Many individuals think of physical therapy as a treatment just for people recovering from surgery. While it’s often really useful after surgery, physical therapy might be helpful for a big selection of injuries.
Physical therapy will help manage a big selection of conditions, including stiff joints, headaches, jaw pain, back pain and difficulty balancing. Specialized exercises, physical therapy programs, education and hands-on care can improve the best way your body functions. Physical therapy is scientifically proven to assist people get better from even complex conditions, and it’s often really useful as an alternative of surgery.
Learn more about how you may profit from physical therapy, the various types of physical therapy and how you can start with treatment.
What’s physical therapy?
Physical therapy is a medical specialty that uses exercise, education and hands-on care techniques to assist people improve their mobility and performance. A physical therapist will work with you to allow you to manage pain and move with confidence. The goals of physical therapy are to stop injuries, allow you to move without pain and luxuriate in the next quality of life.
Physical therapy vs. occupational therapy
Physical therapy and occupational therapy are each types of rehabilitation, but they’re distinctly different.
Occupational therapy focuses on helping individuals with activities of every day living (ADLs) like getting dressed, doing chores and grooming. Occupational therapists teach people how you can modify their activities, change their environment or improve their ability to do the things they should so as to do their jobs and luxuriate in every day life. Occupational therapy treatments often put an emphasis on high-quality motor skills.
Physical therapy focuses on gross motor skills (movements like walking, jumping, reaching, etc.). The goal of physical therapy is to allow you to strengthen your body so you may regain mobility. For instance, a physical therapist can allow you to get better so you may comfortably walk up and down stairs, bend over to placed on your shoes and confidently return to activities you enjoy. It might be used to treat major and minor injuries, in addition to help with post-surgery recovery.
Conditions physical therapy can treat
Physical therapy is the primary course of treatment for a big selection of different conditions. A couple of of the conditions your doctor might recommend physical therapy for include:
Types of physical therapy treatments
There are some specialized types of treatments inside the practice of physical therapy. Depending in your condition, your therapist might use the next treatments:
Blood flow restriction (BFR)
With blood flow restriction, your physical therapist will put a cuff around a component of your body, often your arm or leg. This restricts blood flow to the affected muscles. While blood flow is restricted, you’re capable of get the identical strength training benefits from lighter weights that you just would typically see from heavier weights. It is a technique that could be really useful to assist patients who’ve weight-bearing restrictions placed on their recovery.
Dry needling
Dry needling is a treatment that strategically places short needles in painful parts of your body. This stimulates the damaged tissue in your body to release tension and promote healing.
Aquatic therapy
Aquatic therapy is physical therapy that takes place in a pool. Exercising within the water reduces pressure on painful joints, helping you to maneuver more comfortably and get the benefits of physical activity.
There are a lot of different benefits of physical therapy, including managing pain, improving how well your body functions, helping you heal from injuries and stopping falls. Physical therapy might be used to assist people of all ages who’re recovering from a big selection of conditions. Physical therapy can allow you to:
1. Get your every day really useful physical activity
While it won’t be the important reason a physician may suggest physical therapy, this treatment will allow you to get the really useful half-hour of every day exercise. Actually, most Americans don’t get the really useful amount of physical activity. Lack of exercise may cause pain, reduce mobility and increase your risk of injury.
Physical therapists can allow you to start a daily exercise routine that’s protected and sustainable. Most physical therapy sessions are about an hour long. During these visits, your physical therapist will guide you thru physical therapy programs which will include strength constructing and cardio exercises. This may get you sweating and increase your heart rate. Plus, you’ll enjoy a lift of endorphins after your workout.
2. Improve your mobility
If you’ve difficulty walking or moving throughout your day, physical therapy may have the ability to assist. Physical therapists are experts at using specific exercises and specialized equipment to allow you to restore your body’s function.
Physical therapists are also capable of help suit you for mobility aides, like canes, walkers and crutches. They’ll teach you the very best ways to make use of your mobility aide and allow you to construct confidence in your movement.
3. Relieve pain
Physical therapy is a highly effective treatment for managing and relieving acute or chronic pain. Acute pain is short-term pain that lasts now not than 12 weeks. Long-term pain that lasts for greater than 12 weeks is chronic pain.
Weak or stiff muscles and tendons can contribute to pain and discomfort. A customized exercise program can goal parts of your body that cause you pain to treat it on the source.
By strengthening your muscles, you may improve the best way your body functions. This relieves pressure, alleviating pain or discomfort. Physical therapists may also show you how you can modify your movements to stop putting unnecessary stress on injured parts of your body.
4. Back pain relief
Back pain is one of probably the most common conditions affecting adults worldwide. One of the important causes of back pain is muscle deconditioning — when the muscles weaken resulting from lack of exercise or aging. Physical therapy is one of probably the most effective treatments of back pain.
A physical therapist will create a personalised exercise plan that addresses your unique symptoms to allow you to strengthen and loosen the muscles supporting your spine.
5. Avoid surgery
Physical therapy is usually the very best course of treatment for several injuries and chronic conditions. It’s so effective at managing uncomfortable symptoms and helping people get better that it’s often really useful as an alternative of surgery — especially for conditions similar to osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease and tears within the meniscus.
The movements prescribed by physical therapists promote healing, which will help patients fully get better from conditions which will have otherwise needed surgery.
6. Improve your surgical final result
Sticking to a physical therapy program after surgery is proven to enhance the final result of the procedure. Physical therapy exercises, stretches and hands-on treatments will help reduce inflammation, improve your range of motion and manage painful uncomfortable side effects of surgery. These all allow you to feel healthier and happier faster.
7. Heal after surgery
When surgery is required, physical therapy is usually really useful to assist in your recovery. Procedures like joint substitute surgery, hand surgery and spine surgery could make it harder so that you can move. Physical therapy will help speed up your recovery by promoting healing and helping you’re feeling more comfortable while moving.
8. Prevent falls
Injuries, illnesses or just growing older can increase your risk of falls. These aspects may make it difficult so that you can move or weaken your muscles.
Physical therapists have special training in working with people who find themselves in danger of falling. Specialized physical therapy programs, including fall prevention and balance physical therapy programs, can improve your balance, endurance and coordination.
9. Get well after a sports injury
A painful injury can take you out of the sport or affect your ability to perform at peak performance. A physical therapist who focuses on sports medicine knows how you can allow you to heal so you may return to your favorite activities safely. They’ll work with you to heal your injury and teach you how you can modify your movements to stop future injuries and regain confidence.
10. Prevent future injuries
Faulty movement patterns can result in injuries like sprains, tears and fractures. A physical therapist can assess the way you’re moving and use physical therapy treatments to correct your movements. This might be especially helpful for athletes and folks who do repetitive motions that put extra stress on the muscles.
Starting physical therapy treatment
When you’re coping with an injury or pain, physical therapy might have the ability to assist. Most of the time, you don’t need a referral to schedule directly with a physical therapist.
You possibly can visit a physical therapist for an initial assessment. They’ll perform a physical exam and determine the cause of your pain. Within the rare case that they’re not the very best person to allow you to, a physical therapist will help connect you with a specialist.
Physical therapy clinics in Minnesota
At TRIA, we’ve helped 1000’s of people get better from even probably the most complex conditions through physical therapy and specialized physical therapy programs. We have now many orthopedics and physical therapy clinics within the Twin Cities. When you’re able to take your first step toward recovery, make an appointment with one of our physical therapists.