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What is physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy is the treatment of pain, stiffness, weakness and movement problems without medicine and without surgery. A physiotherapist examines you, works out which structure is causing the trouble, then treats it with hands on techniques, specific exercises and machines such as ultrasound or TENS. The exercise part is what makes the change last.

Published by Al-Shama Physiotherapy ClinicIllustrated portrait of Dr. Zahra Fatima in burgundy scrubsClinically reviewed by Dr. Zahra Fatima, DPT

A closer look

In practice a first visit is mostly questions and movement. When did it start, what makes it worse, what your work involves, what you can no longer do. Then she tests you: watching you bend, lift, squat or walk, moving the joint herself, pressing on specific structures, and checking strength, reflexes and sensation where a nerve may be involved.

Once there is a working diagnosis, treatment is chosen to fit it. Manual therapy means her hands moving a joint or soft tissue to restore movement. Exercise therapy means specific loading, not general gym work. Electrotherapy, ultrasound and TENS are used for pain and swelling in the early stage. Dry needling releases muscle in protective spasm. Hijama, or cupping therapy, is also available here.

Physiotherapy covers far more than back and knee pain. Frozen shoulder, sciatica, neck pain and headaches coming from the neck, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, plantar heel pain, stiffness after a fracture or after surgery, Bell's palsy, recovery after a stroke, balance problems in older adults and pain in pregnancy are all normal physiotherapy work.

What it does not do is worth saying too. Physiotherapy does not cure infection, does not fix a broken bone, does not regrow worn cartilage, and does not replace surgery when surgery is genuinely needed. It changes how much pain you have and what you can do, which for most pain problems is the thing that actually matters.

What it means for you

If you have had pain or stiffness for more than a week or two and it is not steadily improving, an assessment is useful even if you do not end up needing a course of treatment.

Expect to be examined before anything is done to you. A first visit that puts you straight onto a machine without an examination has skipped the part that decides whether the treatment is right.

Expect exercises, and expect them to be the main work. The clinic session opens the door, the home programme walks you through it. People who do the exercises recover faster and relapse less often, and that is the biggest part of this in your own control.

Urdu / Roman Urdu

Choose your reading script / اپنی پسند کا رسم الخط منتخب کریں

اردوUrdu script

فزیوتھراپی میں درد، اکڑن، کمزوری اور چلنے پھرنے کی تکلیف کا علاج بغیر دوا اور بغیر آپریشن کیا جاتا ہے۔ پہلے چیک اپ ہوتا ہے، پھر پتا چلتا ہے کہ مسئلہ کہاں ہے۔

علاج میں مینول تھراپی، ورزش، بجلی والی تھراپی (الیکٹروتھراپی), الٹراساؤنڈ، ٹینس، ڈرائی نیڈلنگ اور حجامہ شامل ہیں۔ سب سے اہم حصہ وہ ورزش ہے جو آپ گھر پر روزانہ کرتے ہیں۔ کلینک کا علاج دروازہ کھولتا ہے، ورزش آپ کو آگے لے جاتی ہے۔

Roman Urdu

Physiotherapy mein dard, akarhan, kamzori aur chalne phirne ki takleef ka ilaj bina dawa aur bina operation kiya jata hai. Pehle check up hota hai, phir pata chalta hai ke masla kahan hai.

Ilaj mein manual therapy, warzish, bijli wali therapy (electrotherapy), ultrasound, TENS, dry needling aur hijama shamil hain. Sab se ahem hissa wo warzish hai jo aap ghar par rozana karte hain. Clinic ka ilaj darwaza kholta hai, warzish aapko aage le jati hai.

Questions people ask

Is physiotherapy only for old people?
No. A lot of the work is with people in their twenties and thirties: neck and back pain from long hours on a phone or a motorbike, sports injuries, pain after pregnancy, and wrist problems from desk work. Children are treated as well.
Will physiotherapy hurt?
Mostly no. Some techniques are briefly uncomfortable, such as moving a stiff shoulder or dry needling a tight muscle, but nothing should be unbearable and you can ask her to stop at any point. Mild soreness for a day after a session is normal.
Do I need an X ray or MRI before starting?
Often not. Most back, neck, shoulder and knee problems are diagnosed from the history and a physical examination. Imaging matters when there has been a real injury, when there is nerve weakness, or when something does not fit. Bring any reports you already have.
How is physiotherapy different from massage?
Massage works on soft tissue and feels good while it lasts. Physiotherapy starts with a diagnosis and then treats the cause, which usually means specific exercise to change strength and movement. Hands on work is one part of it, not the whole treatment.

Clinic and online appointments

INFORMATION → INDIVIDUAL CARE

A plan built around you.

Talk with Dr. Zahra Fatima, DPT. Understand your next steps, with guidance for your own symptoms and daily routine.

  1. Talk it through

    Discuss your symptoms, what you find difficult and what you want to get back to.

  2. Understand your next steps

    Use the consultation to discuss which care and exercises fit your situation.

  3. Take your plan with you

    Your online consultation includes a written plan you can refer to afterwards.

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Al-Shama Physiotherapy Clinic

10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, every day including Saturday and Sunday

764 Model Town B, behind the DSP office, Khanpur, District Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan

Appointment or walk-in, both accepted.

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