Pain begins from the very beginning of human existence. For thousands of years, finding the cause of pain and treating it successfully has been the greatest concern of physicians.

People’s approaches to pain have always been different over the centuries. While pain in the Middle Ages was interpreted as a demon possession, pain was viewed more rationally in ancient Egypt. At that time, in China, acupuncture solutions were found for pain by inserting metal needles into 365 different points on the body. The following words of Hippocrates, the father of medical science, were very important. “First of all, you should not harm the patient”

The approaches of Ibn Sina (980-1063) and Leonardo da Vinci to modern medical science were more scientific than their contemporaries. Hot and cold, which we still use in treatment today, were used for treatment in various ways in ancient times. Today, the habit of heating baked bricks and placing them on the painful area is an extension of a traditional treatment that has been going on for thousands of years in Anatolia. Again, massaging painful areas by hand and rubbing or pulling problematic areas were some of the treatment methods of ancient times.

Studies on the application of electrical currents to the human body, which started in the second half of the 1800s, were developed in the 1900s and the foundations of modern physical therapy were laid in the 1920s. Later, many physical therapy devices were manufactured in larger numbers under standard manufacturing conditions and became among the treatment methods applied to patients in many parts of the world. Undoubtedly, there were physicians who used them in our country, and their number increased even more in the 1950s. The physical therapy devices whose pictures you can see here are among my collection that I have carefully created over the years. Physical therapy is a treatment that has been performed with scientific measures for more than 100 years. Prof., who was a leader in establishing Yalova thermal springs and physical therapy for the first time in our country. Dr. Nihat Belger. The topic addressed at the university level is Prof. Dr. He is Osman Cevdet Çubukçu. He started his studies as the Department of Physiotherapy at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine. II. In accordance with the concept of “rehabilitation” that emerged after World War II, all clinics were later named “Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation”. Today, more than 1800 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialists work in various parts of our country.

1- Does physical therapy become habit-forming?

ANSWER: Absolutely, out of the question. The reason for asking this question is that patients feel relieved after physical therapy, but after a while, the problems recur. This is because the number of people who go to the doctor when the disease first starts and look for a solution is very few. Generally, a doctor is consulted after the disease is over. Then the effect of the treatment will not last that long. In order to achieve positive results, it is necessary to take physical therapy sessions at regular intervals. So, if we get our diseases treated before they wear out, we will solve this problem.

2- Does physical therapy cause paralysis?

ANSWER: No. Conversely, physical therapy and rehabilitation methods are used in the treatment of strokes. This is a fairy tale told to patients so that they accept hernia surgeries without discussion. “If you don’t have surgery, you’ll be paralyzed!” Patients are intimidated by the word.

3- Does physical therapy cause osteoporosis?

ANSWER: Of course not. Osteoporosis is a disease that occurs for various reasons. It is a metabolic disease that begins in many people who have reached menopause, not in those who receive physical therapy. However, there are limitations in some physical therapy practices in the treatment of osteoporosis. However, ultraviolet rays, another physical therapy method, is a treatment method used in osteoporosis, among other options.

4- Is physical therapy given only to middle-aged people? Is it dangerous to perform these treatments on young people, the very old or even children?

ANSWER: Physical therapy is a treatment that is safe to perform at almost any age, if necessary. Because of diseases that will become chronic if they are not treated early, the disease will become chronic in the patient who avoids physical therapy because he is young and the treatments will need to be repeated every year in the future.

 5- Is there a season for physical therapy? Is it dangerous to do physical therapy in winter?

ANSWER: There is no rule about the season of physical therapy. Treatment can be done in any season when there are symptoms of the disease. The reason for this misbelief is that in the past, only patients who could not protect themselves during hot treatments were in question. This was also caused by the lack of care given to those receiving treatment in institutions with high patient density. Nowadays, physical therapy can be done even when it is snowing. Patients who need to be protected from external weather conditions, even if they are not treated, will be given the same care during this treatment, which will prevent possible problems.

6- Since rheumatism patients generally tend to feel cold, is it appropriate to provide physical therapy that includes only hot applications to these people?

ANSWER: In some inflammatory rheumatism, it is a wrong practice to apply heat to the problematic joint, even if the patient is cold. On the contrary, it is necessary to apply cold to that joint. The problems of patients who dress too thickly and therefore sweat a lot will increase even more. These patients, who perceive the surrounding weather conditions more than anyone else, will feel this problem even if they are overdressed, so it will be beneficial for them not to overdress in order to get rid of the problems caused by sweating.

7- Is it true that physical therapy causes cancer?

ANSWER: The reason for this is a deception told to patients. Almost all patients who will undergo radiotherapy due to cancer are told that their disease is rheumatism and that physical therapy will be used for treatment. Unfortunately, cancer is sometimes incurable. Due to this misconception, the loss of patients is perceived incorrectly as “the patient had cancer and was lost because of physical therapy.”