He will produce sputum in copious amounts, and sometimes that will be streaked with blood. The lips and fingers can take on a bluish tint because he is not getting enough oxygen, and heart trouble may follow for the same reason. Physiotherapy can help with chronic airways disease in many ways. One is in breathing retraining. If there is not enough muscle tone, the patient will have more trouble walking or doing other normal movements. The rheumatoid arthritis will dominate the movements instead of the muscles dominating them. Heat therapy can be used in conjunction with ice therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. A physiotherapist can tell the patient when and how long to leave on heat packs or ice packs. Before they go, though, they will have been taught warm-up and stretching exercises, and when to stop. Generally, they should exercise three to five times a week unless they are having problems. Swimming is another form of exercise that is especially good for cardiac surgery patients. It is a cardiovascular exercise that is not hard on the joints, so it will often be kept up longer. To check on these physiotherapy credentials, it is possible to contact the state licensing board of physical therapists. One can find the contact information of any state's physiotherapy licensing board online. If all else fails, ask the physiotherapist to provide proof of her own training and licensing. What Spinal Cord Injury Patients Can Accomplish with Physiotherapy Sports injuries and car accidents, among other injuries, can cause spinal cord injury. The range of spinal cord injury is wide. Some of these injuries are fairly minor and will heal well with a limited amount of physiotherapy, while others need physiotherapy for the rest of their lives. This is why practice is so important. The more times physiotherapists help a patient with this, the easier it becomes. Recent studies have revealed that stroke rehabilitation can continue long after the hospital stay. In the past, stroke victims were given a short round of physiotherapy during the time they were in the hospital and for a few weeks shortly afterwards.