What You Need to Know about Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is also known as physiotherapy in many countries. This field of health care profession aims to maintain the maximum ability of a person’s body whether they are aging or some damages were caused by accidents or certain sickness. If you are faced with such and you can no longer perform like you used to, the one who is handling the therapy, like a licensed physical therapist or their assistant will determine which areas of your body needs to be healed. And they will guide you throughout the process until you have coped with the situation and you feel like your body is responding the way it used to before you felt the need to seek the services of a professional therapist.
Analysis and Assessment of Your Body’s Condition
This form of treatment helps you heal through the natural process. You will help your body accept your condition. Your PT will assess how to best help you speed up your recovery. They will schedule what you have to do and how to do such. Through time, you will feel the effect of the process as you ease through what you have become as a result of various causes as mentioned before.
The assessment that will be done by your licensed PT will come from the results of your complete physical examination. They have to be sure what areas need to be processed to help you with your condition. They will also base it on your medical history. These will be incorporated with lab results and imaging studies. There are also instances wherein it is recommended that you undergo nerve conduction velocity testing, also known as electromyograms, for your PT to be sure about how they could be of assistance to you.
Where do you find these PTs?
If you need the services that these professionals can give, you will most likely find them on research and education centers, in schools and hospices. There are also those who attend to patients on outpatient clinics as well as inpatient rehabilitation centers. Some choose to practice on a home-based setup. There are also those who serve on industrial type of workplaces. You will likely find them as well on training facilities for sports and on fitness centers.
Types of Specialties
The following are the specific areas that licensed PTs attend to.
1. Cardiopulmonary. This attends to patients with cardiopulmonary ailments or those who have undergone pulmonary and cardiac surgery.
2. Neurological. This focuses on people with neurological disorder like ALS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, brain injury caused by accidents and Alzheimer’s disease. These also include those with spinal cord injury and people who have suffered from stroke.
3. Geriatric. This specialty focuses on people who are undergoing bodily changes due to aging. This treats people with osteoporosis, arthritis, joint and hip replacement, incontinence and balance disorders. This can also help those who have cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
4. Pediatric. This helps in cases wherein the problem was detected early for infants and children. This also helps adolescents with congenital, neuromuscular, developmental and skeletal defect. Its main goal is to help the person regain strength, endurance, coordination and balance to be able to function better through time.
5. Orthopaedic. This focuses on the rehabilitation of a person’s musculoskeletal system. You can also seek such service after you have undergone orthopaedic surgery.
6. Integumentary. This specialty in Physical Therapy focuses on the skin and related organs. You can seek such help if you have experienced major wounds and burns.