Physical Therapy Treatment

Physical Therapy Treatment, if you are injured or ill and are not moving well, you might need to visit a doctor to help you in decreasing the pain and improve mobility. Such professionals who help us in treating these types of issues can be a physical therapist or physiotherapist who carry out practices known as physiotherapy or physical therapy.

Your doctor might suggest this type of treatment if you’ve had an injury or illness that makes it hard to do daily tasks.

Physical therapy (PT) or physiotherapy is care that aims to ease pain and help you function, move, and live better. You might need it to get rid of following factors:

• Relieve pain
• Work on balance to prevent a slip or fall
• Manage a chronic illness like diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis
• Recover after you give birth
• Control your bowels or bladder
• Adapt to an artificial limb
• Learn to use assistive devices like a walker or cane
• Get a splint or brace
• Improve movement or ability
• Prevent or recover from a sports injury
• Prevent disability or surgery
• Rehab after a stroke, accident, injury, or surgery

People of all ages benefit from physical therapy. It could treat a variety of health problems which generally happens in our day to day life.

What do a physiotherapist do?

The role of a physiotherapist is varied and rarely are two days the same. A physiotherapist might have to assess the physical condition of a patient to diagnose problems and implement a treatment plan, or they could also be re-training patients to walk, or helping others to cope with crutches, walking frames, or wheelchairs.

Education is also an essential role in physiotherapy. Physiotherapists spend much time educating patients, their families, and the community to prevent injuries and to help people lead healthy lifestyles.

A physiotherapist might also plan and implement community fitness programmes. Finally, physiotherapists could also issue sick leave certificates should it be deemed necessary to do so.

During their career, physiotherapists treat all manner of people including children with cerebral palsy, premature babies, pregnant women, people undergoing rehabilitation, athletes, the elderly (to try and get them fitter), and those needing help following heart disease, strokes, or major surgery.

Problems that can be cured by Physical Therapy

Here are the most common problems that could be treated by physical therapists:

1. Lymphedema – Excess fluids gather in the lymphatic system, which then moves around in the bloodstream, causing swelling. Physical therapists use Complete decongestive therapy (CDT) to reduce swelling and prevent future fluid buildup.

2. Sports Injuries – Specific types of sports injuries like stress fractures could be treated with appropriate recovery programs or prevention exercises for a safe and quick recovery.

3. Muscular Dystrophy – Muscles and skeletons degenerate and get progressively weakened owing to age or various disorders. This could be treated with mobility exercises and using supporting frames.

4. Back and Neck Pain – Acute pain that comes on suddenly or chronic back and neck pain that lasts for months or years restrict normal functioning. Physical therapy eases pain and improves mobility.

5. Limited Range of Motion (ROM) – Too much stress due to the overuse of some parts of your body causes swelling or you feel tenderness in those areas. Rage of motion gets impeded, which could be revived with therapy. Likewise, physical therapy will achieve better extension or flexion.

6. Osteoporosis – Thin and brittle, sponge-like bones have lots of holes inside them, causing them to break. Similarly, disabling fractures could be prevented with timely therapy.

7. Vertigo – Dizziness or lightheadedness is a general and frequent complaint of many people, leading to dangerous falls. Since physical therapy improves balance, vertigo could be treated.

8. Headaches – Migraine and tension-type headaches could lead to severe head or neck injury. A proper plan of care could be implemented to increase neck mobility and strengthen the upper back muscles.

9. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Sitting at a computer all day leads to repetitive stress injuries. However, wrist injuries and pain can be subdued by changing your posture and performing stretches and exercises.

10. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – This complex disorder causes debilitating tiredness that cannot be improved with rest. Physical therapists, together with doctors, formulate a treatment plan with endurance training tasks.

11. Respiratory Issues – Chronic bronchitis, as well as other respiratory disorders, could be treated with pulmonary rehabilitation plans by strengthening the lungs with diaphragmatic breathing tasks.

12. Burns – Severe burns and splinting can be treated with physical therapy in collaboration with a medical team to prevent unwanted scar tissue. For example, scar tissue massage will help regenerate healthy soft tissues such as muscles and tendons.

13. Joint Replacement – In a similar manner, post-operative care for surgical removal and replacement of hip or knee joint with an artificial joint (prosthesis) will certainly provide adequate knee relief from pain.

