ExerciseTheraphy

Exercise therapy is a program of physical activities carried out in an effort to reach specific health goals. Its purpose is to restore normal musculoskeletal function or to reduce pain caused by diseases or injuries.

The main aims of exercise therapy are to:

Promote an active lifestyle
Improve skeletal muscle function.
Reduce Fatigue.
Assess and improve cardiac function.
Provide independence of movement to physically disabled and bedridden patients
Strengthening of weak muscles.
Balance enhancement
Improve quality of life

Physical therapy almost always includes education and training in areas such as:

Performing your daily tasks safely.
Protecting your joints and avoiding reinjury.
Using assistive devices such as crutches or wheelchairs.
Doing home exercises designed to help with your injury or condition.
Making your home safe for you if you have strength, balance, or vision problems.

Types of Exercise Physiotherapy

(1) Range of motion (ROM): is the measurement of the amount of movement around a specific joint or body part. Different types of Range of Motion Exercises: Categorically, there are three main types of range of motion exercises; Passive ROME, Active assisted ROME and Active ROME.
Passive Range of Motion: In passive range of motion exercise, the physical therapist is the one moving the joint. No active movement is coming from the patient. This is usually done to prevent stiffness of the joint from being inactive or paralysed.
Active-assisted Range of Motion Exercises: Active Assisted range of motion exercise uses some assistance from the physiotherapist and some from the patient. The patient can move his or her limb but cannot complete full range of motion because of weakness or pain. This is done so as to slowly increase the strength of the patient’s specific muscle.
Active Range of Motion Exercises: All movements are performed by the patient in active range of motion exercises. The patient can perform the exercises without manual assistance from the therapist. The physiotherapist may continually provide verbal cues on how to perform the exercises properly and observe the patient performing exercises.
(2) Stretching Exercises: Stretching is a general term used to describe any therapeutic maneuver designed to increase the extensibility of soft tissues by improving the flexibility by elongating (lengthening) structures that have adaptively shortened & have become hypo-mobile over time. Stretching intervention is an integral component of an individual rehabilitation program. It is an important element of fitness & conditioning programs designed to promote wellness & reduce the risk of injury & re-injury.
PNF (Proprioceptive Neuro-muscular Facilitation): Referred to as facilitative stretching. It integrates active muscle contraction. It facilitates or inhibits the muscle activation. During PNF muscle fibers are reflexively inhibited by autogenic or reciprocal inhibition.
(3) Strengthening Exercises: Strengthening exercises are best known for bulking up your muscles and lift heavy weights. However, strengthening exercises have different requirements depending upon your treatment goals, sport or function. Basic muscle strength is required for joint control during your simple everyday tasks. These tasks can include static activities (such as sitting or standing posture) or dynamic activities(such as walking, running, reaching, lifting or throwing).In addition to muscle strength, which can involve power, endurance and speed of contraction, the timing and balance of muscle contractions is very important.
Strength training: is basically a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. Muscles have different roles to play. Muscles are predominately fast twitch, slow twitch or endurance-based stabilization muscles. Their roles also differ and hence they should be exercised depending upon their specific characteristic. Strength exercises make your muscles stronger. Even small increases in strength can make a big difference in your ability to stay independent and carry out everyday activities, such as climbing stairs and carrying groceries. These exercises also are called “strength training” or “resistance training.” *[e.g.; lifting weights, using a resistance band, using your own body weight] Endurance, or aerobic, activities increase your breathing and heart rate. They keep your heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy and improve your overall fitness. Building your endurance makes it easier to carry out many of your everyday activities. *[e.g.; Brisk walking or jogging, Yard work (mowing, raking, digging), Dancing]
Stability muscle exercises: are generally low intensity – long duration exercises.Â Dynamic strengthening exercises are higher intensity (weight, speed, power) and shorter duration exercises and they vary accordingly as per patient/ clients strength and ability to exercise. Eccentric strengthening exercises are important for both speed and weight-bearing control.
Polymeric Exercises: Plyometrics are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power (speed-strength). Polymetric exercises are used to improve performance by enhancing strength and endurance.
(4) Balance Training:Balance help prevent falls, a common problem in older adults. Many lower-body strength exercises also will improve your balance. ProprioceptionÂ is the sense of knowing where your body part is in space. The most common symptom of reduced proprioception is poor balance.
Every injury: has the potential to decrease your proprioception and subsequently your balance. However, you can quickly improve both your proprioception and balance with proprioception and balance exercises. That’s where your physiotherapist is an expert and can help you. Proprioceptive and balance exercises teach your body to control the position. A common example for proprioceptive or balance exercise is the use of a balance or wobble board for balance training. The unpredictable movements of the balance board re-educates your body to quickly react to the wobbly movements without having to think about these movements hence improving the balance & co-ordination for the patient/ client.

The main aims of exercise therapy are to:

Physical therapy almost always includes education and training in areas such as:

Types of Exercise Physiotherapy

OUR SERVICES

OUR LOCATIONS