Yoga Continuing Education for Physical Therapists
Healthful Vitality | 12/01/2021 | Yoga Continuing Education for Physical Therapists
Importance of Incorporating Yoga into Rehabilitation Care Plans
The global popularity of Yoga has dramatically increased in the past decade. Besides being a type of routine exercise, physical therapists have realized the importance of incorporating Yoga into their patients’ rehabilitation care plans. Physical therapy (PT) patients can achieve several benefits from Yoga. For example, increased flexibility improves the range of motion, the autonomic nervous system’s relaxation, and strength and psychological healing. Combined with the relatively easy process with which can teach Yoga to a patient, there is an increased demand of the time than ever to add Yoga to the training repertoire of physical therapists.
Before Getting Started
Strongly recommend that physical therapists complete some formalized yoga training before practicing yoga with their patients. Expanding the field ensures that physical therapists understand the broad range of motion they can teach their patients. Because yoga needs a comprehensive understanding of anatomy, physiology, and the impacts of several movements on the body, it is highly significant that physical therapists learn these concepts formally. Although the primary yoga training includes a 200-hour long training; however, short courses can also offer by local medical education programs
Introductory Session with the Patient
Before preparing and introducing a patient to yoga therapy, it is extremely important to conduct an introductory interview to assess various facets of their health. As yoga is a psychophysiological exercise in nature. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the patient’s physical ability and mental state is crucial. For instance, the discussion should cover several elements of the patient’s daily life, including the quality of sleep, relevant injuries, digestion, emotional state, and any stressors.
Physical Evaluation of the Patient
This introductory discussion should also include a physical evaluation, in which the physical therapist gauges the patient’s strength along with the range of motion. This information will determine the duration of yoga exercises and the types of exercises selected.
End of the Introductory Session
By the end of this introductory session, the physical therapist and patient feel more comfortable with one another. The physical therapist also gets a brief idea of the types of yoga exercises the patient will do in the coming days.
Final Thoughts
It would help if you remembered that Yoga is not limited to stretches. There are multiple different elements of yoga practice that require fewer physical techniques. One such example is breathing. Appropriate breathing techniques may augment respiratory function, decrease stress, and improve patients’ posture. Another simple tool is mindfulness. Mindfulness is the potential to be present in the current moment. By focusing on mindfulness, physical therapists can manage the pain symptoms of their patients. Researchers have realized that the combination of Yoga and physical therapy may have various health benefits for people with chronic conditions, such as low back pain, Parkinson’s disease, post-stroke symptoms, cancers, and cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, Yoga may not be traditionally included in continuing education of physical therapists. However, its manageability and documented success suggest that Yoga can be an essential and revolutionary skill set for physical therapists in the future.