03_03_04 Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
Session Overview
Description
This session describes the role of physiotherapy in critical care and the importance and impact of rehabilitation in the critical care environment.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the benefits of early rehabilitation in critical care
• Explain which patients are appropriate for rehabilitation
• List the risks of early mobilization
• Explain the role of the physiotherapist in critical care
• Describe the limitations of physiotherapy in critical care

Physiotherapy has an important role in the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach to the management of a critically-ill patient. The most recognised roles of the critical care physiotherapist are early rehabilitation and respiratory management, with evidence suggesting a reduction in ventilator days, and intensive care and hospital length of stay [1](read details regarding the reference), [2](read details regarding the reference).

The Guidelines for the Provision of Intensive Care Services (GPICS) state that physiotherapists provide competent respiratory management and rehabilitation to patients in critical care, and that there is access to physiotherapy 24 hours a day [3](read details regarding the reference).