Many people are now just beginning to understand about physiotherapy. If you or a loved one has been injured, or have suffered an illness or undergone an operation, chances are that you have come into contact with a physiotherapist. Many people wonder "What does a physiotherapist do?" There is no set answer as physiotherapy encompasses many different aspects of medicine.
A physiotherapist is a medical individual who uses a variety of treatments, including manipulation, massage, exercise therapy and even counseling to help individuals who have been immobilized due to various reasons, to regain their mobility and aid their recovery process. A physiotherapist cannot prescribe medicine, instead, he or she relies on using a variety of techniques that have proven to be just as effective or, in many cases, more effective than medication.
Medication often only masks pain. In prior years, those who experienced chronic pain were often prescribed pain medications that were not only physically dangerous when abused, but also very addictive. In most cases, individuals would have to take additional doses of the pain medication to achieve the same relief. Abuse of prescription pain medication is almost an epidemic in this country and accounts for many people who have had to enter rehabilitation centers to rid themselves of this addiction.
Other methods doctors prescribed to alleviate pain often involved surgery. Sometimes this surgery had substantial risks, particularly back surgeries. Back pain is the most common reason why people visit the doctor each year. Yet there is little a medical doctor can do but prescribe pain medication and recommend surgery. What does a physiotherapist do to alleviate back pain? He or she finds the root of the pain, most often in the spinal column, and through massage and manipulation can alleviate the pain and in many cases, cure the condition, without the use of surgery or drugs.
In the past, people who were recovering from an operation spent quite some time in the hospital, after which, they were sent home under strict bed rest. This can be dangerous, particularly for an older person who runs the risk of developing blood clots in their legs that can travel to their heart or brain. It became advisable to recommend that these patients begin to mobilize at a slow pace. This is where the physiotherapists came in. Now, instead of releasing elderly patients home after operations, many are released to rehab centers where qualified physiotherapists can ease them into mobilization and allow them to make a full recovery.
From treating people with chronic health conditions and diseases, alleviating pain, migraines, stress and helping people with arthritis regain movement in their hands and joints – these are all examples of "what does a physiotherapist do?" Physiotherapists are an integral part of the medical community and are essential when aiding with recovery from various illnesses, operations or accidents.
It is no longer important to ask "what does a physiotherapist do?" It is more important to know that he or she is there for you when you need them.
