The material presented in this book examines the application of physiotherapy in the conservative and operative treatment of orthopedic diseases, rheumatological diseases and trauma, but follows the guidelines of the World Confederation of Physical Therapy, which defines the directions in physiotherapy according to the developed dysfunctions, and not according to medical specialties.
In the first three chapters, the general principles of applying physiotherapy for musculoskeletal dysfunctions, the diseases and injuries that usually cause them, the stages of healing and their impact on the methodology of applying physiotherapy, modern methods of conservative and surgical treatment are discussed.
In the remaining three chapters, the means and methods of applying physiotherapy for diseases and injuries of the TBS, knee and ankle are discussed. Each of these chapters has three main sections. The first presents data on the anatomical-functional characteristics of the relevant area, regarding the application of physiotherapy. In the second section, the main diseases and injuries causing musculoskeletal dysfunctions in the relevant area, their characteristics, the peculiarities of the treatment approach, the guidelines for physiotherapy are discussed. We have paid particular attention to modern surgical techniques and the justification of the physiotherapeutic approach to them. We have highlighted the guidelines for duration and type of immobilization, the possibilities for early application of physiotherapy, the periods and the approach to burdening the body with weight. We have outlined guidelines for the recovery of complex motor function, including return to sports activity. In the third section, modern manual therapy methods and specific therapeutic exercises for functional restoration of the specific area are presented. We have presented the techniques for joint mobilization in the second section of the material on physiotherapy for joint stiffness.
We believe that the material thus presented has a very good potential, both for practical application and for theoretical training of undergraduate, master's and doctoral students in physiotherapy (kinesitherapists, rehabilitators and medical rehabilitators).
