Top 8 Benefits of Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is the method of developing, maintaining, and restoring patient’s movability and actual or potential capacity to perform functional activities. The primary aim of physical therapy is reducing the pain and improving the functional ability to maximize one’s quality of life. There are different reasons why people seek help from physical therapists or physiotherapists, but some of the main reasons are mostly due to aging, diseases, pre and post surgery, and injury. Typically, the sessions calls for a certain amount of appointments and closely monitoring a patient’s progress during which the therapist strives to activate the body’s natural ability to heal and achieve balance successfully. Restoring the body’s natural health requires a timely process and specific movements, while at the same time working on the specific issues related to muscles inflexibility and core weakness.

Living in the age of constant sitting in front of the office computer during working hours, and television in the afternoon and/or evenings, our society is faced with all kinds of serious health complications, and most of them related to poor posture. Non-stop sitting is harmful to our musculoskeletal system because the human body is not designed to function long-term in the modern computer-based workforce. Many people seek help from chiropractors and physiotherapists due to physical injuries or never-ending chronic pain. There are many benefits of physical therapy, especially if you cannot wait to return back to your normal daily activities.

Here Are The Top 8 Benefits Of Physical Therapy

1. Reducing Or Ending Pain

The presence of pain is among the top reasons people seek health care. Did you know that around 100 million American adults suffer from some kind of chronic pain, where the attributable costs exceed $600 billion annually? Pain is a complex medical condition, and treatment often involves a multidisciplinary approach to trigger the right response from the patient. Every year, millions of patients reach out for some kind of prescriptions with the hope that some of the medications will help with relieving the pain, but there are other treatments available for pain, and one of them is physical therapy.

Why is physical therapy often a better solution than pills? Because it aims at the specific area where the pain persists. Special exercises at home combined with therapy sessions usually result in improved physical and psychological states by partly or completely removing the use of medication. Prescription drug consumption and abuse are on the rise in the US, so this is also an efficient way of minimizing and preventing the negative and fatal consequences from occurring. Moreover, a good physiotherapist will address both the physical and emotional pain and help his or her patient overcome the experience of pain and provide emotional healing as well.

2. Rejuvenation and Adopting a New Mindset

Even though there are people who are more at ease with the aging process, getting older for others can bring some new challenges that even the toughest and healthiest of us cannot avoid. Fear of aging is fused with conditions like osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other debilitating factors that are associated with the lack of physical capacity and functionality of the human body. Not only are muscles, joints and bones affected by the aging process, but the body as a whole starts showing signs of “dysfunction” which can result in a person withdrawing from having a social life, experience a feeling of uselessness, and having a lowered perceived self-esteem. 

However, physical therapy can facilitate most of the symptoms of aging, and help a person regain his or her previous lifestyle by incorporating regular physical activity into their daily schedule. By adopting a new active lifestyle, seniors and aging adults can greatly improve their mental and physical health. Apart from relieving the pain associated with specific conditions, physical therapy can help with decreasing the risk of potential falls, improving balance and coordination, and preventing many illnesses from occurring by simply boosting the overall immunity of a person.

3. Restoring Mobility and Function

As many readers will know by their personal experience, physical therapy is an essential part of rehabilitation after an injury or surgery. Physical therapists, along with the medical team, will help with restoring the mobility and functionality of the treated extremities and other body parts. Immobility and limited mobility can also occur due to physical conditions like tissue degeneration or as a consequence of an accident. There are many physical therapy methods used during treatment, some of them being balance retraining, muscle retraining, ultrasound therapy, heat or cold therapy, and other exercise activities. Physiotherapy helps in conditions where your range of mobility is restrained due to joint pain. He or she can use various methods while focusing on restoring mobility, like manual massaging, stretching, nerve gliding, and others.

Besides helping people with affected joint pain and a compromised range of mobility, a physical therapist can assist people with assistive devices such as a cane or wheelchair. A physical therapist can help patients gain confidence and develop enough independence in themselves to be able to adapt to the new chapter in their life. By offering an individual plan for patients, they are focusing on specific needs each of them has and enabling their patients to reach their maximum performance in a safe environment they could easily utilize in real-life situations. Human movement is among one of the most basic human abilities and losing any part of those abilities can affect us in a substantial way. A physical therapist will help to remove those barriers in front of you. 

4. Improving Sport Performance

Not only can a physical therapist help with the recovery of a sports injury, but they can also work on the prevention of injuries. Sport physical therapists are taught to understand how the musculoskeletal systems operate, what are the best, most efficient, and long-lasting practices for the overall physical fitness, and how someone can utilize the exercises for their benefit according to his or her body’s structure, current physical state, and goals. Treatments range from different depth type massages to electrotherapy and core stability. They can also include consultations on how the body should move, how to stay fit or how to start living actively, providing sound advice on managing the pain, balancing nutrition and physical activity, and many more.

