The Changing Face of Physiotherapy

The adjacent photo is a modern-day, private physiotherapy centre in Seoul, South Korea and a perfect centerpiece for this blog post.

We would have to be naïve to think that as technology and our understanding of the human body have evolved over the past three decades, the methods we use for physiotherapy have not.

In the physiotherapy world, evolution have undoubtably occurred as well.

Innovative, evidence-based physiotherapy techniques exist today and are widely used around the world to treat a broad spectrum of injuries and conditions. When we look at private physiotherapy in Sweden, Canada, Norway, Australia, and Korea, they are all integrating innovative practice.

What do I mean by innovative practice? Well, this certainly doesn’t mean utilizing more advanced “pain relieving ” machines. It doesn’t mean using techniques that claim to rehabilitate people without laying a hand on them. And, it doesn’t mean integrating techniques that lack published, credible research.

It means employing treatment techniques driven by theory, supported by research, and advanced by technology that will simply help you recover from your injury or condition faster.

Yet, here in the U.K. we are slow to adopt such techniques. Why? Perhaps as an industry we are awaiting further evidence to inform our decision to accept such techniques. But, know that no single physiotherapy technique is backed by definitive evidence to support its use. For every piece of research to support a particular technique, there is counter-supporting evidence.

Maybe as a culture we are resistant to adopting new systems.

An alternative reason may be lack of accessibility. That individual’s with limiting physical injuries or conditions may not have the opportunity to access such methods because they are not available.

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