When most people think about reasons to see a physical therapist, they think of athletes who need support recovering from an injury. However, a physical therapist helps many people with various medical conditions, some of which may surprise you.
Physical therapy helps with more than just injury recovery and severe pain. It significantly improves many aspects of your health, including quality of life.
Even minor adjustments in how you move, sit, stand, walk, or go about daily activities and exercise can dramatically improve your mobility, strength, and quality of life and reduce injury. These are just some of the ways a physical therapist can help you.
Ensuring you choose the best physical therapist to optimize your physical therapy’s benefits makes all the difference in your treatment. Whether you seek relief and help with old or new pain, this article will discuss why you should consider seeing an experienced physical therapist and how it can benefit your body and overall health.
#1. Improving Your Posture
Good posture is an essential component of good health. Conversely, if you have poor posture, it can cause various health issues as well as affect your appearance. In addition, over time, bad posture can create or worsen certain physical conditions, including the following:
- You can develop back or shoulder pain if your shoulders are slumped forward consistently, and if you suffer from chronic pain, it can make it worse.
- You can develop circulation issues if you are continuously sitting in a slumped position for hours a day.
- You can develop arthritis from chronic poor posture, which adds stress to your knees, ankles, and hips while walking, sitting, or standing.
- You can feel tired from sitting or standing incorrectly consistently.
Consulting with a physical therapist to help you improve your posture will help mitigate the risk of developing these issues and can also help to strengthen your core muscles. Your physical therapist may suggest setting up your workspace differently and working on breathing exercises.
#2. Injury Recovery
A common reason many people see a physical therapist is to help them recover from an injury. Physical therapists treat a wide range of injuries, from minor to severe.
Below is an example of some injuries a physical therapist can help with, and It is essential to understand this list only represents a small portion of how a physical therapist can help you heal.
- Overhead athletes and sports-related injuries
- Running-related injuries
- Strains and sprains
- Injury from an accident
- Tennis elbow
- Sciatic pain
- TMJ (Temporomandibular joint dysfunction)
- Shin splints, knee, hip or shoulder pain
- Vertigo and vestibular disorders
Working with a compassionate and experienced physical therapist who utilizes evidence-based physical therapy techniques will help ensure you optimize your recovery.
#3. Relief From Chronic Headaches
Chronic headaches can be debilitating. An experienced physical therapist may have solutions that can help you.
A physical therapist can teach you how to alleviate tension in your upper body and use myofascial release, massage, and other types of joint mobilizations to help reduce the number of headaches you experience and their severity. Your physical therapist can help you improve your posture and modify how you move in your daily activities to help reduce headaches.
#4. Improving Mobility, Strength, and Balance
Working with a physical therapist can significantly improve mobility, strength, and balance. In addition, a skilled physical therapist can identify specific issues that can help alleviate pain and mobility in areas that need strengthening.
An example would be if you have pain in your knee. Your physical therapist can identify the root cause, which may result in strengthening your hips to eliminate your knee pain.
Your physical therapist can help improve how you move in your everyday activities or adjust your form when exercising. Being proactive in your health and wellness and working with an experienced physical therapist can help you understand what is happening with your body and why, so that you can fix it to improve your quality of life.
#5. Avoid a Surgical Procedure
While surgery is sometimes necessary, working with a physical therapist ahead of time can help you improve and ease your recovery. After working with the physical therapist, some people will find that surgery is no longer necessary as they are experiencing pain relief and have an improved range of motion.
#6. Injury Prevention
Most people never work with a physical therapist unless injured; however, physical therapy is an ideal form of preventative care and can help to prevent injury for athletes, moms, runners, and active adults. An experienced physical therapist will listen to you to understand your needs and activity level to help you learn how to prevent injury and what to do if it happens.
#7. Improve Quality of Life
As most people age, they have an increased risk of losing muscle strength and mass, making it more challenging to balance themselves. Physical therapy helps reduce joint pain, including osteoarthritis or arthritis pain and symptoms.
A skilled physical therapist understands the importance of creating a personalized plan for each patient and will assist aging adults in adjusting daily activities and modifying movements such as walking up or down steps and getting up from a chair. Working with a physical therapist will decrease your risk of falls and injuries, especially as you age.
#8. Management of Disease or Medical Condition
Some physical therapists specialize in helping people with medical conditions that involve their lungs and heart, weight, and even helping to treat pelvic floor dysfunction and pain. Here are some conditions that physical therapy can help manage:
- Helps people with diabetes
- Reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease
- Help manage neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.
Physical therapy is valuable when done with an experienced and skilled physical therapist. It encourages movement, health, and strength in the body and goes far beyond helping people recover from injuries.
Superior Personalized Care From Liberty Physical Therapy & Performance
At Liberty Physical Therapy & Performance, we are caring, compassionate and professional. If you are experiencing a new or old pain, and everything you have tried hasn’t helped, we are here to create a personalized program to treat the source of your pain and get you back to being active again.
Liberty Physical Therapy & Performance is located in Rosemount, MN (South Metro), and we look forward to hearing from you. Contact us today, and we will start you on the road to recovery and improve your strength and mobility, ensuring you live a life you love!
