Common Physiotherapy Treatment Techniques

The first professional group of physiotherapists was founded in 1813, although the techniques were used before this date. This gives us an idea of how valuable the practice of exercise and movement is to quality of life.

Of course, the methods used by physiotherapists have been refined and improved over the years. A better understanding of the human body allows a greater range of exercises which can make a huge difference to your everyday actions. Physiotherapy is the art of manipulating the body to improve movement, decrease pain, and generally improve your health and life quality.

But, what may surprise you is that there are several common physiotherapy treatment techniques that can be used in almost any situation.

Range of Motions Exercise

Straight after surgery or a traumatic incident, you’ll usually be told to rest. But, resting isn’t the same as doing nothing. After all, a lack of movement causes muscle degradation and will make it harder for you to recover quickly.

This is the time when range of motion exercises are performed. These are generally very simple movements that mimic everyday activities but push your current physical capabilities to the limit. It can be as simple as lying on your back and bringing a leg straight up in the air. Doing this every day will improve how far the leg can move.

Soft Tissue Mobilization

This is more like the traditional massage you’ve experienced before. It helps your muscles to relax, increases blood flow to an area, and can actually relieve pain.

This is great if you have inflamed joints and limited movement.

But as with any physiotherapy, you do need a professional that knows what they are doing. Check out this physio in Brunswick Heads.

Electrotherapy

This is quite a recent addition to the arsenal of tools available to physiotherapists. It sounds a little daunting but has been found to benefit people with very limited motion or even paralysis. Small electrical currents are passed through the skin causing the muscles to contract. This helps to stop them from wasting away and improves recovery or movement possibilities.

Cryotherapy & Heat

Stiff muscles can happen to anyone, especially those who exercise a lot and people who spend a lot of time sitting. Stiffness in any part of the body is a concern as people will generally try to move differently to avoid inflicting pain on themselves. 

Of course, if you change the way you move you’ll be placing strain on different parts of your body which could lead to serious issues later in life.

A physiotherapist will guide you through the process of adding cold to the affected area, this is usually during the initial period of stiffness to help reduce inflammation. After this, heat is beneficial to increase blood flow and improve nutrient availability to your stiff muscles.

Kinesio Taping

If you’ve ever been to a physiotherapist you’ll have seen the bright tape that they use. This tape is designed to be put straight onto your skin and helps to stabilize joints, allowing you to move them easier and for the movement to help with body alignment.

This can make a big difference to your movement ability and the level of pain you experience.

Samantha

Samantha hails from Virginia and is a proud wife to a retired Deputy Sheriff and mother to two amazing little boys named Jack & William. A veteran product reviewer; Samantha has been reviewing products for 8 years and offers high quality product reviews with original photography.