The role of physiotherapists is to alleviate any form of pain and suffering, ensuring that the body functions properly and optimally. Scientifically speaking, physiotherapy deals with bodily malfunction, movement dysfunction, physical disorder, and other types of disability. In the past few years, the of physiotherapy services in Canada has increased tremendously.
Ageing population
The ageing population in Canada has a direct impact on the increase number of people seeking for physiotherapy (or physio) services. The elderly suffer from a wide range of ailments such as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, and chronic pain which accentuate the demand for these services to relax their body and alleviate pain and suffering that are associated with such ailments. What’s more, the rise in life expectancy rates makes physio services more relevant considering the fact that they improve the quality of life of the older population—for a bigger proportion of their life.
Shift in Ambulatory Care
Today, patients tend to stay in health care facilities for considerably shorter duration. This is also another factor that has contributed to the increase in demand of physio services because besides improving the patients’ quality of life, these services make it possible to care for people suffering from physical problems from home. Caring for such patients from home also reduce health care costs.
Improvement in Rates of Survival of Accident Victims
In the past few years, the survival rates of premature babies and accident victims have grown considerably, thanks to the advancement of hospital technologies. This advancement has also fostered growth in the number of people looking for physiotherapy services.
More Demand for Sports Physiotherapists
The works of physiotherapists are highly appreciated in a wide range of sports. A number of football teams now have specialized medical professional and the number of sports teams looking to recruit physiotherapists is on the rise.
Increasing Women’s Healthcare Concerns
The increasing concern about women’s health has also augmented the growth and demand of physio services. Pregnant women, for instance, require more specialized and sophisticated health care services to maintain the growth and health of their fetus.
Bottom Line
A lot of factors are contributing to the rising demand of physiotherapy services in Canada and the trend is likely to continue in the coming years. However, experts predict that the trend could be hampered slightly by lack of graduates in the field. The excellent packages for physiotherapists and the near-zero unemployment rates in the profession coupled with the rising demand of the physio services is an indication that it will not be easy to meet the demands of professionals required in this field. To address this looming labor shortage, universities, Canadian health sector, and the concerned stakeholders should encourage more students to enroll for physiotherapy and other related courses.
