Introduction
When people think of health professionals, they fixate on doctors and nurses. Who remembers physiotherapists? But those experts are more essential than you think.
Their chief role is to preserve or restore functional body movement by using means such as exercise, massage and heat rather than medications.
Physiotherapists serve an assorted array of patients – people with stroke, fractures, obesity and cerebral palsy. In a standard healthcare facility, most of these people will routinely be sent to see the physiotherapist.
This article will further explore the roles of physiotherapists and their relevance in the care of the ill.
Who Are Physiotherapists?
They are health professionals who assess and treat problems affecting movement, muscles, bones, joints and physical function.
It is a licensed profession. To become a physiotherapist, one must obtain a Bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy or a Doctor of Physiotherapy degree from a university.
What Do Physiotherapists Do?
Briefly, physiotherapists have several major roles:
- Physiotherapists precisely assess the type and level of disability or the function preserved following an injury or disease.
- They design individualised treatment and rehabilitation programmes in the event of disability.
- They control pain by using exercises, stretches, heat and ice therapy.
- They help patients recover after injuries, surgery, stroke and prolonged illness.
- They assist people with chronic conditions to maintain mobility and independence.
- They educate patients on exercises, posture, movement and injury prevention.
- They work together with doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and other healthcare professionals as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Why Are They Important in the Health Sector?
The child on the hospital bed struggling to breathe will need a chest physiotherapist. So also the grandmother with intractable lower back pain from lumbar spondylosis.
The competencies physiotherapists bring into patient care are unique and highly specialised. They cannot be ignored, wished away or substituted for.
Conclusion
Have you ever seen a physiotherapist? On your next clinic visit, ask your doctor whether your condition might not benefit from a physiotherapist’s input.
