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27th Sep 2024

What Are the Benefits of Physical Therapy?



Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants can help you improve your mobility, manage pain, avoid surgery and prescription medicines, manage chronic (long-term) diseases, and recover from and prevent injury. 

Read on to learn about the several advantages of physical therapy.

Maximize Your Movement

Physical therapists identify, diagnose, and treat movement disorders. They assist people in maintaining or restoring as much functional capacity as feasible. Physical function and movement are critical to:

  • Health, wellness, and fitness;
  • Managing pain;
  • Earning a living;
  • Independence.

Get the Recommended Amount of Physical Activity

Regular physical activity can improve your physical, mental, and social well-being. It can also help prevent or improve chronic illnesses, including:

  • Heart disease;
  • Diabetes;
  • Obesity;
  • Depression;
  • Certain cancers.

Physical therapists help people overcome obstacles to physical activity. 

Care For Your Specific Needs

Physical therapists create treatment regimens based on each individual's needs, problems, and aspirations. They collaborate with you to create strategies and assist you in reaching your objectives. Physical therapists and PTAs treat clients of various ages and capacities.

Manage Pain and Avoid Opioids

While doctor-prescribed painkillers can help in some circumstances, they merely mask the agony. Physical therapists assist patients in managing pain without the dangers of narcotic use. Depression, drug use disorder, overdose, and withdrawal symptoms are all potential side effects of opioid use.

To manage long-term pain, the CDC suggests safer alternatives such as physical therapy.

Avoid Surgery

Physical therapists assist clients in managing pain and enhancing their mobility. Some pain and movement issues might develop into chronic conditions that necessitate surgery.

Physical therapy can assist in alleviating the symptoms of many chronic diseases and ailments. It can also prevent many problems from becoming worse. Physical therapists can help you avoid surgery and the associated costs and dangers. 

Research indicates that physical treatment can be as helpful as surgery for certain disorders, such as: 

  • Meniscal tears;
  • Knee osteoarthritis;
  • The rotator cuff tears;
  • Spinal stenosis;
  • Degenerative disc disease.

Before you have surgery, consider physical therapy. Surgery is sometimes unavoidable. Physical therapy helps people prepare for and recover from surgery.

Participate in Your Recovery

Physical therapists and PTAs encourage patients to take an active role in their care. They collaborate with one another and other healthcare practitioners to ensure that patients receive the best possible care.

Better Overall Value

Physical therapy has long been recognized as an effective treatment option for a variety of symptoms and diseases. Working with a physical therapist and a physical therapist assistant can help prevent chronic diseases from forming or deteriorating, allowing you to resume your prior level of function or activity.

A recent study also examined the overall benefit of physical therapy versus alternative treatments. Researchers analyzed the economic impact of choosing physical therapy for the following eight conditions, which reflect a wide range of physical therapist treatments:

  • Cancer rehabilitation;
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS);
  • Fall prevention;
  • Stress urinary incontinence;
  • Knee osteoarthritis;
  • Lower back discomfort;
  • Tennis elbow;
  • Claudication (leg soreness during walking owing to limited blood flow).

They discovered that physical therapy is beneficial and reduces the hidden expenses of your time, pain, missed life events, and service fees.

There are just so many healthcare dollars available. Choosing physical therapy over other treatments for these eight diseases might save the healthcare system millions of dollars each year. This research can also help to shape policies that improve patient access to treatment options. It may also result in healthcare coverage that is both clinically effective and value-based. Patients and the healthcare system benefit when our healthcare funds are stretched further.

Care Where You Need It

Physical therapists and PTAs work in a variety of settings, including: 

  • Private practices;
  • Outpatient clinics;
  • Home, work, and school;
  • Sport and fitness facilities;
  • Nursing homes and rehabilitation centers;
  • Communities.

Find a Physical Therapist

A physical therapist's evaluation does not require a doctor's referral. Physical therapists are movement experts who help people live better lives by providing hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement.