Physiotherapists work in hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, medical offices, nursing homes, and athletic facilities. They may travel to the home or workplace of a patient.
What kinds of patients and problems does physiotherapy treat? Physiotherapy deals problems in the muscles, joints, brain, nerves, heart, lungs, and the skin surface. The problems may be due to injuries, diseases, or conditions. Physiotherapy deals with all stages of recovery. It can be used for one brief visit to prevent a problem. It can also be used for years to treat a long-term problem.
People with muscle and joint problems often have a lot of pain. Their muscles have often become weak and tight. These people can have a decrease in their energy level. Often their posture and joints are not aligned correctly. All of this contributes to a loss in performing daily work, recreation, and home activities.
People with brain and nerve problems struggle with feeling and controlling the body. These are the primary roles of the brain and nerves. These people may also have muscle and joint problems. That's because the brain and nerves control the muscles and joints. These people may also have trouble controlling muscles that over-contract or resist contracting.
People with head injuries or problems may have difficulty with speaking, understanding, remembering, learning, and other thinking skills. They may have trouble knowing where their body parts are, knowing when they are moving, controlling movement, or keeping muscles and joints from freezing into one position. They may have severe weakness or paralysis.
People with heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have problems with endurance and general strength. They often have trouble getting enough air to breathe. That's because the heart and lungs, which get oxygen to the body, are not working properly.
Skin surface problems may be due to wounds or burns. These people often have a lot of pain because the skin has many nerve endings. They may also have trouble with their muscles and joints.
What are the goals of physiotherapy? The main goal of physiotherapy is to restore physical function. This can involve treating pain, range of motion, strength, posture, balance, endurance, control, and sensation. Specific goals must be set for each person. These goals depend on the kind of problem. Some typical goals might be to improve range of motion of a joint, to increase strength in a muscle, or to increase walking distance.
What are the treatments given in physiotherapy? Pain problems may be treated by machines or methods that help heal the injured tissue. Providing protection, improving circulation, or restoring function often decreases the pain.
Stretching exercises to increase flexibility may treat range of motion problems. Strengthening exercises may help with range of motion. This may be useful with joints that are overly strained or torn. Strength and endurance problems are treated with various forms of resistance training. The amount of weight and the length of exercise time used are gradually increased.
Balance and control problems may be treated by special exercises and training.
Sensation problems are treated by stimulating nerves. This promotes increased feeling or control. Sometimes, a person has too much feeling in the skin nerves, which causes discomfort. Special treatments can help decrease the nerve sensation.
Does insurance cover physiotherapy? Health insurance companies will cover physiotherapy. It can be given in a hospital, a rehabilitation facility, an office, or at home. There are limits on what physiotherapy will be covered. There are often limitations on how much physiotherapy will be covered.
Author: Scott Salee, PT
Reviewer: eknowhow Medical Review Panel
Editor: Dr John Hearne
Last Updated: 16/10/2004
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Potential conflict of interest information for reviewers available on request |
