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Physical Therapy recap

© Ozana Pope-Gajic

A definition

Physical Therapy is a healthcare profession that helps people with many types of medical afflictions. Physical therapy helps the patient restore the use of muscles, bones, and the nervous system.
Let's see what are the basics of the physical therapy profession. Many decades ago, modalities, like ice, heat, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation, were the basic forms of physical therapy.
Nowadays, we are using such methods for pain relief and those can be utilized early in the course of many complex treatments.
This profession has grown over the years and has become a major part of many branches of rehabilitation. Therefore, we can say that there are many kinds of physical therapy. Physical therapy in sports medicine, neurology, geriatrics, orthopaedics, paediatrics, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, aquatic therapy, electrotherapy, wound care, acute care, occupational health, women's health, home health, education, administration and research. Generally, all problems connected with muscles, joints, brain, nerves, heart, lungs, or the skin surface are in domain of physical therapy. The problems may be due to injuries, diseases, or conditions. Physical therapy deals with all stages of recovery. It seeks to relieve pain, improve strength and mobility, and train the patient to perform important everyday tasks. In that process different methods can be used for making a patient better.

Physical therapy methods

Some of Physical therapy methods are:

Therapeutic exercise - the most widely used and best-known type of physical therapy. Includes range of motion, stretching, strengthening, facilitating muscles, postural modification, improving balance and coordination abilities.

Hydrotherapy/aquatic therapy - therapeutic exercise performed in a pool or bathtub. Can ease muscle spasm pain and help strengthen movements. Aquatic therapy is mostly considered as a therapeutic procedure, and hydrotherapy is mostly considered a modality.

Pain management - uses modalities, methods for decreasing the pain and healing the injured tissue - includes properties of heat, cold, air, light, water, electricity, sound, and mechanical energy. Some of them are: Electrical stimulation, Hot packs, Cold packs, Infrared lamps, Ultraviolet lights, Ultrasound, TENS, Whirlpools, Pelvic traction, Cervical traction

"Hands on techniques" - Therapeutic Massage and Manual Therapy (Joint mobilizations skills, Soft tissue mobilization)

Specific skills - Proprioceptiv neuromuscular facilitation (PNF),

Education - includes instructions in walking, with or without equipment (gait training), providing home exercise program, advice for enhancing quality of life, prevention of disabilities and promotion of health

Patient and physical therapist - connection

That is, in generally, what physical therapy is all about, however physical therapy is much more.

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