PHTY102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Physical Therapy, Active Listening, Manual Therapy
What is physiotherapy?
•Physiotherapy is a health care profession which provides services to individuals and populations
to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and functional ability throughout life
•Where movement and function are threatened by ageing, injury, pain, diseases, disorders,
conditions or environmental factors
•A clinical science which is evidence-based, informed by relevant, high-quality clinical research
•Involves clinical reasoning and decision-making
•Egyptian writings as far back as 1700BC indicate that some medial practices closely resembled
physiotherapy practices
•Hippocrates 400BC advocated massage, manual therapy and hydrotherapy as treatment for
physical disabilities
•Ancient Greeks - role of exercise and training in preparation for combat → training and
management of injuries prior to participation in sports - Olympics 700 – 390 BC
Communication for Health Professionals
•Outline the importance of communication in the health sciences
•Identify the features one effective communication
•Identify the barriers to effective communication
•Describe the types of communication used by health professionals
•Identify and outline effective communication strategies for specific populations in health-care
What is communication?
•Conferring through speech, writing or non-verbal means to create a shared meaning (Higgs et al
2012)
•Talking, listening, reading writing one-sided and more related to imparting/providing information
•Communication is a two-way process – sharing information
Why is it important in health science?
•Effective communication an important part of person-centred health services
•Communication with patients/clients and their families
•Good communication between health professionals is the basis of effective teamwork
•Essential for meeting legal requirements of health care eg face-to-face meetings, documentation
of intervention, reports
•NOT a simple matter of transmitting health information
Features of effective communication:
•Effective communication occurs when what was intended to be said has been heard and the
individuals involved have reached a shared understanding (Higgs et al 2012)
•Requirements:
•intention to share information
•desire to reach common understanding
•active listening by the receiver
•commitment to use language which both parties can understand
•willingness to understand the others point of view
•Being person-centred rather than task-centred
•Effective communication involves - active listening, reflection & paraphrasing, non-verbal
behaviours, questioning and summarising
•Collaborative
Active listening:
•Non-verbal and verbal actions that indicate the receiver is listening
•A process whereby an individual demonstrates that they are paying careful attention to, and
attempting to understand what another is communicating
•Receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating, responding (De Vito, 2007)
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Non-verbal behaviours:
•Kinesics
•Territorality
•Body orientation
•Seating position
•Room size
•Distance
•Proxemics
•Facial expressions
•Eye contact
•Gestures
•Body movement/language
•Body posture
Questioning:
•Many purposes to questioning – clarification, information, assessment, demonstrate interest,
focus attention .....
•Open
•more comprehensive response required
•feelings and opinions
•allow more scope to response – responder has control
•time not an issue
•how, what ,why type questions
•Closed
•simple/specific response is required – facts not feelings
•time is limited
•when, where, who type questions
•quick and easy response – usually yes/no
•Leading
•direct the respondent to a specific answer
•Probing
•follow a specific line of reasoning to explore a theme or focus
Why question?
•To obtain information
•To open interactions
•To diagnose particular difficulties patients may be experiencing
•To focus attention
•To maintain control of the interaction
•To clarify a message
•To encourage maximum participation from patients
•To demonstrate an interest in the patient
•To assess patient condition and their knowledge and understanding of it
Summarising:
•Attempts to tie together the main points discussed in a communication
•Can focus on both feelings and content (facts)
•Differs to paraphrasing/reflection - ties together several of the speaker’s statements
•Respond to what the speaker has said using different words
Purposing of summarising:
Helps the client to:
•clarify meaning
•realise that the physiotherapist understands what the client is saying and feeling
•has a sense of progress
Encourages the client to:
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