What is musculoskeletal physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy helps restore movement and function to as near normal as possible when someone is affected by injury, illness or by developmental or other disability. Musculoskeletal physiotherapists have expertise in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, which includes muscles, joints and soft tissues. It employees advanced clinical assessment and diagnosis methods.
Musculoskeletal problems may occur without any apparent cause or may be related to other reasons e.g. postural strain; age changes; arthritis; following sport and leisure activity injuries (e.g. sprains, strains, tendonitis) or following broken bones or fractures or after surgery. Lets take a look at musculoskeletal physiotherapy and its benefits.
What are the injuries that musculoskeletal physiotherapy treats?
Musculoskeletal disorders are any injuries, damage or pain in the body’s muscle tissue, joints, nerves, ligaments, tendons and muscular or skeletal structures that support the limbs or the back.There are various musculoskeletal disorders treated by physiotherapists who specialize in musculoskeletal physiotherapy, such as:
- Ligament sprains
- Muscle strains
- Arthritis
- Cartilage tears
- Pre and post-surgery rehabilitation
- Fracture rehabilitation
- Back pain
These injuries require therapy assessment and treatment session. Upon assessment the physiotherapist will set goals and develop an appropriate rehabilitation plan. This leads us to the second question.
How does musculoskeletal physiotherapy help?
Some of the treatments that the musculoskeletal physiotherapist may use can include:
- Totally relieve or reduce your pain.
- Provide you with strategies to best manage your injury or condition.
- Help you to recover quicker and hasten your return to your normal activities.
- Improve your flexibility, muscle strength, and quality of movement, proprioception and coordination.
- Assist you to achieve exercise or functional goals.
- Improve your fitness.
- Help you to prevent future injury recurrences.
- Prescribe exercises to do at home, work in the gym to enhance your recovery.
Some of the treatment methods used to treat musculoskeletal issues include:
- Exercise therapy
- Manual therapy
- Electrotherapy
- Massage
Self-management strategies
The most appropriate treatments will be selected upon the clinical judgment and the experience of the musculoskeletal physiotherapist on the findings from the initial assessment. Treatments for musculoskeletal injuries aim to:
- Optimize healing
- Speed the recovery process
- Increase strength
- Restore normal movement
- Decrease pain
- Decrease swelling and inflammation
- Increase independence
Your physiotherapist will consider all of these when they are developing the treatment plan.
Musculoskeletal physiotherapy aims to help the patient recover from their condition more quickly through regular treatment sessions and to develop coping strategies to aid the patient during the recovery process and prevent secondary problems from occurring.
Your condition and unique set of symptoms will be taken into account when your physiotherapist is putting together his or her treatment plan. If musculoskeletal physiotherapy is recommended for you, don’t be afraid to ask questions to your physiotherapist and make sure you understand what treatment is recommended and that your expectations are realistic.
For further queries, contact our team of experts at InHome Physical Therapy & Massage.
