Aquatic physiotherapy: the benefits of intervention in the aquatic environment

O International Organisation of Aquatic Physiotherapists (IOAPT), the speciality group of World Physiotherapy that Order of Physiotherapists integrates, has chosen this Friday, 22 March, as a day dedicated to the Aquatic PhysiotherapyHe also proposed that members highlight it as a way of raising awareness and informing the public about this specific area of physiotherapy intervention.

As a member of IOAPT, the Order of Physiotherapists is represented by Thematic Working Group (WG) on Aquatic Physiotherapy and associates itself with this date, highlighting the role of Aquatic Physiotherapy.

A Aquatic Physiotherapy incorporates a whole process of:

  • their own clinical reasoning, based on an individual assessment, supported by the use of specific measuring instruments for the aquatic environment, preferably adapted and validated for the Portuguese population;
  • diagnosis in physiotherapy;
  • formulating objectives and intervention programmes;
  • application of methods, techniques and strategies specific to the aquatic environment;
  • evidence-led practice.

A Aquatic Physiotherapy It can be carried out as a single form of treatment or as a complement to another type of treatment/intervention, and usually takes into account three aspects: therapeutic, preventive/educational and recreational. 

The Physiotherapist is a health professional with specialised and differentiated skills, who uses the effects of the physical-chemical and thermal properties of water, combined with in-depth knowledge of human movement and the physiological effects in this environment, to intervene in conditions that affect movement, function, health and well-being.

In this context, physiotherapists can work in swimming pools, whether community, therapeutic/hospital or thermal, individually or in groups, in a public or private practice profile, demonstrating that the use of the aquatic environment can make a difference in the quality of treatment/intervention and facilitate a better quality of life and better functional results in various clinical conditions.

Order of Physiotherapists and National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority sign Cooperation Protocol

The Order of Physiotherapists, represented by President António Lopes, and the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, represented by President Brigadier General José Duarte da Costa, signed a Cooperation Protocol this Friday, with a view to establishing forms of mutual cooperation aimed at promoting the occupational health of Portuguese firefighters, as well as the general population, in the event of a serious accident or disaster.

With this Protocol, the two organisations agree to promote the synergy of resources from an interdisciplinary perspective, contributing to clarification and awareness-raising, the provision of technical information and measures to prevent occupational injuries to Civil Protection agents, both during their preparation and during their activity in the field.

The signing of the Protocol took place at the Order of Physiotherapists' premises in Lisbon, followed by a meeting of the Thematic Working Group on Physiotherapy in the Context of Emergencies, Disasters and Humanitarian Action, coordinated by Physiotherapist Maria da Lapa Capacete Rosado and the National Director of Firefighters of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, Susana Silva.

World Urinary Incontinence Day

This Thursday, 14th March, marks the World Urinary Incontinence Dayas a way of raising awareness and informing the population about this pathology, identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a public health problem.

Urinary incontinence: Physiotherapy could be the key to solving the problem  

The Order of Physiotherapists joins this date, highlighting the role of physiotherapy as a solution to this health problem and sharing some key ideas:

  • A LOSS OF URINE it's not normal, even if it's a DROP.
  • Urinary incontinence affects MEN e WOMEN at any age.
  • Urinary incontinence is more common in women than in men,
  • A URINARY INCONTINENCE has treatment.
  • The treatment of urinary incontinence is not just about KEGEL.      
  • A PHYSIOTHERAPY is, more often than not, the first choice of TREATMENT.
  • PHYSIOTHERAPY could be the key to SOLUTION of your problem.  
  • DON'T LET THE DROP affect (your) quality of life.
  • Loss-free.
  • Your LIFE must not stop.

Test your knowledge of urinary incontinence in this quiz.

World Physiotherapy Europe Region Executive Committee in Portugal

Lisbon hosts face-to-face meeting of Executive Committee of the European Region of World Physiotherapy (ER-WCPT)The World Physiotherapy Europe Region has a lot to offer today and tomorrow. In Portugal, where the Europe Region of World Physiotherapy was founded 25 years ago, its Executive Committee was received at the Order of Physiotherapists.

The President of the Executive Committee, Esther-Mary D'Arcy2nd Vice-President, Tim Németh and the Secretary General Aitor Carpio arrived on 7 March and were received by the President of the Order of Physiotherapists, António Lopesby the 1st Vice-President, Nuno Cordeiroby the 2nd Vice-President, Conceição Bettencourt and the Members Fatima Domingues e Afonso Neutel.

The programme of the meeting, which was also attended by the President of the Jurisdictional Council, Isabel Souza Guerraand Counsellor Ana CasacaThe meeting, representing the General Council, began with a presentation of the main activities and projects of the organisation. ER-WCPT Europe RegionIn a session open by videoconference to members of the General Council and the thematic Working Groups, including those linked to areas in which the Order is already a member of the World Physiotherapy specialty groups. 

