What is Physical Therapy?

Physical Therapy (PT) is a health care specialty involved with evaluating, diagnosing, and treating disorders of the musculoskeletal system.  Physical therapy is considered a conservative treatment method addressing the treatment, healing, and prevention of injuries and disabilities.  The ultimate goal of physical therapy is to restore maximal functional independence to each individual patient.  To achieve this goal, physical modalities such as exercise, heat, cold, electricity, and massage are utilized.

Physical therapy is ordered by a physician when it is felt that such a course of treatment would be beneficial.  It is offered to a wide variety of patient's including newborn babies, children, adults, and geriatrics.

Physical therapy is useful in treating many different medical disorders and injuries, neurological and muscular illness, as well as cardiopulmonary diseases are only a few pathologic conditions which physical therapy plays a treatment role in.

Physical therapists focus primarily, but not solely, on relieving pain, promoting healing, and restoring function and movement, and facilitation and adaptation associated with injury.  Therapy also focuses on ergonomics or body mechanic training, fitness and wellness and, especially education. This area of physical therapy includes posture, stabilization and building strength in the weakened area, and to prevent additional injury.

Through patient and therapist interaction, physical therapy can help restore movement and function helping patients return to their prior level of independence.

What is a Physical Therapist?

Physical therapists are licensed health care professionals with a master's or doctorate degree in physical therapy.  Physical therapists work with people that have sustained disabilities, impairments, or limitations in their overall physical function.  These deviations can be the result of disease, injury, or pathological processes.  Physical therapists examine, evaluate, diagnose, develop treatment plans, and provide prognosis for each patient on an individual basis.  Through the modalities of exercise, massage, mobilization, heat, cold, and electrical stimulation, physical therapists work to restore function, improve mobility, and decrease pain with the goal of re-establishing a patient's prior functional level.

Physical therapists focus on the evaluation of strength, balance, range of motion, co-ordination, endurance, and posture of each individual patient. From this initial examination, the physical therapist then develops a treatment plan specific to correcting pertinent physical findings.  Each patient's individual treatment plan is geared toward reaching specific rehabilitation goals that are set by the therapist and the patient together as a team.  However, the physical therapist will help in determining realistic goals through their knowledge of pathology and prognosis.

Rehabilitation strategies often involve specific exercises to stretch and strengthen muscles as well as to improve posture, balance, and endurance. Physical modalities including heat, cold, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation are also incorporated into most treatment sessions.  Traction machines and massage are two other valuable techniques for functional improvement and pain reduction.  Assistive devices such as crutches, canes, and walkers are often used to increase patient independence.

Over the course of the rehabilitation period physical therapists document progress, re-evaluate physical findings, and modify treatment strategies as appropriate. They often work as a team with a variety of other professionals including physicians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and recreational therapists all with the same goal of reaching maximal patient functional independence

What can a PT program do for me that I cannot do on my own?

Many patients may think that they know how to properly exercise, manage their pain and rehabilitate themselves. Patients commonly give therapists reasons why they do not need therapy - for example, "I have had this before and I know what works for me" or, "I know what is causing this because my neighbor had the same thing, so I will just do what she did" and attempt to self-manage their condition.

A Physical Therapist is a specialist specifically educated and skilled in proper rehabilitation. Physical therapists are continually educated as to management for different dysfunctions, differentiation of one dysfunction/injury from another and work closely with the referring physician in the development of a rehabilitation program specifically designed for each individual patient.

The other important aspect to remember with physical therapy is that each individual is different. We all have different types of bodies, different patterns of movement, different alignments and different habits. A physical therapist will monitor each individual and attempt to correct improper habits, alignments and movement patterns.

Most important with therapy is education. Due to healthcare guidelines and reimbursement changes, your physician may not have the time needed to explain exactly what your injury/dysfunction/disability is and why/how it occurred. Your therapist specializes in this and many times will be the one to educate you on the specifics of your problem and what the course of action will be to correct it and hopefully prevent it from reoccurring. PT focuses on education, correction, and prevention.

Who benefits from Physical Therapy?

Many and all can benefit from therapy. Very rarely do individuals present with perfect body mechanics, training techniques, or movement patterns. This is where wellness comes into play. Typically the most appropriate patients are those who have been in accidents (work-related, automobile, or falls), athletes with overstress injuries, arthritic patients, pre and post-operative patients, and those with general deconditioning, or strains.

Posture is an area that always seems to be overlooked. Patients who make simple changes throughout their daily habits can change their potential for injuries and alleviate current ones. Results of poor posture may include the following: forward head, rounded shoulders, excessive lordosis (lor-doe-sis, envision a Dowager's Hump or posture associated with chronic cane dependants), tight and weak back muscles, tight and weak leg muscles, which can all lead to joint pain.

How long will Physical Therapy Take?

This is a popular question asked by many patients.  Although the question itself is a simple one, the answer is much more difficult.

Everyone has other priorities in their day and life.  Exercise and therapy can sometimes seem an imposition.  The patient has to remember that recovery from injury can be much more time consuming than prevention.  Each person's degree of injury is different and will experience a different rate of recovery.  For example, it may take one person only three days to walk one hundred feet after knee surgery, however a patient who had surgery on the same day may need five days to reach the same distance.  This is due to the variation in pain perception, motivation, and healing rate we each have.  In most cases, your therapist will have an idea as to your personal rate of healing within two weeks. Other factors that play into healing progression and rate of recovery are patient compliance and dedication.  Therapists are healers and teachers.  However, if the lessons, which we teach, are not practiced and learned, the rate of healing or re-injury is affected.

Rather than setting a date to complete therapy by, set various goals that you would like to achieve during your rehabilitation program.  Make this your focus, not time.  Reward yourself for achieving these goals, regardless of the time taken to reach them.

A quick tip on reducing the amount of time spent in therapy is through performance of a home exercise program.  Although the physical therapist works with the patient during therapy sessions, it is important for the patient to take an active role in their therapy program.  Daily participation in a home exercise program is a major factor in how quickly one recovers.

What will I have to do in PT?

Therapy generally encompasses pain relief, strength and flexibility training, proper postural alignment, regaining movement or range of motion, improving and correcting posture, endurance training, relaxation and stress relieving techniques, balance and coordination training, proper walking, education, safety awareness, and development, and implementation of a home exercise program.

PT is Worth Your Effort

Remember that each individual is different. Your rehabilitation or PT experience will be individual. Be patient with yourself, your physician and your physical therapy staff. Healing takes time, diligence and compliance. If you think you may be a candidate for physical therapy, speak to your physician or therapist.

Related Links:

http://orthopedics.about.com/od/physicaltherapy/p/therapy.htm http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/typesofphysicaltherapy/a/typesofpt.htm http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php