Physiotherapy Practice in Bangladesh
*Md Monoarul Haque
Publication Secretary, Bangladesh Physical Therapy Association (BPA), Bangladesh
Submission: July 13, 2017; Published: July 19, 2017
*Corresponding author: Md Monoarul Haque, Publication Secretary, Bangladesh Physical Therapy Association (BPA), Bangladesh, Email: monoarmunna@yahoo.com
How to cite this article: Md Monoarul Haque, Ortho & Rheum Open Access J 7(5): OROAJ.MS.ID.555724 (2017). DOI: 10.19080/OROAJ.2017.07.555724
Introduction
Bangladesh is a populated developing country situated in South East Asia. After liberation war in 1971-72 lot of injured and disabled freedom fighters were surviving with distressful life and facing difficulty in activities in daily living. So necessity of physiotherapy treatment began at that period. Though physiotherapy practice started before liberation war but commencement of physiotherapy practice matured after liberation in order to rehabilitate disabled freedom fighters and back them near normal life. Actually physiotherapy is evidence based therapeutic exercise and movement oriented medical profession where anatomical, biomechanical, pathological knowledge is must and compulsory. Physiotherapy is advancing day by day by its multidimensional applicability and adding pharmacology, infiltration technique, dry needling, taping etc.
Electrotherapy is a part of physiotherapy and its uses in developed world is decreasing but in our country still randomly using electrotherapy equipment particularly in public hospital prescribed by other medical professional. WHO clearly defined physiotherapy and described role of physiotherapists. It is assuming that after 1993 physiotherapy practice gets popularity in Bangladesh and acceptability of this side effect free physical treatment is increasing as prevalence of non-communicable diseases increases along with other part of the world. By dint of huge publicity in print and electronic media patients are now directly coming physiotherapy center to take physiotherapy from graduate physiotherapists. Trend of in house physiotherapy has been started recently. Ministry of Social Welfare has contributed to disseminate physiotherapy at root level all over country. Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed number of physiotherapists in different tier. Besides private chamber/ physiotherapy center is commonly seen in Upazila level which was rare one decade ago.
There is undergraduate and post graduate physiotherapy courses in our country. According to Bangladesh Physical Therapy Association more than three thousands graduate physiotherapists are now practicing in Bangladesh but regret to say that no controlling body yet established to monitor quality of practice. Not only that no individual Govt. physiotherapy college yet established whereas in our neighboring country India there is more than 70 physiotherapy institute/college. As a result somebody are doing business in the name of physiotherapy, some are mal practicing and some are producing quack. Some medical doctors are also resisting exploring physiotherapy profession. Time has come to think about health care delivery system and provision of physiotherapists in public hospital maintaining professional dignity to provide quality physiotherapy to poor people.