OVER the years, physiotherapy has proven to be a critical when it comes to healthcare worldwide.
The Pepperpot Magazine recently sat down with the President of the Guyana Physiotherapy Association Isha Urlin, who provided an insight into physiotherapy in Guyana.

Urlin said that the benefits of physiotherapy, an evidence-based healthcare profession with expertise in mobility and physical performance, include education and/or elimination of pain, improvement in coordination, balance, and muscle strength, improvement in breathing, cardiovascular functioning, and endurance, promotion of wound healing and restoration of normal movement for standing, walking, and running.

Other benefits she highlighted were augmentation of effective recovery from surgery, major illnesses, or disabilities, provision of an alternative to surgery and prescription drugs, prevention of injuries, and optimisation of physical activity and sport performance.

IMPORTANCE OF PHYSIOTHERAPY
According to Urlin, physiotherapy assists in maximising movement and that movement is crucial to the quality of life and independence of a person.
“Therapeutic exercises, a major tool used in physiotherapy, are movements and physical activities designed to restore balance and coordination, muscular/skeletal function, and flexibility, improve strength and reduce or eliminate pain. These exercises release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, and can help to improve a person’s energy level so that they can be more active and less dependent on medication,” Urlin noted during her interview.

THE EVOLUTION OF PHYSIOTHERAPY OVER THE YEARS
In 1916, due to the polio epidemic in the United States of America, young women began treating polio patients with residual paralysis by using passive movements. Also, during this period, World War I saw several American soldiers being injured and requiring rehabilitation, hence the birth of the profession.

In Guyana, in the late 1940s, through the initiative of a British physiotherapist who was visiting from England, the service was brought Guyana through the Ministry of Health in a small outpatient clinic in the compound of the Georgetown Public Hospital. Then in 1960, the first British-trained Guyanese Physiotherapist returned to Guyana and began working with the Ministry of Health. She brought a new vision of the role and scope of work of physiotherapy services. In the latter part of the 1960s, two other British-trained Guyanese Physiotherapists returned and began practising in the public service and private sector. During this time, some doctors, in particular those in orthopaedics (musculoskeletal medicine), recognised the importance of the Physiotherapist.

By the end of the 1980s, there were major strides in the development of physiotherapy services with further expansion of services in Georgetown and four administrative regions of the country. Another important development during this period was the increase of staffing in the physiotherapy services with the addition of 16 Physiotherapists by 1985, most of whom were trained in Jamaica. Additionally, the training of physiotherapy assistants was introduced, and by 1990 approximately thirty (30) assistants had been trained.

During the early 2000s, with the introduction of the Cuban scholarship programme, under the agreement of the two governments, eight Guyanese were trained in Cuba as physiotherapists and returned to serve in 2008, further equipping the services and extending its reach into more administrative regions. Cuban physiotherapists and physiotherapy technicians, who were part of the exchange in the Cuban Medical Brigade also contributed significantly to the physiotherapy services offered as they brought along varying other therapies that worked in combination with physiotherapy. Other expatriates, from Asia, Europe and North America also made contributions to the development of the services.

In 2010, the University of Guyana, Faculty of Health Sciences commenced offering the programme Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Rehabilitation Sciences – Physiotherapy, and three locally trained Physiotherapists graduated in 2014. This program continues at the University of Guyana, now in the School of Medicine/College of Medical Sciences under the title BSc Medical Rehabilitation – Physiotherapy. To date, there have been several graduates from this program, which has further enhanced the accessibility, availability, and delivery of the services in all ten administrative regions. Some graduates of the University of Guyana program, along with other physiotherapists, have gone on to further their studies acquiring master’s and doctoral degrees, elevating the standard and quality of service delivered.

The relevance of physiotherapy to the average person
Physiotherapy can help a person in several ways including managing age-related illnesses, treating musculoskeletal dysfunction, for example knee pain, neck pain, back pain, rotator cuff tears, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, treating many medical conditions, including Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Cerebral Palsy, Lymphedema, Multiple Sclerosis, Vertigo, Muscular Dystrophy, Osteoarthritis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other conditions.

Exercise can be an important part of a comprehensive diabetes management plan because it successfully lowers blood sugar levels.
She noted that in all phases of healing, from initial diagnosis through the restorative and preventive stages of recovery from illnesses.

In some cases, physiotherapy may be used alone or in conjunction with other therapies, such as treating neurological conditions, including strokes, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, vestibular dysfunction, and traumatic brain injuries.