14. Ankle sprain – Twisting your ankle causes the ligaments that support it to get stretched and torn, leading to swollen and painful ankles. Moreover, ankle sprains could heal faster and you regain strength with good home exercises suggested by therapists.

15. Parkinson’s Disease – This neurological and progressive movement disorder causes chronic motor limitations and tremors. Similarly, it could be treated with physical therapy and resistance strength exercises.

16. Foot Fracture – A simple fall could lead to broken bones, closed, open, or compound fractures, as a result, your movement and independence will be affected. Depending on the severity of your pain and the fracture location, treatment will be prescribed.

17. Huntington’s Disease – Both voluntary and involuntary movements get affected by Huntington’s disease. Spasms, slurred speech, and unsteady gait are some of the common symptoms, which can be treated with physical therapy.

18. Knee Ligament Injury – Bands of tissue on either side of the knee, known as ligaments, could be damaged with injuries occurring in contact sports or if hit strongly.

19. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction – Pelvic floor disorders, sexual problems, especially in women, could be treated by correcting the posture and lifting and carrying weights properly.

20. Cancer – Cancer treatment might leave patients in severe pain and disability, which affects their quality of life. Managing the consequences of the type of cancer can be made possible when physical therapists identify and treat impairments.

Different types of Physical Therapies

1. Neurological Physical Therapy

This type of physical therapy centers on helping patients recover from neurological conditions. These neurological conditions might include Alzheimer’s disease or strokes. Recovery from spinal and brain injuries also require neurological physical therapy.

The issue with almost all neurological conditions is that they are chronic. This means that you can’t cure them with simple medication or a healthy lifestyle. That’s why doctors prescribe physiotherapy as a treatment for these conditions.

Neurological physical therapy dramatically improves the mobility and coordination of the affected.

Neurological Physical Therapy isn’t as involved and intense as some other types of physical therapy. It focuses on less-intense and little physical exercises to gradually reduce the effects of the neurological condition. Patients can regain autonomy fully or significantly after neurological PT, depending on their conditions.

2. Occupational Physical Therapy

This is physical therapy for physical work-related activities. Patients often receive this therapy after work-related injuries that aren’t accidents.

Essentially, occupational physical therapy teaches manual laborers the proper way to lift objects. It’s a type of physical therapy that promotes lifting with the knees and not the back.

One out of every five injuries or illnesses in the workplace is a back injury from improper lifting. The most affected area is the lower back, and it’s usually a reaggravation of a previous injury. Occupational therapy also assists you to adopt the right posture when doing manual work.

Apart from the above, the therapy also focuses on building up the core and upper body strength. That’s because these areas are the ones you use most for physical activities, including manual labor.

Although occupational therapy seems like treating a localized area, this is far from the truth. This therapy is actually holistic and focuses on improving the entire being as opposed to a particular area. Occupational physical therapy is successful only when the entire being is correct, and you’re all set for work.

3. Geriatric Physical Therapy

The older we get, the less nimble we become, and this could be a huge problem. If you couple that with a few conditions and natural movements become extremely difficult for the elderly.

Geriatric physical therapy is a type of therapy that addresses mobility and movement issues among the elderly. It includes addressing both natural movement and mobility issues and those from musculoskeletal conditions. Some of these conditions include osteoporosis, arthritis, and certain cancers.

Geriatric physical therapy addresses the movement limitations of elderly folk and reduces the pain associated with certain movements. Another aspect of this therapy is small exercises to keep the old folks fit for their age.

4. Pediatric Physical Therapy

You can think of pediatric physical therapy as the opposite of geriatric physical therapy. That’s because while geriatric physical therapy focuses on the elderly, pediatric physical therapy focuses on infants.

Pediatric physical therapy locks down on the specialized growth and mobility needs of infants, toddlers, and adolescents. So unlike popular thought, pediatric physical therapy isn’t just for babies. It’s also for kids and adolescents who have issues with their body movements that might reduce or put a pause on their learning and play.

Pediatric physical therapy addresses issues that include, but are not limited to:-

• Genetic Conditions
• Congenital disabilities such as CTEV, Torticollis
• Severe Injuries
• Trauma to the head
• Limb disabilities

Pediatric physical therapy is crucial for the development of children into strong and healthy adults. Parents need to detect these issues early on so they could address them through pediatric physical therapy. If they don’t do so, then it could present a host of problems for the children in the future.

