What is Physiotherapy

This helps the patient with movement and motor skills. Though an exercise program, Physio helps to strengthen weak muscles and improve mobility. I started having Physiotherapy from a early age and I still have physio now I have a exercise program that I follow to help me maintain my muscle strength and my walking ability.

Assessment

A physiotherapist will initially conduct a subjective examination (interview) of a patient's medical history, and then go on to the objective assessment (physical examination). The subjective examination is guided by the presenting system and complaint, and the objective assessment is in turn guided by the history.

This semistructured process is used to rule out serious pathology (so called red flags), establish functional limitations, refine the diagnosis, guide therapy, and establish a baseline for monitoring progress. As such, the objective exam will then use certain quantifiable measurements to both guide diagnosis and for progress monitoring. These depend upon the system (and area) being managed, e.g. a musculoskeletal exam may involve, inter alia, assessment of joint range of motion, muscle power, motor control and posture, whilst a cardiopulmonary assessment may involve lung auscultation and exercise physiology testing.

Treatment

Guided by the assessment findings, the physiotherapist will then develop and facilitate a treatment plan. Aside from the various physiotherapeutic teachniques involved in therapy, the treatment regimen may include prescribing and advice regarding assistive walking devices; should consider functional progress; and include ongoing review and refinement. Patient education is a key aspect of all treatment plans. It is difficult to explore the many aspects of physiotherapeutic treatment options, especially considering their ongoing development in the face of an increasing research base. Nonetheless, some examples of treatment options are listed below.

Musculoskeletal physiotherapy

Various therapeutic physiotherapy modalities are available, including exercise prescription (strength, motor control, stretching and endurance), manual techniques, soft tissue massage, and various forms of so-called "electrophysical agents" (such as cryotherapy, heat therapy and electrotherapy). Despite ongoing research giving a clearer picture regarding the use of various modalities in specific conditions, the benefits of electrotherapy are widely debated. The practice of physical therapy should not be defined by the use of modalities but rather the integration of examination, history, and analysis of movement dysfunction.

Cardiopulmonary physiotherapy

Cardiopulmonary physiotherapists work with patients in a variety of settings. They treat acute problems like asthma, acute chest infections and trauma; they are involved in the preparation and recovery of patients from major surgery; they also treat a wide range of chronic cardiac and respiratory conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF) and post-myocardial infarction (MI). They work with all ages from premature babies to older adults at the end of their life.

Physiotherapists are pioneering new management techniques for non-organic respiratory problems like hyperventilation and other stress-related disorders as well as leading the development of cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation and non-invasive ventilation. Cardiopulmonary physiotherapists use physical modalities to treat people. This may involve using manual techniques to clear infected mucus from a person's chest, or using non-invasive ventilation to help a person breathe, or prescribing exercises to improve a patient's functional exercise capacity.

Neurological physiotherapy

Treatment in neurological conditions is typically based upon exercises to restore motor function through attempting to overcome motor deficits and improve motor patterns. To achieve this aim various theoretical frameworks have been promoted, each based upon inferences drawn from basic and clinical science research. Whilst some of these have remained static, others are designed to take into account new developments, perhaps the most notable example being the "movement science" framework. The various philosophies often generate considerable debate.

Listed below are some definitions of words that you may hear if your child sees a Doctor or Physiotherapist

• Acute: A condition that has started suddenly (the opposite of chronic)
• Active Movements: The movements a child does with little or no help.
• Associated Movements: An increase in the stiffness of limbs due to effort
• Asymmetrical: One side of the body is different from the other, unequal.
• Bilateral: Both sides
• Chronic: A condition or symptom lasting 3 months of longer, (not an indication of severity).
• Co-ordination : Muscles working together to achieve smooth, efficient movements.
• Contracture: Permanently tight muscles and joints
• Developmental Milestone: The age at which a baby or child is expected to do certain activities,
• e.g. Sit, crawl, walk
• Distally: Away from the centre of the body, towards the hands or feet
• Dorsiflexion: Ankle movement, when the foot bendsupwards, towards the leg
• Eversion: Turning out (foot)
• Extension: Straightening or movement backwards of the trunk, arms and legs
• Fine Motor Skills: Activities using hands, e.g. writing, sewing
• Flexion: Bending of the trunk, arms and legs
• Floppy/ Hypotonic: Parts (or all) the body that feel loose. They can be moved in greater ranges than expected
• Gross Motor Skills: PE type activities - running, jumping etc.
• Hypertonic: Part (or all) of the body feels stiff or tight. Spasticity is a type of hypertonia.
• Inversion: Turning in of the foot so the soles face each other, (the opposite of eversion)
• Involuntary Movements: Unintentional movements occurring without warning.
• Kyphosis: Increase rounding of the top of the back. Sometimes known as ‘humpback’
• Lordosis: The arch in the bottom of the back, generally referred to as the ‘lumbar lordosis’
• Passive: Movements done to the child without their help or participation
• Plantegrade: The neutral position of the foot, with the ankle at a 90 0 angle.
• Plantar flexion: The movement when the ankle points downwards.
• Prone: Lying on the tummy
• Pronation: Turning of the hand, with palm facing down
• Proximal : Towards the centre of the body, the trunk, shoulders and pelvis
• Reflexes: An involuntary reaction or a utomatic postures and movements, not under the our control
• Scoliosis: A sideways curve of the spine
• Supine: Lying on the back.
• Supination: Turning of the hand, with palm facing upwards or foot with the sole turning upwards
• Symmetrical: Both sides equal
• Tone: Firmness of the muscles / Readiness to move
• Valgus: The position of feet when commonly describedas ‘flat’
• Voluntary Movements: Movements occurring with thought and intention