The Real Role of Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is often framed as the thing you do after a debilitating accident. Sure, if you break a leg or a foot, you will be doing physical therapy to get you back to walking like your old self. Physical therapy does so much more than just heal an otherwise able-bodied person, it helps people combat orthopedic problems as a result of other disorders.

Physical therapy

Fighting Arthritis

Arthritis is a debilitating disease that affects the body in numerous ways. From an autoimmune disease, like rheumatoid arthritis, to degenerative diseases, it will break down the body quickly and painfully. Fortunately, physical therapy can help in big ways. Clinics, such as Feldenkrais in NYC, help arthritis sufferers learn safe ways to work stiff joints so that they don’t cause further damage. This can translate into slowing down the disease and put surgeries off for as long as possible.

Beating Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a result of brain damage that occurs at birth, often due to lack of oxygen getting to the brain of the baby. For most of these children, they experience serious mobility issues all their lives. Physical therapy for cerebral palsy, either on its own or in conjunction with other treatments, can help a CP patient learn how to walk better.

The problem for many cerebral palsy patients is that they accommodate for their mobility issues in ways that can cause them more pain in the future. Treatments and therapies teach them how to alleviate pain and increase their mobility so that they can participate in everyday life with their friends and family.

Avoid Surgeries

If you know you have problems with your hips or your shoulders, physical therapy can help. By working these problem areas, you can effectively strengthen the muscles and tendons in those areas. It may take longer than healing from a surgery, but ultimately you can avoid going under the knife.

Surgeries come with risks, have a long recovery time, are more expensive, and still come with physical therapy afterward. With a trained professional on your side, you can save that money and time by doing some natural healing.

Help Heal From Surgery

Yes, we just told you that physical therapy can help you avoid surgeries but not all surgeries can be avoided. Physical therapy after a surgery is optimal to help cut down recovery times! Rather than just lying in a hospital bed and waiting for the release to go home, a physical therapist will give you some work to do to help ensure that your body is getting back to normal.

Heart patients are often utilizing physical therapy after a bypass surgery so that they can build the strength back in their heart, a vital muscle of the body.  A patient who had a car accident and is now in a wheelchair will use physical therapy to keep working those muscles and increase their mobility. Even if they will forever be in that wheelchair, there are still exercises they can use to help them along.

Physical therapy is an important role for healing. Combating diseases, healing from lower back pain, or dealing with chronic pain will all improve and do better with physical therapy. If your doctor has not talked to you about utilizing exercise to improve your health, now is a great time to have that discussion. We do not advise using any exercises without speaking to your doctor first!