Investing in your physical and mental health is always worthwhile, but knowing how to do that can be a challenge. Physical therapy can help. It offers support while healing from illness or a injury. It may be used as a way to improve mobility or achieve the best physical form possible. Without a doubt, the right physical therapists can help people see a marked improvement in their wellbeing.
Key Benefits of Physical Therapy
Making the decision to get help through physical therapy is something that can be done with or without a doctor’s recommendation. Sometimes the best decision is to reach out to a therapist to learn more about care options and how therapy could help. Most often, physical therapy is non-invasive and holistic, the ideal tool to use alongside healing and recovery from all sorts of limitations. Consider some of the benefits.
Pain Management
One of the core benefits of physical therapy is that it can help to reduce pain, even chronic pain. The techniques used can help to improve mobility while also helping to reduce the range of motion and other limitations that tend to cause pain.
Oftentimes, therapies such as taping and soft tissue mobilization aid in improving pain reduction as well. Even those who have had pain for a long time that’s no longer well managed with medications may find relief in physical therapy.
Improve Mobility
Whether from injury, disease, or developmental delays , many people who have limited overall mobility can see improvement through physical therapy. It can help improve not just the pain involved but also improve the function of muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints, allowing them to work more proficiently. That leads to improvement by stretching and strengthening core muscles.
Specialized treatment options may be used to help people to see these improvements, such as aiding in improving a person’s ability to stand, walk, or move. A customized treatment plan from physical therapists aims to create the best possible level of performance and ability for a person that’s safe.
Manage Health Issues
The benefits of physical therapy can go further as well. For example, it may help those who have vascular conditions that leave them with limited sensation in the feet and legs could see improvement. It may also be helpful in improving blood flow to those areas. Physical therapy may help people to exercise, which can help to reduce their blood sugar and improve symptoms of diabetes.
Physical therapy may also be a great option for improving breathing and cardiovascular function. Breathing exercises may help with improving lung and heart function, reducing complications from related illness.
Physical therapy benefits include women-specific health needs. For example, it may help women before, during, and after pregnancy to maintain mobility and reduce the risks of complications. It may be helpful in supporting concerns with bowel incontinence, fibromyalgia symptoms, pelvic pain, breast cancer support, and incontinence.
Avoid Surgery
Many people can benefit from physical therapy as a way to avoid more drastic procedures, including surgical procedures. This may include helping to reduce pain so much that there’s no need to move forward with surgery. Other times, physical therapy can support the healing process, allowing for a person to see enough healing in muscle or joint function that they do not need more invasive procedures.
If surgery cannot be avoided, physical therapy still is often helpful. It can help to buy some time, pushing off surgery for a bit. If used leading up to a procedure, it may also help a person to be stronger and more fit going into a procedure. That way, they may recover better after it.
Improvement After a Stroke
Physical therapy is often the first step in helping people who suffered a stroke to regain some or all of their function. It helps to re-teach the brain how to use muscles and joints properly, allowing for gradual improvement in function. That may include everything from improving the function of small motor skills or working on big accomplishments such as learning to walk again.
It may also reduce the risk of falls and other injury risks by providing a person with the ability to transfer from one position to the next with more ease.Therapy may also help with improving a person’s ability to manage things like bathing and dressing on their own by teaching new ways to complete these activities.
Preventing and Healing Sports Injuries
Physical Therapy is beneficial in helping to improve function and range of motion, allowing a person stepping out onto the court, field, or track to perform at their very best. Sometimes this may also mean preventing injuries that could be career-ending.
Physical therapy can also help after an injury occurs. Often, physical therapy is necessary to help improve muscle healing and rebuilding. It may be necessary after a tendon tear or a rebuilding of a shoulder, knee, or other joints. That may help a person to get back some of their physical mobility while also enabling them to get back out there to play.
Preventing Falls
Physical therapy can be used by those who are older and who may be weaker from disease or illness to gain more stability. Improving core strength and teaching the best ways to move and manage day-to-day tasks is critical in these situations. It may help to prevent falls that could have significant repercussions.
Let Rock Valley Physical Therapy Help You
With a patient first mentality, our team at Rock Valley Physical Therapy wants to explore all of the benefits of physical therapy with you. We go the extra mile, working closely with you to achieve the best results. Let us craft a personalized plan to help you improve your care. We’ll work with your doctor to help you get the best possible outcome. Contact us today. You don’t need a referral to get started.