What Are the 4 Main Approaches Used in Physiotherapy?
We’ve all come across the term ‘physiotherapy‘ at some point in our lives. Physiotherapists assist individuals affected by injuries, disabilities, or illness, through different forms of therapy.
They aim to help patients maintain physical health, manage pain, and prevent further injury or disease. How do they do this? What are the approaches used in physiotherapy treatment?
Please continue reading to learn more.
What Are the 4 Main Approaches Used in Physiotherapy?
1). Education and Advice
People benefit from physiotherapy in different ways, namely pain relief, injury recovery, fitness, and others. Physiotherapy also helps patients perform their daily activities better after undergoing operations or recovering from an injury, disability or illness. However, where does all this start? Advice and education.
People looking for physiotherapy services generally want to understand what’s going on and how physiotherapy will help. This information greatly improves their understanding of their condition and how they can alleviate pain by changing their lifestyle and associated treatment techniques to enhance their recovery. They also familiarise themselves with how they can prevent re-injury in the future.
Clients with chronic or long-term conditions also benefit from advice and education about how to live with the conditions. Such as pain neuroscience and nervous system education with a physiotherapist to enable them to overcome their symptoms, deal with flare-ups, and avoid aggravating factors.
Why is education important? When patients understand their condition, it leaves them confident and positive about their journey to recovery. We need to deeply understand WHY the patient is here to see us and how it is impacting their lives. Patients also learn how to reduce risk factors and become experts on their own health issues.
Note: A good physiotherapist must communicate in a manner that the patient understands. They should effectively recognise and manage communication barriers for the best results.
2). Manual Therapy
Manual therapy is a hands-on approach where a physiotherapist uses a combination of muscle manipulation (soft tissue massage) and joint mobilisation to treat musculoskeletal pain. It utilises varying techniques and helps patients to achieve their individual health goals.
As the word suggests, in manual therapy, practitioners use their hands instead of machines or devices. They manipulate joints and pressure-specific muscle tissue to reduce joint dysfunction, muscle spasm, and muscle tension. In this manner, manual therapy can help increase body flow by helping deliver nutrient-rich blood to areas of injury, speeding the healing process.
It also promotes the relaxation of muscles affected by injuries. People with mobility issues will benefit a lot from this since it improves motion by activating soft tissue and joint movement.
3). Movement and Exercises
Therapeutic movement and exercises help to strengthen the areas that have been affected, leading to better mobility. Physiotherapists also recommend movement and exercises at home to improve their function and mobility.
The exercises should be repeated regularly to increase movement and cause strength in specific body points as well as general conditioning. It may also involve activities that affect the whole body, such as swimming and walking. Such activities increase the recovery of people with injuries or who are recovering from an operation.
Physiotherapy exercises and movement can also comprise exercises conducted in shallow water (aquatic or hydrotherapy). The water helps to relax and improve the strength of muscles and joints. Moreover, water exercise provides patients with resistance and endurance which helps them build strength gradually.
The physiotherapist can also go the extra mile to incorporate day-to-day exercises that can help patients maintain or improve their physical activity. They do this by emphasising the importance of remaining active and how to do so safely and effectively.
Note that a physiotherapist can provide their client with mobility aids to improve their mobility. Mobility aids, such as walking sticks and crutches, help them move around independently.
4). Lifestyle modifications
Physiotherapists often give advice on lifestyle modification, which can include weight loss, mental health management, general conditioning regimes & addressing stressors in a patient’s life that might be driving pain and dysfunction.
Contact Upwell Heath Collective for These and More
At Upwell Health Collective in Camberwell, we understand that you may have had a poor healthcare experience in the past, with other services in the community. The good news is that Upwell Health Collective uses evidence-based, innovative, inspiring, safe and effective treatment approaches that ensure the best outcomes for all of our patients.
Please get in touch with us at Upwell Health on (03) 8849 9096 or book an appointment today.