Physical therapy during the Great Patriotic War

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the application of physical therapy methods during the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union. It was observed that physical therapy, combined with surgical and other methods, significantly improves the efficacy of patients' treatment, including with battle injuries, as well as with injuries of other etiology, such as frostbite, and also contributes to reducing the incidence of disabilities among the injured. The features of the physical therapy methods' organization sequently from 1941 to 1945, and also the results of active development of physical medicine, have been characterized. The features of physical therapy methods' application both on different bases of healthcare delivery (hospital bases, in the rear) and with regard to various types of pathology have been shown. The importance of involving physical therapy methods in curative measures from the early stages of treatment has been noted.