Are you suffering from acute or chronic pain? Perhaps you’ve been struggling with back pain for quite some time, or you’re recovering from an unexpected sports injury, or maybe you’re even still dealing with impairments from an auto accident. Whatever you may be facing, physical therapy is here to help. If your pain is impacting your daily life, we encourage you to contact our clinic as soon as possible to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist.
Our physical therapists are experts in human movement, and our practice employs a wide range of drug-free, non-invasive, and effective techniques that benefit our patients in many ways — far beyond the basics of symptom management. There are 5 main reasons why physical therapy treatments are so beneficial in helping patients reclaim the healthy, happy, and active lifestyle they want and deserve:
1. Physical therapy treatments are customized for the patient.
A standard physical therapy plan of care is completely individualized to the patient. The main focuses of any plan of care are addressing the patient’s unique goals, resolving their impairments, and optimizing their recovery, functional independence, and long-term health. These outcomes can be achieved through physical therapy techniques, including:
- Manual therapy, such as massage or joint mobilizations.
- Therapeutic exercises.
- Neuromuscular re-education, such as balance training.
- Modalities, such as ultrasound, kinesio taping, dry needling, orthotics and prosthetics fitting, electrical stimulation, or diathermy.
After undergoing a thorough examination with your physical therapist, you’ll receive an individualized treatment plan that will aim to accelerate your healing. This plan is modified to meet your specific needs and lifestyle, and it relies on your feedback throughout the process, giving you an active role in your recovery.
2. Physical therapy treatments have little-to-no side effects.
Unlike many medications and invasive procedures, physical therapy services have a very low risk of side effects. They also remain highly effective in reducing pain, swelling, inflammation and other impairments related to a patient’s condition. Physical therapy techniques require less downtime and can be modified in order to allow for safe use on everyone, from infants to seniors.
3. Physical therapists help their patients maximize functional mobility, capacity, and performance.
A physical therapist helps patients improve coordination, core stability, endurance, agility, and any other physical skills that they can carry over into their sports, work, hobbies, and everyday life. This is essential for young active people who are looking to improve performance, as well as the older population who are looking to avoid age-related debility.
In other words, our physical therapy team can manage your injury or disease now as well as help prevent injury in the future.
4. Physical therapy treatments eliminate the need for harmful opioids.
The current opioid abuse epidemic across the nation suggests that these potentially harmful drugs are frequently overprescribed. The CDC recommends physical therapy before opioids for the management of many types of chronic pain. Additionally, treatment techniques used in physical therapy are “evidence-based,” meaning they are tested in scientific research studies in order to provide support for their safety, efficacy, and effectiveness.
5. Physical therapists are able to identify hidden factors contributing to a patient’s pain.
A physical therapist won’t just “mask” your pain. Our therapists identify and resolve underlying factors contributing to your current condition and increasing your risk of chronic issues. Common factors include shortened muscles, scar tissue, range-of-motion limitations, muscle activation problems, impaired ergonomics and body mechanics, and postural imbalances. If factors like these are left unaddressed, your symptom relief would likely be temporary at best.
Through services such as patient education, work-hardening programs and other techniques previously mentioned, a physical therapist can address both symptom and cause.
Contact us today:
Are you ready to find some long-term solutions to your pain? Contact us today at 304-262-8161 or click here to schedule an appointment with one of our licensed physical therapists and get started on your journey back to health and healing!
