What is Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy helps to restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability. It can also help to reduce your risk of injury or illness in the future.
It takes a holistic approach that involves the patient directly in their own care.
Physiotherapy can be helpful for people of all ages with a wide range of health conditions, including problems affecting the:
- bones, joints and soft tissue – such as back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain and sports injuries
- brain or nervous system – such as movement problems resulting from a stroke, multiple sclerosis
- (MS) or Parkinson’s disease
- heart and circulation – such as rehabilitation after a heart attack
- lungs and breathing – such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis
Physiotherapy can improve your physical activity while helping you to prevent further injuries.
What physiotherapists do
Physiotherapists consider the body as a whole, rather than just focusing on the individual aspects of an injury or illness.
Some of the main approaches used by physiotherapists include:
- education and advice – physiotherapists can give general advice about things that can affect your daily lives, such as posture and correct lifting or carrying techniques to help prevent injuries
- movement, tailored exercise and physical activity advice – exercises may be recommended to
- improve your general health and mobility, and to strengthen specific parts of your body
- manual therapy – where the physiotherapist uses their hands to help relieve pain and stiffness, and to encourage better movement of the body
What is Neurophysiotherapy?
Neurophysiotherapy is a specialist area of physiotherapy focused on the assessment and treatment of people with conditions that affect the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).
Common conditions that neurophysiotherapists can help with include stroke, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and functional neurological disorders.
Neurophysiotherapy harnesses the power of neuroplasticity which is the brain’s remarkable ability to adapt and reorganise its neural connections in response to learning, experience, or injury. We use techniques to promote new neural pathways, strengthen existing or dormant ones, and dampen unhelpful ones.
Techniques include hands-on treatment, functional task retraining (e.g., walking, sit to stand and reaching and grasping), strength training, and balance rehabilitation.
Physiotherapy aims to maximise independence, improve movement, and enhance quality of life.
What is Vestibular Physiotherapy?
Vestibular physiotherapy or vestibular rehabilitation is the speciality concerned with the assessment and rehabilitation of people with dizziness and balance disorders.
The vestibular system is found in the inner ear and is an important part of our balance mechanism. It works alongside your eyes and joints to help us stay upright and steady.
Physiotherapists use a combination of exercises and techniques to improve balance, reduce symptoms of dizziness, and help you regain your confidence in movement.
Common conditions that vestibular physiotherapists treat include BPPV, vestibular migraine, vestibular hypofunction and PPPD.
