We have all heard of physical therapy and its great benefits to athletes, bodybuilders, and those individuals who need to recover after surgery. However, many people who are suffering from severe and chronic pain conditions may benefit equally from a healthy lifestyle of this type of treatment.
Chronic pain can be caused by a variety of underlying factors, some of which can be quite serious. However, sometimes there is no way to prevent the onset of chronic pain condition. Even in cases where there is a way to prevent pain from developing, ongoing pain management techniques can provide relief for those who suffer from this debilitating condition.
Read more as we are going to tackle practical chronic pain management through physical therapy healing in today’s blog post.
Getting To Know The Process Of Physical Therapy Even Further
A physical therapist provides physical therapy healing to individuals who need to recover from an injury from the initial diagnosis of the condition to the curative and preventive stages of the recovery process. And this type of treatment may be provided as a standalone option or a complementary method of healing along with other medical treatments.
Physical therapy can be referred by your resident physician or can be availed on your own. Whichever you have come to seek this treatment, you can expect to go through these things when taking a physical therapy session:
- Go through physical evaluation and exam using certain testing procedures to determine health history, posture evaluation, flexibility and movement, and performance of muscles and joints.
- Receive a prognosis, clinical diagnosis, and long and short term care plans.
- Undergo physical therapy an intervention based on the results of the physical evaluation and diagnosis.
- Receive self-management recommendations from the physical therapist.
In most cases, patients, especially athletes work closely with a therapist so they will know some of the training exercises they can do on their own at the comforts of their own homes so they’ll be able to function more effectively.
And while physical therapy is often associated with the treatment and prevention of injuries as well as speedy recovery after surgery, it can also be applied to common conditions such as chronic pain which affects more than 3 million Americans each and every day.
What To Expect During The Pain Treatment?
Unknown to many, physical therapists are more than just your ordinary support for athletes and surgery patients for they are also experts in treating pain and eliminate it right from its very source.
To be specific, they will examine your body for areas of stiffness or weakness that may contribute to pain due to increased stress. And after physical evaluation, they will administer different healing techniques to treat those affected areas using certain exercises to alleviate pain and enable you to move better.
A physical therapist may do a mix of these exercises during a therapy session:
- Stretching – This is a gentle process to prepare your muscles for the succeeding physical exercises in the session. The therapist will also ensure that you are all warmed up and not overstretching.
- Low-Impact Aerobic Training – This workout technique is done to boost your heart rate while causing less strain on your joints. Some of the aerobic exercises that you will do are fast walking or stationary biking to also warm up your muscles further before proceeding to the more strenuous exercises.
- Strengthening Exercises – During this activity, the therapist might use machines, resistance bands to strengthen your muscles. Also, the therapist will utilize your body weight through pushups, lunges, and squats to work on the core muscles as well as other muscle groups of your body.
- Pain Relief Exercises – This exercise technique is done to target pain areas and allow you to move easily and have flexible muscles after the therapy.
Why Physical Therapy Is Better And All The More Recommended For Treating Pain?
Relieving pain through physical therapy is founded on the idea that all parts of the body can affect each other. For example, when a nerve in the body is pinched, it may be because of a muscle compressing this nerve. Hence, eliminating strain and restoring the movement of fluid through physical therapy healing can alleviate the pain. And the exercises being done to relieve pain also leads to better coordination, strength, and muscle flexibility since the movement of fluids in the nerves and blood are not hindered.
Also, physical therapy is designed to treat chronic pain permanently and it’s not just some quick fix or temporary relief as most methods of alleviating pain. Aside from that, it aims to treat the source of pain as much as possible so that any hurt, ache, soreness, etc. will be gone for good.
Furthermore, physical therapy healing is a holistic approach to wellness that discourages the use of opioid painkillers for the treatment of pain.
Traditionally, painkilling drugs such as fentanyl and ibuprofen are being prescribed by doctors as a short-term solution for chronic pain. But frequent use of these medicines will become less and less effective because your body will develop resistance to the effects. Aside from that, taking painkillers will also make you susceptible to its side effects, and those people who rely solely on medicines for pain control can experience huge detrimental effects over time. That is why physical therapy is a much better solution for those who want to be relieved from chronic pain without taking medicines.
Conclusion
To improve your overall well-being, you should consult your doctor about the chronic pain condition you have and any prescribed treatments like physical therapy healing. He may be able to recommend a physical therapist who is familiar with your type of painful condition and has experience treating it through exercise treatment.
It is very important that you feel comfortable talking to your physical therapist as he or she will be the one handling most of your details during therapy. And if you want to get the best results with your treatment, you have to work with the best. Check out TriMotion Therapy as they have extensive experience and expertise in treating different types of disorders and ailments through physical therapy.
