Physiotherapy

 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