Physical therapy and physiotherapy are often confused. However, they are not the same concept. This is because physiotherapy is a more general term than physical therapy and is carried out to restore and maintain physical fitness. Physical therapy is one of its branches. It is that part of rehabilitation in which the therapeutic stimulus is not the therapist's hands, but currents, lasers, ultrasound, magnetic fields or the influence of temperature or even climate.
Physiotherapy versus physical therapy
Physiotherapy is physical rehabilitation, which is part of rehabilitation. Physiotherapy is one of the forms of physiotherapy and is a type of medical rehabilitation that consists of influencing the human body with various physical stimuli. It uses only natural factors such as temperature, UV radiation, electric current or ultrasound. Physical therapy procedures are an adjunct to other forms of rehabilitation and help speed up recovery from illness or injury.
Physiotherapy, on the other hand, uses more diverse therapeutic methods such as physical therapy, kinesitherapy, therapeutic massage and functional training.
Where did physical therapy come from?
People have used physical actions for many centuries. They were using them long before medicine became concerned with restoring people's fitness after an injury. It was physical therapy that initiated the creation of current rehabilitation and used to be its main, most developed part. Today, physical therapy is only a part of physiotherapy.
What conditions does physical therapy help with?
The purpose of physical therapy is to improve muscles after injury, reduce pain and improve quality of life for chronic conditions. Physical therapy helps with pain following fractures, sprains and contusions and can also be helpful in treating wounds that are difficult to heal. It is recommended when there are joint complaints and inflammations of various origins, as well as to stimulate the immune system and the formation of new body cells. It also has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Physical therapy methods
Within physical therapy, the therapist uses only natural factors to treat pain, swelling or inflammation. Physical therapy treatments include:
- electrotherapy,
- magnetotherapy,
- phototherapy,
- heat and cold treatment,
- laser therapy
- hydrotherapy.
When used in treatment, these factors help to heal wounds, as well as relieve pain, treat inflammation and stimulate the various wellness processes that take place in the body. The therapist uses them to influence the human body, which responds to them.
Basic physical therapy methods include:
Electrotherapy
It includes treatments based on direct current. These include, for example, galvanotherapy and iontophoresis, electrostimulation, triangular and rectangular pulses, faradic current and transcutaneous nerve stimulation. There are also various other less common forms of current treatment. These are recommended for pain relief, in rheumatic complaints, in injuries to the limbs and in the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions, and for the treatment of osteoarthritis of bones and joints.
Laser therapy
Physical therapy using laser radiation It is primarily prescribed to patients to alleviate pain caused by injuries such as fractures, sprains, contusions and joint capsule injuries, as well as to alleviate rheumatoid pain or treat neuralgia. The laser is also used in cases of wounds that are difficult to heal and bones that have not grown for a long time.
Magnetic field.
This method has an effect on pain and inflammation of various origins. It is used, for example, in the treatment of inflammation of the abdominal organs, in complaints related to rheumatoid lesions and after injuries. It stimulates the immune system, relieves pain and inflammation and improves blood flow.
Ultrasound.
This method is used for muscle and joint inflammation and to relieve discomfort caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatism.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy uses low temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius. Sometimes as low as -176 degrees Celsius is used. It is mostly used for pain relief, injuries and degenerative diseases. It is also used as part of the prevention of osteoporosis.
