In Good Health // The Importance Of Physiotherapy For Everyone

In a fast-paced and ever-changing environment like we have today, we all try our best to cope with the physical challenges and demands in our respective line of work. So much so, we sometimes neglect to take better care of ourselves. This can often manifest into body aches and pains and can make you feel all worn out or easily fatigued after having been sitting down for several hours in front of a computer. Increased demand on your body not only happens because of work, this can also come from play like sports or leisurely activities. Repetitive movements that come from these activities can cause microtrauma on your body that may later come out as body pain when not properly addressed. This is where physiotherapy plays a vital role.

In physiotherapy, we put a primary focus on functional movement and teaching better ways to go about daily tasks through instruction, practice, and feedback. Functional movement is basically any of your daily activities including eating, climbing stairs, dressing, or even just trying to sit on a chair. There are a lot of things that can hold you back from doing your normal everyday activities. Knee pain, for example, can restrict you from trying to get out of bed in the morning, or trying to squat down to pick up an object from the floor. Here, one tends to develop a sort of apprehension when trying to do so and tries to avoid doing certain movements in an effort to stay away from pain. This in turn will further restrict movement, weaken muscles, and can cause other symptoms elsewhere in the body.

The goal with physiotherapy then is to help you manage the pain to break this vicious cycle and get you moving again with confidence through an individualised rehab program that involves modalities like Therapeutic Ultrasound and Electrotherapy. Your Physiotherapist may also use Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) and/or Manual Therapy Techniques like Cupping Therapy and Myofascial Release. Exercise will be a core part in recovery too as functional movement is always tied to motion.

Another common problem that physiotherapists assist with is bad posture, resulting from prolonged sitting in front of a desk. This can lead to conditions like scoliosis, sway back, and flat back. This can also lead to muscle imbalances, muscle tightness, weakness, and ultimately pain. Pinpointing what specific muscles to work on will be determined by your physiotherapist, and knowing where to focus will lead to a more specific and effective approach. Again, an individualised rehab program tailored to the patient’s or client’s needs is a must. People who work in an office also commonly develop wrist pain, when overusing tendons on the wrist happens from prolonged keyboard use, gadget use, or excessively writing with a pen for hours on end. When severe pain occurs, individuals are initially advised to put on a wrist support or even a wrist brace. But even then, gentle movement is still done for joint integrity and maintaining range of motion while dealing with the pain.

Sports or leisure-related injuries are also quite common. Playing a lot of sports like badminton or tennis can cause elbow pain when warm-up and stretching are often neglected. Shoulder pain can also often appear with individuals who frequently fancy a game of cricket or baseball as this places high demand, high impact stress on the shoulder when performing a throwing motion. When pain starts to take hold, of course anyone would want to get back to normal as soon as possible. This can be made possible with physiotherapy where recovery can be hastened within a reasonable timeframe with proper performance-specific training, muscle strengthening, and stretching.

Physiotherapy is not only concerned with injury rehabilitation. As much as possible, we would like to keep you away from injury through prevention and training. Everyday objects can be modified to help with injury prevention. The height of your office desk can affect the pressure you place on your wrists when typing. The alignment of your computer screen can cause neck pain and tension headaches. Even footwear you use highly impacts whether you are bound to develop knee pain at some point. Correction of these daily objects can be made early on to lessen the strain on your body by removing the risk factors that may result in injury or body pain.

Whatever the concern may be, seeing a physiotherapist can help you move in better ways and develop challenging, yet achievable, goals. Physical limitations should be addressed while also acknowledging each person’s strengths to better understand the needs of everyday tasks and environmental obstacles where they are needed to be performed. Whether in restoration or prevention, Physiotherapy is there to help improve your quality of life.

// Christine Juatas, Physiotherapist at NeoHealth