What is physiotherapy?

 

Physiotherapy is a science based medical profession which helps to restore normal movement and function when someone has been affected by injury, illness or disability.

 

Physiotherapists work to empower individuals to take an active role in their recovery through participation in their treatment with awareness, education and advice. They also may prescribe movement and exercise rehabilitation and offer manual therapy.

 

They take a holistic or ‘whole person’ centred approach to health and well-being, helping to optimise and maintain health for people of all ages and also encouraging patients to manage pain and also prevent disease.

 

You can benefit from physiotherapy at any time in your life. Physiotherapy helps with acute problems such as sudden injury or back pain as well as long term chronic conditions such as repetitive strain injury, asthma or chronic fatigue, and also in preparing for childbirth or a sporting event.

 

Your physiotherapist can help you with specific problems and can also suggest ways you can improve your general well-being – for example, by taking regular exercise or helping to establish a home based exercise regime.

 

For example, back pain can be caused by a number of different things, including:

 

- poor posture

- bending or twisting awkwardly

- weak or tight muscles

- joint stiffness

- overstretching

- inherited spinal deformity

- standing for long periods

- lifting or carrying objects incorrectly

- repetitive strain

 

A physiotherapist will look at your individual situation as well as treating the main problem. They are skilled in offering practical advice to help manage pain and discomfort on a daily basis as well as offering specialised treatment regimes including exercise and manual therapy. For example, if you have lower back pain, understanding how to sit and stand correctly and maintain good posture as well as doing core stability exercises to strengthen stomach and lower back muscles can help reduce and eliminate back pain.