Physio for the brain - adding life to years

Article in Rodney Times 13.9.2016

Physiotherapists can help older people be independent, improve their quality of life and reduce their health care costs. That was the message from thousands of physiotherapists across the world as they took part in last Thursday’s World Physiotherapy Day.
Every year, World Physiotherapy Day allows individual physiotherapists and member organisations to celebrate their contribution to global health. This year’s event built on the success of 2015, when thousands of physiotherapists used the #worldptday hashtag on Twitter to unite events across the globe.
The 2016 World Physiotherapy Day used the theme ‘‘Add life to years’’ and the hashtag #addlifetoyears, following the World Health Organisation’s World Report on Ageing and Health which says that ‘‘maintenance of functional ability has the highest importance’’ for older people.
Hibiscus Neuro Rehab are Neurological Physiotherapists. They work with older people to maintain their independence when they have a neurological condition, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, head injury or balance conditions.
‘‘Often people think of physiotherapists as just providing massage or treating back pain, but we are out there everyday working to make our patients lives better through prevention, rehabilitation and exercise,’’ Sarah Hopkins, senior physiotherapist and director at Hibiscus Neuro Rehab says.
‘‘Neurological physiotherapy is a specialised area of physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Focusing on assessing and treating individuals with disturbances of function and movement due to damage of the nervous system. It aims to promote recovery and independence and now more recently aims to slow down neurological decline. The primary objective is to improve the quality of life.’’
Neurological physiotherapists can now be known as neuroplasticity experts, which essentially assists you to reconnect the brain / spinal cord and the body.
If you or someone you know that has a neurological condition and want to add life to your years contact Hibiscus Neuro Rehab on 09 424 3254 – they are ready to help