Physical Therapy: What it can do for you
It’s October, which means it’s also Physical Therapy Month! Physical Therapy Month is about celebrating the benefits physical therapists provide to YOU. Do you have a physical therapist that is part of YOUR healthcare team? If not, read below to learn why you should consider it.
Physical Therapists are Healthcare Providers in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Injuries
Physical therapists are healthcare providers who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. Many people don’t realize that in most states and with most insurances you can actually go directly to your physical therapist first for injury diagnosis. Physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons rank highly in their ability to accurately diagnose musculoskeletal conditions compared to non-orthopedic physicians such as family physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners (Moore et al, 2003). So if you’d like to save yourself some time and money the next time you are injured, consider going directly to physical therapy to get your diagnosis and start your treatment all in the same visit. Worried that you might need an X-ray or MRI first? During an initial physical therapy visit, physical therapists will use a variety of tests and measures to determine whether an X-ray or MRI is necessary. At Home Team Wellness & Recovery, we will refer you for an X-ray or MRI if we believe one is warranted but do not believe you should have to pay for imaging if it’s not needed.
Physical Therapists are Movement Experts
Physical therapists are experts in human movement. They understand how the body functions under a variety of stresses and conditions. Physical therapists also know that correct movement patterns are key for optimizing performance and preventing pain and chronic overuse injuries. During physical therapy, your physical therapist will look for faulty movement patterns that are consistent with your pain symptoms. Identifying these faulty movement patterns and then correcting them is key to long-lasting pain relief and injury prevention. Correcting faulty movement patterns in athletes is also likely to improve performance. Therefore, at Home Team, we also offer throwing assessments, running assessments and cycling assessment to injured and non-injured clients to help guide them, optimize performance and hopefully prevent injury.
Physical Therapists Optimize Performance
At Home Team, we treat injuries but we don’t want you to have to be injured to come and see us. We specialize in performance physical therapy which means we take rehab beyond the traditional model of “we see you until your pain is gone" to “we see you until you’re back to your pre-injury performance or beyond.” We do this by optimizing our client’s mobility, strength and movement patterns as well as providing them with personalized exercise programs that are progressive in nature. We also provide recovery programs to help our athletes recover faster with the use of tissue massage, active and passive stretching techniques, dry needling and cupping. We aim to provide long-term solutions to our clients so that they have the knowledge and confidence necessary to independently perform at their highest level, even after their time at Home Team.
Physical Therapy is Preventative Medicine
Physical therapy is preventative medicine. Physical therapists know that leading a healthy, active lifestyle can prevent injuries and chronic disease. An active lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to be out jogging miles everyday, but it DOES mean that you need to be moving everyday. This video explains the vast array of health benefits the average person can achieve just by walking for 30 minutes every day. Need help getting back into an active lifestyle? Our physical therapists will work one-on-one with you to safely and comfortably build your activity level. We believe that all movement goals are possible with the right guidance and support.
We hope you learned more about how physical therapy can benefit YOU. If something above resonated, consider making Home Team a part of YOUR health team today. For the month of October only we are offering 40% off single-visits and 20% off multi-visit packages. What better time to get started with us than now?! Happy Physical Therapy Month everyone!
Resources
Moore, Josef H., Goss, Donald L., Baxter, Richard E., et al. (2003). Clinical Diagnostic Accuracy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Patients Referred by Physical Therapists, Orthopaedic Surgeons and Nonorthopaedic Providers. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 35(02), 67-71. https://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.2005.35.2.67