Physiotherapy is often associated with recovery, where an injured patient receives physical care including massages, heat treatment, and stretches. But did you know that physiotherapy exercises can also prevent injury?

Speak to any sports therapist, and they will recommend that you should perform the right exercises and stretches before and after your main activities, with the main goal being to improve your flexibility and strength to reduce your risk of injury and pain.

If you’re keen to improve your physical health and reduce the risk of injury using preventive physiotherapy, this guide is for you.

What Is Preventive Physiotherapy?

Preventive physiotherapy is different from other types of physiotherapy in that the aim is to prevent injuries and physical problems from occurring. Preventive physiotherapy and stretching are important, Havard Health explains, because it keeps your muscles flexible, strong, and healthy while enabling a range of motion in your joints. Without good flexibility and mobility, your muscles may be too weak for certain activities, putting you at risk for strains, joint pain, and muscle damage.

You can use preventive physiotherapy to educate yourself on proper posture, exercise techniques, and other movements to prevent injury. Long-term practice of physiotherapy exercises can help improve your physical health and well-being, reduce the risk of injuries, and strengthen your body.

To start practicing preventive physiotherapy, here are five free physiotherapy apps you can use in the comfort of your own home.

1. MoovBuddy: Your Health Coach

MoovBuddy is an AI-powered physical therapy app that can help you improve your posture and flexibility, and prevent injury. When you first open MoovBuddy, you can enter details about your normal posture, any pre-existing aches or pains, and the general goals you want to work on to personalize your preventive physio plan.

You can use Moovbuddy for preventive physiotherapy in a few simple ways:

• Exercises. You’ll find all types of preventive physiotherapy exercises under the exercises tab. You can choose exercises for a particular ailment (e.g. for lower back, wrist, or knee pain) or to improve your posture. Or follow a strengthening program to help reduce your risk of injury.
• Enter daily goals. Alongside your exercises, Moovbuddy encourages you to track your water intake and steps, tick off your daily stretches and breathing exercises, and enter your body mobility score and pain status for a comprehensive well-being program.
• Follow personal tips and advice. Under the Explore tab, you’ll find Special advice for you: a personalized selection of preventive tips and stretches that can help prevent injuries.

You can try a free trial of the premium version of Moovbuddy to access all features.

Download: MoovBuddy: Your Health Coach for Android | iOS (Free, premium version available)

2. Pure Physiotherapy

Pure Physiotherapy functions as a comprehensive self-help tool that you can use to identify physical pain, whether neurological, rheumatological, or orthopedic.

Although this app is geared towards physiotherapy pain treatment, you can still use it to help prevent injury. Identifying injury symptoms, causes, and treatments will give you a better understanding of what your risks are. You can also follow rehab plans for preventive physiotherapy exercises.

To use Pure Physiotherapy to prevent injury, follow these steps:

1. Tap Where does it hurt? to bring up an interactive body diagram. Tap the area of the body you wish to protect or treat. (For example, if you’re worried about injuring your foot or ankle, tap the foot on the diagram).
2. Next, tap one of the possible conditions (e.g. Ankle fracture) to bring up a comprehensive guide to the injury, including common symptoms, treatment options, and recovery time.
3. Tap See Rehab Plans to see a list of suggested physiotherapy exercises for your chosen ailment.
4. Tap Download Early Plan, Intermediate Plan, or Advanced Plan to receive a program of physiotherapy exercises for your chosen area. It’s a good idea to start with the Early Plan and work your way through each program to build strength.

By following the rehab plans on Pure Physiotherapy before or after your physical activities or sport, you will strengthen the area of your body and reduce the risk of injury.

Download: Pure Physiotherapy for Android | iOS (Free, premium version available)

3. pliability: mobility+recovery

The pliability: mobility+recovery app is a great tool for using physiotherapy exercises for preventing injuries. The app is designed to help improve your mobility, increase your strength and flexibility, and educate you about the best exercises for your specific needs. It’s also one of the best apps for improving balance.

You first need to sign up on its website, pliability.com (the app doesn't support sign-up features) to activate your free trial. Use the following tabs within the app to access preventive physiotherapy features:

• Home tab. Start by tapping Take Mobility Test to see how your general mobility is and to identify the areas you might need to work on. You’ll also find fresh workouts and stretches here each week.
• Explore tab. Browse new mobility routines, find warm-up and cool-down exercises, and explore workouts—all designed to help prevent injury and strengthen your body.
• Paths tab. Here you will find physiotherapy programs designed for different goals. It’s recommended that you start with the Welcome Series, then choose a specialized path for your needs (e.g. desk job hero, knee focus, or hip flexor fix).
• You tab. See your mobility test results, your activity log, and your favorite exercises within this tab. You can also amend your settings here.

Don’t forget to log onto the app’s website to change or cancel your subscription plan.

Download: pliability: mobility+recovery for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

4. GOWOD

Designed for fitness enthusiasts, GOWOD is a great app for personalized mobility and recovery programs related to exercise injuries. You can use GOWOD to improve your overall fitness as well as your flexibility and mobility (the two key ingredients in preventive physiotherapy). It’s also one of the best CrossFit apps for beginners, making it a versatile choice for users.

Within GOWOD, you’ll find the following tools useful in your physiotherapy journey:

• Free mobility test. Similar to the pliability app, GOWOD offers a free mobility test to help determine your current level and to identify any problem areas that might need help.
• Mobility programs. Once you’ve determined your physiotherapy needs and/or goals, you can pick a mobility program to build your strength, mobility, and flexibility over time—the best ways to prevent injury.
• Exercises. With over 240 exercises available on the free version of the app, you can create a selection of your favorite movements to create your own physiotherapy exercise program.

With the free version of the app, you’ll have limited access to all features, including mobility programs, recovery tools, and progress tracking. You have unlimited access to the exercise library, however, so the free version of GOWOD may be enough to perform all your preventive physiotherapy needs.

Download: GOWOD for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

5. Yoga for Beginners | Pure Calm

You don’t necessarily need a dedicated physiotherapy app to prevent injury—it’s widely acknowledged that increasing your flexibility promotes better performance and decreases the risk of injury. Therefore, practicing yoga regularly is a great way to strengthen all areas of the body and improve your flexibility as an alternative to traditional physiotherapy exercises.

You can use the Yoga for Beginners app to focus on particular “problem areas” or for full body flexibility and strength as part of your preventive physiotherapy plan. It’s also a great yoga app to use to work out anywhere.

If you’re new to practicing yoga, the following features are a good place to start:

• Pose library. Learn the fundamental poses of yoga practice with helpful tips and instruction videos for each movement.
• Discover tab. Here you can find beginner-friendly yoga practices, as well as sequences for specific needs (e.g. pregnancy, knee-friendly, or older adults).
• Programs tab. You can browse yoga classes by level, style (hatha, vinyasa, yin, or restorative), or by goal.

Yoga is a versatile practice and is brilliant as a form of preventive physiotherapy.

Download: Yoga for Beginners for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

Use Physiotherapy Apps to Help Prevent Injuries

You don’t need to dedicate hours to performing physiotherapy exercises to see results, but practicing preventive physiotherapy regularly is the best approach.

Try to practice your chosen exercises using the apps above for at least 15 minutes several times a week and see how your flexibility, strength, and overall physical well-being improve.