World Physiotherapy Day 2023: What Is Preventive Physiotherapy? Know About Its Benefits From Experts

Preventive physical therapy plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of your body and prepares you to engage in the physical activities you enjoy.

Physiotherapy for sports individuals

Source : Getty

The first thought which comes to our mind when we hear the term physiotherapy is rehabilitating injuries, but did you know that physiotherapy can prevent injuries even before they happen? Physiotherapy plays an important role in all stages of life. The goal of this is to improve mobility, function and overall well-being. Preventive physical therapy plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of your body and prepares you to engage in the physical activities you enjoy.

Dr. Shreyas Katharani from Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai said, "Physiotherapy services is not restricted for only injured population, it can be given to anyone who wishes to live an active lifestyle with fitness component as a routine in their everyday life. It can be given to athletes who wish to perform at their peak without going through injuries and can also be given to senior citizens who wish to prevent falls and focus a way towards independent & healthy living."

How Does Preventive Physiotherapy Help?

Dr. Fatima Dadani from HEAL Institute, Colaba, Mumbai shared how preventive physiotherapy helps:

• Physiotherapy-based techniques are now being used by sportsmen as a way to avoid getting injured. In order to address movement patterns that can contribute to a future injury, it is important to evaluate the biomechanical function of the athlete and design an individualized program in preventing those overuse injuries.
• Exercise regimens that emphasize on strength, mobility, and alignment of posture, as well as soft tissue manipulation can train the body to withstand stress during workouts.
• Individuals having sedentary lifestyles want to prevent injuries during periods of intense exercises can greatly benefit from guided sessions under qualified physiotherapists.
• To assist senior citizens maintain their independence, it is important to improve the muscle strength, flexibility, balance and coordination. Multiple studies have consistently shown that physiotherapy helps in multidirectional rehabilitation program which attempts to enhance balance and build postural strength can lower the risk of falls in the elderly population upto 50%.

"Regular visit to your physiotherapist gives the chance to screen your aches and pains, joint pathologies and further preventing from chronic degenerative changes by providing easy exercise programs to maintain bone density and overall health," she further said.

How Does A Physiotherapist Work?

Bharti Parmar who is a Sr Physiotherapist at Holy Family Hospital said, "As Physiotherapist we can screen the patient for various injuries. We check for the muscular strength, balance of the patient and the muscle endurance, which will help us identify if there are any risk factors for future injury to the patient. Depending on the assessment we guide the patient and prepare a personalised exercise program which can help them to prevent future injuries. The rehab goes further in various branches such as musculoskeletal, sport injuries, neurology, paediatric and community rehab."

"As physiotherapists, we are dedicated to not only addressing the immediate concerns of our patients but also equipping them with the knowledge and tools to lead healthier, more active lives," she further added.

Tips To Prevent Injury:

Following things can help in injury prevention:

• Proactively performing any form of exercise on a daily basis
• Pre operative rehabilitation
• Sport – specific training programs help in prevention of injuries in athletes,
• Balance training and core strengthening will reduce risk of falls and promote independence
• Education on pain and pain management helps patients identify difference in acute and chronic pain and helps them deal with their pain in a better way.
• Posture and ergonomic assessment helps prevent work related injuries and improves productivity overall.