If you’ve ever twisted an ankle, broken a bone, or developed back pain from a terrible desk chair, then you’ve suffered from an orthopedic condition. The term simply refers to medical issues that affect the health and function of joints, bones, tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Injury, overuse, birth defects, genetics, or age can cause orthopedic conditions.
Physical therapy focuses on helping people move safely by using exercises to improve strength, range of motion, balance, and flexibility. Let’s look at some of its important benefits.
PAIN MANAGEMENT
Orthopedic conditions can be pretty painful, and you feel that pain whenever you move, so it isn’t easy to escape. Using medication to relieve the pain can lead to side effects from high over-the-counter drug use or even dependence on prescription pain medications such as opiates. Plus, pain medication doesn’t fix the underlying problem.
Physical therapy seeks to alleviate pain through various methods of intervention including massage, joint mobilization, and exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles in the area. These can all help joints work more smoothly and effectively. Therapists also use other non-invasive techniques to reduce pain, such as applying ice or heat to the affected area, or higher-tech approaches, like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and ultrasound.
Healthy, safe movement also helps the body to heal, so patients recover from surgery or injury more quickly. Physical therapy has been shown to reduce the need for pain medications, including opiates.
IMPROVED MOBILITY AND RANGE OF MOTION
An orthopedic condition can affect how well the area works in multiple ways. The initial pain, swelling, and decreased function are obvious problems, but there are also secondary effects. The body will unconsciously change how it moves to protect the affected area and avoid pain.
Over time, this leads to more stiffness and difficulty moving. These unbalanced movement patterns cause weakness in some parts of the body while placing excess strain on others. Resting the injured area weakens the muscles, making it even harder to return to normal movement.
Physical therapists use various manual techniques, as well as strengthening and stretching exercises to help patients recover mobility and range of motion. To restore healthy movement to the area, you must be careful not to cause more injury. Physical therapists have a comprehensive understanding of the body and how it moves, so they can help select exercises and techniques that address each individual’s specific needs.
STRENGTHENING AND REHABILITATION
Recovering from an orthopedic condition requires more than healing the damaged tissues. You also have to restore the lost function and strengthen muscles that haven’t been used for a while.
Getting back to activities you miss isn’t always easy, and it can be hard to know where to begin. Physical therapy guides patients to help them improve strength and function gradually. Patients are given exercises to do, and as they get stronger, they progress to other exercises to continue their recovery.
Physical therapists select the stretching and exercise program based on the patient’s needs and ensure it is done correctly. They also add any other elements that might help the patient recover safely, such as pain-relieving techniques, the correct use of equipment such as crutches, and methods to prevent future injuries.
ACHIEVE OPTIMAL RECOVERY WITH ORTHOSPORTS ASSOCIATES’ PHYSICAL THERAPY SERVICES
Physical therapy can help patients regain the strength and function they need to enjoy life. You can reduce pain, restore normal movement, and regain lost strength with the right treatment. If you’re dealing with an orthopedic condition and would like more information about how we can help you at Orthosports Associates, please request an appointment with us today. We would love to help you feel and move better!