What is a Physiotherapist? Exploring All Things Physiotherapy
Physiotherapists are highly respected and sought-after healthcare professionals here in the United Kingdom. Working with all demographics and with specialisms in several areas, physios (as they're just as commonly called) attend to a veritable cornucopia of injuries and illnesses that affect a person's ability to move properly.
In this article, we'll look at what a physio is (in more detail) and the various specialist types of physiotherapists there are out there. We'll also break down typical physio salaries, the skills needed, and the pathway to becoming a physio.
What is a Physiotherapist?
A physiotherapist is a professional who works to restore motor function, balance, mobility and alleviate pain in body parts. Although most people associate physios with rehabilitation from physical injuries (and though this does form a large part of what many physios deal with day-to-day), they can also help manage more chronic conditions like heart disease or arthritis.
Physiotherapy is a patient-centred profession. It involves working closely with individuals to understand their specific needs and goals. This approach ensures tailored treatment plans that are responsive to a person's unique health journey, be it recovering from a sports injury, managing a long-term illness, or adapting to life after surgery.
The scope of physiotherapy is broad, encompassing people of all ages and a wide range of health conditions. Whether it's helping a child with developmental delays, assisting an athlete to maximise their performance, or aiding an older adult to maintain independence, a physiotherapist's skill set is versatile and essential to healthcare.
Moreover, physios work in various settings – from hospitals and private clinics to sports clubs and community centres. Their ability to collaborate with other healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and occupational therapists, is critical in providing holistic care to patients.
What are the Different Types of Physiotherapists? (8 Examples)
1. Paediatric Physiotherapist
Paediatric physiotherapists specialise in working with children and young people. They can help people with delays in gross motor development, impaired neurological development, physical disabilities where movement is impacted, balance and coordination work, and musculoskeletal problems.
This could look like a child with cerebral palsy being taught stretches and exercises to improve motor function and strength. Alternatively, it might be a teenager recovering from a sports injury like a torn ligament, working with them after surgery to restrengthen the affected area.
2. Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist
Musculoskeletal physiotherapists focus on treating body pain and preventing injury as it relates to muscles, bones, joints, nerves, ligaments, cartilage and spinal discs.
They carry out initial assessments, work on pain management, prescribe exercises, implement injury prevention strategies, utilise manual therapy, work on postural correction, examine biomechanics, and much, much more.
An example of a musculoskeletal physio in action might be helping somebody recover from a running injury. A keen runner develops "runner's knee", in which the kneecap and surrounding area are swollen, aggravated and sore.
The physio works on reducing swelling and inflammation using ice therapy and ultrasound. Afterwards, the physio works on gentle exercises to restrengthen the knee and teaches the runner appropriate stretches and movements in other body parts (like the hip flexors), which will help reduce the risk of the condition flaring up again.
3. Respiratory Physiotherapist
Respiratory physios are primarily concerned with a patient's lungs, airways, breathing, and anything that might impact them. Common conditions that respiratory physios help with include:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Asthma
Breathlessness
Bronchiectasis
Respiratory physios will teach airway clearance techniques and breathing pattern therapy, offering broad support and guidance on managing symptoms.
4. Neurological Physiotherapist
The neurological physiotherapist will work with the patient to assess their needs, see how their condition affects their balance and motor function, and then develop a care plan that might involve exercises and equipment (like walking aids) to improve muscle weakness, balance and stiffness.
The role of a neuro physio is to help deal with patients with conditions affecting the nervous system – the brain, nerves and spinal cord; this could be something like Parkinson's disease, for example.
5. Community Physiotherapist
Community physiotherapists work outside of acute settings and within the community, for example, in a patient's or care home. Community physios often work with elderly patients and those with more severe mobility issues, making travelling to the hospital or clinic more difficult.
In the case where a patient has been receiving physio in hospital and has since been discharged, community physios ensure continuity of care. Rehabilitation is rarely a short-term process and stopping treatment abruptly can significantly reduce its efficacy. By working with a community physio at home, by contrast, a recovery 'bridge' is built over which continued care can be provided.
By working in a home setting, community physios can also work with patients where they're more comfortable. This is particularly important when working with vulnerable populations like patients with dementia, for instance, who can get confused and agitated when taken out of an environment they're familiar with.
6. Physiotherapist for the Elderly
Physiotherapists who specialise in care for the elderly focus on pain management, fall prevention and mobility exercises to name just three. As people age, their mobility tends to decline; associated with this, their need for physiotherapists increases.
Physios specialising in care for the elderly also work with injuries sustained from falls (alongside their fall prevention work) and help patients use assistive devices like walkers and canes.
7. Inpatient Physiotherapist
These physios work within hospitals rather than in the community or private practice. Inpatient physios work to ensure the recovery process post-procedure is as efficient and effective as possible. Examples of inpatient physiotherapist work include:
Post-joint replacement recovery
Stroke rehabilitation
Respiratory physiotherapy for pneumonia patients
Traumatic brain injury rehabilitation
Cardiac rehabilitation
8. Cardiac Physiotherapist
Physiotherapists specialising in cardiac matters help patients with a chronic heart condition or a cardiac event (like a heart attack) improve their cardiovascular strength.
They do this through exercises, guidance on living a healthier lifestyle (e.g. smoking cessation) and other risk factor management.
