With its focus on restoring function and movement, physiotherapy can be an important part of any person’s life. Not only does it help people who have been injured or disabled but also those that might not know they are experiencing issues with their health because the signs may not always show up right away.
In addition to being used as a prevention measure in order to avoid future problems down the line, this treatment option offers rehabilitation services that help restore what was lost due to illness/injury. Overall, Physiotherapy can improve strength, flexibility, movement, and mobility. It can also help patients to breathe easier, reduce pain, stay active, and, of course, to prevent future injuries. Physiotherapists deliver treatment through the use of manual therapy, therapeutic exercise as well as electro-physical modalities.
This blog post is all about the conditions that physiotherapy can treat. The reality is that physiotherapy can treat much more than just two conditions. For the sake of this blog post, however, we have simply lumped two categories of illnesses together, as you will see below.
Physiotherapists have a lot of knowledge as to how the body works as well as practical, clinical-based skills to both diagnose and treat those symptoms. There are also more specialized forms of physiotherapy, including neurological physiotherapy and orthopedic physiotherapy, both of which can help with numerous other conditions as well.
With this in mind, here is a look at the conditions that physiotherapy can treat:
Neurological Impairments
Neurological physiotherapy can be used to treat those with various neurological impairments, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, and Parkinson’s disease. In these cases, neurological physiotherapy is used to boost the message pathways that the brain is struggling to use; through repetitive actions and exercises, new pathways are formed. Here, physiotherapy can be used to restore a loss of balance, loss of a hand, arm, or foot function as well as issues with walking. It can also be used to improve pain.
Orthopedic Impairments
Orthopedic physiotherapy is used to treat issues with the musculoskeletal system. It does so by improving the person’s strength and range of motion following an injury or illness. Orthopedic physiotherapy can treat issues such as acute sports injuries, arthritis, and amputations. It can also treat the challenges that arise from sciatic pain and repetitive strain injuries. It can also help those undergoing cancer treatment (specifical lymphedema).
There is some overlap between orthopedic physiotherapy and neurological physiotherapy; by this, we mean to say that orthopedic physiotherapy can also treat some of the same conditions that neurological physiotherapy can treat. This includes examples, of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and Multiple Sclerosis.
To learn more about physiotherapy and conditions, that can be treated with it, contact our friendly and knowledgeable team at Newmarket Health & Wellness Center.
