Diseases, disabilities, and injuries can affect the way your body functions. A physical therapist evaluates these abnormal functions and develops a treatment plan to treat them. Physical therapy treatment plans often include pain relief modalities and exercises. In many cases, a doctor recommends a course of nonoperative treatment, which often includes physical therapy near me, before recommending surgery. Physical therapy often yields results as good as what you could get from surgery with fewer risks.
Conditions Physical Therapy Can Treat
Most people think of physical therapy primarily in relation to musculoskeletal complaints. Physical therapy can be very effective at treating orthopedic conditions, but its effectiveness is not limited to musculoskeletal conditions.
Here are some examples of conditions that physical therapy can treat.
Neurological Conditions
Neurological conditions can result from trauma to the brain or spinal cord or from degenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. Physical therapy can help you adapt to neurological changes to retain as much function as possible.
Muscle Tension
Consistent tension in the muscles can lead to strain injuries. Physical therapy can strengthen muscles so that each muscle can perform the work it is supposed to do and one muscle doesn’t have to do the work of many.
Physical therapy can relieve muscle tension anywhere in the body. For example, TMJ physical therapy relieves tension and pressure at the joints where your jawbone attaches to your skull, which can help to alleviate the pain and dysfunction of TMJ disorder.
Lymphedema
Lymphatic fluids are part of the immune system. Certain conditions can cause your body to produce too much lymphatic fluid, which can cause swelling. Complete decongestive therapy is a specific physical therapy technique that helps to prevent fluids from building up in the tissues and reduces swelling.
Sports Injuries
Sports injuries include muscle strains, ligament sprains, tendon tears, repetitive use injuries, and many other injuries that arise from physical exertion. It is not only athletes who sustain sports injuries, either. They can arise due to a job or a physical hobby.
Neck Pain
Treating neck pain can be a challenge. Its cause can be either musculoskeletal or neurological in nature. Not only that, but sometimes the problem originates in the neck but the pain radiates down into the upper extremities or up into the neck. The best Louisville physical therapists should be able to pinpoint the cause of the pain and formulate a treatment plan to address it.
Choosing the Right PT for You
Some physical therapists have a general practice in which they treat all types of conditions. Others specialize in treating a specific condition. If you have an uncommon condition, you may want to seek out a physical therapist who specializes in it, but generally, physical therapists are qualified to help you, provided they are certified and licensed.
You should find out whether the physical therapist has experience treating your condition and whether you will see the same therapist every time. Ask the therapist to sit down with you for a brief interview before you begin treatment to see if you feel comfortable and are compatible with one another. Shop around for PT clinics in your area and investigate each before you decide.
