Most countries have their own physiotherapy association. They differ only in minor ways, all having a similar aim and working from similar codes of conduct. The role of a Physiotherapy Association is to regulate the practice and provide an umbrella organization for members in a particular country, or region of a country that can help and assist its members in various ways.
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in England has the honor of being the oldest documented professional group to be set up. It was not exactly an association, but very nearly so. It was set up in 1894 by four nurses. Their success was such that many other countries soon followed their example.
Formal training programs also began to appear soon after with accredited degree courses. Among the early ones to appear was New Zealand's School of Physiotherapy at the University of Otago, and Portland, Oregon's Reed College. These centers were established in 1913 and 1914 respectively.
One of the first organizations to use the word "association" in respect of physiotherapy was the Physical Therapy Association founded in the USA in 1921 by Mary McMillan, later known as the American Physical Therapy Association.
Also in 1921 was the first serious research into the uses of physiotherapy. The PT Review as it was called acted in a very positive way to assist the young medical discipline, bringing it into a more respected sphere of scholarly recognition. Unfortunately, however, it is sometimes the lack of serious research and review that many of the detractors of physiotherapy's point to.
Polio, also known as infantile paralysis when it affects the very young, was an almost perfect candidate for the blossoming practice of physiotherapy. The Georgia Warm Springs Foundation was among the first to recommend the use of physiotherapy to help the victims of polio. It soon became standard practice to treat polio victims with intensive physiotherapy.
For almost the first 50 years of its formal existence physiotherapy treatment consisted of exercise and massage with some traction. Around about the 1950s this expanded to include manipulation of certain areas, notable the spine and the joints in the hands and feet. The success of this naturally had the effect of making physiotherapy a more useful tool for patients with reduced movement.
The advances made in physiotherapy have always had the backing of the many physiotherapy association organizations and groups set up all over the world. In more recent years these advances have been considerable and many. This has been especially so with the rapid advances in computers and other technologies. Any physiotherapy association has had to run a little faster to keep up.
As physiotherapy has advanced, so has the sophistication of the associations that back them. Every code of practice is regularly reviewed and adjusted to meet evolving situations. Communities have grown to trust their physiotherapy association and its high standards. They expect practitioners to be members of recognized associations and remain uncertain of those who choose not to be. In this way the importance of each physiotherapy association is assured.
Physiotherapy Treatment Tip #1
People with injuries tend to consult medical doctors and usually demand medication to alleviate pain. Though it brings temporary relief, the palliative effects of medicine only deals with the symptoms rather than the cause of the pain and would usually have addictive side effects. Therein lays the opportunity for physiotherapy. The intake of oral medications may be avoided is there are alternative ways of dealing with pain.
Physiotherapy Treatment Tip #2
Patients who are suffering from various muscular disorders, minor or major injuries resulting to some difficulty in movements and immobility as well as other conditions associated with pain may just benefit from myotheraphy. Assortments of methods are used to deal with pain with the goal of alleviating it or achieve its total elimination. In this type of physiotherapy, massage, electrical nerve stimulation, movement exercise, acupuncture, meditation and the application of hot or cold compress are some examples of the techniques which are being employed in treating a wide range of complaints.
Physiotherapy Treatment Tip #3
Physiotherapists must also work in tandem with the parents to ensure a strong support system. Parents need to urge their kids to be more mobile. They also have to be made aware of all that is entailed in the treatment procedure. They also have to understand fully that the development in their child’s condition will greatly depend on them.
