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Physiotherapy is a career area that makes a significant difference in the lives of patients encountering physical issues. Physiotherapists will deal with many different types of patients requiring different support and treatment, and even play a role in diagnoses.
Physiotherapy helps those affected by physical issues such as disability and injury and aims to restore or maintain mobility. Physiotherapists can diagnose many conditions impacting the muscles, bones, organs, and other parts of the body. It’s viewed both as a prevention and treatment method that uses movement and manipulation to reduce pain and encourage healing.
Physiotherapy is a rewarding career area for people passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. There are plenty of opportunities, with the ability to specialise or grow with roles, or work in clinical settings or even in the community.
Rooted in science, physiotherapy is a health and care profession that uses physicality and movement to maintain and restore wellbeing in its patients. Physiotherapists will often engage patients in a series of sessions, assessing their issue and understanding how they’ll need support.
Physiotherapy can be used to treat numerous different conditions, from cardiorespiratory conditions, neurological conditions, and more. Physiotherapists will work in many different environments to improve the life qualify of their patients - this could be with sports teams at their training facilities, in hospitals helping with those recovering from surgeries, or in universities, performing research projects.
Physiotherapy can help to improve people’s independence, and subsequently, their quality of life. For this reason, physiotherapy is often considered to be an incredibly fulfilling career for people wanting to work in health and social care.
Physiotherapy is a career that can take you in many different directions, with plenty of scope for creating your own path. With so much choice available, which one might suit you?
Physiotherapists work in various settings, which vary to benefit patients as much as possible. Depending on where they work, these professionals draw on their expertise in unique ways and for different purposes. Although the core skills behind them are the same, specialist roles in physiotherapy bring interesting possibilities and new challenges. Let’s take a look!
It can also include some autoimmune diseases such as arthritis. Physiotherapists in this area could help patients with back pain or whiplash.
Physiotherapists specialising in paediatrics will work with infants, children, and young people experiencing mobility issues.
This is what newly qualified physiotherapists can expect to start their careers earning, and there will often be opportunities for this to increase with experience, too.
This is what a typical working week looks like - physiotherapists tend to work set working hours (normally 9am - 5pm), although there can be some work that occurs in either the evenings or weekends.
Many physiotherapists will choose to specialise in one or more related areas to focus their learning and development on supporting individuals that experience challenges in their area(s) of specialist expertise to the very best of their ability.
Healthcare providers will help provide a healthy work/life balance, including part-time opportunities, flexibility, and childcare support. When you care for others, it’s important that the healthcare provider places the value in you, meaning that you’re able to focus on providing the best quality care.
Physiotherapy is a varied career area, but there are a core set of responsibilities that you will experience no matter which type of patients you care for. Let’s take a look!
Often referred to as a movement analysis, physiotherapists will do this assessment and ask the patient a range of initial questions to determine what they’re struggling with specifically. This could involve asking questions about pain, or the limitations of their movement. Following this, there will be a physical assessment.
Physiotherapits also provide psychological support - by considering any mental factors that’s affecting their movement, or is brought on by treatment, physiotherapists are able to build a good rapport with their patient based on trust, which helps when it comes to the effectiveness of treatment.
This could be through the use of hands and other massage techniques in targeted areas to encourage flexibility and increase the range of movement in the client.
Using devices such as X-ray machines helps the physiotherapist to have a full understanding of what’s going wrong with the patient - allowing them to tailor the course of treatment as specifically as possible. Operating these machines can have risks associated, meaning that they must be well trained to use the equipment and understand what information it may provide.
Manual therapy is one technique at a physiotherapist’s disposal, but there are others too. Hydrotherapy involves carrying our exercises in water to alleviate the pressure on bones, muscles, and joints in those who have injuries. Electrotherapy usually involves the use of TENS machines that stimulate the nerves and interrupt the pain signals. These conditions can help to treat lower back pain, nerve pain and arthritis, among others
This could include a number of different movements and will depend upon the condition of the patient and their physical and mental ability to undergo the treatment course.
It’s important for physiotherapists to continue their education, even after they qualify. This should include research regarding the bones, joints, and musculoskeletal system. It never hurts to keep up to date!
Keeping an up to date and accurate medical record is very important in healthcare because if anything happens to the patient, other professions can go back and check the potential causes. This helps with communication between different branches of healthcare.
It’s important that patients are aware about their conditions and care. Physiotherapists will often be asked to educate them about both - this could include informing them about posture, lifting techniques to avoid injury, and information to maintain safe movement.
Like most healthcare professionals, physiotherapists will work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide the best care possible for their patients. By relying on different expertise and opinion, they can play a key role in a team that looks after the complete health needs of a patient.
