Who does not go through pain due to injury. As common and as easy to get Pain from injuries is, it is double times difficult to suffer and endure that pain.
And with Pain playing Physical Therapy comes into the picture.
Physical Therapy, also known as physiotherapy heals pain addressing the illness and injuries of a person. It is a cure for incidents that limits a person’s abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily life, helping you restore movements and functions, improving your physical movements.
Physical Therapy is conducted by healthcare professionals, popularly known as physiotherapists. They assess, diagnose and create personalized treatment plans according to each patient’s specific needs.
Unlike Medications which provide temporary relief through painkillers, physical therapy with its exercises and movements targets the underlying cause and helps curing it from the root.
How Physical Therapy Helps in Pain Management
- A physical therapist evaluates the patient’s condition, including the source, intensity, and type of pain whether it is acute, chronic, neuropathic, or musculoskeletal.
They help in identifying contributing factors such as poor posture, muscle imbalances, joint dysfunction, or nerve compression.
- Physical Therapists help patients by targeting specific exercises required for treating their pain as no two patients experience pain the same way. Pain causes stiffness and muscle weakness. Physical Therapy exercises are specially designed to improve flexibility and range of motions thus removing discomfort from pain. It strengthens muscles to joints and also helps in enhancing body posture and functions to reduce strain.
- Soft tissue mobilization techniques are used by Physical Therapists to treat various forms of pain which can be caused by muscle tension like joint misalignment, or scar tissue buildup. Physical therapists for this type of pain use manual therapy techniques such as massage therapy, joint mobilization and Myofascial release.
The Therapist applies light pressure to find stiff areas or trigger points using the Myofascial Release and then uses gentle stretching and compression to release tension from the fascia.
Massage therapy is used in Physics Therapy to help release the tight muscles in your body and improve circulation providing relief from stress and pain to the patient.
Joint mobilization technique is used to restore proper movement. The patient’s joint is moved in different directions by The Physical Therapist at varying speeds.
These techniques help in pain relief as well as enhance blood flow and promote faster healing.
- Different kinds of modalities like heat, cold, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, etc is used by the Physical Therapist to reduce pain and inflammation.
Heat therapy helps in relaxing muscles and improves muscle circulation by reducing stiffness.
Cold Therapy helps in reducing swollen muscles and numbs pain.
Therapists use Electrical stimulation or TENS by gentle electrical current and helps in blocking pain signals. This process encourages muscle recovery by stimulating muscle contractions.
Ultrasound therapy is used with High-frequency sound waves that penetrate deep inside the tissues to reduce inflammation and promote healing.
- Physical Therapy helps in restoring normal movement patterns, which helps in reducing stress on painful areas. It helps in retraining muscle activation to move efficiently without pain and also improves balance and coordination of the body. Physical Therapists also help develop ergonomic habits for work and daily life according to one’s routine to avoid unnecessary strain.
Physical Therapy’s Impact on Quality of Life:
Physical Therapy not only helps in pain healing but even improves the overall quality of life. People who go for Physical Therapy improve their life in the following ways mentioned below:-
- After an Injury or surgery a person faces many difficulties to carry out their day to day life activities. Even in conditions like arthritis mobility of a person gets limited with excess joint pain making it difficult to move and carry out necessary activities of one’s day to day life. Physical Therapy helps in improving strength and flexibility by its various exercises aimed at focusing on target pain and assists in the process of regaining balance and coordination helping individuals to function properly.
Patients after getting Physical Therapy find it easy to walk, climb stairs and perform daily activities with ease without any support and hence play an important role in regaining independence.
- Physical Therapy with its exercises and proven pain healing results help many individuals to not only reduce pain but also reduce stress, anxiety and depression associated with that pain.
- It helps in better sleep due to its pain free movement and sleep is very essential for healing
- With its exercises and therapy PT also helps in improving flexibility which reduces the chances of future injury
Listed below are Few Common Incidents that Make Physical Therapy Essential:
- Neck Pain from Desk Job.
- Difficulty in lifting weights due to shoulder pain or fracture.
- Trouble standing for long periods due to back pain or injury.
- Difficulty in getting up or sitting down, due to knee injury.
- Difficulty in climbing stairs due to arthritis.
- Difficulty in bending down.
- Stroke survivors need PT to regain the ability to walk and perform daily tasks independently.
Pain in Life is Inevitable. From Kids to Adults everyone goes through injuries or accidents that cause physical pain and helps movement and proper functioning difficult. The frustration, physical agony, and discomfort that comes along with pain is a tough war to handle. Though Medications provide relief, the relief is very temporary and the need for consuming more medicines never ends to endure that pain. Physical Therapy provides a long lasting solution to this problem, terminating and healing it right from the roots. With its exercises, therapy, modules and massages it cures Pain. Physical Therapy or we can say Pain Management Therapy has proven to help and transform many people’s lives. From office workers with neck pain to seniors suffering with muscle stiffness to helping Athletes overcome their injury and get back on track Physical Therapy acts as a saviour. So if even you or someone you know are going through the same pain just say No to Painkillers and start your Pain Management Therapy ASAP!.