Physical therapy plays a key role in caring for people affected by cancer.
Spain, 2011-October the vocal of the General Council of physiotherapists schools of Spain (Cgcfe), José Manuel Brandi de la Torre, on the occasion of the celebration of the European week against cancer, has stressed that physical therapy “plays a key role in caring for people affected by cancer”.
Before a diagnosis of this type, both during the treatment, as once this physical therapy boasts therapies that help to overcome the consequences and to improve the quality of life for these people.
Due to received treatments, patients suffer, in most cases, sequels as muscle-skeletal pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, and other alterations, as generalized weakness, muscle-skeletal disorders or neurological compromise, among others.
As he emphasized Brandi de la Torre, this means in most cases a substantial reduction in functionality and quality of life of patients. In this way, the main concerns in the care of patients with cancer, he pointed out, general health, fitness, fatigue, pain, emotional state and the social function.
The main cause of derivation of the patient to the terminally physiotherapy unit consists of locomotor problems caused by the physical desacondicionamiento and loss of functionality, the latter defined as one of the important aspects to be considered in patients who suffer from cancer, which affects the quality of life and it may be cause of suffering.
Patients with cancer may have a wide range of needs and dysfunctions, including respiratory, neurologÃas, circulatory, orthopedic, pain and skeletal muscle. The purpose of physical therapy, explained the Member of the Council, is improve their quality of life, with the aim to be as comfortable and productive as possible, and that, in this way, the patient can operate with a minimum level of unit whatever their life expectancy.
In this line, Brandi de la Torre said that the main objective of physical therapy is restore lost physical conditions and minimize the aftermath left by the disease or received treatment, so as to improve the quality of life of patients
Palliative care
palliative care refers to the total care of patients and their families by a multidisciplinary team when the disease does not respond to treatment curative.
In this sense, the vowel of Cgcfe considered that physical therapist should be a part, from the first moment of the multidisciplinary team of professionals who must assist people affected by cancer, to achieve the goal of adequate comprehensive care.
In addition, opted for “reassess” physical therapy and direct treatment to combat the potential late effects, as well as direct patients to adopt healthier life styles, in which physical activity plays a role important.
