The main benefits of Physiotherapy

The physiotherapy is not always the first choice of treatment for some serious injuries. Often times, people who have suffered injuries or those with chronic pain or reduced mobility prefer surgery to physical therapy. This is so because they believe that surgery is a faster and more effective way to treat these types of injuries. However, most GPs and many specialists refer patients to a physical therapist because it is a less intrusive approach.

Once we know that physiotherapy is a very effective treatment for many types of injuries, we are going to see how physiotherapy also has other benefits that can be as effective as other treatments, or even better. Here are a number of the advantages of physiotherapy.

1. A physical therapist will help you control pain

Chronic pain can be one of the most limiting conditions that can be experienced, especially if the cause is unknown and there is no hope for a cure. However, physical therapy techniques and exercises that may be prescribed can help mobilize the joints and soft tissues as well as restore muscle function, thus reducing pain or eliminating it altogether.

And this is difficult to achieve, because once pain-free, the patient forgets that they have to continue with their exercises, when patients continue to perform them regularly, they can prevent the pain from returning.

2. Physiotherapy can save you from undergoing surgery

Although surgery may be unavoidable in some cases, a physical therapist can help us avoid surgery in many other cases. By helping us to eliminate pain, heal and improve physical health, physical therapy will heal injured tissue and facilitate mobility on its own, thus eliminating the need to go through the hands of a surgeon. And in case you have already undergone surgery, physiotherapy will help us regain shape and help us recover faster.

3. Physiotherapy keeps pills away

When undergoing surgery, it may happen that we continue to have long-term pain and that it is treated with medications. To reduce the risk of dependence on medication (often opiates), physical therapy is a great alternative to treat pain problems caused by surgery. Even the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends physical therapy instead of pain relievers.

4. Physiotherapy improves our mobility and balance

It can happen that after a major injury or major surgery, it is difficult for patients to get back on their feet. Mobility can be so tight that simple activities like sitting down, getting out of bed, or balancing the body can be challenging.

This is when physical therapy comes to the rescue. Exercises that a physical therapist may prescribe can restore mobility, make walking and moving around easier, and may even improve coordination and balance in patients at high risk for falls.

5. Your physio can help you with general health aspects

One of the lesser known benefits of physical therapy is that it helps with many age-related health problems such as joint pain, arthritis, and osteoporosis. The physical therapy approach is safer and more conservative for older patients as it offers them a less invasive alternative to undergoing surgery to repair the joints in some way.

Physical therapy has also been shown to be effective for all those who suffer from heart problems as it helps cardiovascular function.

6. Stroke and physiotherapy

After a stroke, partial loss of movement is common. Physical therapy can help strengthen and coordinate these parts of the body and brain to improve posture and balance. It also helps patients to be more independent in daily life, which in many cases causes them to stop needing third party assistance.

7. Physiotherapy helps you prevent injuries

One of the most important aspects of physiotherapy, and at the same time very little considered, is the one that consists of evaluating the weak areas of the patients’ bodies and designing a physiotherapy plan that helps to strengthen those vulnerable areas.

By recognizing areas of muscle or skeletal weakness, a physical therapist can analyze how likely a patient is to be injured and devise a table of exercises that target and strengthen and care for the muscle groups and joints involved. In this way, future injuries are prevented in all these areas.

8. The problems of age

We all get older. At the instant there’s no solution for it. Thanks to the years, they can come to visit us different diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis. Physical therapy can help us relieve pain and help us recover. For example, if we have had a knee, joint or hip replacement. Another benefit of physical therapy is that it can help keep arthritis and osteoporosis at bay.

9. Helps improve movement

A physical therapist can identify, diagnose, and treat problems related to mobility. You will create a custom designed plan to tackle the problems of each person and in this way you will progressively improve and achieve results. Physical therapy can help us live without pain and increase our quality of life.

10. Good for heart and lung diseases

As part of the recovery process for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation after a heart attack, physical therapy is often used as an aid to ensure that activities of daily living are going well. This is usually part of the general rehabilitation process and will be prescribed by the doctor, but sometimes it may be necessary for us to seek the help of a physical therapist ourselves.

11. For athletes

There is no elite athlete without his team of physiotherapists. Why? Not only to prevent injuries and help you recover better, but also to achieve better resistance, which will be of great help. This is especially important for elite athletes who need everything that can give them a performance boost.

Another reason that athletes can benefit from physical therapy is because it improves circulation and strengthens the muscles by making them more flexible.

12. For headaches

Yes, as you hear it. Many of the headaches, whether they are migraines or all kinds of headaches, have a physical origin. You can enter your physical therapist’s office with a horrible headache that even gives you gagging and the urge to vomit and leave without a single discomfort.

At transcend health we are specialists in this specialty. More than 600 people have passed through our hands and we have notably improved their quality of life.

These are some of the reasons why we can (and should) put ourselves in the hands of a physical therapist. To prevent, to improve health and to keep doctors and pills away. In the end, we only have one body and it is important that it be as good as possible throughout our existence. Our quality of life deserves it.

We are physiotherapist in Newcastle. You can ask us what you want because we are at your full disposal.

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