Whether your physical struggles are the result of age, disease, deformity, or injury, physiotherapy can be an excellent alternative to drugs or surgeries and even generate far more satisfying results. As you explore the world of physiotherapies, it helps to understand the different techniques and strategies that professionals use to promote mobility and manage pain.
1. Hands-on Techniques
A great number of physiotherapies include hands-on treatment methods that closely relate to chiropractic, osteopathic, massage, and kinesiology, among other things, and your physiotherapists will typically have a broad understanding of all of these different techniques. Hands-on techniques might include joint manipulation, massaging, muscle stretching, neurodynamics, and gentle gliding techniques to promote joint mobilization. For those of you interested, Dr Keogh Physiotherapy Clinic has more information available on their website.
2. Physiotherapy Taping
Using a thin, elastic strip of cotton in most scenarios, your physiotherapists use taping as a means of treating many athletic injuries, physical disorders, and other conditions that involve inflammation and musculoskeletal issues. Strapping and wrapping techniques help relieve pain by proving your joints with additional support, which can reduce injury recurrence and help prevent further injury.
3. Acupuncture and Dry Needling
Acupuncture and dry needling are methods used to relieve pain and improve muscle function. The details and benefits of acupuncture extend far into the Chinese culture but many physiotherapists may suggest this pain relief as it has commonly been effective for relieving pain in the back, neck, and a variety of joints around the body. Dry needling is a somewhat similar technique that, while lacking a cultural backing, has been effective for pain treatment as well. Physiotherapists simply use a needle to stimulate muscular trigger points without injecting anything.
Physiotherapists are also trained in the implementation of exercise, which is one of the best ways to improve mobility and dramatically reduce pain levels. There are a handful of different exercises that your physiotherapist may recommend, many of which are specific to the affected areas or for physiotherapy in general.
5. Biomechanical Analysis
The study of human motion is biomechanics so a biomechanical analysis is, more or less, the assessment of your physical condition and the biomechanics of your body. Physiotherapists look at the way you walk, the way you run, and the way you do a variety of other physical activities to locate areas of concern, determine the reason for an injury, and develop a more targeted treatment plan.
6. Sports Therapies
Physiotherapies that relate to sports are often conducted by specialists as they typically require additional skill sets and a better understanding of sports-related injuries in general. With that in mind, sports therapies will typically be more effective for sports injuries than general physiotherapies.
7. Physiotherapy in the Workplace
From posture to workstation setup, your physiotherapists ensure that your treatment carries over into the workplace. They can help you develop the most effective work habits that aim to improve mobility, reduce pain, and,
At the very least, ensure that your pain or discomfort doesn’t worsen due to poor posture or other things that are more or less simple fixes.