Physiotherapy Courses: Industry Demand, Eligibility, Benefits and More

Physiotherapy is a branch of allied health sciences which is concerned with identifying the movement disorders and improving the quality of life by restoring function and movement, with a holistic approach which encompasses mental, physical, psychological and social well-being of an individual. Physiotherapy deals with assessment, prevention, restoration, management and rehabilitation of the functional movement resulting into health well-being, fitness and adding quality life.

If you are ready for a challenging and satisfying career, then you can apply for a Physiotherapy course. The career in Physiotherapy will give way to your motive of helping people. To become a physiotherapist, you would need to be patient, tactful, should have good communication skills, problem-solving skills, organizational skills, and time management skills.

Degree Courses in Physiotherapy

The physiotherapy profession is offered in various levels of education ranging from Bachelor’s degree to Post-doctoral levels, where the candidate can enroll himself/herself into both research and academic activities. Bachelors in Physiotherapy is a four-year degree program (8 semesters) followed by a 6-month mandatory rotatory internship from a minimum 200 bedded multispeciality hospital. While Masters in Physiotherapy is a 2-year degree course (4 semesters) with a choice of specialization in different domains like musculoskeletal, neurology, sports, cardiopulmonary, pediatrics and geriatrics on the broader aspects.

Diploma Courses in Physiotherapy

A diploma in Physiotherapy is another great career choice. After completing a diploma in Physiotherapy, a student can take admission in Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT). One can also choose to pursue MBA in Healthcare Management after BPT.
Through a Diploma in Physiotherapy, one gains the ability and skills to manage and prevent problems that affect the physical functioning of the human body. Physiotherapy is a profession of enhancing hands-on skills that makes it a perfect integration of art and science.

Eligibility for Physiotherapy Degree

The minimum eligibility criteria to apply for Bachelor of Physiotherapy program is 50% passing marks in an intermediate exam with Biology, Physics and Chemistry as compulsory subjects. Similarly, for a Master in Physiotherapy program a candidate must score 50% marks in Bachelor’s degree from any college of repute after successfully completing 6 months of internship as a mandate.
In order to get admission in a good college, a student needs to qualify the entrance exam held by the university.

Who Should Study Physiotherapy?

Those who make a real difference to the quality of life for their patients, enhancing their health and well-being by restoring functional movement can opt for the course of physiotherapy. Physiotherapists are well-respected and valued members of society. People who have empathy for the people with physical dysfunction should. People from all ages can suffer from chronic pain, sports injuries and challenges with function or mobility; these can all be greatly improved with the help of physiotherapy. Those who are having passion as part of medical crew in individual or team sport have decent chance of being employed in this area.

What do you Learn in Physiotherapy?

Bachelor of Physiotherapy initially includes detailed knowledge about the anatomy, function and mechanics of human system. Students learn about fundamentals of physiotherapy, various therapeutic interventions i.e. exercise therapy, electrotherapy, manual therapy etc. theoretically along with practical applications. Students learn about the different disease, disorders and injuries in the field musculoskeletal, sports, neurology, cardiopulmonary, pediatrics, obsgynae, geriatrics. Students learn to treat how to treat patients required for physical intervention in ICU, IPD or OPD with surgical and non-surgical management. Students learn various other skills like problem-solving, management, entrepreneurship, administration and ethics. Students also learn about the research and innovation with a compulsory submission of research project.

Scope of Physiotherapy

Due to the complex lifestyle of people, now the solution lies at the level of the prevention, management and rehabilitation. Physiotherapist is working independently or with other health profession to improve the people well-being. That makes it one of the reasons for aspirants to choose physiotherapy as a career. We can also see involvement of physiotherapists in ergonomics and occupational health and safety.
In Physiotherapy, a student can opt for both clinical and non-clinical careers depending upon their interest. After completion of course, students get to work in different specialties like Neurorehabilitation, cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation, Orthopedics rehabilitation, Pediatric population, Obs-Gynae, geriatric centers and Sports academies. In addition to that, a physiotherapist can have the opportunity to work with NGOs and social workers to make an individual able to be eligible for vocational training. They can also become entrepreneurs by establishing their own clinical setup.
A physiotherapist can also work as a medical underwriting or consultant with MNCs and other corporate organization. Medical coding and clinical investigators are the non-clinical areas in which one can have employment with respectable remuneration ranging from 3.6 Lac to 9 Lac per annum.

Also Read:- Most Demanding Fields and Job opportunities in Physiotherapy

Sports Physiotherapists are in Demand

Sports Physiotherapy is nowadays in great demand as the awareness towards sports and the support given by the government for all the competitive sports have been significantly increased. This branch of physiotherapy deals with both Onsite and Off-site management. Offsite management includes proper training of a sportsperson on a daily basis or to make him return to his sports after injury. It also includes the assessment and management in pre-competition phase. On-site management requires skill to manage acute injuries and demands a highly skilled individual. Various sports academies are now hiring a physiotherapist on permanent payroll. A skilled physiotherapist has become a very essential part of a team apart from medical professionals and coaches. A sports therapist can earn from 30k to 1 lac per month depending upon the responsibilities and the type of sports. Working as a freelancer is also an option in which they can earn on the basis of each class.

Written By:- Dr. Irshad Ahmad, Assistant professor, Department of Physiotherapy, FAHS, MRIIRS