Physical therapy is a part of rehabilitative healthcare. Other examples of rehabilitative healthcare are occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, cognitive therapy and mental health rehabilitation services. Physical therapy is where you work with trained and licensed professionals who use special equipment to diagnose, exercise and treat your conditions.
A physical therapist is going to evaluate your condition, whether that is an injury, disease or a disability, and they’ll provide a treatment plan to help you based on your criteria. Physical therapy is a treatment for a variety of health conditions, and can help restore or maintain physical function and mobility in patients that may have mobility issues.
Licensed physical therapists often work alongside other medical teams—whether they work in rehabilitation centers, sports and fitness centers, or even hospitals and schools. Some conditions that physical therapists such as the ones at AmeriWell treat are well known but others are not. So we’ll touch base on conditions a physical therapist can help you with.
Your physical therapist can help with neurological disorders, genetic disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, or even something as common as vertigo.
Understand that physical therapy is important and can be hard to do—not hard as in you cannot do it, because they work you on a plan that’s tailored to your injury and your abilities, but anything that challenges you can be considered tough. Your physical therapist will try to identify the root of the issue and treat it; they want to relieve stress and don’t want to cause you more pain, in fact they’d like to relieve your pain.
Some Conditions Treated By Physical Therapists:
ROM, or limited range of motion is when there is too much stress to some parts of your body that causes swelling, tenderness or pain in the area when it’s in use. This may look like limping because of your ankle or your knee, or even a tendon that’s overwhelmed by use. To avoid the pain or uncomfortable feeling of inflammation, you’ll try to vary your usage of your affected limb, which impacts your range of motion.
Osteoporosis, whether caused by genetics or otherwise, is the thinning of bones. This can leave bones with a sponge texture, making them weaker and they may have holes in them. This may cause bones to break easier, fracture easier. This is often seen as you age, too. Disabling fractures can be prevented with physical therapy to strengthen the body.
Vertigo is an issue many suffer from, with many different causes. It’s dizziness or lightheadedness and everyone’s had it before. Some people more than others. This can cause you to fall or otherwise get hurt, as it throws you off balance. With physical therapy, you can learn to improve your balance which can help prevent disabling injuries due to vertigo and may even treat the vertigo itself.
Did you know your physical therapist may be able to help with your headaches and migraines? Severe headaches and migraines that are tension-based can lead to severe head or neck injuries and with proper treatment you can treat both the pain and prevent further injury.
