Physical therapy (also physiotherapy) is a health care profession that provides treatment to individuals to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and function throughout life. This includes providing treatment in circumstances where movement and function are threatened by aging, injury, disease or environmental factors.Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, treatment/intervention, habilitation and rehabilitation. This encompasses physical, psychological, emotional, and social well being. It involves the interaction between physical therapist (PT), patients/clients, other health professionals, families, care givers, and communities in a process where movement potential is assessed and goals are agreed upon, using knowledge and skills unique to physical therapists. Physical therapy is performed by either a physical therapist (PT) or an assistant (PTA) acting under their direction.PTs use an individual's history and physical examination to arrive at a diagnosis and establish a management plan and, when necessary, incorporate the results of laboratory and imaging studies. Electrodiagnostic testing (e.g., electromyograms and nerve conduction velocity testing) may also be of assistance.Physical therapy has many specialties including cardiopulmonary, geriatrics, neurologic, orthopaedic and pediatrics, to name some of the more common areas. PTs practice in many settings, such as outpatient clinics or offices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, extended care facilities, private homes, education and research centers, schools, hospices, industrial workplaces or other occupational environments, fitness centers and sports training facilities.Education qualifications vary greatly by country. The span of education ranges from some countries having little formal education to others requiring masters or doctoral degrees
How can Physiotherapy Help?
The human body is a complex system made up of hundreds of bones and joints as well as miles of muscle and ligament all working in balance. When accident or illness affects your body, your physiotherapist, a university-trained medical professional, can restore mobility.
Working closely with physicians and other health professionals, physiotherapists help people in hospitals and clinics. You'll also find physiotherapists in neighbourhood schools, public health units, home and long-term care programs and sports medicine clinics. Physiotherapists treat the whole body. And with ongoing clinical research, physiotherapists continue to develop techniques to prevent and treat physical injury and disorder.
Areas of Expertise
Working closely with physicians and other health professionals, physiotherapists treat people in hospitals and clinics, neighbourhood schools, homes and long-term care programs, and sports medicine facilities. When an accident or illness affects your body, your physiotherapists, a university-trained medical professional can restore mobility. Physiotherapists treat the whole body. With ongoing clinical research, physiotherapists continue to develop techniques to prevent and treat physical injury and disorder.
Geriatric/Chronic Care
Physiotherapists help people with arthritis, heart disease, stroke, or problems getting around by helping joints stay flexible, improving balance, preventing falls and helping manage pain and chronic conditions.
Sports Physiotherapy
Sprains, strains, ligament tears and other athletic injuries are a factor in most sports. Physiotherapy benefits from sport specific exercise; taping, bracing, ultrasound, and icing ensure professional and casual athletes stay in the game without risking more injury.
Incontinence Treatment
Many physiotherapists have specialized training in treating bladder and bowel control. They help people with incontinence and pelvic pain or who have had prostate surgery to regain a healthy and active lifestyle. Muscle re-education and stimulation, biofeedback and bladder habit re-training alleviate incontinence, pelvic pain, and prostrate post surgical conditions.
Orthopaedics/Manual Therapy
For low back pain, neck, knee and shoulder injuries, tendonitis or any other joint or muscle problems, an orthopaedic or manual therapy physiotherapist can help restore strength, comfort and activity.
Cardio respiratory
Physiotherapists treat asthma, emphysema, and bronchial conditions, bypass surgery or heart attack recovery by optimizing heart and lung function.
Hand Rehabilitation
Specially trained Physiotherapists assist in recovery from hand injury or disease using exercise, manual therapy, and splinting techniques to promote optimal hand function
Paediatrics
Physiotherapists play a vital role in diagnosing and treating orthopaedic, neurological and respiratory conditions that can impact childhood development such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and developmental delays.
Neurophysiotherapy
Stroke, spinal cord and brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's and other nervous system conditions all respond to specialized techniques which help people re-learn motor skills and improve movement control.
Specialty areas
Because the body of knowledge of physical therapy is quite large, some PTs specialize in a specific clinical area. While there are many different types of physical therapy, Worldwide the six most common specialty areas in physical therapy are: the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties list seven specialist certifications, including Sports Physical Therapy and Clinical Electrophysiology.
Cardiopulmonary
Cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation physical therapists treat a wide variety of individuals with cardiopulmonary disorders or those who have had cardiac or pulmonary surgery. Primary goals of this specialty include increasing endurance and functional independence. Manual therapy is used in this field to assist in clearing lung secretions experienced with cystic fibrosis. Disorders, including heart attacks, post coronary bypass surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pulmonary fibrosis, treatments can benefitfrom cardiovascular and pulmonary specialized physical therapists.GeriatricGeriatric physical therapy covers a wide area of issues concerning people as they go through normal adult aging but is usually focused on the older adult. There are many conditions that affect many people as they grow older and include but are not limited to the following: arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, hip and joint replacement, balance disorders, incontinence, etc.
Geriatric physical therapy helps those affected by such problems in developing a specialized program to help restore mobility, reduce pain, and increase fitness levels.
Neurological
Neurological physical therapy is a discipline focused on working with individuals who have a neurological disorder or disease. These include Alzheimer's disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), ALS, brain injury, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, and stroke. Common impairments associated with neurologic conditions include impairments of vision, balance, ambulation, activities of daily living, movement, speech and loss of functional independence.
Orthopaedic
Orthopaedic physical therapists diagnose, manage, and treat disorders and injuries of the musculoskeletal system including rehabilitation after orthopaedic surgery. This specialty of physical therapy is most often found in the out-patient clinical setting. Orthopaedic therapists are trained in the treatment of post-operative orthopaedic procedures, fractures, acute sports injuries, arthritis, sprains, strains, back and neck pain, spinal conditions and amputations.Joint and spine mobilization/manipulation, therapeutic exercise, neuromuscular reeducation, hot/cold packs, and electrical muscle stimulation (e.g., cryotherapy, iontophoresis, electrotherapy) are modalities often used to expedite recovery in the orthopaedic setting. Additionally, an emerging adjunct to diagnosis and treatment is the use of sonography for diagnosis and to guide treatments such as muscle retraining.Those who have suffered injury or disease affecting the muscles, bones, ligaments, or tendons of the body will benefit from assessment by a physical therapist specialized in orthopaedics.
Pediatric
Pediatric physical therapy assists in early detection of health problems and uses a wide variety of modalities to treat disorders in the pediatric population. These therapists are specialized in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of infants, children, and adolescents with a variety of congenital, developmental, neuromuscular, skeletal, or acquired disorders/diseases. Treatments focus on improving gross and fine motor skills, balance and coordination, strength and endurance as well as cognitive and sensory processing/integration. Children with developmental delays, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or torticollis, may be treated by pediatric physical therapists.
Integumentary
Integumentary (treatment of conditions involving the skin and related organs). Common conditions managed include wounds and burns. Physical therapists utilize surgical instruments, mechanical lavage, dressings and topical agents to debride necrotic tissue and promote tissue healing. Other commonly used interventions include exercise, edema control, splinting, and compression garments.
Areas of Expertise