Morolake Ogunbeku-Bello
Many people have probably not heard about Physiotherapy/Physical Therapy. For those who have, the first thing that comes to mind is the word, Massage. This is actually a misconception. To set the record straight, Masseuse/Masseur is a person who performs massage. However, physiotherapists/physical therapists are a group of Medical Rehabilitation Professionals who assess, diagnose and treat people using exercise, massage, various modalities and approaches. As a physiotherapist, I give massage but to the surprise of many, it is just one out of at least 100 things I do.
My hands are trained and blessed to put smile on the faces of my patients/clients; when I give manual therapy/manipulation, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, passive mobilisation and resisted movement among others. These are just some of the approaches I mentioned earlier.
I use my hands to give hope to the hopeless and a chance to live again. In fact, you can strip me of every other thing, but as long as I still have my hands, there are no limits to what my patients can get from me. I also manage pain, sometimes with a lot of creativity using some readily available everyday materials.
After my encounter with most patients, their response has always been, “where have you been?â€
For me, physiotherapy as a profession is so outstanding and noble that I have resolved to raise enough awareness about it everywhere I go.
As a physiotherapist, I harness the power of matters and other nature given gifts to bring healing. I maximise the transmission power of waves (electromagnetic and sound) to reach the deep-seated body tissue for the sake of healing. One virtue that distinguishes an average physiotherapist, including me, is perseverance. I don’t give up on patients even when their condition is tagged hopeless and the result of my interventions seems to be infinitesimal; however, my resiliency power keeps me going and the utilisation of outcome measures gives me something to show for my efforts.
I also utilise the invisible part of light to bring about visible tissue healing whenever I apply infrared and ultraviolet radiations.
How about the soothing effect of water on the body? Physiotherapists employ the thermal property and buoyant effect of water during hydrotherapy sessions for the care of their patients/clients.
Where swallowable pills and injectable drugs fail, physiotherapy gives hope. This is not to say I don’t work with other members of the healthcare team. Of course I do!
I am a physiotherapist and I perform healing wonders by the power of nature- look no further because the Physio/Physical part of my profession’s name (Physiotherapy/Physical Therapy) is nature.
Henceforth, whenever you hear of physiotherapy, the word, dynamism, should come to your mind.
You can call me the repairer of the breach because I bring out the beauty in most major surgical procedures.
I utilise the simple law of gravity in physics for postural drainage and oedema control.
I am a lover of nature and nature does assist me well in my treatment and management procedures because nature is found everywhere.
If you call me a nature opportunist, you’re not wrong because nothing can stop me from giving my patients the very best with my hands and with the support of nature around me.
I am a specialist in this field of Medicine and this is my calling; Physiotherapy.
For the sake of my specialty, my title “PT” makes me stand out under the general umbrella of Medicine/Healthcare.
.Ogunbeku-Bello wrote from Lagos
