Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is an effective treatment method dedicated to improving movement and functionality in people whose age, disease or injury has restricted them. These programs help patients recover through the use of restorative exercises that focus on developing muscle strength, flexibility, balance, posture, coordination and overall pain relief. With our services, we strive to promote overall health and fitness to aid in the patient’s recovery, and also to prevent re-injury and maximize the patient’s quality of life.
Our physical therapy programs may be recommended as an initial form of treatment for certain conditions or injuries, or may be needed after surgical treatment to restore strength and function to the targeted area.
Types of Physical Therapy
Just like the field of medicine, physical therapy has many specialty areas that can help patients with different types of injuries or diseases. The American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties recognizes these areas:
- Neurological
- Cardiopulmonary
- Orthopedic
- Pediatric
- Geriatric
- Sports Physical Therapy
- Clinical Electrophysiology
Physical therapists use a combination of exercises and stretches to aid their patients. When these are combined with well-known relaxation and recuperation techniques, such as electro-stimulus and hot-cold treatments, physical therapists have a vast collection of activities for their patients to engage in.
Personalized Programs
Your doctor will create a unique program for your individual condition to help heal your injuries or ensure that you fully recover from your procedure. These programs may be administered just once or twice, or on a regular basis for several months or years. Your program may be tailored more specifically throughout treatment based on your progress.
For the most effective results, it is important for patients to maintain open communication with their therapist to determine which exercises are most useful to each individual patient. Many patients experience successful rehabilitation from this form of treatment.
Physical Therapy Sessions
Many physical therapy sessions will begin with a heating and/or stretching session to prepare the body for the mechanical work it is about to endure. This is not to say physical therapy exercises are extremely demanding, but given the circumstances that most patients are a substandard physical specimen, the extra preparation could be vital to ensuring a smooth workout.
The core of the session usually involves physical exercises designed around the patient’s condition to strengthen the body. These exercises normally progress in difficulty and intensity over the course of many sessions. For example, a patient recovering from knee surgery may start with light leg lifts with just an ankle-weight, but may progress to using the treadmill and actual quadriceps and hamstrings machines.
Additionally, some physical therapists can be holistic in their approach, training more than just the problematic area. In the previous example, the patient may be given a short duration workout on the arm-bike to promote upper body strength while their lower body is out of commission.
A physical therapy session usually ends with an icing session or therapeutic massage; electro-stimulus may be utilized again during this cool down period. The physical therapist will record and may state the patient’s progress for the day, as well as possible goals for the next session.
Home Exercises
It is important to note that in many cases, a good deal of therapy can be done outside of the therapist’s office. It is always a good idea to ask your doctor and/or physical therapist for exercises or stretches you can safely do at home to speed the recovery rate. Dedication to the physical therapy program and entire rehabilitation process are essential to achieving effective results.
Contact Our Doctors
To learn more about our physical therapy services, please contact us to schedule an appointment.