January 14, 2015
Why Physical Therapy Is Beneficial
Physiotherapy, which aims to restore movement and/or function after an injury, illness or disability, has numerous different benefits. While many think of physical therapists as dealing mainly with musculoskeletal problems, they can work with a wide range of conditions and highly different types of patients.
The focus of physical medicine and rehabilitation can be very broadly divided into three main categories: injury recovery, chronic disorders such as arthritis or Parkinson’s disease, and serious conditions requiring a multi-team approach, such as stroke, heart and lung problems.
Physiotherapy can be further subclassified into orthopedic, neurological, cardiopulmonary, geriatric, pediatric and sports therapy. These different types all contain several mutual elements, which include a focus on physical exercise, manual therapy and education. The goal is generally to help the patient regain and maintain function as well as to lessen any potential pain.
Benefits of Physical Therapy in Orthopedic Rehabilitation
While results vary depending on the severity of your injury, physical therapists can help reduce or even completely relieve your musculoskeletal or soft tissue pain. They can help you recover from injuries or orthopedic surgery and get you back to your normal activities quicker by improving your strength, flexibility, range of motion, and coordination. They can also help you achieve certain functional or exercise goals.
In addition, physical therapists can also help provide information and education regarding how to best manage your musculoskeletal injury and how to avoid future injuries as well as help you improve your overall fitness and function by prescribing exercises for you to do at home, in the gym or in the pool.
Similar to musculoskeletal and orthopedic physiotherapy, sports therapy involves specialized physical rehabilitation services that are focused particularly on the prevention, evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation and performance enhancement of athletes. Athletes, whether professional or amateurs, are particularly prone to musculoskeletal and orthopedic sports injuries and the benefits of physiotherapy are especially evident in this group.
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