Physical therapy is the process of rehabilitating muscles and joints throughout the body. Many people will visit a physical therapist after having surgery, suffering an injury, or generally being in pain. If your doctor has recommended outpatient physical therapy for you, it’s important that you take this advice. Here are three reasons to make sure you book an appointment.
Relieves Pain
Often, pain in the body is created due to repeated motions over time without proper stretching before and after. For example, sitting down for most of the day doesn’t stretch your hamstrings which can lead to lower back pain. Similarly, standing for long periods of time or repeating the same motion over and over can cause some muscles to overwork while others are underperforming. This is what leads to chronic pain. Physical therapy uses a series of exercises to stretch and strengthen these muscles to relieve existing pain and prevent it from returning.
Strengthens Muscles
When an area of joints, muscles, and tissues in the body goes ignored, it tends to lose its strength and function. To compensate, the surrounding muscles and tissues work overtime to ensure you are still able to move the way you intend. However, this is what eventually leads to pain. A physical therapist will guide you through some exercises that strengthen the weaker joints, muscles, and tissues so that others don’t have to overcompensate and cause you pain. When these areas get stronger, you not only feel less pain but also can move around better and avoid unnecessary surgery.
Avoids Surgery
Surgery is usually the last resort for treating chronic pain and other health conditions. It can be extremely painful to recover from and can take a long time to heal. Not to mention the time you’ll need to take off from work and being less able to help around the home. Instead, attending outpatient physical therapy appointments can help restore joint mobility and function, which may be enough to keep you from undergoing surgery. If it’s determined that surgery is still necessary, physical therapy will likely mean an easier recovery.
Improves Recovery
If surgery is required, physical therapy afterward can help lessen the pain and speed up your recovery. It is common for surgeries and injuries to develop scar tissue, which is weaker than healthy tissue. Without treatment, this scar tissue can leave you feeling stiff in the joints, unable to achieve a full range of motion, or in chronic pain. A physical therapist can put together a customized plan that targets your area of concern to make sure those muscles and tissues get the stretching and strengthening they need to ensure you have pain-free movements.
Sounds Like You Need Outpatient Physical Therapy?
Whether you find yourself in pain or your doctor has recommended that you see a physical therapist, contact us at Advanced Surgical Hospital today. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and schedule an appointment.
