When is physiotherapy or rehabilitation necessary?

Before answering the main question of this article, it is necessary to explain the difference between physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

Firstly, physiotherapy is referred to as the treatment to treat the symptoms of many diseases, with therapeutic exercises and manual techniques. Rehabilitation, on the other hand, is the process that helps to recover from an illness or condition due to disease, surgery or other health conditions.

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In short, rehabilitation aims to restore mobility, manual skills, communication and self-care; physiotherapy aims to improve quality of life.

Physiotherapy acts in prevention, maintenance and recovery of the body. Therefore, when an injury occurs during exercise or daily activity, as well as a bad posture, the affected person usually presents certain symptoms that require expert treatment.

So, here are some of the symptoms and pains that should be taken into account when deciding to see a specialist in physiotherapy:

Loss of balance

Continuous imbalance is an uncomfortable situation, so much so that day-to-day life is complicated by symptoms of dizziness, nausea and vertigo. This happens due to changes in the inner ear, because at this point in the condition it is important to know that an important part of the balance is based on the sense of hearing.

In these cases, it is advisable to treat it with vestibular rehabilitation (a type of physiotherapy). Thus, the specialist will provide a series of exercises involving movement of the head, neck and eyes, with the aim of restoring balance to the central nervous system.

Back pain

Working long hours at a desk can lead to back pain, as well as muscle and joint pain, as lack of exercise can cause them to tighten.

The best thing to do in these cases is to stop for a second and take a break to stretch or walk. It doesn't matter if you do little movement, the important thing is to keep active, as the minimum will be beneficial for your body.

To solve these ailments and prevent them, it is advisable to seek expert advice and treatment from a physiotherapist to maintain good health.

Unrelenting pain

After an injury, there is a recovery time, so it may take a few weeks for the pain and discomfort to go away. However, some pain, especially in the lower back and neck, can become chronic.

In cases where pain persists as an abnormal situation, it is more than necessary to see a physiotherapist for assessment, diagnosis and an exercise plan.

Limited mobility

There are different situations that prevent us from performing certain movements, so we may lose flexibility and mobility, which obviously limits us from performing certain tasks or activities that we may be used to.

If you are in a similar situation, you can undergo physiotherapy and rehabilitation sessions to treat the problem.

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Urinary incontinence

Although more common in the female population, urinary incontinence is more common than is known. It occurs in men as they get older. However, you don't have to live with it for the rest of your life, as there are a number of ways to treat the problem.

Incontinence can develop through stress incontinence, which occurs through involuntary leakage when laughing, coughing or sneezing. There is also urge incontinence, which is a sudden urge to urinate, causing leakage.

If this happens, it is advisable to see a physiotherapist who will provide you with specific pelvic floor exercises, which will noticeably improve the condition.

Problems falling asleep

Difficulty falling asleep or waking up without feeling rested is often a good indicator that something is wrong with your body. Muscle pain or discomfort can cause sleep disorders.

If this is the case, it is the physiotherapist who will be able to detect the parts of the body that are causing discomfort and find solutions so that you can finally fall asleep.

When there are physical injuries, a good diagnosis is as important as a good recovery. After a serious injury, illness or surgery, you should be aware that recovery can be slower and that rehabilitation is key to the success of this stage.

In most of these cases, it is necessary to carry out rehabilitation for a certain period of time and receive specific rehabilitation treatment to regain the strength and routine you had before.

Moreover, most experts agree that it should be done as soon as possible. This is why it is necessary to have an expert opinion or diagnosis and subsequent treatment in order to achieve an excellent recovery as soon as possible.

First of all, it is important to clarify that the rehabilitation process will not be the same for each person, not even the start of the rehabilitation process. Everything will depend on the reason for starting the rehabilitation sessions, as well as the state of health of each person.

Thus, rehabilitation will start earlier or later depending on:

• Age
• Associated diseases
• Muscle tone

The general recommendation of experts is to start rehabilitation as soon as possible.

In the case of surgery, rehabilitation therapies are usually started 7 days after the surgery. In this way, the patient goes through 2 phases before starting therapy:

• Acute inflammatory phase: occurs as a consequence of the operation. During this stage, the only treatment administered is an anti-inflammatory or analgesic, either orally or intravenously. In addition, it is important to immobilise the treated area for the first few days.
• Subacute inflammatory phase: after 3 days (approximately) the patient can begin to make the first movements. For example, in the case of a knee operation, flexion can be started without exceeding 90 degrees, to avoid extra tension.

During this stage, it is recommended to start doing some isometric exercises, i.e. body exercises that involve tension in the muscle but do not involve a muscle contraction or extension movement.

Normally, once both phases have passed, the patient is ready to begin rehabilitation, which can last from 1 to 4-6 months, depending on the cause of the injury.

If you are in a similar situation, we inform you that Operarme has a wide variety of services of the different types of physiotherapy and rehabilitation that you may need.

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If you prefer, you can also contact our patient service team who will help you to solve any questions you may have. You can call us on +34 91 141 33 56, or fill in the contact form and we will call you back.

• López-Liria, R. (2012, abril). La rehabilitación y fisioterapia domiciliaria en las prótesis de rodilla. Scientific Electronic Library Online. http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1137-66272012000100009
• Parra, L. N. S. (2012, diciembre). Proceso de envejecimiento, ejercicio y fisioterapia. Scientific Electronic Library Online. http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?pid=S0864-34662012000400008&script=sci_arttext&tlng=en