Physiotherapy is a therapeutic alternative whose main purpose is to ease pain in patients, as well as to lessen the effects of chronic ailments they may have developed, whether by chance or due to genetic reasons.
Setting up a physiotherapy clinic from scratch is not an easy task; first of all, a large initial investment in physiotherapy materials and equipment is necessary. It is also important to invest in materials for a consultation beyond technical aspects (suitable facilities, couches, furniture, etc.).
Materials you will need to start a consultation
The initial investment when setting up a physiotherapy clinic is very high; once you have made this outlay, the rest of the expenses are based on maintaining the necessary materials.
The essential equipment that any physiotherapy consultation must have is as follows: at least one stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, a reflex hammer, rolls of paper for couches, and disinfectant gels. To this, you must add the need to equip the consultation room with basic furniture.
Medical materials
In a physiotherapy consultation, some basic medical instruments are used:
- Stethoscope: a medical tool that allows listening to patients to detect heart, lung, and other problems.
- Blood pressure cuff: a medical tool that allows measuring blood pressure by gauging the force of blood flow.
- Reflex hammer: a medical tool that measures reflexes on muscles and nerves, allowing assessment of their reaction to a small tap.
Consumables
A physiotherapy clinic must be supplied with support and hygiene materials; the following items must not be missing: bandages, disinfectant gel, rolls of paper for couches, gloves, and antiseptic soap.
Massage oils
To these items, you should add those used during physiotherapy sessions that are not purely medical instruments, such as massage oils. These oils are used to ease or eliminate muscle pain through their application with a massage.
- Massage gels: applied by massage and have anti-inflammatory and healing properties that help reduce or eliminate pain; most have a cooling or warming effect.
- Massage oils: our oil has a stimulating property that, when applied, offers a soothing sensation; many include fragrance, although it is advisable to use a neutral oil.
- Massage creams: these creams help perform prolonged massages; good massage creams are not greasy and allow moisturizing the skin while soothing it.
Furniture
The clinic’s equipment is essential; to guarantee good service, you will need the following clinical furniture:
- Physiotherapy couches: it is essential that the couch you choose is firm and does not deform over time; you can choose a fixed or electric couch. If you do home visits, a folding couch will be perfect to handle.
- Massage cushion: the cushion allows the patient to be positioned perfectly throughout the session; it is essential that it ensures the spine is in a relaxed position.
- Infrared and examination lamp: lighting is crucial in a physiotherapy clinic; the light must be comfortable for the patient and allow the physiotherapist to make good diagnoses. The infrared lamp helps relieve pain from rheumatism and muscle stiffness.
- Stool: this is the most basic furniture for any physiotherapist; it allows them to conduct sessions without having to bend down continuously and can be moved comfortably around the room.
Materials for sports physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is also linked to the world of sport, known as sports physiotherapy. This technique is aimed at preventing and recovering from injuries, as well as carrying out muscle recovery treatments.
Pressotherapy machine
The pressotherapy machine is one of the most common muscle recovery techniques; it is mainly used to stimulate muscles after intense physical training, helps combat fatigue, and prepares them for a new sports session. This machine is an active muscle recovery technique, meaning the athlete actively tries to recover after exercise and prepares for a new session.
Among the benefits of the pressotherapy machine are the reduction of injury risk due to fatigue, greater muscle performance, and even increased flexibility. All this leads to better sports performance.
Electrostimulators
This technique is widely used in physiotherapy within the sports field; it is based on causing muscle contraction through a series of very low-power electrical stimuli. This allows stimulating a contraction in the muscles similar to sports training.
Ultrasound
The ultrasound machine is used in physiotherapy to treat muscle, joint, or tendon injuries; it is applied continuously for 6-10 minutes. Ultrasounds release localized heat in the affected area, which improves blood flow.
Conditions treated in sports physiotherapy
Sports physiotherapy is a very important branch within this medical technique; it allows detecting or preventing sports injuries and promotes the creation of physiotherapy treatments for recovery. We can distinguish the following types of injuries treated by sports physiotherapy:
- Joint injuries: sprains of different types and severity, patellar chondropathy, capsulitis or bursitis, among other ailments.
- Bone injuries: all kinds of injuries causing damage to a bone, from a sprain or dislocation to fractures or tears of varying severity.
- Muscle injuries: muscle strains, overloads from continuous sport or lifting too much weight, muscle fiber tears, tendinitis, painful shoulder, plantar fasciitis, or tennis elbow, among other ailments.
- Ligament injuries: ligament injuries are similar to joint injuries, although, as their name indicates, these injuries occur in the ligaments (which connect bones allowing them not to shift and joints to move freely).
- Tendon injuries: tendon injuries are very similar to muscle injuries, although in this case tendinitis (inflammation or irritation of a tendon at its junction between muscle and bone causing pain throughout the joint) predominates.
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