Note
This is an additional page on our topic:
- Physiotherapy
The choice of treatment techniques and duration of therapy and the decision on individual or group therapy is based on the doctor’s prescription on the one hand, and on the other hand the therapist is guided by the previously established findings and his level of training. Each treatment includes, in addition to the specific treatment techniques of passive and active form, information about the causes and the course of the symptoms, as well as a consultation about continuing the learned movement sequences at home, in a group or in a club, and about healthy behavior in everyday life. With the application of passive forms of therapy the therapist creates the conditions for the patient’s own activity, i.e.
the patient is enabled to actively improve and maintain the success of the treatment by e.g. pain relief (reduction of muscle tension = reduction of spasticity, e.g. in physically handicapped children) and/or increase in mobility. In this way the patient is actively and responsibly involved in the healing process by changing his or her behavior.
During the course of treatment, the therapist must obtain a picture of the success of the treatment by means of documentation and result measurement and, if necessary, report the course of treatment to the prescribing doctor. To measure results, the therapist uses standardized test procedures to measure, for example, the extent of movement, strength, pain scales to assess pain intensity and evaluation of functional processes. After the individual therapy, as the symptoms subside, it is advisable to continue the exercises learned in the group.
In addition to the training, fun and the exchange with other patients are in the foreground. A large number of different courses are offered by physiotherapy practices, adult education centers and associations. Under certain circumstances, costs can be covered by the respective health insurance companies.
Passive therapy methods
In the following therapy methods I will limit myself to the most important treatment techniques, which have been scientifically best investigated and are included in the service catalog of the health insurance companies. The passive therapy methods include:
- Manual therapy
- Classical massage therapy
- Trigger point treatment
- Lymphatic drainage
- Heat Therapy
- Cold treatment
- Electrotherapy
Manual therapy is a protected, recognized therapy method, which is carried out in Germany by physiotherapists and osteopaths with appropriate additional qualifications and can be prescribed by physicians within the framework of the German Drug Regulation. Most of the training corresponds to the training in manual medicine/chiropractic therapy that doctors undergo for their additional qualification.
The term “manual therapy” is derived from the Latin word manus = hand and expresses the fact that in this therapeutic procedure, it is primarily the therapists’ hands – of course, eyes, ears and possibly an x-ray image are also used – that perform the examination and treatment of functional disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Indications:
- Functional joint disorders with movement restrictions in the area of the spinal column joints (neck-breast-lumbar or pelvic joints)
- Functional joint disorders with movement restrictions in the area of the extremity joints (shoulder, knee, hip, etc. )
- Acute and chronic pain in spine and extremity joints accompanied by muscular hard tension
- Restricted movement after immobilization
- Painfully degenerative diseases
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