Rehab Physiotherapy

Rehab physiotherapy, more popularly known as physiotherapy, is a rehabilitation specialty which focuses on re- functioning of impaired abilities, promotes mobility and enhances quality of life.

What is rehab physiotherapy?:

After sustaining severe trauma or injury, patients can experience limited function as well as reduced strength to carry out their everyday activities. Rehab physiotherapy can enable a patient’s recovery post acute care phase and help them get back to their normal life. It involves assessment of the condition, identifying the causes, anticipating concerns and conditions, and using force and movements for rehab physiotherapies. Rehab physiotherapies provide therapeutic treatment in conditions where the movement and function get limited due to reasons including age, injury, or any other disease.Rehab physiotherapy also employs Clinical Electrophysiology techniques such as electrotherapy, apart from electrophysiological evaluation (EMG/NCV).

Enabling rehab physiotherapy:

Rehab physiotherapy can be to treat patients of all age groups who have had surgical or medical conditions or any other ailments or injuries which has limited their independence and movement activities they are used to in their daily lives. Rehab physiotherapy is tailored based on patient’s past history and physical examination. Rehab physiotherapies offered at Apokos commonly include recommendation and assistance with specific exercises and therapies through mechanical and robotic devices.
 What does it include?

 Cardiovascular & pulmonary physiotherapy

Rehab physiotherapy helps restoring mobility in the patient to the maximum, post medical or surgical intervention as the case may be in a cardiovascular and pulmonary ailment. Rehab physiotherapy can be applied in a wide variety of cardiopulmonary disorders or pre and post cardiac or pulmonary surgery. For example in a coronary bypass surgery which is a type of cardiac surgery, the goal of rehab physiotherapy includes increasing endurance and functional independence. Physiotherapy comes to aid in clearing lung secretions experienced with cystic fibrosis and also increases lung capacity to enable normal breathing for the patient.

Geriatric

Rehab physiotherapy for elderly covers a wide area of issues related to aging. The various conditions that affect people as they grow older includes arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, hip and joint replacement, balance disorders, incontinence, etc. However, the issues are not just limited to the aforementioned conditions. Rehab physiotherapists that provide geriatric physical rehabilitation, specialize in providing therapy for such conditions in older adults.

Neurological

Stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, injury, cerebral palsy, l.g.b. syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, facial palsy and spinal cord injury are few types of neurological disorders and diseases. Rehab physiotherapy that focuses on these conditions is known as Neurological physiotherapy or neuro physiotherapy or neurological rehabilitation. The techniques to be applied in treating neurological disorders are of a wide range and require specialized training.

Orthopaedic

The management and treatment of disorders and injuries of the musculoskeletal system including rehabilitation after orthopedic surgery is done by Orthopedic physical therapists. These therapists are experts in the treatment of post-operative orthopedic procedures, fractures, acute sports injuries, arthritis, sprains, strains, back and neck pain, spinal conditions, and amputations.

Pediatric
There are health problems that revolve around the pediatric population. Pediatric rehab physiotherapy helps in the early detection of any such health issues in the pediatric population. These therapists are specialized in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of infants, toddlers, and adolescents with a variety of congenital, developmental, neuromuscular, skeletal, or acquired disorders/diseases. The focus of the treatments provided by pediatric rehab physiotherapists is on improving gross and fine motor skills, gaining and strengthening balance and coordination, as well as cognitive and sensory processing/integration.