In Reseda and elsewhere around the country, people are gaining a greater awareness of the benefits that physical therapy can provide. Physical therapy is a conservative approach to handling many types of musculoskeletal problems. It involves diagnosing and managing injuries, both new and long-lasting, and treating movement problems. Physical therapists use various techniques to help improve function, relieve pain, and increase mobility. Let’s discuss some benefits of physical therapy, as well as who should consider this treatment, and what to expect during a session.
Benefits of physical therapy
People seek physical therapy for rehab, mobility, injury prevention, pain management, and chronic conditions. Scientific evidence has shown that regular physical therapy can achieve the benefits described below:
- Managing pain: Studies show that starting physical therapy early for back pain reduces pain and avoids opioids.
- Shorten post-surgery recovery: Physical therapy is often recommended after surgery to shorten post-surgery recovery because it hastens recovery time and quickly builds muscle back up. Doctors often advise therapy to ease pain, enhance mobility, avoid scarring, and regain normal function.
- Manage arthritis: Physical therapy effectively reduces arthritis symptoms, like inflammation, pain, stiffness, and swelling.
- Handling neurological conditions: Stroke, heart attack, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis can be improved with physical therapy.
- Rehabilitation: Recovering from a sports injury or a slip-and-fall can be an arduous path to embark on. Many times, they can avoid surgery by taking up a program of physical therapy that rehabilitates the injured area. Therapy can lessen pain and strengthen muscles to help the person return to the field quickly.
Who can benefit from physical therapy?
Just about everyone can benefit from physical therapy, including those who have no current injuries or pain to recover from. This is because physical therapists are trained to identify situations that could lead to pain or injury in the future. These issues can then be worked on helping prevent future injury and strengthen the body to be less susceptible. Here are some of the specific injuries that physical therapy can help:
- sciatica
- back strain or discomfort
- knee pain
- tears of the rotator cuff
- herniated discs
- arthritis
Physical therapy has specialized fields like geriatrics, pediatrics, sports injuries, cardiac, respiratory, and neurology. Geriatric physical therapists help older people with rehabilitation, while pediatric therapists work with children. Sports therapists specialize in contact sports injuries, while cardiac therapists focus on heart-related rehab.
What to expect
In your initial meeting with a physical therapist, they will assess your issue, evaluate your body’s function, and develop a treatment plan. After determining the cause of your injury, your therapist will assess your range of motion and muscle strength using functional tests. Your therapist can diagnose the issue and prescribe ongoing treatment based on this information.
The program of treatment will give you an idea of how long it will take to restore your body’s functionality and how many visits will be required. After the initial evaluation, you’ll begin a program of muscle-strengthening stretches and exercises. Your treatment program could involve manual therapy to relax muscles, reduce scar tissue, and enhance joint mobility.
Tasks may be assigned outside of therapy sessions to promote healing and strengthening. Your therapist will review your progress and propose new strategies for your physical therapy program. Physical therapy helps you move better and strengthen your body, so you won’t need more treatment once you’re fully healed.
