9 Surprising Ways You Can Benefit From Physical Therapy

Physical therapy has a lot of health benefits. It can help you manage various health problems including balance issues, heart diseases, sports injuries, and more. In some cases, physical therapy may even help avoid surgery.

If you are still doubting whether physical therapy can be helpful for you, read this list of physical therapy benefits.

1. Reduce pain
Physical therapy includes exercises and manual therapy techniques to improve joint and soft tissue mobility, as well as treatments like ultrasound, taping, or electrical stimulation. All these techniques can help relieve pain from various health conditions. Physical therapy can help you keep discomfort at bay and improve your overall wellbeing.

2. Recover from a stroke
Stroke is a serious health issue. After a stroke, people often lose their function and mobility, partially or completely. Physical therapy aids in the strengthening of weak areas of the body as well as the improvement of gait and balance. This can help stroke patients to be more independent around the house and reduce their burden of care for toileting, bathing, dressing, and other daily living activities.

3. Manage women’s health conditions
Physical therapists can provide specialist care for women's health problems. Furthermore, physical therapy can assist in the treatment of incontinence, breast cancer, constipation, fibromyalgia, lymphedema, pelvic discomfort, and urine incontinence.

4. Avoid surgery
Surgery is often used to eliminate symptoms and improve one’s quality of life. But if physical therapy helps you relieve discomfort or heal from an accident, the surgery may not be necessary. Even if surgery is necessary, pre-surgical physical rehabilitation may be beneficial. In most cases, going to surgery in a better physical state can help you heal faster and avoid complications.

5. Recover from a sports injury
Physical therapists understand how different sports can increase your risk for specific types of injuries. The therapist can help you develop the right techniques to prevent injuries. If you are already injured, the therapist can develop recovery programs for you to ensure a safe return to your sport and improve your athletic performance.

6. Improve mobility
If you experience difficulty standing, walking, or moving, physical therapy can help deal with these issues regardless of your age. Stretching and strengthening exercises might help you regain your mobility. Physical therapists can fit people with canes, crutches, or any other assistive equipment, as well as assess for orthotic prescription. Whatever activity is important in your life, physical therapy can guarantee maximum performance and safety by developing an individual care plan.

7. Improve balance
Before you begin physical therapy, the therapist will assess your risk for falls. If you're at a high risk of falling, your therapist will give you exercises that safely and carefully challenge your balance to simulate real-life scenarios and prevent falls. Therapists can also aid you with exercises to improve coordination and assistive gadgets to help you walk more safely.

When a balance problem is caused by vestibular system damage, physical therapists can use specialized movements to restore appropriate vestibular functioning and lessen or eliminate feelings of dizziness or vertigo.

8. Manage age-related issues
Age can increase your risk of various health problems including osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and other bone or joint problems, so you may need joint replacement surgery. Physical therapists are experts in assisting patients in recovering from joint replacement surgery and managing bone and joint disorders. The therapist can help you strengthen the muscles surrounding your joints and delay the development of your disease.

9. Manage diabetes
Physical therapists commonly work with diabetes patients, so they are experienced in dealing with any issues or concerns patients may have that might otherwise prevent them from exercising. Because therapists are so knowledgeable about diabetes treatment via exercise, they can anticipate and avoid almost every issue that may emerge when designing patients' exercise programs, making physical therapy more successful and lowering the risk of complications.