Why Physical Therapy Is So Important After Suffering an Injury

Whether you were injured in a motor-vehicle accident, at work, or at play, recovering takes patience and commitment. In addition to the steps your doctor recommends to promote healing, including rest and medications, you may be prescribed physical therapy. PT isn’t an add-on to medical treatment — it’s part of it.

Depending on the type of injury you suffered and the amount of debilitation you currently have, your physical therapist designs a rehabilitation strategy that incorporates both passive and active strategies to restore you to as close to full mobility and functionality as possible. At AllCare Chiropractic, your physical therapist works as part of a team that’s dedicated to helping you recover optimally.

PT alleviates pain

Your physical therapist may use manual massage and heat and ice therapies to increase circulation to the area of injury, which helps subdue painful inflammation. They may also use electrical stimulation and therapeutic ultrasound to reach more deeply into your tissues.

By increasing the circulation of blood and lymph to an injured area, your therapist helps speed your recovery.

PT helps you adjust

If you have a severe injury — you’ve lost a limb, have limited mobility, or are paralyzed in one or more parts of your body — your physical therapist can help you learn to adapt to your current situation. They may adjust your crutches, cane, or other assistive devices for you. They may train you to use the assistive devices and how to apply braces, if needed.

Your therapist can advise you on making other adjustments to your routine. For instance, you may need to learn a new way of getting out of bed, walking up and down the stairs, or attending to daily needs.

PT restores mobility

While your natural tendency may be to protect your injured body part, your physical therapist helps you find ways to move your body so that you increase circulation to the injury and strengthen surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Moving and stressing injured muscles and joints prevents them from stiffening. Without regular activity, you could permanently suffer diminished mobility.

Part of restoring mobility and range of motion includes stretching exercises, which you can also  do later on your own. Your physical therapist may also use their hands or special tools to break down adhesions in your muscles. If you have muscle spasms, they may use electrical stimulation to fatigue your muscle so it relaxes.

PT helps you function optimally

Your therapist trains your body to attain more perfect posture and alignment. An aligned spine allows your internal organs to perform optimally. Alignment also permits your muscles, bones, and joints to function and move more efficiently.

If you were injured playing sports or because of repetitive motions, your physical therapist watches how you normally use your body and then makes recommendations for changes. Learning a more efficient way to move may prevent you from re-injuring yourself or incurring new injuries.

By working with your physical therapist, you develop better balance, more flexibility, and greater strength. You can apply many of the strategies you learn during PT to your gym routine once you recover or make them part of your daily activities.

To find out more about how PT can help you recover mobility and function, please give us a call or use the online scheduling tool on our website to set up an appointment at one of our three locations.