INDICATIONS THAT YOU MAY NEED A PHYSICAL THERAPIST

November 4, 2021

  1. You’re Experiencing Joint or Muscle Pain

    Joint and muscle pain, especially if it’s ongoing, may be a sign of problems with your body’s movement system. It often indicates muscle imbalances and faulty movement patterns. The sooner these problems are treated the more likely it will heal correctly. There is also the chance that this type of problem will get worse if it is not treated in a timely manner. A physical therapist can do an evaluation and get you started on a treatment program to treat the root cause of your pain. Choose PT states that a physical therapist may use a variety of methods to treat pain including manual therapy, exercise, and education. Reducing and eliminating any type of ongoing pain will enable you to more fully participate and enjoy your daily activities.

  2. You Just Had Surgery

    After even minor surgery, your body is struggling to heal and recover to its normal state. No matter what type of surgery you’ve just had, physical therapy can help you more quickly regain strength and flexibility. Physical therapy is especially important if you have or will spend a significant amount of time lying in a hospital bed. It’s necessary to keep muscles and joints as flexible as possible during the healing process. A physical therapist can also design a program to reduce the amount of scar tissue that forms after surgery. Physical therapy can help you return to your regular routine as quickly as possible.

  3. You’re Struggling with Conditions from Repetitive Use

    You may be one of millions of individuals that sit in the same position, doing the same type of work for hours at a time. Even if you’re standing and moving around, moving your body in the same way, such as always lifting or pulling items the same way, can result in a repetitive injury. Carpal tunnel or tennis elbow are common injuries that are often caused by repetitive movements. A physical therapist can teach you simple exercises to treat the condition. A therapist can also show you how to perform repetitive tasks in ways that will prevent future injuries from occurring.

  4. You’re Experiencing More Injuries than Usual

    If you’re increasingly pulling muscles or falling more frequently you would likely benefit from working with a physical therapist. A trained physical therapist can teach you exercises that can improve your balance and increase overall stability. You may need to learn new ways of warming up or cooling down after your favorite activities to reduce the chance of pulling a muscle or tendon.

  5. You’ve Stopped Doing Things You Used to Enjoy

    There may not be any specific injury or pain you’re currently experiencing, but you’ve noticed it’s more difficult to do the things you enjoy. Whether it’s due to a chronic condition such as arthritis or general wear and tear on your joints and muscles, physical therapy can help you get back to the activities you love.

    Everything from injuries and surgery to repetitive use and even aging may require physical therapy to get you moving as efficiently as possible. An individualized physical therapy program can also reduce or even eliminate pain. Physical therapy can help people of all ages feel better, move better, and live better. Contact our office for more information!

INDICATIONS FOR UTILIZATION OF PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR YOUR PATIENTS

  1. To Reduce or eliminate musculoskeletal pain. Therapeutic exercises and manual therapy techniques such as joint and soft tissue mobilization or treatments such as ultrasound, taping or electrical stimulation can help relieve pain and restore muscle and joint function to reduce pain. Such therapies can also prevent pain from returning.
  2. To Avoid surgery. If physical therapy helps eliminate pain or heal from an injury, surgery may not be needed. And even if surgery is required, patients may benefit from pre-surgery physical therapy. If patients are going into a surgery stronger and in better shape, they will recover faster afterwards in many cases. Also, by avoiding surgery, health care costs are reduced.
  3. To Improve mobility. If they’re having trouble standing, walking or moving—no matter your age—physical therapy can help. Stretching and strengthening exercises help restore their ability to move. Physical therapists can properly fit individuals with a cane, crutches or any other assistive device, or assess for orthotic prescription. By customizing an individual care plan, whatever activity that is important to an individual’s life can be practiced and adapted to ensure maximal performance and safety.
  4. To Recover from a stroke. It’s common to lose some degree of function and movement after stroke. Physical therapy helps strengthen weakened parts of the body and improve gait and balance. Physical therapists can also improve stroke patients’ ability to transfer and move around in bed so that they can be more independent around the home, and reduce their burden of care for toileting, bathing, dressing and other activities of daily living.
  5. To Recover from or prevent a sports injury. Physical therapists understand how different sports can increase the risk for specific types of injuries (such as stress fractures for distance runners). They can design appropriate recovery or prevention exercise programs to ensure a safe return to sport.
  6. To Improve your balance and prevent falls. When patients begin physical therapy, they are screened for fall risk. If they’re at high risk for falls, therapists will provide exercises that safely and carefully challenge their balance as a way to mimic real-life situations. Therapists also help them with exercises to improve coordination and assistive devices to help with safer walking. When the balance problem is caused by a problem in one’s vestibular system, Physical therapists can perform specific maneuvers that can quickly restore proper vestibular functioning, and reduce and eliminate symptoms of dizziness or vertigo.
  7. To Manage diabetes and vascular conditions. As part of an overall diabetes management plan, exercise can help effectively control blood sugar. Additionally, people with diabetes may have problems with sensation in their feet and legs. Physical therapists can help provide and educate these patients on proper foot care to prevent further problems down the road.
  8. To Manage age-related issues. As individuals age, they may develop arthritis or osteoporosis or need a joint replacement. Physical therapists are experts in helping patients recover from joint replacement, and manage arthritic or osteoporotic conditions conservatively.
  9. To Manage heart and lung disease. While patients may complete cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack or procedure, they also may receive physical therapy if their daily functioning is affected. For pulmonary problems, physical therapy can improve quality of life through strengthening, conditioning and breathing exercises, and help patients clear fluid in the lungs.
  10. To Manage Women’s Health and other conditions. Women have specific health concerns, such as with pregnancy and post-partum care. Physical therapists can offer specialized management of issues related to women’s health. Additionally, PT can provide specialized treatment for: Bowel incontinence, breast cancer, constipation, fibromyalgia, lymphedema, male pelvic health, pelvic pain, and urinary incontinence.
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