Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy

Hated my course of study, I always wanted to study medicine, it was all I wanted, but here I was already three years in, studying for a departmental exam, the course took me back to my first months as a Medical Rehabilitation student

The admission list was just out, I wasn't offered medicine, I was in tears, the alternative I was given was Medical Rehabilitation, I was prepared to take JAMB again and hopefully do better, I had made up my mind, but with friends and family edging me on to take the course, saying I could do JAMB while in school rather than staying home, caving under the pressure, I unwillingly concurred.

While in school I met many others like myself, we didn't want to be here, we thought we had the brains to better for ourselves, less than 30% of the class chose the course, At least that's what I thought, and I always wondered why they did, nevertheless I still wanted to be out.

Weeks later I was sitting in an orientation class held and organized by Departmental seniors, they made efforts to educate us on Medical Rehabilitation as a professional course and its branches, I probably owe my stay and acknowledgement of the course to them cause what a job they did.

I had read up on it and thought I knew all there was to know, I had taken up an interest in a branch of study PHYSIOTHERAPY. Medical Rehabilitation having two major branches Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy turned out to be an interesting line of work. After even more research I decided, I was going to major in physiotherapy.

PHYSIOTHERAPY, also known as physical therapy is treatment to maintain a patients mobility, function and wellbeing. The help through physical means, health and fitness with the aim to return a patient to a healthy and active life style, I was completely won over.

In my first year, we would have medical students rub in our faces how inferior our course of study was to theirs, not all of them were that way, but there was always that bunch. Sometime later we got to prove them wrong, when our department had the overall best score, it was a rather satisfying feeling.

PHYSIOTHERAPY as a course and as a profession is just as broad as you can think and maybe even broader, it is one of the most stressful and competitive courses in Nigeria today more so around the world. Stressful, competitive and demanding? With the late nights and past time studying you wish you didnt have to do? Yes…..lots of it, but its even more rewarding with a career that offers more than you can imagine, time and time again I would meditate on the words of the departmental seniors who had always served as mentors to me telling  me “its harder than you think, but easier if you’re diligent about it”. 

It took sometime before I figured on what aspect of PHYSIOTHERAPY I wanted specialize in, as a PHYSIOTHERAPIST, the options are a little bit more than a handful, there were quite a number of areas of specializations such as ;

ORTHOPEDIC PHYSIOTHERAPY, which is concerned with correction of deformities or functional impairments of the skeletal system, it also happened to be the most commonly known of all the others.

 

PEDIATRIC PHYSIOTHERAPY, this simply translates to physiotherapy services for children and youths. They specialize in assessment and treatment of kids injuries

SPORTS THERAPY, this is a fun one, they specialize in sports medicine to heal and alleviate injuries caused to an athlete while engaging in any sporting activities

WOMEN’S HEALTH PHYSIOTHERAPY, specialized in treatment and care of women at different stages of their lifes, treating conditions such as pelvic pian and all sorts. They even provide prenatal and postnatal care.

NEUROLOGICAL PHYSIOTHERAPY, probably my favorite they work to treat conditions of the nervous and spinal systems, they work with patients to reduce motor defects and help regain and improve function

…talking a few into consideration, but the field of study ever growing, I said to myself ‘I love Physiotherapy “ as gathered my wondering thoughts back to my isolation to continue my exam preparations.

Writer Details:David oginni✍️

Location:Obafemi Awolowo University,Osun State,Nigeria 🇳🇬.