Recommendations of the Polish Society of Physiotherapy, the Polish Society of Family Medicine, the College of Family Physicians in Poland and the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners Association regarding the use of simple forms of physiotherapy, including massage and self-massage in primary care, endorsed by the Polish Society of Physiotherapy Specialists

Background In general practice, dysfunctions within the locomotor system are a recurring health issue. Most frequently, diagnoses and treatments relate to pain syndromes of the backbone, the shoulder girdle or the pelvic girdle. The authors believe that physiotherapy, along with other clinical disciplines, should be regarded as an important factor which influences the effectiveness of the therapeutic process in this area. In primary care, treatment of musculoskeletal disorders – especially at the stage of early clinical symptoms – should incorporate basic physiotherapy methods, e.g., massage, physical procedures, kinesiotherapy and the underrated education of the patient. Restoring appropriate spatial arrangement of tissues provides the right conditions for the regeneration and repair of muscles, ligaments and tendons, although it is a process that requires a long time. Therefore, it can be very important to introduce self-therapy in the form of systematically repeated, easy-to-replicate procedures in the scope of self-massage and self-kinesiotherapy. Objectives This paper presents the impact of physiotherapy in treating selected disorders and pain syndromes of the locomotor system with particular attention to the role of massage. Emphasis is placed on the meaning of self-massage in the process of restoring structural balance of tissues. The model of active inclusion of the patient in the treatment process as preparation for self-therapy is presented. This paper aims to justify the need to reorganize health services provided through general practicioners within the National Health Fund network by incorporating physiotherapy in primary care.