Is rehabilitation/physiotherapy a necessity or a need? Can one get fine without physiotherapy?
The answer is yes / no. To get optimal recovery from a physical deliberating condition like stroke, arthritis, mention it, one should include rehabilitation in the treatment plan. However, most health professionals don't include it in their plans because;
1. Lack of adequate knowledge on how rehabilitation can improve the patient's condition. It is absurd that most of the primary health professionals who shed be teaching and encouraging patients to go for rehabilitation don't know what rehabilitation professionals do
2. The high cost of rehabilitation in most countries. Imagine a single visit to a physiotherapist to help you with a chronic condition in Uganda averagely costs UG shs 60,000/=($16). That means if you have to adhere to the the clinical guidelines of attending a rehabilitation session daily for a stroke patient, you are expected to spend 1.8m Ug shs (480$) in a month. That's minus the transport costs, feeding, other medications. Which average person can afford that?
3. The most important point why people don't include rehabilitation in the treatment plans is the lack of interdisciplinary approach to management of cases. The fact that you learnt a particular skill or knowledge doesn't mean that another profession can't add anything to make a patient better. This cuts across all professions. A physiotherapist will convince a patient with arthritis that only exercise is what will help you. An orthopedic surgeon will tell the patient that surgery is all that is needed, a pharmacist will assure the patient that the medicine will do magic. The list goes on.... It is until the option has failed that you decide to refer to another professional. Let's integrate interdisciplinary approach in the care for Patients.
#Equalhealth #Physiotherapy #Rehabilitation #ElpisRehabilitationServices #DukeHealth
(DOH/HAAD) physical therapist
1wConsider applying