5. Rehabilitative Physical Therapy

Major surgeries mostly take a toll on the mobility and movement of the affected body parts. Rehabilitative physical therapy is a type of physical therapy that focuses on the recovery of patients from these surgeries. The onset of this physical therapy starts while the patient is still in the hospital until the patient is discharged.

Most of the rehabilitative physical therapy, however, happens when the patient is recovering at home. This therapy stops only when the patient regains full mobility of the affected part. The therapy stops when the patient can tend to themselves without any assistance.

This type of physical therapy is common with athletes and bodybuilders after they get injured. The earlier they do it, the better and faster their recovery is. The therapy focuses on regular mild exercise to help the patient regain strength and reduce pain.

6. Hand Physical Therapy

The name hand physical therapy might be somewhat misleading. That’s because it centers more on the entire upper arm and not just the hand.

It’s physical therapy for people who have injured their arms or have arthritis. It entails simple hand exercises to help the hands regain their full range of motion.

Types of treatment methods in Physiotherapy

Manual therapy – Manual therapy is a technique used by physiotherapists to manipulate and mobilize affected joints by massaging them with the use of their hands.

Electrotherapy treatment such as IFT (Interferential therapy)Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy , Ultrasound Therapy– It is a technique wherein a small battery-driven device is used to send low-grade current through the electrodes placed on the skin surface. A TENS device gradually relieves the pain of the affected area.

Magnetic therapy – Electromagnets of different types and sizes are available, and could be self-applied under the guidance of a trained professional. This can help in limiting the pain.

Dry needling and acupuncture – Fine needles are inserted into specific body points, which reduce pain for a short span of time.

Taping – This technique promotes the body’s natural healing process. A tape is used, which lifts the skin away from the connective tissue, hence increases the space and allows the lymphatic fluid to move more effectively.

Joint mobilization – This type of manual therapy technique is used wherein a physiotherapist mobilizes the joints at different speeds, depths, and amplitudes to restore normal joint movement.

Stretches and exercises – Physiotherapists teach various exercises and body stretching techniques, which help restore joint movements.

Rehabilitation – A wide range of strengthening, preventative, and corrective exercises are used to alleviate disease conditions.

Strengthening programs – Physiotherapists conduct specialized programs, and educate their patients about personal responsibility for health and physical conditioning. Such programs help patients in improving their overall strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility.

Hydrotherapy – Hydrotherapy utilizes water to treat arthritis. Specialized exercises are performed inside water with a temperature range of 33-36 degree Celsius under the guidance of a physiotherapist. It involves various stretching, aerobics, and strengthening exercises.

Hot and cold applications – Application of ice, cold packs, nitrogen spray, and techniques such as cryotherapy could relieve the patients from acute conditions. In cases of chronic conditions, physiotherapists use hot packs, infrared heat, diathermy, and ultrasonic waves.

Diathermy – This technique uses electrically induced heat or high-frequency electromagnetic currents to cure various conditions.

Ultrasound and phonophoresis – Therapeutic ultrasound uses the frequency range of 0.5 – 3 MHz. This technique helps in lowering down the inflammation by inducing a deep heat to a localized area to cure muscle spasms, promote healing at the cellular level, increase metabolism, and improve blood flow to the damaged tissue. Phonophoresis is a technique which utilizes ultrasonic waves for effective absorption of the drugs which are topically applied. This technique has been found to be effective in relieving pain as it allows maximal absorption of drugs such as anti-inflammatory and analgesics.

Range of Motion (ROM) exercises – Range of motion exercises are used to improve joint mobility and to decrease muscle stiffness. Various types of ROM exercises include Passive Range of Motion (PROM) exercises, Active Assistive Range of Motion (AAROM) exercises and Active Range of Motion (AROM) exercises.

Soft tissue mobilization – Soft tissue mobilization or therapeutic massage helps in relaxing tight muscles, relieving pain, and reducing swelling.

Author: Nitesh Dhameliya

Physiotherapist, Ahmedabad Clinic Name : Samarpan Physiotherapy Clinic Nikol Nava Naroda Branch 11, Vedant Bunglow, Opp. Radhe Bunglow Part -2 Haridarshan Char Rasta, Nikol Naroda Road Behind. Shalby Hospital, near Fortune Circle, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 382330