What Physiotherapy Has to Do with Cardiac Surgery

One may feel fatigued and sore after cardiac surgery; it is only natural.  On the other hand, it seems altogether strange to think of embarking on a course of physiotherapy afterwards instead of just resting.  Yet, that is just what is recommended.  

Types of cardiac surgery include bypass surgeries, angioplasty, stents, heart valve replacements, and even heart transplants.  Patients having all of these surgeries can benefit from physiotherapy.  Patients who have other cardiac problems can use the help too; they include victims of heart attacks, heart failure, peripheral artery disease, chest pain, and cardiomyopathy.  

Physiotherapy will usually begin within a couple of weeks of cardiac surgery, if not sooner.  The first step is for nurses or doctors to administer a stress test to determine how much exercise one can handle.  This involves walking on a treadmill or riding on a stationary bike while having one's vital signs monitored.  

When the data is gathered and analyzed, a program of physical therapy will be put into place.  For safety's sake, it is often the routine to bring cardiac surgery patients into the hospital or an outpatient clinic for their exercise at first.  

Under the watchful eyes of nurses and physiotherapy personnel, cardiac surgery patients will be looked after as they perform their exercises.  This way the professionals will be alerted if the cardiac surgery patient is having troublesome symptoms.  The exercises done are cardiovascular exercises like walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike. 

After the initial period of the monitored physiotherapy has passed, cardiac surgery patients will be sent to do their exercising at home.  Before they go, though, they will have been taught warm-up and stretching exercises, and when to stop.  Generally, they should exercise three to five times a week unless they are having problems.  

Swimming is another form of exercise that is especially good for cardiac surgery patients.  It is a cardiovascular exercise that is not hard on the joints, so it will often be kept up longer.  The only thing to remember is that all wounds must be completely healed first.  

Physiotherapy for cardiac surgery patients is often not carried out by physiotherapy staff.  Nurses in hospitals and clinics who are trained to deal with these areas of rehabilitation for cardiac surgery will do the work.  However, physiotherapists sometimes help, and the principles are the same.  

The physiotherapist will instruct the patient about what activities are acceptable in the weeks and months after surgery.  During the first six weeks, there will only be a few activities allowed, such as light housekeeping or going to movies, for example.  From then until the third month, more activities will be added.  You may be able to return to work, at least part-time, you may be able to drive.  After this time, your physiotherapist will work with you to ease you back into all your old activities.  

If a patient has cardiac surgery and then does nothing to regain strength, that patient will soon weaken.  Physiotherapy offers a means to stay in shape, or get into shape.  It lends more purpose to the cardiac surgery by making the patient much healthier than before the surgery ever took place.  

Some Physiotherapy Asthma Management Techniques May Be Questionable

Physiotherapy Asthma management is a concern for about 15 million people in America.  There are many different medications and other treatments used successfully for asthma management.  However, some methods used are not quite proven to work.  

Some physiotherapy clinics claim that massage can be used for asthma management.  They state that it works to relieve the symptoms of wheezing and breathlessness.  They use massage on patients young and old.  However, there is no substantial proof that massage does any more good for asthma management than to relieve stress.  

One alternative physiotherapy method that has been used for asthma management is acupuncture.  There is some indication that this technique can actually have some benefit in relieving symptoms of asthma.  

Acupuncture does seem to help the immune system fight off illnesses.  This is important in helping asthma management.  Illnesses such as colds or flu will exacerbate the asthma condition.  If acupuncture can reduce this, it is a great help.  Yet, acupuncture is still only recommended to be used along with other treatments.  It is not to be used alone.  

Some acupuncturists use other methods for asthma management.  They might burn herbs over acupuncture points.  They might give patients a certain kind of massage, or teach them breathing exercises.  There is no known validity in these treatments.  

Chiropractors rely on spinal manipulation for asthma management.  The reviews of this theory are mixed.  One study compared a sham, or fake, type of spinal manipulation that was done on one group of asthma patients. The other group got the real manipulations.  There was little, if any, difference between the two groups.  This would suggest that chiropractic adjustments are not effective for asthma management.  

However, another study was done.  Eighty-one children were followed through asthma management at a chiropractic clinic over a period of time.  Overall, there were 45% fewer asthma attacks among these children after treatment.  30% were able to significantly reduce their asthma medications.  Thus, the jury is still out on the effect of chiropractic medicine on asthma management.  

There is a physiotherapy specialty certification for those who wish to work with asthma management.  Physiotherapists may take a test to become certified as Certified Asthma Educators, and they help people to deal with their condition.  What is more, Medicare and Medicaid pay for their services.  

There is also some evidence that asthma management for those who have to be admitted to the hospital should involve physiotherapy.  There was a study of respiratory patients who were given range of motion exercises while in the hospital.  The average stay was three days less than those without the exercises.  

One challenge of traditional physiotherapy for asthma management is that dehydration happens easily.  Asthmatics get dehydrated more easily, and it affects them in a worse way.  It can even bring on an asthma attack.  Any exercise plan must take this into account.  

There are ways for physiotherapy to be used for asthma management.  Certainly, there are other methods, and research may prove these methods have value.  In the meantime, some methods are better saved for alternative methods to be used in addition to medications and proven physiotherapy treatments.  

Why Physiotherapy Can Help Women's Health

The subject of women's health encompasses a range of issues that can be treated by physiotherapy.  From pregnancy back pain to incontinence problems faced by older women, physiotherapy is there to help.  

Bladder incontinence is a problem for 13 million Americans on any given day.  Although some men have this problem, it is present in much greater numbers in the area of women's health.  

There are several different kinds of incontinence.  Stress incontinence happens when the person coughs or sneezes and urge incontinence means the person has sudden urges to use the restroom, for example.  Organ prolapse, such as a tilted uterus, can lead to incontinence, as well as sexual dysfunction.  This is another area of women's health physiotherapy can help.  

Physiotherapists who work in the field of women's health can correct nearly 70% of incontinence problems.  The major exercise used is the Kegel.  It is a very specialized exercise, and at least half the people who try to do it on their own fail miserably.  It takes biofeedback for many to get it right.  

Many of the problems of women's health can be traced to the pelvic floor.  The Kegel is the exercise that addresses this part of the anatomy.  However, other therapies are used as well.  Electrical stimulation is only one of the methods used.  Soft tissue manipulation is another treatment that has been tried.  

Pelvic pain affects many women's health.  It may come from a variety of sources.  It can be due to vulvodynia or abdominal surgeries, for example.  One can have pelvic pain after falling, especially if one lands on the tailbone.  These conditions often curtail sexual activities and lead to an overall deterioration in women's psychological health.  Physiotherapy offers many treatments to help these problems.  

No discussion of how physiotherapy helps with women's health would be complete without a word about pregnancy.  Women who are pregnant know that their bodies go through various changes that can be painful.  Low back pain is only one of them.  

Physiotherapists can help with this.  Gentle exercises can be taught to relieve tension in the back.  One is to lie on the floor with the knees up and press the small of the back to the floor.  This gives a great feeling of relief.  Other exercises strengthen the woman's back, but few people besides physiotherapists know how far to go with exercising when pregnant.  Women's health is important at this time, and so is the baby's.  

Physiotherapists can also give instructions on what amount of exercise is best for pregnant women.  After delivery, physiotherapy is a boon to women's health.  It can help get women back into shape and instruct them in taking care of their new child while preventing back problems.  Another area of postpartum women's health is the treatment of women who have had cesarean sections.  

Physiotherapy can help women's health because there are so many conditions that women suffer.  Many of these conditions will respond to physiotherapy.  It is only natural that women would turn to a tried and true method for relief.