What Should We Know About Physiotherapists?
There is indeed resounding importance in terms of the role of physiotherapy treatment for stroke a.k.a. physical therapists. They play a crucial part in restoring the lives of those who got afflicted by illnesses and injuries which hinder them from moving and performing daily activities.
Through the professional and expert intervention of physical therapists who are experts in physiotherapy for stroke and other cases, the road to recovery becomes more feasible, let alone attainable. Soon, patients can regain their lives doing activities they were momentarily curtailed to do. This shall give a whole new meaning to a “second chance in life.”
What are some of the duties of a physiotherapist?
Physiotherapists take on different roles. These roles further contribute to the overall well-being of the patient through the following physiotherapist intervention:
Pain Management and Reduction
Pain is synonymous with injury or any debilitating disease for that matter. It significantly hinders anyone from living a normal and productive life. Physiotherapists’ role comes to play in terms of helping anyone manage the pain at any given scale- from mild to severe. They are skilled to regulate and handle levels of pain in various ways.
Such ways may come in the form of exercise, among many others. They know how to target the affected area/s by strengthening them. The physiotherapist does some serious evaluation to analyze the current state of the patient. Questions about the level of pain and how often the pain is experienced are often asked to assist in coming up with varying solutions to address the condition.
Exercise
A physiotherapist can recommend therapeutic exercises which are targeted to make a patient recover from his specific condition. Such exercises may either be done during the session in the rehab/clinic or can also be followed through at home that’s designed by top Australian shopfitters. Even better, many patients swear by the benefits of such exercises.
They claim that with discipline and consistency, they can perform the exercises even without the assistance of physiotherapists. The physiotherapists then further evaluate the effectiveness of the exercise through the development of the patient. From there they redesign the recommended routine to promote further recovery.
Physiotherapy treatments in a nutshell
Physiotherapists know what needs to be done for any patient with mobility and motor issues. Such issues may arise from a birth defect, an illness that progressed through time, or injury from sports and other strenuous activity. Here are some physiotherapy treatments the therapists can do for faster, most effective recovery:
Manual therapy techniques
This technique is done when the physiotherapist uses his or her hand to get rid of muscle pain and stiffness through massage. This kind of therapy promotes better blood circulation on the injured or damaged part of the body. With better blood circulation, the pain may be eradicated over time (or at least lessened significantly).
Aquatic Therapy
This perhaps is one of the more exciting kinds of therapy simply because the session doesn’t happen in the usual rehab clinic setup. This requires both the therapist and patient to leave the clinic and have the session done at a pool or anywhere with a large amount of water.
What are the important skills that a physiotherapist should possess?
It’s one thing to do the job well. However, physiotherapists need to excel in what they do. This way, they get to propel the trust of people to greater heights. People take their word without an ounce of doubt. This makes the recovery process faster as worries and other apprehensions are taken out of the picture.
Here are the important skills that an excellent physiotherapist should have:
Motor Skills
Motor skills refer to the movement and other functional actions of the muscle. This is one of the most important aspects/components that physiotherapists work on to aid their patient’s recovery. The physiotherapist is required to have a full grasp and understanding of motor skills and everything governing it. Through the expertise of this skill, they can come up with various therapeutic exercises and other means of recovery customized to any patient’s current condition.
Communication Skills
Patients have varying levels of comprehension. Some may fully understand the processes and steps to be done while others may not fully get the rationale immediately. It is then the role of the physiotherapist to make all patients understand all the required undertakings for recovery. An excellent physiotherapist can make all types of patients discern and fathom every step and process. It’s one thing for the physiotherapist to let the patients do specific exercises, but it’s another to make them understand the concept behind every move.
Interpersonal Skills
Understand that patients who need physiotherapy intervention are subjected to high levels of stress. Anyone dealing with pain and different levels of immobility causes a great deal of anxiety, even depression. Alright, a physiotherapist’s role is to help patients recover from pain and mobility issues, correct? However, they also need to be relatable, encouraging, motivating, and inspiring. An excellent physiotherapist should have the burning fire to help people not only with their exercises but with words to keep them going. Sometimes, patients already think their condition is the end of the road. But with the help of physiotherapists, they are given this new motivation to never give up.
Observational Skills
An excellent physiotherapist needs to be on top of every milestone and progress of his/her patient. A progress chart has to be kept and updated each visit. From the chart, the physiotherapist can then assess if the current therapeutic exercise is still necessary or already needs to be changed. The physiotherapist has to have a keen sense of observation to ensure that the right intervention is done upon assessment. This way, the progress is still on track and no time and efforts are wasted.
Creative Thinking
Therapeutic exercises sometimes can be generic. Well, there’s no problem with that. The generic approach has worked over the years. It paved the way to the recovery of most patients. However, know that there are also other ways to promote motor and mobility improvement. An excellent physiotherapist tries to incorporate more updated, interesting, engaging and entertaining routines and exercises. This way, patients look forward to each session because it promises them something new and exciting.
Time Management
Every second count. Patients and their companions make time for the session so it has to be worth their while. As each session takes an hour or two, the physiotherapist should have everything squeezed into that tiny window of time. That includes stretching, other therapeutic exercises, and the all-important consultation as well.
An excellent physiotherapist who is an expert in physiotherapy treatment for stroke and other cases can make every session work without wasting time. Sessions go productive, encouraging, maybe even challenging (depending on what needs to be done on that day). The point is mastery of time management is a must more so that sessions vary from patient to patient.
Organizational Skills
In relation to Time Management mastery, an excellent physiotherapist must be organized. As previously mentioned, aside from limited time per session, a physiotherapist must also have a bespoke and customized session for every patient he/she sees for a specific day. This drives the importance of organizational skills.
An excellent physiotherapist needs to master being organized. He/she needs to have everything planned out, listing down every session requirement needed for all the patients for that day. The physiotherapist must be on top of everything without getting confused or overwhelmed.
Critical Thinking
As for any job, critical thinking is essential and crucial. However, the need for exceptional critical thinking ability is even more highlighted if another person’s progress (and life, for that matter) is at stake. A physiotherapist needs to either further recommend, amend, or update any part of the session if the situation calls for it. Based on how the patient is responding to the treatment, additional sessions or more in-depth therapeutic sessions may be needed.
It goes to show that critical thinking is the ultimate product of all the above-mentioned skills. Through communication, observation, time management, motor, organization, and creative thinking, a physiotherapist can come up with a decision that’s best-suited to the condition of the patient. As such, the patient is duly subjected to further treatments that are appropriate based on the judgment of the therapist.
In conclusion,
There’s a lot to be understood about physiotherapy. However, we don’t need to dig deep into the specifics. Those are perhaps better off left to the physiotherapists who are always on the lookout for the best practices and technology to improve their knowledge and skills.
Hampered productivity and movement make any sufferer feel so much pain both mentally and physically. Not being able to do what one used to enjoy makes the ordeal so harrowing, it can even be discouraging and disheartening.
When this happens, physiotherapists are there to give chance to live again. With their expertise on the field, they can restore everything to how it used to be (or at least so much better) than the current immobile and crippled state (literally and figuratively). That through it all, a patient still can be a productive, contributing, and independent member of society.
However, it will not be an easy feat. It can’t be stressed enough that discipline and dedication (among many others) are needed to make the therapy sessions count. Patients and their companions should have due diligence in strictly following instructions given by their physiotherapists for physiotherapy treatment for stroke and others. Otherwise, expected progress may not happen sooner than expected. Worse, every effort may be rendered useless.
