Introduction to Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is a treatment to restore, maintain and make the most of the patient’s mobility, function and well-being. Physiotherapy helps through physical rehabilitation, injury prevention and health and fitness. Physiotherapists get involved in one’s own recovery.

Physiotherapy is a health care profession which assists people to restore, maintain and maximise their strength, function, movement and overall well-being. The physiotherapists have in-depth knowledge of how the body works and specialised hands on clinical skills to assess, diagnosis and treat symptoms of illness, injury and disability. The Physiotherapy also includes rehabilitation as well as prevention of injury and promotion of health and fitness.

Few lines about Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT)

Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) is a 4-years undergraduate course that is divided into 8-semesters and it includes a mandatory six months of clinical internship. The course revolves round the science of physical movement aimed at preventing disease and disability. The students of the physiotherapy will be trained on various techniques such as exercises, massage and other modalities for providing treatment to those patients whose movement and function are weak after accidents, aging, sports injury, work stress, etc.

The course will cover a wide range of topics such as Human Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Biomechanics, etc and many more. The course teaches the students the advanced level about the core physiotherapeutic skills such as manual therapy, therapeutic, exercises and application of electro-physical modalities.

Eligibility for Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT)

The students should have passed PUC or 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology as optional subjects along with English language with 40% minimum aggregate from recognised board in order to get admission to Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) course.

Admission procedures

The students who are seeking admission to Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) course can join the course via two different modes. The first one is merit-based admission and second one is through direct admission procedures.

1. Merit Admissions

The students seeking admission under this mode are compulsorily required to apply for the Karnataka CET entrance exam conducted by Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA). The students after qualifying the entrance exam are required to undergo counselling procedures of KEA for getting admissions for Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) course.

2. Direct Admissions

The students can also get admission to Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) course by another mode i.e. direct admission. Under this mode, the students can get direct admissions to the colleges under management quota. The main benefit of this mode of admission is that students are not required to apply for any entrance exams nor are required to undergo any counselling procedures. The best part of direct admission is that the students can choose their desired colleges to study Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) course. The students of direct admission are given special privileges where they can choose their colleges and book their seats even before starting of the academic year. The students who are interested in direct admissions can contact government registered educational advisory centres like Galaxy Educational Services for direct admission related queries.

Benefits of being a Physiotherapist

The profession of physiotherapy offers various job opportunities across the globe. The profession demands strong interpersonal skills, dedication and patience, so it may not fit for everyone. The modern society is facing a tremendous challenge of disablement. As a physiotherapist, it's very easy to find work. Before choosing a career path in physiotherapy one has to assess the options and ensure which is the right one for him or her. The physiotherapy is all about working side-by-side with people to address musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, neuromuscular and respiratory problems. As a physiotherapist one has the power to help people make positive changes to their lifestyles and health. As they will be working with people who are struggling with poor quality of life, so it’s virtually impossible to get bored and lack satisfaction in the job as a physiotherapist.

Career and Scope

Physiotherapists are very important and the physiotherapy course is gaining momentum in almost all the sectors. This is because physiotherapists play a crucial role for their patients to help them to reduce their stress and problems related to it. 

The physiotherapists are hired in different sectors like defence medical establishments, educational institutions, fitness centres, health institutions, clinics, hospitals, orthopaedic departments, physiotherapy equipment manufacturers. The students of Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) can also join a master's course if they are interested. They can even join as physiotherapy lecturers after the completion of their masters. They can also work as free-lancing physiotherapists and treat the individual patients. They can even later move to the teaching field after completing their masters in physiotherapy and earn a decent living.

Job Roles available for Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) students

Some of the important job roles available for bachelor of physiotherapy (BPT) students are:

• Assistant Physiotherapists
• Private Physiotherapists
• Sports Physio Rehabilitator
• Therapy Manager
• Osteopath
• Physiotherapy Consultant
• Chiropractic Therapist

Potential areas where the Physiotherapists can find ample job opportunities

The physiotherapists can find abundant job opportunities in the following areas:

• Hospitals or acute care facilities
• Rehabilitation centres
• Long term care facilities
• Home care programmes
• Public health units
• Private clinics
• Schools and Universities
• Child Development Centres
• Recreation Centres
• Sports Clinics and Facilities 

Earning Potential

The bachelor of physiotherapy (BPT) students can easily earn around 4 lakhs to 6 lakhs per annum as fresh graduates. The experienced professionals can earn nearly around 6 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum. The private and consultant physiotherapists can earn even better by working as free-lancers.

Top Recruiters for Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) students

Some of the top recruiters hiring BPT students are:

• Apollo Hospitals
• Sparsh Hospitals
• Max Healthcare
• Metro Health City
• Manipal Hospitals
• Fortis hospitals
• Columbia Asia Hospitals
• G. Madegowda institute of Naturopathy and Ypgic Science (GMINYS) 
• Akash Institute of Physiotherapy

Conclusion

The demand for physiotherapists is growing day by day. Many people look for help from the physiotherapists to come out of their physical problems. Today’s generation is facing a tremendous challenge of disability due to change in workstyle. The old age people hire physiotherapists for different treatments related to their physical mobility. Sometimes doctors prescribe physiotherapy treatments for many problems related to flexibility of the body.

The physiotherapists are highly paid professionals for their expertise and skill set. The sportsmen hire personal physiotherapists to keep their bodies fit and fine, so that they can perform better in their sports. Physiotherapists are also hired in large numbers in hospitals, clinics. There is an evergreen demand for skilled physiotherapy students. The physiotherapists are paid good salaries and can also expect good career growth in their fields.