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VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Małgorzata Kośla, qualified fitness instructor and certified personal trainer.
Do you have tense muscles, suffer from flat feet, do you have a pain in your neck or spine? Who can help you? We have more and more options to choose from: physiotherapist, orthopedist, masseur, personal trainer, movement therapist. These are just some of them. Or maybe there is one universal profession that has a chance to help in every case? You can find the answers in the article.
Poles are more and more willing to play sports every year. This brings about an improvement in the general he alth of Poles, but also a multitude of injuries and overstrains. For this reason, more and more often we go to the appropriate specialist asking for help. If we don't quite know who to go to, and the choice today is really big, we can set ourselves up for a marathon of visits. It will certainly not be satisfactory for us or our wallet.
We come to the rescue of all those who would like to help themselves, but do not know who to go to with a given ailment. Here is a brief description of all professions, the characteristics of each of them, the most important information about a specific profession and tips for future patients of particular specialists. What is the difference between these professions?
Physiotherapist
This is an independent medical profession. To become a physiotherapist, you must complete 4-year postgraduate studies in the field of a specialist in physiotherapy, master's or bachelor's studies in the field of physical rehabilitation or general physiotherapy. This profession offers great opportunities for training, because a physiotherapist can obtain as many as three scientific degrees: doctor, habilitated doctor or the academic title of professor.
Physiotherapist is an increasingly chosen profession. This is due to the multitude of our physical diseases and greater body awareness - more and more people visit a physiotherapist for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The physiotherapist currently deals not only with the motor system itself, but also with the rehabilitation of neurological diseases - strokes, spinal cord injuries, neurodevelopmental disorders, rheumatoid diseases as well as cardiological and even somatic problems.
What exactly does the physical therapist do iwhat are his competences? The physiotherapist conducts a diagnostic and functional examination, on the basis of which he verifies the problem and creates a plan of action for physiotherapy. It may take the form of medical rehabilitation of people with diseases and disorders in the functions of particular motor organs or of a preventive nature.
Physiotherapist prepares, verifies, modifies and joins the physiotherapy program, so he is not only a diagnostician, but most of all - he works on our body. A physiotherapist is characterized by manual work by pressing, for example, painful points, relaxing and stimulating tissues, restoring joint functions or working with various devices and physiotherapeutic tools.
A good physiotherapist is also an encyclopedia of rehabilitation exercises, which are the most effective tool to restore fitness and eliminate pain. A physiotherapist, depending on his speci alty, may be an expert in various speci alties, e.g. in the spine, in the knee and shoulder joints, in the fasciae, ligaments, and even in the nervous system (some physiotherapists work only on the nervous system and through it reach the sources of pain and reduce it, restore correct movement patterns and heal overloaded organs in the body and restore their efficiency).
The physiotherapist should also keep physiotherapeutic records in accordance with the guidelines contained in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and He alth ICF and the International Classification of Diseases and He alth Problems ICD-10.
Read more: Who is a physiotherapist?
Orthopedist
An orthopedist means "simple", "correct" in Greek. At the beginning, they were doctors treating posture defects in children, but with time, this field covered also the treatment of adults and the entire musculoskeletal system, not only the spine.
Orthopedist is a medical speci alty focused on diagnostics and surgical treatment as well as conservative treatment of diseases, motor systems, acquired or congenital posture defects, as well as inflammations, infections, neoplasms, damage and post-traumatic lesions. The treated lesions concern the skeleton with the exception of the skull bones, ligament and joint system as well as muscles, nerves and vessels. We should visit an orthopedist in difficult and complicated cases that are subject to surgical treatment or for diagnostic purposes.
The general departments of modern orthopedics are:
- degenerative changes
- locomotor tumors
- inflammation and infections of bones and joints
- neuromuscular diseases
- damage to peripheral nerves
- reumoortopedia
- sterile bone necrosis and osteochondrosis
- metabolic, endocrine and genetically determined diseases
- orthopedic equipment, prostheses and limb amputations
- pathological and fatigue fractures
Adam Gruca, Wiktor Dega, Ireneusz Wierzejewski and Adolf Wojciechowski contributed to the development of modern orthopedics in Poland. The first orthopedic clinic was established in 1923 in Poznań, while the Polish Orthopedic and Traumatological Society was established in the same city, but 5 years later.
Masseur
This is a massage specialist. There are, among others, massages: classic, sports, segmental, oriental, Balinese, underwater, manual, point (acupressure), Thai, Ayurvedic, transverse, dry, erotic and osteopathic.
In the context of physiotherapy, the most important are classic massage and therapeutic massage. Classic massage, according to Polish terminology, consists of eight techniques: stroking, rubbing, kneading, pressing, tapping, vibrating, shaking and rolling. Following the sequence of the above techniques is obligatory and guarantees two basic massage principles:
- Gradually increasing the strength of the stimulus
- The principle of layering, which involves a smooth transition from techniques acting on the surface to techniques acting on deeper tissues.
