Main description:

Alleviation, rehabilitation and participation

are the cornerstones not only of palliative care but also physiotherapy. Hence it is hardly surprising that physiotherapists are indisputable sources of strength to patients with life-limiting illnesses.

This book is the first of its kind to paint a comprehensive picture of the concepts and vision of palliative physiotherapy from both an authoritative and empathetic perspective. From paediatrics to geriatrics, from the early stages of a disease to the terminal phase, international experts provide a structured guide to the wide-ranging possibilities that physiotherapy has to offer as part of end of life care. Comprehensive advice as well as practical tips can be found in case studies and personal accounts. Insight is provided to clinical and non-clinical aspects as well as appropriate contextual information, for example

common symptoms such as pain, breathlessness, oedema, fatigue, weakness, anxiety or dementia
medication, symptoms of cord compression and palliative care emergencies
special features of paediatric palliative care
communication with patients and their families
ethics, intercultural proficiency and spirituality
opportunities for therapist self-care

This is a book for all those (not only in hospices and palliative care units) faced with caring for critically ill and terminally ill patients - essential reading for a professional, considered approach.

Contents:

1 Approaching the topic of physiotherapy in palliative care
1.1 Definition of palliative care and end of life care
1.2 Who is the palliative care physiotherapist?
1.3 From symptom control to rehabilitation: Physiotherapy approaches to end of life care
1.4 The right time for physiotherapy: Is there a 'too late' or a 'too early'?
1.5 Physiotherapy at end of life: Patients' perspectives
1.6 Physiotherapy Students in Palliative Care
2 Physiotherapy and medical aspects
2.1 Clinical reasoning
2.2 Pain
2.3 Respiratory symptoms: dyspnoea/breathlessness from airway obstruction and impaired oxygen capacity
2.4 Breathlessness and fear
2.5 Lymphoedema
2.6 Fatigue and weakness
2.7 Anxiety in the context of palliative physiotherapy
2.8 Dementia
2.9 Physiotherapy in paediatric palliative care
2.10 Physiotherapy in the terminal phase
3 Psycho-social aspects
3.1 Communication in palliative care: an introduction
3.2 'Of sad lions that roar' and handling strong emotions
4 Ethical, spiritual and cultural aspects
4.1 Ethics and ethical reasoning in palliative physiotherapy
4.2 The interface between function and meaning
4.3 With respect and openness: intercultural competence in palliative physiotherapy5 "Self care" for Physiotherapists
5.1"How am I really feeling?" - questions and suggestions for (self-)supervision 5.2 Closeness and distance, to touch and be touched; the physiotherapeutic dynamic