What is a Physiotherapist?

If you are injured in an Ontario accident, there is a good chance you will be treated by a physiotherapist.  Physiotherapists are health care professionals.  Their job is to keep you moving as you’re supposed to, to help you go back to moving as you could before an injury or to help you develop ways of moving as you’re supposed to if you could not before.

Navigating Recovery with Physiotherapy After an Ontario Car Accident

Physiotherapy is a large part of recovery or rehabilitation after you have sustained injuries in a car accident or other trauma.  If you go to a physiotherapist after an accident your injuries will be assessed by them and a plan for restoring normal functions, along with goals of rehabilitation will be decided upon between you and the physiotherapist.

The physiotherapist will assess your medical history as well as the condition you are in to diagnose your case and determine the best treatment for you.  The treatments used by physiotherapists do not include drugs or surgery.  Rather, you visit the physiotherapist at times agreed upon to work on the injuries together.  This can include stretches or exercises done within the physiotherapist’s office.

The main goal of a physiotherapist is to get you moving as you’re supposed to so that you can go on to have an independent life.

Recovery After Being Injured in an Ontario Car Accident:

Physiotherapists specialize in many areas and deal with many types of causes of immobility.  They deal with older individuals, helping them cope with the ways aging affects their movement.  They also see individuals who are recovering from cardiac surgery.  They also deal with individuals suffering from various injuries that could be sustained in car accidents, attempting to restore their mobility.

First, physiotherapists may be able to help you recover from brain injuries or spinal cord injuries sustained during the car accident.  This type of therapy is referred to as “neurological”.  If you suffer from vision impairment, if you have become paralyzed, or have lost the ability to balance yourself you may be a candidate for neurological physiotherapy.

Second, physiotherapy can be of an orthopedic nature.  This means that a physiotherapist can help strengthen your body and get it back to normal after injuries to your musculoskeletal system.  This includes broken bones or fractures, sports injuries, arthritis, bad sprains, back and neck pain, spinal injuries and even amputated body parts.  There are many ways that an orthopedic physiotherapist can treat a patient.  For example, a physiotherapist may use joint manipulation (making you move in a certain way), exercise, they may educate you about your injuries and ways to improve your condition, or they may apply hot and/or cold packs to the injury.  These are not even all of the ways they can help patients.  Each treatment depends on the needs of the patient.

Third, if you have a child who has been injured in an accident, there are special physiotherapists just for them.  These are called “pediatric” physiotherapists.  They can help children recover from fractures, musculoskeletal injuries, and various other injuries.  Children’s therapy is mainly focused on regaining their motor skills, their balance and strength or improving the processes of their brains.  Once again, the methods used and types of treatments needed depends on each individual child.

Fourth, physiotherapists can help with external wounds that you may get from being in an accident.  For example, deep cuts or burns on your skin can be treated by them.  This is called integumentary physiotherapy.  Most treatments used in this type of physiotherapy involve tissue healing, such as dressing wounds or getting patients to wear a splint.

Where You Can Find a Physiotherapist in Ontario

Most physiotherapists in Ontario work at clinics that can be found in the Yellow Pages.  However, you may also look for physiotherapists near you by going to www.physiotherapy.ca and clicking on the “Find a Physiotherapist” on the right hand side of the page.

For more information about your accident claim after an Ontario accident, contact Ottawa personal injury lawyer Brenda Hollingsworth at 613 233-4529.