The Nigerian health sector recently urges the federal government to impose physiotherapy across all health levels. This is majorly because most fairly old Nigerians have been observed to have poor functional bone movement.
Researches confirmed that Physiotherapy helps restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability. Also, Physiotherapists help people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. They maintain health for people of all ages, helping patients to manage pain and prevent disease. This is one of the major reasons why they should be functional at all levels.
As a result, Physiotherapists in Nigeria want government to consider including physiotherapy across all levels of the health sector all the way down to the primary health care level. The profession helps to encourage development and facilitate recovery, enabling people to stay in work while helping them to remain independent for as long as possible.
This issue was raised at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, with participants stressing that such inclusion would help to prevent a lot of non-communicable diseases like stroke and even hypertension. Speaking at the event, president of the Nigerian society of physiotherapy, Rufai Yusuf Ahmed said physiotherapy plays a key role in prevention and rehabilitation. Ahmed believes with the right dialogue and policies, physiotherapy can be taken down to the grass roots and community levels where it is needed.
In addition, speaking with another physiotherapist, Achionu Chima, he insisted that the government should look into their request as soon as possible:
” It will be great if the government include physiotherapy across all levels of health sector. It will help to reduce quite a number of bone weakness which is rampant these days. The federal government should act fast on this, we are ready.”
As a matter of fact, Physiotherapy can make a difference in an individual’s ability to live an active, healthy lifestyle. For many seniors, disabled or chronically ill people, physiotherapy is the key to restoring and maintaining a level of physical function that permits independent living. However, Physiotherapy benefits include decreasing pain, improving joint mobility, increasing strength and coordination and improved cardio-respiratory function.
In addition, Physiotherapy offers a range of specialized services of benefit to patients with heart and lung disease, traumatic, workplace and athletic injuries, amputations, arthritic joints, stroke, brain injury, spinal cord and nerve injury, cancer and pre and post surgical needs. Nigerian physiotherapists believe that including physiotherapy at every level of health sector will go a long way to strengthen the country’s health sector.
