Physiotherapy

This is a form of alternative therapy that has been around for hundreds of years and has been proven effective for a variety of physically restricting problems. It aims to help those with limited physical movement gain the ability to move freely and comfortably. As the form of therapy has developed over the years it now takes on many forms in the medical world and is also very often used along side modern medicine and in some countries the therapists can even diagnose patients with out them being referred to by their doctor.

The general therapy process in the UK goes as follows:

The patient will be referred to the physiotherapist by their personal doctor after they have assessed the persons symptoms and come to the conclusion that it will be the best therapy for them. Alternatively if the patient has a restriction on movement due to an accident where they have had to be hospitalised they will be assigned with their own personal physiotherapist as soon as possible (if required).

Physiotherapy When the patient has been referred to the therapist they will do their own personal assessment looking into their medical history, cause of symptoms and lifestyle. From this information they will be able to determine the correct type of treatment and kinds of exercises for them.

After this the therapy tends to consist of different exercises that focus on loosening the effected joints and giving freedom of movement once again. The type of exercises will vary depending on the cause, for example if some has been bed ridden for 6 months then recovers to find their legs can't support their weight meaning they can't physically walk then the therapist would have to use exercises that build muscle mass before moving onto the actual movement exercises. Where as if the problem was one such as repetitive strain injury then they would use a series of stretch exercises to relieve the tension from the tendons.

Then depending on what the problem is exactly the therapist should be able to give a time scale as to how long they think the therapy will have to continue for you to feel the full benefits. If you no longer require the therapy then the therapist will usually teach you some exercise techniques to stop the problem occurring again.

Sport Injury If you are given exercises by your physiotherapist ensure it has been explained fully to you before going away and trying them yourself as you can cause more damage to the joint or muscle if they are performed incorrectly.

This old form of therapy is used in many places today and helps relieve an array of problems whether they are sports related, a joint complaint or an injury that has caused restriction of movement and the treatment is continually being developed while continually showing positive results.