Aitor Carpio gave a brief summary of the Region's activities, in particular those of the respective working groups, and highlighted the programme related to the dissemination of the importance of Physiotherapy in the prevention and rehabilitation of oncological conditions, which is the subject of European funding "EU Commission Beating Cancer Plan", and "InAbled Cities: Developing Inclusive urban environments for physical activity for people with disabilities and senior citizens", which aims to promote physical activity in urban environments for people with disabilities and/or over the age of 65.

At the second session, which was attended by the other members of the ER-WCPT Executive Committee Maria-Louisa Busuttil, Katri Partanen e Carmen Suárez, the President António Lopes summarised the work carried out in creating the foundations of the regulation of professional practiceand highlighted the main projects underway at the organisation. Order of PhysiotherapistsIn particular, the creation of proposals for a Physiotherapy professional specialities chart and for a training accreditation and evaluation system carried out after initial training, as well as the recording, monitoring and evaluating results in physiotherapy and the work of assessing the value of physiotherapy interventionsThis is a partnership with the National School of Public Health of the NOVA University of Lisbon (ENSP NOVA).

He also mentioned the need to consolidate management autonomy by Physiotherapists with the creation of Physiotherapy Services and Units in the SNS, framing the recent changes to the Statutes and the way in which they have strengthened the autonomy of Physiotherapists for the benefit of citizens and the recognition of their competence in the various areas of assessment and diagnosis and therapy, anchored in the Code of Ethics and Disciplinary Regulations.

Physiotherapy Services and Units in the National Health Service

"It is necessary to create physiotherapy services and units in the NHS". In an interview with the Correio da Manhã newspaper, which can be read here. here António Lopes highlights the model advocated by the Order of Physiotherapists, "with [...] organisation and operation similar to that already being implemented for other health professions", and which "will contribute to the qualification of the SNS response, with a direct impact on the health of the user, and above all on greater accessibility to the care provided".

#bastonarioantoniolopes 1TP5Order of physiotherapists 1TP5Physiotherapy #SNS #ULS

Pedro Maciel Barbosa

Specialist physiotherapist at the Matosinhos Local Health Unit Sub-coordinator for Primary Health Care, Matosinhos Local Health Unit Visiting Assistant Professor at the Porto School of Health Member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Health - SNS Member of the General Council of the Order of Physiotherapists

Carlos Sand

Carlos Areia has been a physiotherapist since 2013, and has worked in various hospitals, clinics and clubs in both Portugal and the UK. He began his academic career at Oxford University in 2016, where he led a clinical trial comparing physiotherapy vs surgery in anterior cruciate injuries in 32 hospitals in England. In 2018 she moved to the neurosciences department, where she developed her own studies on remote monitoring of vital signs, which were implemented during the pandemic. Here he discovered his passion for data, and in 2022, he joined Digital Science as a Data Scientist. He completed his PhD earlier this year, and has more than 60 publications in journals such as The Lancet, BMJ, Cochrane, among others. He is also an honorary lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and a consultant in clinical research.

Eduardo José Brazete Carvalho Cruz

PhD in Physiotherapy from the University of Brighton, UK. Post-Doctorate in Epidemiology from the National School of Public Health at the New University of Lisbon.
Coordinator of the Studies and Planning Office of the Order of Physiotherapists. Coordinating Professor of the Physiotherapy Department of the School of Health of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (ESS-IPS). President of the ESS-IPS Technical-Scientific Council. Coordinator of the Physiotherapy Department at ESS-IPS. Integrated Researcher at the Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC) (a partnership between FCM-UNL, the National School of Public Health, the University of Évora, the Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health and Santo Espírito Hospital, Terceira Island, Azores).

Sara Souto Miranda

Sara Souto Miranda has a bachelor's and master's degree in physiotherapy from the University of Aveiro, and a postgraduate qualification in adult respiratory physiotherapy from the same institution. In 2023 she completed her double doctorate in Rehabilitation Sciences/Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at the Universities of Aveiro and Maastricht (Netherlands) and is currently working as a technical-scientific advisor to the Studies and Planning Office (GEP) of the Order of Physiotherapists, and as a guest lecturer at the Piaget Institute in Vila Nova de Gaia. As a member of the Respiratory Research and Rehabilitation Laboratory at the University of Aveiro (Lab3R), she has carried out applied research in which she has assessed and treated patients with respiratory pathology, having taken part in 6 research projects. Throughout her career she has published 19 scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals with an impact factor, 1 book chapter and more than 50 abstracts in conference proceedings. She was a research volunteer at the Ciro rehabilitation centre (Centre for expertise in chronic organ failure) in the Netherlands, and is currently a member of the Guideline Methodology Network of European Respiratory Society. She was honoured by European Lung Foundation e European Respiratory Society for carrying out patient-centred research, by the Directorate General for Higher Education with a merit grant for his master's degree, and by the Ciro Centre with a grant to support research abroad.

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