Average Salary Expectation for Physiotherapists in the UK
Here in the UK, physiotherapists can expect to earn somewhere in the region of £30,000 to £40,000, depending on location, experience and specialism. Physios can make an hourly figure anywhere between £20 to £35 per hour.
How to Become a Physiotherapist: 5 Steps
So, now you know more about what physiotherapists do and the diverse types of physios, how do you become one? Luckily for you, we have the answers...
Step #1: Gain an Undergraduate Degree in Physiotherapy
The first step towards becoming a physiotherapist is to study for an undergraduate degree in the subject. Alternatively, you can explore a related undergraduate degree (biology, for instance) and then pursue a master's degree in physiotherapy afterwards.
Step #2: Secure Professional Certification
Once you've gained your degree in physiotherapy, which for an undergraduate will take three years full-time and up to six years to be completed part-time, and which, for a master's degree, will typically take one to two years, you then have to obtain your license to practice.
Note: you can also become a physiotherapist by enrolling in a degree apprenticeship that combines academic study and on-the-job training.
In the UK, physiotherapists can only call themselves such if registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This is the regulatory body for healthcare professions within the UK and ensures that physiotherapists are fit to practice.
Step #3: Consider Becoming a Chartered Physiotherapist
Once registered with the HCPC, physiotherapists can also seek to become members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).
Membership indicates the professional's quality and confers other benefits, including additional resources and professional support.
Step #4: Gather More Experience
It's an incredibly hands-on profession, and whilst nothing stops you from instantly becoming a standalone physiotherapist upon registering with the HCPC – and many people do, it can be beneficial to first become a physiotherapy assistant to accrue some more practical experience before going it alone.
Building upon the placements you will have carried out as part of your studies, try to gather more clinical experience; the more experience you get as a physio, the better.
Step #5: Specialise
If you're especially interested in a particular area, it might be worth considering specialising down a specific physiotherapy route. This might take you down one of the routes we highlighted earlier, like paediatric physiotherapy or neuro physio work. Going down a more specialised route might require more training.
Skills Needed to Become a Physiotherapist
You need various skills to become a physiotherapist, ranging from compassion to patience and more besides. Note: this is not an exhaustive list.
Compassion
When working with people in lots of pain, as physios often are, you're looking for a professional who will understand and appreciate that pain rather than dismiss it or treat it negatively. Compassion is crucial in physiotherapy, whatever branch it happens to be.
When physios work with compassion, it's easier for them to build trust and a rapport with their patient, they're more likely to engage fully with the exercises and care plan, it facilitates more open communication, and it reduces the amount of stress and anxiety that a patient might be feeling.
Patience
Progress can be slow when recovering from an injury or managing a chronic condition, and physiotherapists need to work with patience, and appreciate that progress is sometimes slow, and sometimes seemingly not there at all.
But that's all just part of the process, and the sooner a physio understands that it's slow and steady wins the race, the more successful a physio will become.
Positive Outlook
It's easier to be a physiotherapist if you're a glass-half-full person. As we just touched on, progress in managing a chronic condition or recovering from an injury can be painstakingly slow.
If you don't have a more optimistic outlook, then it can be easy to get demotivated by that snail's pace. However, staying motivated and encouraged by even tiny bits of progress is easier with a more favourable and positive perspective.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Many Physiotherapists are there?
Approximately 57,000 physiotherapists worked in the UK as of 2021 (source: statista.com).
What is the Hardest Part of Being a Physiotherapist?
This is entirely subjective, and people's answers will vary from individual to individual. However, some aspects of being a physiotherapist are universally recognised as being more challenging. These include:
Emotional demands. Working with people in substantial amounts of pain can be incredibly taxing, emotionally speaking. Physiotherapists need to be able to deal with this compassionately whilst retaining their own wellbeing.
Physical demands. There are copious amounts of manual therapy, bending and standing involved in physiotherapy which can lead to their own musculoskeletal problems if the individual doesn't look after themselves properly.
Time management. Dealing with high workloads and lots of administrative paperwork requires somebody whose organisational skills are excellent.
How Long Does a Physiotherapy Degree Take?
An undergraduate physiotherapy degree studied full-time will take three years, whilst it can take up to six years to be completed part-time. An accelerated master's degree in physiotherapy will take one to two years (when studied full-time) and up to four or five years when studied part-time.
What's the Difference Between Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy?
The significant difference between physiotherapy and occupational therapy is that physiotherapy primarily addresses physical concerns, such as mobility, injury prevention and physical health. In contrast, occupational therapy pertains to work that helps a patient better live daily.
This can be related to physical activities; however, it can also address cognitive, environmental and psychosocial factors too. Let's consider a patient recovering from a stroke as an example. A physiotherapist would focus on the physical elements of the patient's recovery; the physio would work on strengthening muscle control, balance and walking exercises.
The occupational therapist would assess how the patient's ADLs (activities of daily living) have been affected by the stroke and help them work through those challenges.
That might look like supplying assistive devices for getting dressed, for instance, or having a grab bar installed in the shower to minimise the risk of falls. You can check out our comprehensive article on the occupational therapist profession here!
Final Thoughts
Physiotherapists are an invaluable part of the medical workforce. We have a wide range of physio roles on offer, across a range of specialisms. If you'd like to find out more about them, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch, today!
