Physiotherapy is a paramedical discipline that is based on various techniques: massages, gymnastic movements with or without an instrument, physiotherapy, etc. This healthcare professional works in close collaboration with the medical team. He works in hospitals as well as in clinics, retirement homes or city clinics, and works at all ages.
Definition and objectives
What is physiotherapy?
The term “masseur-physiotherapist” comes from the Greek words meaning movement and healing.
The physiotherapist performs, manually or with the aid of instruments, rehabilitation and rehabilitation care aimed at preserving, restoring or supplementing the integrity, both structural and functional, of a person confronted with a trauma, illness or disability.
In the USA, the practice of physiotherapy requires obtaining a state paramedical diploma dispensed at the end of 4 years of training (plus 1 year of preparation). This profession is recent. Indeed, it was only after the Second World War, to treat and re-educate the war wounded that the diploma of masseur-physiotherapist was created. Later, the public health law of August 9, 2008 gave birth to the Order of physiotherapist masseurs.
If the physiotherapist treats benign ailments such as low back pain, stiff necks or sprains, he also treats trauma related to accidents or the consequences of aging. The field of application of physiotherapy is therefore very wide: neurological pathologies, trauma, rheumatic diseases, balance disorders, urinary and fecal incontinence, oncology, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, swallowing disorders, rehabilitation, etc. The physiotherapist intervenes at all ages in the life of patients.
To know ! The physiotherapist can specialize in various fields including sport, rheumatology, respiratory physiotherapy, or even animal physiotherapy. Get in touch with a physiotherapist for further queries.
Thus, although the majority of physiotherapists work in a doctor’s office, they can also be present: in the hospital, in a rehabilitation center, in a retirement home, in nursing homes (accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people) or in thermal baths.
What objectives?
The objective of physiotherapy treatment depends on the condition of the patient.
It can thus be:
- To restore to the latter his functional capacities or his ability to mobilize his body;
- To maintain capacities liable to deteriorate due to a pathology or an accident;
- To teach the patient to compensate for a functional loss in order to improve his quality of life.
What types of patients can see a physiotherapist?
He can take care of:
- Great sportsmen,
- Seniors,
- Younger people,
- Children and infants.
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