Physical Therapy
What is Physical Therapy?
Physical therapy is a healthcare practice that is used to alleviate musculoskeletal pain, strengthen weakened muscles, and correct dysfunctional movement.
The goal of physical therapy isn’t to treat something short-term, but rather focused on a long-term goal of correcting dysfunction and preventing any future issues. A physical therapy patient must commit to following their exercise prescription week in and week out, even after pain has subsided.
Physical therapists are medical professionals that develop and administer customized treatment plans that are specific to each patient’s needs. They do this in numerous ways depending on the situation:
-
Exercise - Prescribing corrective exercises
-
Manual therapy - Massages and acupuncture
-
Applying stimuli - Heat, cold, electrical stimulation, or ultrasound.
​​
Overall, physical therapy is a broad field that has the ability to help a multitude of people and treat their own unique pain and dysfunction.
(Informed Health, 2020)
Who is Physical Therapy for?
Physical therapy is for a large variety of injured or ill people. Almost anybody with musculoskeletal pain, movement dysfunction, or even people looking to prevent any future issues can benefit from physical therapy.
Physical therapists can treat both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) issues.
Acute vs. Chronic injury examples:
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Athletes, occasional exercisers, and people completely new to exercise can all use physical therapy as a preventative measure to stay healthy, manage chronic pain, continue to move well, or prevent overuse injuries during exercise.
Acute:
-
Bone fracture
-
Hamstring strain
-
Sprained ankle
-
Dislocated shoulder
-
Injury from a car accident
​
Chronic:
-
Persisting knee, back, or shoulder pain.
-
Tennis elbow
-
Shin splints
-
Plantar fasciitis
What can Physical Therapy help with?
There are a multitude of specialists in the field that can treat a substantial list of issues commonly found among the general public.
Some conditions that physical therapy can treat are:
-
General musculoskeletal dysfunction.
-
Sports injuries, such as torn ligaments, concussions, and overuse issues.
-
Neurological conditions, such as spine injuries, brain injury, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease.
-
Joint conditions, such as arthritis, carpal tunnel, and degenerative disk disease.
-
Skin conditions, such as burns and wounds.
Types of Physical Therapy
As a result of specialization, there are countless types of physical therapists to choose from, including:
-
Geriatric physical therapy
-
Pediatric physical therapy
-
Orthopedic physical therapy
-
Neurologic physical therapy
-
Cardiovascular physical therapy
-
Vestibular physical therapy
Now that you know the different ways that a physical therapist can help you, use the ChoosePT website from the APTA below to find a local physical therapy clinic:
(Smith & Eagle, 2023)
Click Here to visit the full website
Common misconceptions about Physical Therapy
1. Physical therapy is going to hurt.
Physical therapy may be uncomfortable at times, and you may have some soreness the next day, but physical therapists do their best to limit pain. Besides, it’s usually not the best idea to continue exercising if it brings you pain.
2. All physical therapists are the same thing.
If you look at the different types of physical therapists listed above, you can see that that is far from the truth. There are different physical therapists for different types of injuries and different populations of people, which means that you have plenty of options. You should search for a physical therapist that you enjoy working with and matches you and your needs.
3. You must get a referral from a doctor first.
In the U.S., you generally do not need to get a referral from a doctor before beginning treatment. However, a referral is sometimes necessary for insurance reasons. Seeing a medical doctor is not always a necessary step before seeing a physical therapist, as physical therapists are well equipped to recognized things like fractures and other issues and won’t hesitate to refer you to a doctor if the situation warrants it.
4. Physical therapy isn’t covered by insurance.
Most insurance covers physical therapy if the person needs it. Regardless, physical therapy is often a much cheaper option than surgery or medication, so it can lower healthcare costs even if it is not covered by insurance.
5. Physical therapists “fix” patients.
Physical therapists can be a powerful tool for one to utilize in their path towards recovery and pain free movement. However, they are not a magical cure for any ailment, and you are still required to put in the effort to see improvements. Physical therapists cannot do the exercises for you, they can only evaluate, prescribe treatment plans, and give you guidance along the way. Although it is not a quick “fix”, when physical therapists and patients work well together, the results are usually powerful.
(Shariat, 2019)
References
Health tips: 7 myths about physical therapy. (2018, November 30). ChoosePT. https://www.choosept.com/health-
tips/7-myths-physical-therapy
Physical therapy. (2020, August 27). Informed Health - NCBI Bookshelf.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK561514/
Shariat, J. (2017, December 19). 10 misconceptions about physical therapy. Therapydia Portland Physical
Therapy. https://therapydiaportland.com/10-misconceptions-physical-therapy/
Smith, L., & Eagle, R. (2023, April 21). Physical therapy: Who can benefit, and how can it help?. Medical News Today.