September 8, World Physiotherapy Day, is a date to be circled on the calendar, and never like this year. The role of functional recovery has also become fundamental for patients affected by Covid-19. Tiredness and fatigue are known aftermath of the virus and this is where the physiotherapist with his skills comes into play.
“For the most serious patients who have had difficulty breathing in the acute phase, or after being intubated, respiratory physiotherapy is the best way to recover lung elasticity and to ensure optimal respiratory volumes and flows. In the post-acute phase it is good to start a training of the inspiratory and expiratory muscles by favoring slow breaths, thoracic expansions and diaphragmatic breathing. A randomized controlled study showed a significant improvement in respiratory function, endurance and quality of life by performing 2 sessions of 10 minutes per week for 6 weeks of respiratory rehabilitation. A musculoskeletal rehabilitation should be associated with respiratory rehabilitation; this is because entrapment leads to a significant reduction in muscle mass. Just think that 1.7 percent of muscle volume can be lost after 2 days of immobilization and 5.5% after 7 days ”, says Eleonora Rold, physiotherapist, who has followed specific studies in the branch of respiratory physiotherapy.
But rehabilitation is also and above all motor, as explained by Corrado Bait, orthopedist, traumatologist, who underlines the importance of physiotherapy to bring patients back to being able to carry out daily activities in safety: “For us orthopedists it is essential to have the intervention of a good physiotherapist both in preparation for surgery, and post. He speaks the same language and has a particular sensitivity knowing how far he could go. In fact, in general, a relationship and a dialogue is born aimed at optimizing the patient’s recovery. In general, when a patient suffers a trauma, in addition to the orthopedic diagnosis, that of the physiotherapist is also fundamental. In my studies I have reference physiotherapists with whom I dialogue “.
Not only rehabilitation, however, physiotherapy also plays a preventive role against pathologies due to poor posture, lack of movement, the cause of which must be sought in a sedentary life. Hours spent folded on smartphones or in front of computers can cause problems that become difficult to manage over time.
To reduce its occurrence, especially for those who spend hours sitting in front of the computer or, vice versa, carry out jobs that force them to stand for many hours, a valid help comes from Silca’s graduated compression elastic stockings which, if worn regularly, they represent a real therapeutic program capable of providing continuous mechanical support to the circulatory-lymphatic system.
In the first place among the advice of orthopedists and physiotherapists is to stay active, even with a simple 30-minute walk a day. A suggestion that is ignored by most of the population, at least when reading Istat statistics (National Institute of Statistics). In the pre-Covid era, almost 70 percent of Italians contacted a physiotherapist or a physiotherapist at least once.
These days Aifi (Italian Association of Physiotherapy) has organized a series of online events that can be followed by connecting to the association’s Facebook page or Youtube channel (accessible from the website www.aifi.net). For tomorrow, Tuesday 7 September, the topics addressed will be those of physiotherapy for sportsmen (6 pm) and in pain and musculoskeletal dysfunctions (6 pm). For Wednesday 8, on the other hand, the key event is scheduled, organized with the National Commission of the Register, entitled “Physiotherapy sets life in motion: today’s challenges, proposals for tomorrow for the health of citizens ”(6 pm) attended by senators Anna Maria Parente and Paola Boldrini, president and vice-president of the Hygiene and Healthcare Commission of the Senate, the professed Mario Amore vice-president of the Cun and with professor Maria Chiara Carrozza president of the CNR. On 9 September the focus will be on incontinence and pelvic-perineal dysfunctions (6 pm) as well as lymphedema and oncological diseases (6.50 pm).