Every month the Physiopedia team focus on updating pages centered around one topic. This enables us to keep improving all of our existing pages as well as create new ones. The team often make changes to referencing and formatting but best of all they find the latest evidence and update the pages accordingly. This month the topic is Rehab Foundations.
The noun rehabilitation comes from the Latin prefix re-, meaning “again” and habitare, meaning “make fit.” For this reason rehab is often the primary reason many of us chose to become physios and is one of the core principles of our profession – the art of making someone better.
The rehab process is complex and required a high degree of specialist skills and knowledge which need to be mastered before a comprehensive and effective rehab plan can be created. The complexity is built up of a number of foundation skills which a clinician develops into their own style and expertise.
What are considered the foundations of rehabilitation? This can range from basic observation and palpation of a simple joint, to multi-step special tests, provocatory neural testing, biomechanical analysis of movement & gait, manual muscle testing, strength assessment, range of motion assessment and more. A sound anatomical and physiological knowledge is imperative for best practice and a therapist’s skills are forever being refined as their experience level increases. So why not take this time to read through our pages and refresh your skills?
You never know you might learn something new.