Whole-Body Benefits of Physical Therapy

After an injury, physical therapy is something that helps you to regain your strength and mobility. But that's not the only way this treatment can be used. In fact, physical therapy helps your entire body.

At Peninsula Orthopedic Associates, our team not only treats your injuries, we also help to prevent them. Our skilled orthopedic surgeons work closely with physical therapists to get you back on your feet, or prevent an injury all together.

What is physical therapy?

Physical therapy is a type of treatment that’s prescribed to help you heal from an injury or surgery. Physical therapy aims to increase your mobility by strengthening your body over time. For this reason, it can also be used before surgery to improve your recovery afterward. 

You may also use this method to prevent an injury before it happens, especially if you’re an athlete. 

However, physical therapy is more than just repetitive exercises or stretches. Although that’s a big part of the treatment, your therapist's aim is to improve your entire body, not just the specific injury. Some of the other methods that we use to achieve this goal are:

• Manual therapy
• Mechanical Traction
• Heat and ice therapy
• Electrical stimulation

By using other techniques like the ones above, our therapists help you not only gain strength, but also ease pain and increase circulation and mobility to the affected area.

The many benefits of physical therapy

Physical therapy is probably one of the most underutilized conservative treatments. Maybe that’s because people assume it’s only useful after you’ve suffered an injury. The truth is, however, that it can help many other conditions in your body, not just your musculoskeletal system. 

Here are several other benefits from this therapy:

Reduces pain

Chronic pain is a frustrating condition, especially when you don’t know the cause. Physical therapy helps to decrease your pain by giving your muscles increased movement and blood flow. This allows them to move more fluidly, and when the exercises are continued at home, your pain may disappear all together.

Can help manage diabetes

Diabetes is a complex disease that can also involve your vascular system. A therapist will make an individualized plan for your condition. This can help to manage your blood sugar with a mix of diet and exercise such as aerobic training and strength training. 

Helps in stroke recovery

After a stroke, you may lose some mobility in part of your body. Physical therapy helps you to regain strength in the affected area, along with improving your overall ability to perform daily tasks, which can lighten the burden after a stroke.

Manages general health problems

There are some issues that become more of a problem as you get older. They include osteoporosis, joint problems, and arthritis. Physical therapy is a great alternative to invasive surgical procedures, as it helps to strengthen the diseased tissues. It can also help improve blood flow to the areas, reducing pain and inflammation.

Prevents injury

Because physical therapy focuses on bettering your entire body, not just the injured area, it can help you to avoid getting hurt in the future. Why? While it increases your mobility, it also enhances your strength and balance. Physical therapy can also help you to improve your posture, resulting in less chance of back and neck problems. 

Can help to avoid surgery

Sometimes, surgery is unavoidable. In some conditions, however, using physical therapy can prevent the need for invasive surgical procedures. This is because regular therapy will lessen your pain and improve your overall health. It also helps to facilitate the healing of your injured tissues, leading to better mobility.

Physical therapy is also an asset when you’re dealing with heart and lung problems. After something like a heart attack, physical therapy is used to help you get back into your normal activities, without putting too much stress on your body.

If you feel like physical therapy can help you, please contact our clinic at 455 Hickey Blvd, Suite 205 in Daly City at 650-746-3299!