Physiotherapy is an important part of the recovery process after sports injuries, stroke, and hip or knee replacement surgeries, among other medical events. The goal of physiotherapy depends on the illness, injury, or surgery that led to the patient being referred to the physical therapist. An individual course of physical therapy might focus on improving balance, flexibility, range of motion of a particular joint, or flexibility of an affected muscle group, for example.
Applications of Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is essential to improving patients’ quality of life after a major injury. Patients who have suffered a stroke are often referred to a physiotherapy clinic, where the physical therapist works with them on regaining their balance and improving their walking speed. In the case of sports injuries and hip or knee replacement surgeries, physical therapy is essential to reducing the amount of pain or stiffness that the patient experiences in the affected body part. Even patients who have suffered spinal cord injuries and patients who use prostheses after an amputation find that physical therapy improves their quality of life.
How Does Physical Therapy Work?
Typically, a patient first meets with a physical therapist several days after surgery, after the initial pain of the surgery itself has begun to subside. If the surgery has been planned in advance, the surgeon may even discuss the course of physical therapy treatment before the surgery, so that the patient knows what to expect. At our clinic in Bangkok, physical therapy sessions usually last less than one hour, and the sessions might take place once per week or several times per week. Because the exercises done at physical therapy sessions are designed to increase strength and range of motion, the patient may experience pain during the sessions, especially the first few sessions, but it is necessary to challenge the patient to use the injured muscle or joint in order to avoid long-term weakness of the muscle or joint.
The therapist typically instructs the patient to perform certain exercises daily, between appointments, and may even provide exercise equipment for that purpose. Our physical therapists here in Bangkok will help you return to your normal activities after an injury or surgery.
