The physiotherapy is a healing technique which consists of appealing to natural elements (light, water) or mechanical actions (a massage). The word is born from the union of two Greek words: physis ("nature" ) and therapeia ("treatment" ). The etymology, then, indicates that physiotherapy is the "Treatment through nature" .
According to World Health Organization (WHO) , physiotherapy can develop different tasks to diagnose a capacity functional, the strength of a muscle or the characteristics of the movement of a joint. And it is that the necessary university training to assume this profession prepares physiotherapists to act as competent members of Public Health. They should be prepared to read and analyze a medical history, refer their patients to other professionals when necessary, as well as to work together with other specialists. In addition, the physiotherapist must be able to contribute both to recovery and to help prevent disorder physical.
The history of physiotherapy is very remote, since they are recorded testimony of the Ancient Mesopotamia , he Ancient Egypt and the Prehispanic america . Its evolution began with procedures that in many cases were based on religion and magic, but always with the intervention of physical agents. In Greece, through the work of characters as Hippocrates, medicine gained a more rational character, since it left mysticism in pursuit of research, to reach the source of the condition and, studying each individual in particular, to find the most appropriate treatment.
We distinguish three functions that this discipline fulfills in society:
* Assistance Function: the very performance of physiotherapy for the prevention and healing, using the techniques of his field. The first step is the assessment of each patient to be able to issue a diagnosis, from which the path to be taken for recovery is decided, whether it depends absolutely on physiotherapy or that requires the competence of other professionals of the medicine.
The main tool used in this discipline is the hand and, among the tasks that are performed, we find massages, stretching and different physical exercises that have objectives such as posture correction, airway obstruction and improvement of motor control. But physiotherapy also relies on other elements and technology to improve health; application of electric current, ultrasound, treatments with water, heat and cold are some of the techniques They are not based on the exclusive use of hands.
* Teaching and Research Function: Through the university training of future professionals, it is important that you point to an evolution of physiotherapy, opening the doors to treatments that make use of the different technological and medicinal advances that may arise.
* Management Function: the professionals of this countryside They can access to participate in physiotherapy cabinets or centers as long as the legislation of their country allows it. These are channels that facilitate the propagation of information to achieve uniform and consistent development of specialists, through programs, activities and statistics at the national level.
Although, by not using toxic substances, adverse effects are not frequent, physical therapy can cause some inconveniences such as inflammations, effusions, coagulation problems or infections. Usually, these complications are linked to certain diseases or pre-existing conditions, so Each type of treatment has its corresponding contraindications. In general, if we talk about manipulation therapies, its application should be avoided in patients with fractures, osteoporosis or rheumatoid arthritis, among other conditions. In the case of electrotherapy, to cite another example, people who present with infections or inflammations in the skin, heart disease or, in the case of women, who are pregnant will not be able to receive this treatment.