Read:
- Classic massage: techniques
- Is massage good for everything? Massage therapy
Therapeutic massage is a massage that involves manual touch in order to eliminate pain, blood supply, oxygenation, relaxation and others. The techniques of therapeutic massage are the same as in classic massage, but therapeutic massage can be combined with aromatherapy or hydrotherapy.
Therapeutic massage is also one of the physiotherapeutic techniques. It is used to relieve muscle stiffness and pain, migraine headaches, joint pains (e.g., lumbosacral pain) and other ailments caused by, for example, stress or overstrain. Usually, therapeutic massage consists in relaxing and relieving psychosomatic tension. Massage is a good choice to speed up regenerative and healing processes.
Read also: Osteopathy - a type of manual medicine
Massage comes from antiquity - back then it was a supplement to religious rituals and a part of folk medicine. Its origins date back to the ancient civilizations of India and China.
In the nineteenth century, therapeutic massage developed thanks to the Swedish doctor Pere Henrik Ling - he was the co-author of "Swedishgymnastics ", which was based on therapeutic massage. However, a bit later, the Dutch doctor Johan Mezger developed this field and established a professional school of classical massage.
Personal trainer
This is a person who arranges individual training plans as well as selecting exercises for the client and teaching them to perform them properly. The personal trainer is also responsible for motivating and providing support and advice, as well as monitoring the client's progress and modifying exercises accordingly to the current physical condition. A personal trainer may have various degrees and qualifications. Nowadays, the concept of a personal trainer has significantly developed, and his competences depend on the course or training he participates in.
A personal trainer should have a good knowledge of the anatomy of the musculoskeletal system and the basics of biology in order to effectively observe the patient's activities and select exercises accordingly.
Interestingly, since 2010, the profession of a trainer no longer requires any state powers, completing a course or meeting certain criteria. Therefore, even more so before we start cooperation with a personal trainer, we should check the opinions about him and learn about his coaching history. On the other hand, a personal trainer is a profession that can be learned independently and every good trainer should constantly learn in the field of sports, movement and physiognomy.
A personal trainer usually works in gyms or sports centers, but it also happens that the trainer sets up his own business and conducts training on his own. Usually in rented rooms, at home or outdoors.
Read more: How to distinguish a good personal trainer from an amateur?
In the 21st century, an activity such as an online personal trainer - e-trainer personal has also developed. It is intended for those who cannot afford individual classes, do not have time to train or cannot reach the selected trainer for stationary training. The possibilities of today's technology allow for "live" training or simply constant contact with the trainer who sends us a training plan, and we inform him about the effects by sending exercise videos and keeping a training diary.
Movement therapist
A movement therapist or a medical therapist is certainly the future of sport in our country. In Poland, there are more and more training courses and schools that comprehensively prepare trainers for the profession, including BlackRoll, AMICUS Center, or Kar-Group. This trend came to us from the USA, where the method of movement therapy was developed.
A movement therapist is more than a personal trainer and less thanphysiotherapist. The movement therapist conducts a thorough interview with the patient about ailments, injuries or the purposes for which he or she came to him. Then, he assesses the movement patterns, checks for possible posture defects and ranges of mobility as well as the function of the motor organs.
A movement trainer, similarly to a personal trainer, creates a training plan for the patient and selects appropriate exercises on an ongoing basis. However, the purpose of this is different than when training with a personal trainer. The exercise therapist uses exercise as a tool to recover and recover. It is an increasingly popular form of rehabilitation and, as shown not only by scientific research, but also practice, it is the most effective form of therapy. It is said - movement therapy and more and more clinics use this method.
The movement therapist is also qualified for basic manual therapy and massage, thanks to which he can reduce a given pain during exercise. He perfectly knows the anatomy of movement, the basics of biology and physiognomy of the human body. If he works in a clinic, he has constant contact with other specialists and, with their help, chooses the appropriate path. The therapist gradually guides the patient through successive paths of recovery, from rehabilitation to motor preparation training and training focused on strength and power.
You can successfully report to a movement therapist with an injury that does not require recovery - this clearly distinguishes him from a personal trainer.
About the author
Małgorzata Kośla She is a qualified fitness instructor and certified personal trainer. Since childhood, her greatest passion was sport - she played football and basketball. Then a new love came - dance, especially dancehall. He likes to sweat at the gym and relaxes in yoga and meditation sessions. He is constantly expanding his knowledge about training and a he althy lifestyle. What besides sports? He runs a store with natural cosmetics and he althy food, writes his own blog (stylzyciadowolny.pl) and deals with copywriting.
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