Can you imagine being in pain every day doing daily activities that have to be done? Your stiff joints, sore muscles, and injured limbs keep you from enjoying life. Physical therapy can be the answer to cure those problems. Physical Therapists, “are trained in movement and movement disorders and are considered specialists in musculoskeletal function” (Adams). Physical therapists examine patients to diagnosis possible injuries where pain is occurring and create plans to get them returning to activity. Physical therapy will help improve mobility, balance, and is a way to avoid surgery. It is the cost-effective way to go and will help speed up recovery and prevent future injuries to. Physical therapy is a beneficial part of the health field.
Once the physical therapists have diagnosed the injury, they design rehabilitation programs for their patients. Physical therapy will help patients recover after surgery. MoveForwardPT, approved by The American Physical Therapy Association, wrote about benefits of physical therapy and how physical therapists play a role in recovery. After injuries, “treatment plans can be designed for the patient ‘s individual goals, challenges, and needs. Receiving treatment by a physical therapist is rarely a passive activity, and participating in your own recovery can be empowering” (Benefits). Plans with exercises are made for patients after surgery or when going to physical therapy. The rehabilitation plans give patients exercises to do at home when not at physical therapy. Most plans are made to be done two-three times a week depending on if it is for strengthening or increase mobility. Physical therapists “determines the patient’s goals; evaluates patients and implements treatment programs; teaches patients to use prosthetic devices; and provides instruction to patients to continue the recovery when they are no longer under the direct care of the physical therapist” (Blaser). Physical therapists are there as a guide to getting patients healthy again and back to doing activities they were doing before surgery or their injury. Physical therapist set goals that can be achieved by the patient and each week when they return a new goal is set, so in the end the goal of getting back to daily activity can be achieved. Patients who stick to their plan and make it habitual will see the quickest results and will feel accomplished because they are helping themselves recover. They are getting better each day and they can see the progress. Rehabilitation programs are made for patients by physical therapists.
One benefit of physical therapy is to help reduce pain from an injury. Physical therapists use many different techniques to help cure the pain of a patient. WebMD published an article written by Healthwise about what a physical therapist’s job is and when it is beneficial. A physical therapist’s job is to “help you reduce pain in the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments)” (Healthwise). Larry Blaser from the Gale Encyclopedia claims the goal of physical therapy, “is not necessarily to restore normality but to allow the patient to return to a comfortable and productive life even if the problem persists” (Blaser). Physical therapists treat many different injuries. Patients coming to physical therapy usually have pain and discomfort when performing daily tasks. Physical therapist will help reduce the pain and make patients capable of doing daily activities. To help reduce pain, physical therapists perform various exercises. Physical therapists also use heat and cold therapy to help reduce pain (Blaser). Heat therapy helps reduce the swelling by using a heating pad. Cold therapy helps reduce inflammation. Both swelling and inflammation causes discomfort and pain to patients. Reducing swelling and inflammation allows patients to be able to move their injured limb and begin to apply pressure; helping return them to daily activities.
Physical therapy is that it helps improve a patient’s mobility. A study approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Kentucky was done with people who have suffered a stroke and what physical therapy interventions does. For patients who suffered from a stroke, techniques of physical therapy are directed to improve range of motion, balance, and mobility. The techniques range from stretching and strengthening to working on mobility, weight bearing and balance exercises (Geiger). Balance and weight bearing exercises are needed if a person suffers from a stroke because balance and mobility are affected. Ruth Ann Geiger has found, “strokes have been identified as the most prevalent diagnosis among adults who fall. One third to one half of all people over the age of 65 years fall at least once per year” (Geiger). Many patients do not think about how they move around safely and easily before suffering from a stroke. Physical therapist will work closely with patients who suffered from a stroke and help the patient regain their balance and mobility. Gentle stretching will help loosen up the muscles, which will allow the patient to be able to move the limb easier. By stretching every day and the muscles loosening up, it will then become easier for a patient to regain their balance. Also, physical therapist will give the patient exercises that will work on their full range-of-motion. By increasing the range in which a patient can move, it increases their mobility. Physical therapists help patients who suffer from a stroke relearn daily activities. As people get older they lose their balance more often and tend to lose mobility because they are not as active. Physical therapy helps patients regain their balance and improve their mobility.
Another benefit of physical therapy is that, it can be an option to avoid and cost less than surgery. Mayo Clinic, the top rated hospital for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, writes about what their physical medicine and rehabilitation therapists job is. Physical therapists help patients to avoid surgery by “providing non-operative treatment for musculoskeletal injuries, which include injuries to the joint, muscle, tendon, bone, or ligament. They also are experts in the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound, which can assess tendon and soft tissues without exposure to radiation, deliver regenerative medicine therapies, and provide greater accuracy for joint injections” (Physical Medicine). Physical therapists provide rehabilitation to patients to avoid surgery. Exercises are given to patients to increase their strength, mobility, and reduce pain, so the patient can avoid prolonging the injury and needing surgery. Lower back pain tends to be over treated. Physical therapy can be the cost effective way of treating injuries. When going to doctors, patients will often need to get x-rays or MRIs done, which are expensive. Physical therapy is a cost effective method and patients will not be exposed to radiation.
In addition, a study was done in Finland with patients who had non-traumatic rotator cuff tears. The study was to see if physical therapy is just as effective as surgery. It was found that “physical therapy alone produces results equal to those produced by arthroscopic surgery and open surgical repair” (Physical Therapy as Effective). The three groups included, one only receiving physical therapy and two groups receiving different types of rotator cuff surgery and physical therapy. Physical therapy will help save patients money and the recovery process will be less painful. Patients will not have to be put under for surgery and will start physical therapy before patients who have surgery do. Physical therapy can be a cost effective way to avoid surgery.
Physical therapy will help prevent injuries from getting worse and will speed up recovery. Amy Adams, from the MPT Progressive Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Center, suggests that “early physical therapy can also increase a person’s function quicker, returning them to a more productive and meaningful life. Early intervention of physical therapy can speed up the recovery process by decreasing the time the body is able to compensate or perform “bad” movements, leading to increased complications or problems” (Adams).
Jane Brody wrote an article published in the New York Times in 2005 about what good therapy does for recovery. Studies have shown that “getting physical therapy early on can result in faster recovery and prevent costlier treatment later” (Brody). An athlete who badly sprains their ankle or someone who suffers from shoulder pain might think it is best to tough it out. Often the injuries can be worse than expected and will leave the athlete out longer than they wanted to be and possibly could require surgery. Getting physical therapy can reduce the time to recover from an injury and will help prevent the injury from getting worse. Pushing off injuries only lead to the injury getting worse. If athletes continue to practice on a badly sprained ankle, they could end up tearing something, which could result in surgery. Physical therapy will help strengthen an athlete’s injured limb back up to par so they can be ready to compete. Athletes do not want to be out of their sport more than they have to, so by going to physical therapy it can increase your recovery time and allows athletes to quickly return to their sports.
The health field benefits from physical therapy. Physical therapy helps patients reduce the pain they are experiencing. A way physical therapy will help reduce pain is that physical therapist will put together rehabilitation plans for the patient. Also, plans can be put together for patients after surgery. Physical therapy will help improve mobility so a patient is able to move more freely. A cost effect way to avoid surgery is to go to physical therapy. Physical therapy helps speed up recovery time and prevent future injuries from happening. By going to physical therapy your life doesn’t have to be filled with pain. You can be back out moving and feeling better than ever in no time with the help of physical therapy.
