Physical therapists (PTs) are health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives.
If you’re on the hunt for a top physical therapist, here are a few tips you should look for. They should set a realistic timeline for recovery. They should be comfortable using different treatment techniques.
If you have a very specific issue, they should have experience with it. They should make you feel comfortable. They should encourage you to work on your issue outside the office, too.
Below are 4 injuries a physical therapist can help with.
1. Knee injuries.
Physical therapy for knee pain involves a thorough evaluation and assessment of your entire lower extremity from your hip to your foot. Your PT can assess your knee pain and prescribe the right treatments, including exercises and modalities to help decrease your knee pain and improve your overall mobility.
2. Back injuries.
After an episode of low back pain has lasted between two and six weeks, or if there are frequent recurrences of low back pain, physical therapy is often recommended. Some spine specialists consider physical therapy sooner, particularly if the pain is severe.
In addition to passive therapies, active physical therapy (exercise) is also necessary to rehabilitate the spine. Generally, a patient's back exercise program should encompass a combination of the following: Stretching for back pain exercises, strengthening for back pain exercise, low-impact aerobic conditioning
3. Elbow injuries.
Stretching and strengthening of the elbow muscles is an important way to recover from injuries and prevent them from reoccurring. Working with your physical therapist is a good idea after an elbow injury. Your PT can help control inflammation and can prescribe specific exercises to help improve your elbow range of motion and strength. Restoring full mobility and normal functional use of your arm is the primary goal of PT for elbow problems.
4. Foot injuries.
A combination of manual physical therapy and exercise is more effective than completing a home exercise program in treating ankle sprains. Patients are noticeably better as early as four weeks after injury and report superior outcomes six months following their injury.
With the likelihood of re-injury and chronic ankle problems being so prevalent, it is important to seek physical therapy after any ankle sprain, regardless of injury severity. A specific combination of soft tissue mobilization and exercise has been shown to be superior to other conservative treatment approaches for Achilles tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis.
Guest post by Haider Ali