The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) defines this discipline of healthcare as optimizing practices for the quality of life by maintaining, restoring, and improving patient's ability to move, function, and live more active lifestyles.
Physical therapists are healthcare professionals who are in charge of examining, diagnosing, and treating individuals of all ages to improve their body movement on a daily basis. Physical therapists work with patients who have injuries, disabilities, or other health conditions that need treatment.
The APTA specifies that these specialists “help patients avoid surgery and prescription drugs, maximize mobility, manage pain and chronic conditions, prevent future problems, and improve physical function and fitness”
They work like a coach for patients, they examine them and based on the diagnosis a treatment plan is developed and applied to the patient, the plan use to includes exercise routines to regain and improve de mobility of the affected muscle or joint. They can also restore the function lost of a muscle or joint (in cases it was severely damaged) and can reduce and restore the pain too.
Physical therapy services help people achieve fitness goals, regain or maintain their independence, and lead active lives.
What Kind of Injuries Do PTs Treat?
As stated before, a PT professional´s core is to improve life quality through treatment without requiring surgery, these are some of the injuries treated by Physical Therapists:
Soft Tissue like muscles, tendons, and ligaments Injuries.
The most common tendon injury is the Achilles tendon injury which can be caused by straining or twisting the Achilles tendon. On the other hand, ligament injuries can be quite painful and require surgery to repair.
These injuries are the most common because they happen on a day-to-day basis, they can be classified as the following:
Sports Injuries
These are very common in contact sports like football, soccer, basketball, etc. or a non-contact sport like track & field, or even a throwing sport like softball, a variety of unique injuries can occur. the most common sports injuries that might require physical therapy are:
A.C.L. (anterior crucial ligament) knee injuries
Ankle sprains
Concussions
Rotator cuff injuries
Runner’s knee
Shin splints
Tennis elbow or Little League elbow
Physical therapy services offer you the opportunity to return to the sport after a dedicated recovery treatment.
Home Injuries
Home is a place where injuries can appear not only because we tend to be less unaware of our surroundings but because most of the time we are always doing tasks. Slips, trips, and falls are the most common cause of injuries in the home.
In this case, physical therapy can also help you to organize better things in your home increasing the safety within it.
Workplace Injuries
The workplace tends to be the safest place regarding injuries, but still, it can happen. The most common work-related injuries result from:
Slipping
Tripping
Falling
Repetitive movements
Recovering From an Injury - Thanks to Physical Therapy
Reducing the pain can help you improve even other parts of your body since you can end up damaging another joint or group of muscles because you are trying to avoid using the one that hurts you the most. Best physical therapy services strive to reduce or eliminate your pain.
PT can also improve your flexibility and range of motion incorporating specific exercises and treatments focused on these points to develop, this will also increase your strength and will prevent you from re-injury in the near future.
Getting an injury is easy, and finding a good therapist might take a while, these tips will help you spot a good physical therapist:
Research savvy: Your therapist is up to date with research and can cite evidence as to why they’re choosing a specific treatment method, exercise or modality based on current scientific information.
Good communication: They have excellent communication skills, and answer any of your questions.
Resourceful: The therapist is willing to ask for help, that’s a sign that they’re using all of their available resources to best treat you.
Trustworthy: A good physical therapy method ensures trying a new treatment and is open to adjusting course and acknowledging when something isn’t working. In a healthy physical therapist-patient relationship, there’s enough trust to try new things and figure out what works best for an individual patient.
Final Takeaways
It is important to highlight that healthcare specialists like physical therapists and chiropractors are also skilled in developing skills based on their patient's emotions because most of the time, having an injury might affect not only the body but the self-esteem too. Dealing with weeks of therapy on the patient is hard to face and that is why these professionals need to be closer to the patient's rehabilitation process. A good set of mind can lead to a faster rehab process.
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