PHYSICAL THERAPY AND REHABILITATION
Physical theraphy is a branch of medicine in which physical agents are usen in the treatment of neck and lumbar hernia, calcification, rheumatic diseases, bone resorption, spinal curvature such as scoliosis, sports injuries, polio, back-neck pain, and so on. The science of physical therapy is the area of expertise that provides the treatment of the disease or pain affecting the patient’s motor functions by providing the patient’s rehabilitation. For this reason, it is called as physical therapy and rehabilitation discipline. The aim of physical therapy science is to reduce the patient’s pain and to make the patient independent in their activities and to improve the quality of life.
What is rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation is a treatment that aims to regenerate lost or impaired movement functions, either congenital or later, due to various reasons (genetic, orthopedic, vascular or neurological diseases).
Physical Therapy Techniques;
– Cold application,
– Surface heat (infrared, HP, paraffin),
– Application of deep heat (ultrasound, shortwave diathermy, radar),
– Electrotherapy (tens, electrostimulation, vacuum-interference, diadinam, galvanic-faradic current)
– Mechanotherapy (vacuum, mobilization and manipulation, traction)
– Therapeutic exercise practices
According to the diagnosis and the period of the disease, a combination of treatment is carried out by the physician of physical therapy.
What are the goals of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation?
– Reducing pain,
– Relaxation of the muscles,
– Affect the circulation in a positive way,
– Elimination of inflammation,
– Restoration of functions; increasing the movement, strengthening the muscles and ensuring coordination,
– Reduction of drug requirement,
– Prevention and correction of posture disorders
Which diseases they are used against?
1. Spinal diseases such as lumbar hernia, neck hernia
2. Rheumatic diseases such as calcifications (knee, hip, spine etc.), arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis
3. Pre-operative and post-operative diseases such as shoulder sore , meniscus injuries, anterior cruciate ligament injuries
4.Sport injuries (for return to early and safe sports)
5. Rehabilitation of neurological diseases (stroke, spinal cord, cerebral palsy, etc.)
6. Pediatric rehabilitation with loss of function
7. Congenital or acquired joint and bone disorders
8. Rehabilitation after burn
9. Rehabilitation in the elderly
Who Is Physical Therapy Applied?
Physical therapy are used against pain which in arm, leg, shoulder, elbow, ankles, wrist, waist, back, neck and spinal areas. It used against dysfunctions because of various reasons, non-active rheumatic diseases, muscle weakness, hardening of joints, function is applied to those with restriction. In addition, physical therapy can be applied to those who develop complete or partial paralysis in the trunk, arms and legs as a result of brain or nerve damage, and those with swelling in their arms and legs as a result of disruption of lymph circulation outside the movement system.
Physical Therapy is not applicable to whom;
Application of active periods of inflammatory rheumatic diseases (joints, periods of swelling, hot and painful periods), vascular occlusion, varicose veins, cardiac pacemakers, open wounds and inflamed and cancerous areas are inconvenient.
What are the Benefits of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation?
– Decreased pain and weakness,
– Increased functions,
– The side effect is very rare and when it is light and transient,
– Prevent unnecessary medical and surgical treatments in many cases,
– To provide effective treatment in many other diseases which cannot be treated by medicine and surgery,
– Prevention of progression and progression of diseases,
– Improving the quality of life.
What are the Possible Risks and Side Effects of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Practices?
– Side effects and risks are very low. However, undesirable effects such as skin rashes and tenderness can be seen, albeit rarely.
– Much less but important risks are skin burns, heart rhythm disturbances, hypersensitivity to the skin, changes in blood pressure, muscle-tendon injury-rupture, electric shock during the opening of joint restrictions.
– To minimize the incidence of these conditions, you should give your doctor detailed information about your medical condition before the application.
WHAT IS ORTHOPEDIC REHABILITATION?
In diseases such as fractures, dislocations, ligament injuries, meniscus and ligament tears, splints are performed such as surgery, plaster or splint depending on the condition of the disease. Afterwards, the implementation of physical therapy and rehabilitation programs is very important in order to restore the normal activity level to the patient as soon as possible.
Healing is not merely the passage of pain. The operation may cause some negative changes (such as weakness in muscles, weakness in the ligament and capsule) of the joints and surrounding tissues that remain unstable for a long time depending on the plaster or splint. Physical therapy rehabilitation practices eliminate these negative conditions and help the person to return to normal life as soon as possible and to protect them from new injuries.
WHAT IS REHABILITATION BEFORE OPERATION?
Recently, pre-op rehabilitation has been given importance. In patients undergoing pre-op rehabilitation, the success of the surgery is increasing and the post-operative adverse events are minimized. It is known that surgical treatment is more successful when the problems such as pain, heat increase, swelling, limitation of movement, muscle weakness are reduced after the injury. Therefore, preoperative rehabilitation is gaining more importance day by day.
In addition, by taking precautionary measures, it can be ensured that the problems that may develop after surgery are kept to a minimum. Muscle weakening will occur after many operations such as anterior cruciate ligament repair and shoulder surgery. By strengthening the muscles as much as possible before surgery, it will be possible to keep this weakness to a minimum. Training on how to cope with the difficulties encountered in postoperative recovery period is an integral part of preoperative rehabilitation. For example, the use of crutches, gait training, the use of operating limbs, wearing clothes, etc.