5 Signs You Should Consider Physical Therapy
Consult with a Physical Therapist to Reclaim Your Life!
Our experienced team members work with older adults, men, women, and children who are dealing with a variety of acute and chronic health issues at our PT clinic.
But it’s not just the pain that we can alleviate! Our physical therapists have all received advanced training in anatomy, human movement, and other areas.
This means that a physical therapist can help you improve your function and quality of life, as well as address several symptoms that are resulting in your discomfort.
Have you ever considered whether physical therapy could be beneficial? Continue reading to learn about the top signs that it’s time to see a physical therapist in your area!
5 ways to tell if physical therapy is the right treatment for you
1. When you’ve experienced vertigo or dizziness
Dizziness and vertigo (the sensation that the room is spinning around you) can be incredibly disruptive to your daily life. While they may have several underlying causes, these symptoms are often a sign of vestibular disorders like benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).
A physical therapist is trained in the diagnosis and treatment of BPPV and can prescribe a range of treatments that will alleviate this uncomfortable sensation, including Eply’s maneuver and gaze stabilization exercises.
In many cases, people with BPPV experience near-complete resolution of their symptoms after just one or two sessions.
2. When you’ve felt unbalanced, or as if you might fall
Loss of balance and coordination can happen as part of the aging process, but may also occur after things like a stroke or nerve damage caused by diabetes or radiculopathy. In some cases, these changes can lead to falls, which not only impose the risk of injury but can also make a person afraid of falling again.
Unfortunately, research shows that fearfulness of falling may prevent a person from moving about, which only further contributes to weakness and imbalance. And the weaker a person is, the more at risk they are of recurring falls. Talk about a vicious cycle!
A physical therapist can work with you or your loved one to improve balance, coordination, motor control, and postural awareness.
Through exercises and education, we help you regain the confidence as well as physical skills necessary to remain safer and more active in your daily life. In some cases, we may also prescribe adaptive equipment and tools to augment and support your function and safety.
3. When you’ve sustained an injury
One “sign” that it may be time to consult with a physical therapist is if you ever experience any sort of acute traumatic event, like a fall, auto accident, or injury on the job or during an athletic event.
Even if you feel “fine” immediately after the incident, there still could be underlying tissue damage that simply isn’t noticeable right away. This is because stress hormones like adrenaline can mask pain and signs of tissue injury in your body…at least until they return to their pre-accident levels.
By consulting with a physical therapist ASAP after an accident, we can help identify warning signs of tissue damage and initiate early treatment to reduce inflammation and prevent further damage.
Additionally, unlike medication, physical therapy can also help address underlying factors, like weak or short muscles, that either contributed to the event in the first place or may otherwise delay your healing.
4. When your joints start to bother you
In addition to pain, our physical therapy patients also come to us with concerns about other ailments like joint stiffness or hypomobility, joint instability or hypermobility, weakness, numbness, and tingling. This often coincides with other symptoms such as decreased activity tolerance and fatigue.
Exercises, non-invasive modalities, manual therapy, and the prescription of orthotics and other adaptive devices can all be incredibly helpful and provide a more cost-effective solution than medications.
5. When a new health concern develops
A physical therapist is licensed to treat a wide number of health conditions.
So if you recently received a new diagnosis, consider finding out if a physical therapist can be a helpful part of your medical team.
Conditions we treat at our physical therapy clinic include:
- Musculoskeletal conditions like muscle strains, ligament sprains, tendonitis, bursitis, and impingement syndrome
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
- Amputations
- Neurological conditions including Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis
- Autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis
- Pediatric conditions including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and sensory processing disorders
- Fibromyalgia
- Low back pain
- Pelvic floor dysfunction
- Sciatica
- Debility and weakness following prolonged hospitalization or treatment for an illness such as cancer, the flu, or COVID-19
- Post-operative recovery from things like joint replacement and heart surgery
Schedule your first appointment with a physical therapist today!
Whether you are living with chronic pain or another health issue, we invite you to contact our PT clinic today to make an appointment.
Physical therapy can effectively alleviate a variety of concerns and health issues. It would be an honor to accompany you on your journey toward better health and functioning!