Physiotherapy is an alternative therapy which aims to treat both your pain and its cause, helping to improve your quality of life in the short term by reducing pain and preventing long-term issues. The treatment focuses on the science behind movement and aims to improve function in your joints and muscles.
It helps to restore movement in people who have been affected by injury, illness or disability, but can also be used to improve your health and to reduce the risk of injury in the future.
What is a physiotherapist?
A physiotherapist is a healthcare professional who offers alternative therapy treatments for physical injuries or conditions. They are trained to help people improve movement, reduce pain, recover from injuries, and manage physical conditions that affect their muscles, joints, nerves, heart, or lungs.
What does physiotherapy do? When to see a physiotherapist
Physiotherapy can be helpful for people of all ages with a range of health conditions, including:
- Neck and back pain
- Problems in the bones, joints, muscles and ligaments
- Lung problems, such as asthma
- Disability
- Pelvic issues, including bladder and bowel problems
- Loss of mobility because of trauma to the brain or spine or due to diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis
- Fatigue, pain, swelling, stiffness and loss of muscle strength
Although you can be referred to a physiotherapist by your GP, you don’t have to be to see one. You can book your own appointment directly with a private physiotherapist, without a referral, when you believe you could benefit from treatment.
If you are seeking access to physiotherapy, or another form of physical or alternative therapy, our team at Westfield Health offer comprehensive care for individuals and businesses to support physical health and mental wellbeing.
Get a quote for Individual Health Cash Plans and comprehensive Corporate Health Cash Plans for your employees in minutes.
What common treatment techniques are used?
The techniques used will vary depending on your condition. You’ll be asked a range of questions about your symptoms and then be examined. Working with you, your physiotherapist will then create a treatment plan. This could include advice and information, exercises for you to do at home and manual therapy performed by them.
There are several techniques available as explained below.
1) Mobility and strengthening exercises
Joint and muscle mobilisation can help to restore movement and reduce pain. Mobility exercises are often used to treat stiff joints. With these treatments, you could increase your flexibility and get your movement back. Your sessions might involve exercises and stretches at home or with the support of your physiotherapist.
Strength exercises are often used on areas of your body that have lost strength due to pain, injury or lack of use. The exercises can also help to prevent injury from happening again as the muscle will help to protect your bones, joints, ligaments and tendons.
2) Massage and manipulation
Both massage and manipulation techniques are often used by physiotherapists in treatment plans. Massage can help to improve mobility by loosening tight muscles and tissue and helping to reduce pain and swelling.
Manipulation works similarly. It’s also focused on loosening your body; however, pressure is applied to a precise area to push your joint beyond its normal range of movement. Manipulation is safe but should only be performed by somebody who is appropriately trained.
3) Acupuncture and dry needling
Both acupuncture and dry needling involve the use of fine needles. They differ in where the needles are placed and how the treatments are used.
In dry needling, your physiotherapist will place needles into specific points of your muscles to treat pain and tightness and to improve movement.
Acupuncture focuses on placing needles in specific areas of your body that relate to where you are feeling pain, stimulating sensory nerves under the skin and in the muscles.
4) Further therapies
Certain treatment plans might require specific types of therapy to help improve movement. For example, hydrotherapy is often used for people who have difficulty moving without any pain, most commonly for people with arthritis. Hydrotherapy is where you do a set of exercises in a pool where the warm water helps to loosen and support your joints.
Electrotherapy is another therapy option, where low-level electricity is used to reduce pain and encourage healing. Unlike hydrotherapy, this isn’t always used while doing the exercises but can also be used outside of your sessions to help relieve pain.
What is the difference between physiatrics and physiotherapy?
One of the common questions that people come across when in need of help for their physical health is ‘what is the difference between physiatrics and physiotherapy?’. While both of these medical treatments are related to treating physical conditions, there are distinct differences.
Physiatry is also known as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), which is a medical specialism practised by a qualified medical doctor to diagnose medical conditions that impact movement, prescribe medications, request diagnostic tests 9including X-rays, MRI and blood tests), perform minor procedures for pain management and oversee more complex rehabilitation programmes.
On the other hand, physiotherapists are healthcare professionals rather than qualified medical doctor that assesses and treat movement-related conditions through exercise, manual therapy and education programmes.
To understand the difference between these two professions, refer to the chart below:
| Physiatry | Physiotherapy |
| Qualified medical professionals | Trained healthcare professional |
| Diagnose medical conditions and prescribe medications | Focus on physical rehabilitation and manual movement |
| May perform medical procedures for pain management, such as injections | Primarily offers treatment through manual therapy and exercise techniques |
| Oversees physical rehabilitation programmes | Delivers rehabilitation treatment plans |
Support when visiting a physiotherapist
Having a health cash plan allows you to claim money back with therapy treatments, including physiotherapy. With Westfield Health, you can claim back 75% of the cost, up to set limits, when referred to a registered physiotherapist by your GP or consultant. The amount you can claim up to depends on which level of cash plan you choose.
Without a health cash plan, to access a physiotherapist you would either need to be referred by your GP, join the NHS waiting list, or pay for the full cost yourself.
You can find out more about our health cash plan, the different levels available and all of the treatment you’re covered for by simply getting a quote in minutes.
How to find a qualified physiotherapist
While we cannot recommend specific physiotherapy practitioners, we can help you find a qualified practitioner near you by referring to the Health & Care Professions Council.