Physical therapy (PT) is a branch of medicine that addresses injuries and other conditions that hinder normal body functions. There are various ways of conducting PT that include the use of heat, water, massage, electrotherapy, and exercises. The effectiveness of PT depends on the type of injury, health condition, hormonal changes, and medications. This article will explore eight ways PT can be beneficial to you.
1. Stroke Recovery
Stroke interferes with brain signals that coordinate leg and body movements causing weakened body parts and poor mobility. As a result, the body loses its ability to bend and straighten leg muscles leaving patients bedridden.
Physical therapy such as gait training for stroke patients helps correct the coordination between the brain signals and legs. This results in the restoration of patients’ ability to move independently. Consequently, reducing the burden of daily life such as showering, toileting, and grooming.
2. Alleviate Pain
PT methods such as massages, tapping, electrical stimulations, and ultrasound are effective in helping the muscles to relax. The effects are almost instantaneous, causing the pain to go away.
The use of PT helps to increase the flow of body fluids on joints, thereby eliminating discomforts. Moreover, PT reduces drug dependency because of its excellent results in eliminating recurring muscle pains.
3. Avoids Unnecessary Surgery
Surgery involves incisions that cause wounds and risks infections and further complications. PT offers an alternative that is less time-consuming and relatively cheaper than undergoing surgery.
There are situations where surgeries are inevitable. Undergoing PT sessions pre-surgery helps to reduce anxieties improve your body endurance and flexibility for the operation. This allows the body to boost its immunity and reduce complications, promoting fast recovery.
4. Prevent Sports Injuries
Arguably, sportspeople are the top clients for therapeutic services. Athletes are always at risk of injuring themselves during play because of intensive stress on body muscles and joints. Common injuries include muscle strains, dislocations, hamstring, and ligament tears.
Therapists use different techniques to target areas around the injuries, restoring motion range and decreasing the recovery period. Physical therapy is crucial in maintaining perfect body shape, which betters their athleticism.
5. It Boosts Your Body Balance
Poor body balance makes us susceptible to falling and makes it challenging to accomplish daily tasks. The results of the falls can be dire, leading to disabilities or even death.
Therapists use specialized maneuvers that help enhance body awareness, which prevents injuries. Also, the body gets better agility to react quickly to compromising situations. Additionally, the joints become more robust, which reduces instabilities and injuries.
6. Aids in Managing Diabetes
Diabetes results from imbalances in glucose and insulin levels in the blood. The effects are devastating and include extreme hunger, thirst, burning sensations on the limbs, weakness, and constant pains. Diabetes can cause injuries to heal slowly, increasing the rate of complications and infections.
Aerobic exercises help lower blood sugar levels which are essential in diabetes management. The workouts also assist in restoring normal skin texture attributed to diabetes. Therapists also assist in foot care to prevent foot and leg sensations.
7. Increased Mobility
Irrespective of age, it is possible to have issues with mobility due to sedentary lifestyles, accidents, or sports injuries. PT helps strengthen and stretch body muscles that enable you to stand, walk and move after such incidents.
Typically, the therapist assesses the extent of the problem and develops a personalized treatment plan. The caregiver will help you practice and adopt the procedures until you attain desired results. These exercises can also help patients who rely on assistive devices for mobility.
8. Relieves Headaches and Vertigo
Upper cervical spine joints and muscles are the biggest culprits of your headaches. Therapy helps stretch stiff muscles and strengthen the neck muscles using deep stabilizers, curing headaches.
Vertigo is a feeling of lightheadedness due to issues with the inner ear affecting the vestibular system. Fortunately, it is easy to realign the parts causing the dizziness through positional therapy.
Conclusion
It is clear that therapy has tremendous benefits to help your body get back to its shape and ease your life. The list above shows the top reasons you need to have regular physical therapy sessions. Please note there are other advantages as well that will transform your life. Whatever your reason, book an appointment and better yourself.