Thinking about seeing a physio? Have you been told “Physiotherapy will help that”? Are you still a little unsure about what a physiotherapist actually does?
Well, you’re in the right place!
We’re here to answer all those questions and help you understand what physiotherapy is and whether it can help to heal what hurts so you can get on with living your life.
So what is a Physiotherapist?
A physiotherapist is a handy person to know!
All Physiotherapists in Australia hold a university degree in Physiotherapy and must be registered by law with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). AHPRA are agency that regulates the 16 health professions with nationally consistent legislation under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. This includes doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists as well as physiotherapists.
In addition to the base-level training a physiotherapist does at University, they commit to continuing professional development to ensure everything they do is supported by up to date scientific evidence. This protects the public from being receiving treatments that may be of no benefit or even harmful.
Physiotherapists work across a diverse range of areas in health care. The most commonly thought of areas are sports that might run out onto the footy field to assist a player with a knee injury or helping to fix your dodgy back.
But did you know:
· The physio is the person who will help you walk again after a stroke?
· The physiotherapist will be the ones who pummels your back when you have chest congestion from pneumonia?
· The physiotherapy department is where they call when a person in a coma isn’t maintaining sufficient oxygen levels in the ICU?
· It may be a physio not a doctor who assesses and treats your dislocated shoulder in the emergency department?
· It might be the physio who puts strategies in place to help your child learn better at school?
Physiotherapists are pretty humble people. Most days aren’t as glamourous as treating Raphael Nadal courtside at the Australian Open but physios can achieve all these amazing results for people and help them to get on with living their life.
In choosing Physiotherapy you can be sure you will receive high quality, safe and effective care for whatever ails you.