The aim of neurophysiotherapy is the same for all rehabilitative physiotherapy, which is to restore more normal movement and function of the client. The difference in neurophysiotherapy is that it deals with a damaged nervous system, which means that the client has had brain or spinal cord injury (central) or nerve damage (peripheral). This means their symptoms include movement disorders, sensory loss, speech and swallowing problems, muscle tone problems (spasticity/tremor etc.), behavioural/mood changes, along with their loss of function.
Neurological injury can take a variable amount of time to heal depending on the nature of the injury, but physiotherapy can start day one to aim for more normal movement patterns through positioning and gaining better trunk or core control, through exercises and facilitation of movement by the therapist. The more normal input the body feels, the more likely therapy is to remould or adapt the neurological system to more normal output (i.e. sensation, muscle tone or movement).
A neurophysiotherapist understands normal patterns of movement and the basis of posture well and tries to teach the client to move in these patterns to gain better function, whether it be moving their arm to grasp a cup or walking. The basis of posture is the trunk and pelvis, and if this is able to actively gain postural tone to keep the skeleton upright, more normal function of the upper and lower limbs is possible.
Conditions which a neurophysiotherapist can treat are:
- Multiple sclerosis
- Stroke
- Head injury
- Parkinson’s disease
- Motor neurone disease
- Peripheral neuropathies
- Spinal cord injury
- Any neurological condition
We can also treat normal people with pain and loss of movement, as we analyse the person’s alignment and symmetry, treat the pain and restore range of movement with exercise and handling techniques. The ‘normal’ or intact neurological system heals quicker!!
