Since its emergence as an independent profession over 100 years ago, Physiotherapy has adapted and evolved its treatment techniques and increased the range and number of patients it can help. This has included investigating and incorporating complementary therapies that link with the core philosophy and practices of the profession.
Traditional, conventional Physiotherapy requires Physiotherapists to be trained in and practice:
Chartered Physiotherapists are also increasingly using alternative health interventions to work with the traditional Physiotherapy treatments that link with the above. Use the headings below to find out more about the therapy of your choice and how it could benefit your health and wellbeing. We will be developing this online guide in future to cover a growing range of these approaches.
Acupuncture
- a treatment using very fine needles, inserted at particular acupuncture points on the body that can help relieve the symptoms of a number of physical and psychological conditions. Acupuncture aims to help the body to heal naturally. For more information click here
Massage
- a core Physiotherapy skill that has been traditionally used by Physiotherapists for over 100 years but many people believe it is a complementary medicine. It is a treatment using the hands to manipulate the soft tissues of the body to obtain relaxation, healing and wellbeing. For more information click here
Cranio-Sacral Therapy (CST)
- CST is a gentle hands-on therapy. It focuses on the primary system of the brain and spinal cord. These are surrounded and supported by fascial membranes and contain cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) which keeps them safeguarded and nourished. It is likened to a tadpole and its tail. Trauma and injury to the body cause restrictions in the system decreasing the wellbeing of an area or the whole body. The therapist facilitates the release of these restrictions, thereby enhancing the normal healthy functioning of the body. In a sense the therapist provides support for the body while the body heals itself. This hands-on therapy as a healing art, aims to be as unobtrusive as possible when used to evaluate and treat. The patient remains fully clothed for CST. Sessions usually take an hour or, as in my case as a physiotherapist, it can be integrated with other treatment techniques.
- How can it help? The therapy can help in a myriad of ways. The fascial system runs throughout the whole body in layers, wrapping around each organ, each cell down to the DNA, like a layer of cling film or lamina. It is all connected as one piece like a tree with lots of branches. Essentially, the body is compensating since birth for various physical and emotional experiences and these may be stored anywhere in the body. As the therapy focuses on the fascia, it can reach all parts and treat the whole body, releasing restrictions that have led to and held the compensatory patterns of dysfunction. CST, by accessing this fascia, is able to address the root cause of a dysfunction and not just the symptoms, in a sense working from the inside out. Cranio-sacral therapy is gentle and once the therapist has melded they can get under the body’s defence mechanism. By avoiding alerting it, and triggering the guarded response, the release of restrictions can occur and self-healing facilitated, by-passing the body’s resistance.
