Physiotherapy is a type of therapy that can
help ill, injured or disabled people recover movement andfunction to their full potential.
Physiotherapy takes a holistic approach, involving
the patient in their own care.
Physiotherapists
Physiotherapists are trained healthcare professionals. They work in
specialist areas including:
- intensive care
- mental health
- neurology (including stroke)
- long-term conditions
- men's and women's health (including incontinence)
- recovery after major surgery
- orthopaedics and trauma
- sports
- workplace health
- paediatrics (children)
- care of the elderly
- education and health promotion
Physiotherapists help treat physical problems linked to a number of the body's systems including:
- musculoskeletal - bones, joints and soft
tissues
- neuromuscular - the brain and nervous system
- cardiovascular - heart and blood circulation
- respiratory - the organs that help you breathe,
such as the windpipe (trachea), larynx (voicebox) and lungs
What do physiotherapists do?
Examples of approaches used in physiotherapy include:
- movement and exercise - taking into account a person’s current level of health and their specific requirements
- manual therapy techniques - where the
physiotherapist aids recovery by using their hands to relieve muscle pain and stiffness and encourage blood flow to an injured part of the body
- aquatic therapy - a form of physiotherapy
carried out in water
- other techniques - such as heat, cold and
acupuncture to ease pain