Physical therapy involves trained professional therapists who evaluate atypical physical functions caused by various factors – including stroke, injury, or disability – and devise a treatment program to address them. Many ailments can be treated through physical therapy.
For those who have no experience with physical therapy, it can seem intimidating. However, this practice can have a dramatic positive impact on your physical and mental well-being. Here are six ways physical therapy can improve your quality of life.
Improve Your Balance
As we age, our sense of balance tends to deteriorate over time. This loss of balance is perilous for seniors, who can be severely injured by a fall, but remains a hazard for people of any age.
One major benefit of physical therapy is that it improves your sense of balance. Physical therapists often use a variety of exercises that help patients gain a surer footing and keep themselves upright despite pain, injury, or disability.
Reduce Pain
Pain management after an injury can be tricky. While no one wants to suffer during the healing process, prescription drugs can have unpleasant side effects. One must also contend with the danger of addiction that many pain-relieving prescriptions present.
Physical therapy provides a manner of managing and reducing pain without resorting to a prescription. It is advantageous in cases of neuropathy.
Avoid Having Surgery
Many injuries and conditions must be treated with surgery. Luckily, some conditions can be handled through physical therapy instead. Surgery is an invasive procedure that involves some health risks and an extended recovery period. If you can avoid it, you should. Physical therapy helps many patients do just that.
Improve Mobility and Flexibility
Many patients who suffer from a disability, condition, or recent injury or stroke discover that they are not able to move about as freely as they once did. This decreased mobility can be frustrating and depressing. It also makes it difficult to perform physical exercise, which is critical for good health.
Through physical exercise and stretching, physical therapy can help patients gain back a great deal of their ability to move.
Treat Neurological Issues
Some physical therapy patients suffer from neurological issues. These issues can affect coordination, balance, mobility, flexibility, and range of motion and can also be extremely painful.
Some of these conditions are difficult to treat through traditional medical means. However, physical therapy has proven to be effective in helping many of these patients manage their conditions.
Improve Overall Health
Physical activity improves your health and overall quality of life. When paired with a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, regular exercise leads to better physical health outcomes. It also aids mental health in a variety of ways.
Physical therapy helps many patients return to and continue physical exercise, making them healthier and happier in the long run.
Call Mid-County Physical Therapy Today
Suppose you suffer from chronic pain, reduced mobility or flexibility, or other physical symptoms caused by injury, stroke, disability, or disease. In that case, physical therapy may be the best pathway to improving your health and your quality of life.
Call Mid-County Physical Therapy now to schedule your consultation and learn more about how physical therapy can help you.