Physical therapy can be a transformative experience, no matter when in life you take advantage of it. You might be surprised at the kind of impact that physical therapy can have, but it’s a discipline that’s been developed over many years, and physical therapists are able to help in many different ways, with many different challenges. Maidenhead physio centre breaks them down for you.
There is a significant difference between physiotherapy and medication for pain management: medication eases the symptoms that are caused by something being wrong in the body, whereas the physiotherapy works on the underlying cause of the problem. This difference is important, because the role of physiotherapy is to address the original root of the problem.
Medication can only treat the pain and the pain is only a symptom that something is not right within the body. That is why physiotherapy is so important in terms of fully treating any condition.
Exercise is the aspect of physiotherapy that most people are familiar with. Sometimes this can be general in the sense of patients being advised to do more walking or to undertake some kind of specific activity such as swimming.
These exercises can be very specific to the condition that a person may have and may involve exercises to strengthen particular areas of the body or to increase flexibility in joints.
Paediatric Physical Therapy
Childhood is a time when the body grows very fast, and problems in childhood can have a negative effect on the rest of a person’s life. Paediatric physical therapy is particularly designed to help adolescents, children and babies to make the most of their growth, overcome problems, and build their muscular and skeletal strength, often teaching them movement types and ranges of movement which they may never have experienced before.
Geriatric Physical Therapy
Getting older can be very tough on the muscles and skeleton. Over our lives, we can get used to using our muscles in ways which are unhealthy or unwise, such as bad posture or damaging gait, which we often don’t recognise because we compensate for them using the rest of our bodies; but as we get older, we may notice more problems, as our muscles stop being strong enough to compensate as they have in the past.
Geriatric physical therapy is about taking steps to use the muscles you have in a way which is more efficient and safe, and is less likely to lead to injuries.
Vestibular Rehabilitation
Balance feels like a tiny thing, until you don’t have it any more. Vestibular rehabilitation focuses on helping you to overcome problems of the inner ear which can destroy your balance and be seriously debilitating, including chronic dizziness and vertigo. Physical therapy can help you to teach your body to have better balance and use its muscles to be steadier and sturdier.
Neurological Physical Therapy
Neurological problems, such as spinal cord injuries, strokes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, brain injuries or cerebral palsy, strike at the nervous system, which is how your brain controls your body. Most neurological problems are chronic, meaning they are unlikely to be healed outright; but physical therapy can have a huge positive impact on life with a neurological disorder.
By learning and practicing small therapeutic exercises, the effects of neurological disorders on muscles and movement can be smoothed off and made much more manageable.
Orthopaedic Physical Therapy
Orthopaedic physical therapy is designed to help you to recover muscle strength, as you might need to after an injury has left you unable to use certain muscles.
Whether you’ve been injured recently and need to recover your strength after surgery, or you’ve been carrying an old injury for a long time, you may be surprised at the effect the precision, targeted exercises given to you by a physical therapist can have over time.
Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Physical Therapy
Cardiopulmonary physical therapy is about building independence if you have a serious cardiovascular or pulmonary problem – a problem with your heart or circulation.
These problems could include heart attacks, or pulmonary fibrosis, and physical therapy can help you to grow strength in key muscles, and improve your endurance. In the long run, cardiopulmonary physical therapy is designed to help you build your independence.
If you’re concerned about your physical wellbeing, and looking for a physic consult, then get in contact today with a physiotherapist in Maidenhead.
