The final days of 2020 (thank goodness!) are winding down, making it the perfect time to run a recap of the biggest stories regarding physiotherapy. In doing so you will discover how this once “alternative” form of healthcare has become essential to the wellness of people all over the world. Let’s review.
Top Headlines About Physiotherapy in 2020 That Show the Importance of Making Physio a Part of Your Health and Wellness in 2021
Physiotherapy Saves Professional Sports
The health crisis put a screeching halt to the NBA and NHL along with other professional sports. But understanding that the world needs sports for the sake of some sort of normalcy in our lives the leagues most impacted by the stoppage remained determined to bring their respective games back for the summer.
However, despite all of the implemented precautions for protecting players, coaches, and staff, how could world-class athletes be expected to perform at a high level and avoid injury after spending months on the sidelines? Even more so, how could they do it without adequate practice and team-workouts due to social distancing protocols?
Through physiotherapy.
Sure, players could shoot hoops and slap pucks (etc) on their home courts and concrete rinks but this did little to prepare their bodies for the contact and quick pivoting required in the competitive arena. As athletes passed the time at home without in-person access to their teams of trainers they turned to their physiotherapists. This would be the only way to get essential assistance with soft tissue and small stabilizer muscle work. This proved to be instrumental to a return to season that did not leave a wake of injured players (beyond the norm) in their respective leagues. For more insight into how this was accomplished, please review our news release on how the NBA bubble was a success thanks in-part to physiotherapy.
Of course, all of this had to be done virtually in the early stages, which leads us to the next important headline from 2020.
Virtual Physiotherapy Provides Relief at Home
Virtual physiotherapy was a “thing” prior to the health crisis, but few knew about it, or at least considered it. But being forced with the prospect of living with chronic pain or without access to treatment for an acute injury the public needed to be informed about their options. The industry stepped up and delivered.
All of a sudden the portmanteau telehealth along with virtual-physio, online-physio, and zoom-physio became common terms in the search for injury repair and prevention. People under required or self-imposed lockdown/isolation were able to connect to therapists and attend to their physical ailments accordingly. In many cases, virtual physio become the gateway to in-clinc care which is something that has served to introduce the populous to the tremendous benefits of the discipline.
Physiotherapy Helps COVID-19 Patients Recover
The COVID-19 vaccine is working its way (in stages) through the population as we speak, but with nearly 90 percent of Canada’s cases having already been cleared of the virus, information has come to light regarding the path to recovery. One field of healthcare has proven to be crucial to recuperation – physiotherapy.
Physiotherapy is being employed to mobilize and rehabilitate patients who were in the ICU, to improve lung function, and also assist with the general fatigue experienced during recovery. View more on how physical therapy has been instrumental in the rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients.
Be sure to start 2021 off right, and book a consultation at our Burnaby BC clinic today. Call 604.558.2273 or complete the form found here.