The World Health Organization (WHO) defined physiotherapy in 1958 as: “the science of treatment through: physical means, therapeutic exercise, massage therapy and electrotherapy. In addition, Physiotherapy includes the execution of electrical and manual tests to determine the value of muscle involvement and strength, tests to determine functional capacities, range of joint movement and measures of vital capacity, as well as diagnostic aids for the control of the evolution”.
The truth is that the benefits of Physiotherapy in the recovery of injuries have been known since the time of Ancient Greece, in 460 BC, where the first practitioners of physical therapy are credited, through massages, manual therapy techniques and hydrotherapy. Over time the knowledge and techniques have been perfected in this specialty focused on the treatment of muscle and bone injuries. “The discipline of Physiotherapy is a fundamental pillar in recovering from a trauma. With the appropriate guidelines and following a specific and personalized program, biological repair processes can be promoted and accelerated, compensated for weaknesses or strengthened physical capacities ”, explains the Head of the Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Service of the Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital, Marcos González Sedano.
The Coronavirus pandemic has placed this Service in the foreground, whose role has been fundamental in the recovery of patients admitted to the ICU or affected by physical sequelae of the Covid-19 disease. For the head of the Unit, this special circumstance has highlighted one of the most important premises in the patient recovery process: that each one of them be individually assessed and treated. As the specialist of the Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital “Each person has their particularity, what is trivial for some may be essential for others in our action protocol we give the same importance to all our patients, whether it be muscle tendon pain, a prosthesis, an amputation of a limb, a brain accident tilt (CVA), a respiratory condition, dysfunction of the pelvic viscera …
Finally, it is necessary to highlight the essential contribution of Physiotherapy in the training plan of professional and amateur athletes. And it is that the benefits obtained in rehabilitation therapies are so relevant and influential in physical form that the application of this discipline transcends the context of the injury and has been incorporated as a prevention factor. “Physiotherapists and rehabilitators detect the weaknesses of the body or the moments in which there is muscular overload. Our diagnosis and treatment is effective in the medium and long term, which is why we have become basic pieces of gear for athletes ”, he underlines Gonzalez Sedano.