A physiotherapy degree focuses on studying the human body. You’ll learn about anatomy and biomechanics of the muscles, joints and bones, to be able to help relieve pain, aches and soreness for patients after injury or due to chronic illness.
Choosing to become a qualified physiotherapist can open doors to specialize in a number of areas, including sports therapy and cancer patient rehabilitation. You can also go into less hands-on roles, such as teaching or healthcare management.
Here, we take a look at the skills you will master on a physiotherapy degree.
Anatomy and physiology
To learn to accurately investigate and diagnose health problems in your patients, you’ll need to understand the anatomy of the human body. You will be taught how the muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons work together to form movement in the body, and learn specific exercises to help strengthen them. A basic understanding of biology is useful, so it’s usually required that you have already achieved an A-level in this subject.
You’ll also cover motor control and decline, musculoskeletal practice and the psychology of sport, health and exercise. These modules are designed to give you a complete understanding of the patient’s needs and how you can help them.
Throughout the course, you’ll likely work in various care settings to begin to understand how to help patients relieve pain and improve their range of motion. Alongside practical skills, you’ll also develop excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt to numerous situations.
Clinical reasoning
These communication skills are a crucial part of clinical reasoning, which you’ll need as a physiotherapist to accurately investigate, diagnose and treat your patients’ issues. As you’ll need to treat each case individually, the ability to ask the right questions and test your hypothesis is paramount to delivering the correct care needed.
People of all ages and from all walks of life may need to access physiotherapy at some point, so these soft skills are invaluable when it comes to relating to each individual. Sometimes, especially with young children, the elderly or patients with disabilities, you’ll need to be able to read between the lines to diagnose an issue.
Working in line with the patient’s personal goals and needs, you’ll learn how to design a care program to heal, rehabilitate or strengthen their body. The skill of effectively communicating and listening to both the patient and others involved in their care is essential to the successful practice of physiotherapy.
Rehabilitation
You’ll learn how to apply your skills and knowledge in a number of different scenarios, one of which is rehabilitation. People may need rehabilitation after a serious illness or injury, and you’ll learn how to design a unique treatment plan based on the patient’s history, goals and limitations.
A good understanding of science-based theory and up to date research in physiotherapy is essential for this, as well as the ability to apply critical thinking and problem solving techniques.
A rewarding career
A career as a physiotherapist is a rewarding one, with plenty of opportunities in the healthcare sector to specialize in an area that interests you the most. Whether you go on to work in sports, critical care, or for a specific age group such as paediatrics or geriatrics, you will be able to help people achieve a better quality of life.
