Why Physical Therapy is Beneficial
Physical therapy benefits people of all ages who have medical conditions, diseases or disabilities that limit their ability to travel and work daily. Customized physical therapy can help patients to return to their previous level of functioning and promote behaviors and lifestyle changes that can help prevent future injury and improve overall health and well-being.
Reduce or eliminate pain
Therapeutic exercises and physical therapy methods such as joint and soft tissue activation or therapies such as ultrasound, taping or electrical stimulation can help to relieve discomfort and regain muscle and joint function to reduce pain. Such therapies can also prevent pain from returning.
Avoid surgery
When physical therapy helps to relieve pain or recovery from injury, surgery may not be required. And even if surgery is required, you can benefit from pre-surgery physical therapy. If you're going to have a stronger and better surgery, you'll recover faster after that in certain situations.
Improve mobility
If you’re having trouble standing, walking or moving—no matter your age—physical therapy can help. Stretching and strengthening exercises help restore your ability to move.
Manage diabetes and vascular conditions Exercise can help effectively control blood sugar as part of the overall diabetes management programIn addition, people with diabetes may have sensational problems in their feet and legs. Physical therapists can help to provide and educate these patients on proper foot care to prevent further problems along the road.
Rehabilitation is a crucial element on your way to recovering from an injury or surgery and getting you back to how you were before. There are a vast number of professionals claiming expertise in the domain of physical rehabilitation. However, the best trained and most qualified of those is a Physiotherapist. Deciding on a Physiotherapist can be challenging, if you’ve never done it before and don’t really know what to look for.
Do your research
Different outpatient clinics offer various kinds of specialization, such as sports medicine, back and/or neck strain and joint replacement. Their Physiotherapist may offer special skills and additional areas of certification, ranging from paediatric care to geriatric patient therapy. Call and visit as many clinics as you can, to get as much information as necessary for you to make an informed decision.
Choose a Physiotherapist that you get along with
Physical therapy is a partnership that involves constant dialogue between therapist and patient. It’s imperative to work with someone that you have a good rapport with, and someone you feel comfortable with. As a patient, you’re also responsible for your healing process, and your chances for a full recovery will be greater if you have a strong and trustful working relationship with your therapist, and be able to follow their advice. Open and honest communication is key.
Your Physiotherapist should have great manual skills
The best physiotherapists use their hands to mobilize, catalyze and improve functions that can not be achieved by stretching or strengthening alone. Such hands on skills help scar tissue to heal more efficiently and to relieve areas of inflammation and pain. Powerful, gentle hands are the best combination.
Insurance
If health insurance is an important consideration for you, make sure that your physical therapist's clinic is part of your insurance program and business.You're not supposed to pay more than you have to in order to receive treatment from a physical therapist.
HelloDox delivered a seminar about current trends and role of information technology in medical domain. Lecture content included increasing importance for Electronic medical records, online repositories for Medical Cases, platform for collaborative treatments, real time medicine detail update, Artificial intelligence for genetic disease prediction and making communication between doctor & patient convenient & secured. Established in 2000, Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Physiotherapy is considered as one of the premier institutes of Physiotherapy. It is recognized by the Indian Association of Physiotherapists (IAP) and the Maharashtra State Council of Occupational therapy and Physiotherapy (MSCOTPT). The College offers graduate, post graduate and PhD programs. Physiotherapy has evolved as an important component of modern health care. It focuses on restoring movement, helping people maintain and maximize their physical strength, function, and overall well-being by improving their activities of daily living. As part of Physiotherapy treatment & therapy, Physiotherapists are required to collaborate with Medical professionals from other specializations especially the orthopaedics. Platform for collaborative treatment generated lot of interest among the audience. The Use of electronic medical record (EMR) is still new in Indian context, but audience were content with the development in this area. HelloDox team demonstrated the features ePrescriptions, EMR & online Medical case repositories available on HelloDox Platform. Team also showed both real time & offline features for collaborative treatments. Audience were happy to see other features like HIPPA adhered secure chat channel with patients. Effective communication between doctors and patients means better care, it means that patients have better understanding and can take a more proactive approach on their own health and it can even make the difference between life and death. In question & answer Session Hellodox interacted with many Bachelors & Master Physiotherapists and talked about inbuilt reports & calculators in HelloDox Platform.
Worldwide, one in four people will experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives; one in six will have experienced a mental health condition in the past week alone. This year World Physiotherapy Day—Saturday 8 September—focused on the role physiotherapists play in supporting people with a range mental health conditions.
That physical activity is good for us is well known—it supports a healthy cardiovascular system, strengthens joints and bones and keeps weight in check. The relationship between physical activity and improved mental health outcomes in those suffering mental health conditions is less well known.
Depression and anxiety often co-exist with chronic health conditions such as osteoarthritis, stroke and diabetes. Left unchecked, people with severe mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder) can die up to 15 years earlier than those without severe mental illness, often as a result of co-existing cardiovascular illnesses related to sedentary behaviours1.
APA National President Phil Calvert said the evidence supporting regular exercise as a treatment option for mental illness is compelling. “For those Australians who struggle with mental illness, maintaining regular, prescribed physical activity can be the difference between merely functioning and enjoying a better quality of life.”
