Employing a non-invasive, more physical approach to evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, conditions, and injuries, physiotherapy is gaining popularity as a health science. Physiotherapists, also known as physical therapists, are able to offer a wide range of services from physiotherapy exercises, stroke rehabilitation, and ultrasound therapy.

Physiotherapists or "PT's" are highly trained professionals who can identify weaknesses or imbalances in the body. Physical therapists can help in targeting specific areas in the body where weakness or pain is felt and then prescribe the suitable treatment plan. Exercise prescription and physiotherapy exercises are designed not only to improve body function, but also to help reduce stress levels.

How Exercise Helps the Body

When you incur an injury, the pain felt should serve as a guide to where the sensitive areas are located. Physiotherapists stress that there are two major types of pain: first is the pain due to stiffness and the second is pain due to damage. Pain due to stiffness may be quite bearable when you are doing exercise, and may be relieved gradually once you finish an exercise. Experiencing pain indicates that your muscles are damaged and need to be repaired to prevent worsening of the injury. Pain due to damage can be unbearable which is an obvious indicator that your muscles are damaged, and are not ready for any exercise yet.

Once your physiotherapist determines the extent and cause of your pain, he or she will ask you to perform an array of physiotherapy exercises. There are practically hundreds of PT exercises for different injuries, from injuries to the neck, lower back, shoulders, spinal cord, legs, and feet. Your Physiotherapy clinician may also specify additional personalized stretching exercises for you. Stretching, as you should know, is important for maintaining proper range of motion of the joins, and also promotes flexibility of muscles.

For example, if you have tight muscles or stiff joints, performing normal activities like climbing the stairs or reaching for items above the cupboard may be tough to do. With proper stretching exercises, the normal body functions can either be preserved or enhanced. For instance, after you figure in an injury or surgery, scar tissue usually forms and soft tissue contracts. It's important that you regularly perform physical therapist-assisted stretching exercises, to ensure that the scar formation does not impair your movements.

How Prescription Exercises Help to Improve Muscle Strength

Prescription physiotherapy exercises are generally employed to specifically target muscle deficiencies, and also to help rehabilitate patients after an injury or after undergoing surgery. Therapeutic or prescription exercises are often used to improve the patient's strength, function and mobility, as well as to significantly lessen pain and swelling in the affected part of the body. Family doctors and PT practitioners often prescribe simple and easy home-based physiotherapy exercises, and also provide their patients with handouts and easy-to-understand instructional manuals or guides. Many agree that supervised physiotherapy exercises are more effective than home-based exercises, especially in patients who have osteoarthritis of the knee, low back injury and intermittent claudification. Still, physiotherapy exercises performed at home have their own advantages as well, more so for the post-operative recovery of anterior cruciate ligament.

Exercise is truly vital for the treatment and management of a wide array of chronic health conditions and injuries. Supervised physical therapy exercise programs consist of individualized prescription exercises that are specifically designed by trained physiotherapists, and are done in conjunction with the patient's condition and fitness level. Physical therapists are specialists in movement impairments, and are effective in developing or designing therapeutic exercise programs and modalities which suit a patient's specific needs.

A recent study made by doctors from The Netherlands also indicated that supervised physical therapy exercises also result in less pain and better function for patients, both in the short-term and long-term periods.

Resources on Physiotherapy Exercises and other Information

A number of helpful physiotherapy resources are available online, to give you more helpful information on new and improved modalities for easing pain and improving strength and mobility. The American Family Physician's website offers relevant information related to physiotherapy exercises. The Canadian Physiotherapy Association, or CPA, also offers a wide array of information and resources about physiotherapy exercises and quick reference guides about the physical therapy community.