And as a healthcare profession, physiotherapy's science foundation covers a broad and varied range of work which involves working with people to promote their own health and well being.
What physiotherapists do
Physiotherapists ("physios") work in a wide variety of health settings such as:
- intensive care
- mental illness
- stroke recovery
- occupational health
- care of the elderly
They combine their knowledge, skills and approach to improve a broad range of physical problems associated with different 'systems' of the body. In particular they treat:
- neuromuscular (brain and nervous system)
- musculoskeletal (soft tissues, joints and bones)
- cardiovascular and
- respiratory systems (heart and lungs and associated physiology).
Have a look at some conditions which physiotherapists often treat within these systems.
Seeing a physio
People are often referred for physiotherapy by doctors or other health and social care professionals. Increasingly, as a result of changes in health care, people are referring themselves directly to physiotherapists without previously seeing any other health care professional.
Physiotherapists work autonomously, most often as a member of a team with other health or social care professionals. They may be employed or self-employed and can work alone. Physiotherapy practice is characterised by reflective behaviour and systematic clinical reasoning, both contributing to and underpinning a problem-solving approach to patient-centred care.
Being a physio
Both becoming and being a physiotherapist is hard work but there is a rich and rewarding varienty of work available to qualified physiotherapists and the opportunities within the profession, both in the UK and internationally are considerable. Find out more about a career in physiotherapy.
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