People of all ages can benefit from physical therapy. Physical therapy is body care that helps ease pain and helps you move, function, and lead a better life. The function of pt is to improve movement, prevent disability, aid in recovery from a sports injury, work on body balance, and manage chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis. Physical therapy also helps patients use assistive devices and rehabilitate after an accident, injury, stroke, surgery, and recovery after birth.
You can get physiotherapy services by searching physiotherapy close to me. Physiotherapy for arthritis involves a physiotherapist developing a movement plan to help people suffering from arthritis. The goals of physiotherapy for arthritis are maintaining fitness, enhancing the ability to support joints, preserving the ability to perform daily activities, improving mobility, and restoring body joints. Physical therapists develop an individualized set of body exercises to boost strength, balance, coordination and improve mobility to achieve optimal physical function.
Many people associate therapy and rehabilitation as one thing, but in essence, physical therapy is under rehabilitation. Both are therapies used for treatment and aim to improve quality of life by restoring the body’s natural functionality. Therapy treatments for individuals differ depending on the age, especially for pediatric and older people.
Many people think of physical therapy as a treatment used only for serious injury. While PT is almost always included in injury rehabilitation, there are actually many reasons that people seek out a physical therapist, and PT can be used throughout a patient’s life to increase movement and physical functions. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about physical therapy:
- There Are Many Types of Physical Therapy
There are actually several kinds of physical therapy, most falling into one of five categories: pediatric, geriatric, cardiopulmonary, neurological or orthopedic. The last, orthopedic, is the kind most commonly associated with the term “physical therapy,” and deals with restoring function in the musculoskeletal system. This includes treating injuries in joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles. The exercises used in orthopedic PT are often used to strengthen injured areas of the body after an accident or medical procedure.
- Physical Therapists Have Advanced Educations
While some PT techs might have only bachelor’s degrees, anyone who practices as a physical therapist in the United States must go to an accredited school, typically now earning a doctoral degree (although in the past, some might have earned master’s degrees). In addition, physical therapists must take licensing exams just like medical doctors.
- You Can Go Directly to a Physical Therapist
In almost all states, you can visit PT clinics and get evaluated without getting a referral from your primary care physician. This is called direct access. It used to be that doctors essentially prescribed PT, the same way they might prescribe lab work or tests. But now that almost all physical therapists hold advanced degrees, it’s not always necessary or even beneficial to get your PCP involved.
- Physical Therapy Can Overlap With Personal Training
Working with a physical therapist is like having a personal trainer who is focused in on helping you recover from injury (or perform certain movements or actions with greater efficiency and less pain). If you have additional goals, your physical therapist may recommend that you start other forms of low-impact exercise, such as Pilates classes.
- Physical Therapy Relies on You
Despite all your physical therapist’s training, he or she can’t help if you’re not dedicated to improving. Be honest about your abilities; if you can’t do an exercise properly, your physical therapist will help you modify it, and if it’s easy for you, your physical therapist will make it harder. This is all part of the strengthening process. And since you typically only spend a few hours each week with your physical therapist, it’s absolutely vital that you do your exercises at home.
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