Physiotherapist Treatments

Physiotherapy is meant to reduce and cure painful conditions, increase movement and mobility, repair damage and provide various other benefits in order to improve a person’s wellbeing. A physiotherapist is a health professional who assesses, treats and educates clients that are suffering from physical problems caused by disease, injury, illness or ageing. In Australia Physiotherapy is regulated by The Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (AHPRA). Physiotherapy is an established and well-respected medical profession and Physiotherapists need to study and obtain a tertiary physiotherapy qualification such as a Bachelor of Physiotherapy and as a health professional they also need to be registered with AHPRA.

A physiotherapist will initially complete an assessment of your injury, problem or condition by reviewing your medical history, by asking specific questions, by observation and by the use of touch to gather as much relevant information as possible in order to provide a preliminary diagnosis. Once your condition has been accurately diagnosed a physiotherapist can then recommend the best effective treatment and also provide you with the estimated length of the treatment required. Physiotherapy treatments generally require a combination of different interventions and a physio does this with advice, education, exercise routines, and Manual Therapy. Depending on your injury or condition, you may need to see both a doctor and a physiotherapist so that they can work together to share information in order to manage the rehabilitation of your injury. Physiotherapy should not be painful but clients may experience some stiffness or soreness during the sessions and afterwards but this discomfort may be a necessary step towards recovery.

Physiotherapy can also be considered as a partnership between the therapist and the patient as the patient may need to perform exercises on their own between sessions with the physiotherapist. This where physiotherapists will give advice, provide education and instructions on safety, best practices and exercises that the client can do in their own time to aid and potentially speed up the recovery.

Five Questions to ask your Physiotherapist:

  • What caused my condition?
  • How will you treat my condition?
  • How long will this take to get better?
  • What else can I do to aid or speed up my recovery?
  • What should I not do?

References:

- The Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (AHPRA)

The Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (AHPRA)

https://www.ahpra.gov.au/

- The Physiotherapy Board of Australia

The Physiotherapy Board of Australia

https://www.physiotherapyboard.gov.au/