Targeted body parts are the spine, neck, shoulders, hips, knee, elbows and ankles, and related conditions like muscle strengthening, tissue mobilization, stress fractures, and others. The general aim is to heal sports injuries while empowering body mobility to prevent further breakdown. At the same time, they are putting the patient through functional testing to get a better understanding of his or her physical ability, endurance, and performance. Having a physical therapist ensures you are getting a professional helper, supporter, and advisor who will get you back into the game. 

5. Managing Diabetes

Physical therapy is beneficial for individuals with diabetes because it helps them achieve a healthy weight, fight fatigue successfully, improve blood flow, and improve the overall well being of a person. As diabetes is a metabolic disorder, most of the problems are connected with diet and sugar control. Physiotherapy is useful as it can help in balancing the weight and improving the circulation in the body. Regular exercise is more than welcomed, but in accordance with the doctor as some of them can be too rigorous and result in negative side effects. Yoga, meditation, and walking, in combination with physical therapy and the right medication, can ensure you are doing all in your power to keep the levels of insulin stable.

Diabetes can be controlled by some life modifications, and physical therapists can help you create the kind of plan that will fit your usual daily activities. He/She can help in decreasing the frequency of issues connected with the heart and cardiovascular system in general and improve the metabolism, circulatory and respiratory functions. This goes beyond just an exercise consultation. A high-quality expert will use a combination of different tools and practices to return you to a normal functioning life.

6. Stroke Recovery

Stroke rehabilitation can affect the patients and their families greatly and can have major consequences on their lifestyle. Only 10% of all stroke patients recover completely after the stroke. This tells a lot about the seriousness of this catastrophic event but there is also good news about the improvement of rehabilitation rates. Rehab and physical therapy can assist during the process of recovery when brain cells are damaged and cannot recover fully. In those cases, therapy can “help” the brain to recover by assuming control of a region that was impaired by a stroke. The most efficient stroke rehabilitation programs are the ones that are patient-centered, holistic, and aim to ease both physical and emotional pain.

Physical therapists focus mainly on maximizing the patient’s ability to function, in terms of mobility and functionality, and self-confidence and independence. With an understanding therapist, the patient will feel secure and safe to perform different exercises, tailored to his/her needs, current ability, and goals. The exercises are usually structured and involve different experts, from physiatrists to recreation therapists. A physical therapist will help with mobility and balance problems, muscle fragility, and other problems connected with walking, operating, working, standing, and others.

7. Improving Balance and Core Strengthening

When people think about physical therapy, they usually think about stretching and specific muscle-strengthening, but it also offers an optimal environment for improving the balance, posture, and core. If you experienced balancing issues, you are highly aware that it is important to address this matter before you hurt yourself with a potential fall down. People who can benefit from the physical therapy are the ones with existing conditions like stroke or limited functional mobility, people who experienced recent falls, who had surgery, who’ve experienced symptoms associated with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), but also individuals who want to improve their core stability and gradually build-up the strenght and stability of their lower spine.

The physical therapist assesses three systems intertwined to manage and preserve good balance: a) the visual system, which provides the information on body-surroundings, b) vestibular system, which provides information on your head position, and c) system related to proprioception which communicates information on position sense and muscle activity. He/she will not only improve your core stability but also the whole musculature and coordination. It all happens in a safe environment where the therapist can duplicate real-world situations, and help you to overcome the challenges you may encounter as well as regaining control over your body and senses.

8. Managing Women’s Health Conditions

Physical therapy provides supportive care for many other conditions related to both or specific to one gender. While you may think seeking help after an injury is a logical move, you may not know that physical therapy can help you with conditions like pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction, bowel incontinence, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, burns, carpal tunnel syndrome, fatigue, headaches, and more. It is beneficial for women, men, children who suffer from acute or chronic pain and immobility that impacts one’s daily life and wellbeing.

It can also help women with special conditions related to their health, like pregnancy or childcare. Many women seek help due to pelvic dysfunction and childbirth care. When you address the issue properly, you may start working on the life-quality improvement. Women may feel uncomfortable talking about those issues but as soon as a therapist starts working on their problematic areas of concern, they will feel an immediate sense of ease and a higher level of confidence. If you experience any issues regarding sexual intimacy, loss of bowel or bladder control, chronic constipation, or low back pain problems, seek help from the best physical therapists.

Final thoughts

Limitations placed in your life can be devastating and it is the same with health conditions and overall well being. Although perceived as a therapy for muscle strengthening and mobility restoration, physical therapy can help you with any major or minor health conditions. Combined with other practices, like chiropractic care, it can enhance your body’s ability even if you are experiencing conditions and illnesses where there is a small chance of restoring your body’s function.

For any questions regarding pain-reduction, mobility restoration, finding the best physical therapy near me, and how chiropractic care can help your specific condition, contact us and we will be happy to help you. Fighting the pain can sometimes mean you have to seek help from the experts. We will be glad to stand by you and fight the pain back.