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Physiotherapy

Types of Physiotherapy & How Does it Help You

Overview

While physical therapy or physiotherapy is quite popular today, people still can’t tell the difference between its various types.

Due to the numerous injuries out there, physiotherapy was divided into sub-specialties, with each physiotherapist responsible for the management of one subset of patients.

In this article, we will talk about 5 physiotherapy types and how they could help you.

Different Types of Physical Therapy

Pediatric Physical Therapy

This type of physical therapy is dedicated to movement and learning issues seen in infants, toddlers, young children, and adolescents.

During the early years of development, the child’s body is growing at an incredible rate! Any delay or structural abnormality in the baby’s normal growth could have dire consequences in the future. This is why it’s crucial to detect any abnormalities early on in development to correct the issue promptly.

Orthopedic Physical Therapy

This is the most common type of physiotherapy. It involves treating injuries that affect the musculoskeletal system, such as the joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The techniques used to treat these injuries include cryotherapy (cold therapy), thermotherapy (heat therapy), stretching, strength training, ultrasound, and electrical muscle stimulation.

Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy

This is especially beneficial for patients who are dealing with cardiopulmonary diseases, such as pneumothorax, post-myocardial infarction, pulmonary fibrosis, and heart failure.

Cardiopulmonary physiotherapy focuses on restoring normal cardiovascular and pulmonary functions to patients in order to increase their endurance and VO2 max.

Neurological Physiotherapy

Neurological conditions such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injury may be associated with a considerable reduction in autonomous function and mobility.

Neurological physiotherapy aims at making the patient as independent as possible from the aid of other people. Physical therapists concentrate on teaching clients to adapt to visual, balance, mobility, and muscle loss impairments for activities of daily living.

Geriatric Physiotherapy

As we age, we start encountering many diseases that may alter our normal functioning and reduce our physical independence. Ailments such as osteoporosis, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and vestibular disorders (balance issues), can all be seen in elderly people.

Geriatric physical therapy is specifically designed to aid older people to deal with these problems. By creating a physical and educational plan for these patients, geriatric physiotherapy is one of the best treatment options to restore their normal functioning (even partially).

Conclusion

There are several types of sub-specialties in the broad field of physiotherapy. In this article, we covered the most common types that specialize in helping different sets of patients.

Note that each physiotherapist will be specifically trained to deal with patients that fall into his/her sub-specialty. For instance, a pediatric physiotherapist will be trained to deal with infants and young children, while a geriatric physiotherapist is great at communicating with older people.

If you have heard or experienced another specialty that wasn’t discussed in this article, feel free to contact us with questions you may have. Have a look at the types of treatments offered by Korehab Clinic.