Thorough Discussion of Mobility Loss and Orthopaedic Physiotherapy

Mobility is a vital part of everyone's life. Simple activities like walking and jogging go a long way to keep you fit and healthy. Sadly, mobility loss may result from things that you cannot control such as accidents, surgeries, traumas and disease infections. When this happens, you need to act fast to prevent the detrimental effects of mobility loss. Examples of these effects are weight gain, frequent constipation and accumulation of harmful fluids in your body. Orthopaedic physiotherapy can help you deal with mobility loss and avert all these problems. Here is a detailed discussion of mobility loss and orthopaedic physiotherapy to help you understand further.

What Is the Most Common Cause of Mobility Loss? 

In most cases, loss of mobility results from damaged joints, nerves and muscles that cannot rotate or move maximally within their required circumference. For example, a healthy knee ligament should be able to move from zero degrees at when straight to about one hundred and thirty-five degrees when fully bent. An injury to the knee's tendon or patella will affect your mobility by reducing the level of flexion. Every time you force the knee beyond a certain point, you will feel a sharp pain as the body tries to resist the destructive movement.

Why Is Orthopaedic Physiotherapy Ideal for Mobility Loss?

Orthopaedic physiotherapy is suitable for mobility loss because it deals with the skeletal aspect of your body. Ordinarily, the term skeletal refers to body parts directly related to the functioning of your skeleton (bones). The muscles offer support; nerves facilitate coordination while the joints actualise the required motion. Orthopaedic physiotherapists target all these areas to help you recover from mobility loss.

What kind of Exercises Can You Undergo on the Road to Recovery?

Orthopaedic physiotherapists will begin by examining the kind of mobility loss you are undergoing before they can take you through the recovery exercises. Some of the things they look out for include limping, immobile joints, cramped muscles and numbness. Thereafter, they will subject the affected area to flexibility and strengthening exercises such as:

• Lifting manageable weights
• Walking up and down a flight of stairs or hill
• Cycling over set distances
• Yoga and stretching

What Happens After the Exercises?

After going through the therapeutic exercises, most specialists often follow through with an activity that will strengthen your whole body. Pilates is a good example of such follow-up exercises. They strengthen the body evenly by emphasising centralised body parts such as your back and core. In this way, the specialist rehabilitates any other part affected by the loss of mobility you suffered earlier.