“Motivation to exercise is often lacking due to a combination of poor understanding of the benefits of exercise and the difficulties associated with the mental health condition itself. Physios are well placed to support these people as they can put together a tailored exercise plan based on the individual’s ability and interests, and keep them motivated by mixing it up as the individual progresses.”
Physical activity has a well-established antidepressant effect in people with mild to moderate depression. Health outcomes have been shown to be best when exercise is prescribed by a qualified health professional such as a physiotherapist, as they have a strong understanding of the physical, psychological and social factors affecting health and can adjust exercise programs to suit the individual’s needs.
The Brisbane-based paediatric specialist said that while she was passionate about the development of physiotherapy services and associations in emerging countries, she also understood the different needs of large Member Organisations (MOs). “I hope to be able to look at the needs of all MOs and work with the board to provide value on multiple fronts to our member organisations,” Melissa said.
In the lead up to World Physiotherapy Day, the APA encourages all Australians to view physical activity as a way of life, and value the positive difference it makes to our physical and mental health and wellbeing.
When mums and bubs come together for physical therapy, they also gain significant emotional and social benefits, according to musculoskeletal physiotherapist Marika Hart who enjoys cuddling babies while teaching postnatal classes. The physical benefits of physiotherapy post-pregnancy include strengthening the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, reducing lower back and pelvic pain, and improving the quality of movement in women postnatally.
The psychological and social benefits of postnatal physiotherapy classes are just as important, if not more crucial, for new mothers, said Ms Hart.
"We know that postpartum anxiety and depression affects around one in seven women, and exercise can be a wonderful adjunct to other forms of treatment for these conditions. It is also an excellent opportunity for women to meet other new mums in their area to share their experience and support one another."
Lauren Fink, a specialist women's health and exercise physiotherapist, agreed, saying many women feel isolated after having a baby."There is research to support that attending an expert-run postnatal exercise class, that allows women to bring their babies, largely reduces the chances of developing postnatal depression.
"This is due to the fact that women are in a welcoming, supportive environment where they are doing something for themselves that makes them feel good and safe," said Ms Fink.
Ms Hart says her clinic always encourages women to bring babies along to postnatal physiotherapy classes, and there's no shortage of volunteers on hand to offer cuddles and pram-pushing when required.
"(The classes) support women in their postnatal journey from the early postnatal recovery period, right through until they return to sport.
"Every single class is slightly different as I always take into account any injuries, level of skill of the participants and general mood that day. Each block offers progressively increasing load or complexity of movement to bring about improvements in strength and function," said Ms Hart.
Many clients in the postnatal classes are returning to the clinic after attending pregnancy exercise classes, said Ms Hart, or had been recommended by a friend, which means there is little promotion required to fill classes.
"I occasionally do free talks with mothers' groups and midwifery groups when I have the chance, and some clients have met me this way. Sometimes I run Facebook ads, but not very often.
"The classes are fun, and the best bit about them is getting to know the women and their babies. Many of my clients are now attending with their second or third child, and it is just like welcoming back an old friend," said Ms Hart.
On occasion, when several babies are unsettled at the same time, the classes can be challenging, said Ms Hart, but it isn't a big deal.
"We just roll with it, and it isn't uncommon for me to be teaching and cuddling at the same time!"
The most difficult aspect of running a postnatal program for Ms Fink is catering to the varying levels of fitness and abilities within a postpartum group.
"Women share private information about their birth or postnatal recovery, and they may not want to share in the group, and that will affect how they exercise. So, it does become difficult to plan and execute a program around the various requirements of each woman."
The positives far outweigh the negatives of a group setting for new mothers though, as it facilitates necessary social interaction and also makes sessions more affordable, said Ms Fink.
Taryn Watson, specialist women's health and continence physiotherapist, runs Baby & Me Pilates and Aqua classes through FitRight Physio to reduce the high rates of prolapse and incontinence in childbearing women.
"I'm extremely passionate about keeping mothers fit and active, but not doing it in a way that is likely to cause or worsen pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.
"I love being part of women's lives, being part of what I believe is the gold standard in postnatal return to exercise and making it more accessible to a wider population of mothers.
"I honestly believe the FitRight model is decreasing the rate of prolapse and incontinence in a generation of women, and that feels wonderful," said Ms Watson.
The addition of baby massage to postnatal classes also offers the opportunity for mothers to bond with their baby, Ms Watson said.
"If mothers choose to participate in the baby massage and developmental play components of the course it's a wonderful opportunity to learn about how touch, movement, positions and play ideas can benefit baby and caregivers."
Physiotherapists who aspire to add postnatal exercise classes to their clinic would benefit from specialised training, but unfortunately, there's no standardisation on quality or content according to Ms Watson.
"Technically, I didn't require any extra training to offer this service.
"I do believe instructors who run these classes require a high level of understanding of pregnancy, birth, pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, abdominal muscle dysfunction, the musculoskeletal system and bladder and bowel dysfunction.
"To run FitRight classes, you need to have a physiotherapy degree, as well as instructor training with ongoing access to education sessions. There is a quality control process in place so that physiotherapists with a Master of Women’s Health and Continence give instructors regular feedback on the way they run their classes," said Ms Watson.