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Monday, February 7, 2011

The Power of Physiotherapy Exercises - Why Are They So Beneficial?

Health care providers referred to as physical therapists or physiotherapists are qualified in giving assessments and treatments on different conditions. They are more focused in providing relief and wellness through a more physical approach such as manual therapy, acupuncture and physiotherapy exercises.

Physiotherapists or "PT's" are highly trained professionals who can identify weaknesses or imbalances in the body. Physical therapists can help in targeting specific areas in the body where weakness or pain is felt and then prescribe the suitable treatment plan. Physiotherapy exercises are methods that can truly help relieve and soothe stress, as well as help the body function without pain and limitation.

How Exercise Helps the Body

When you incur an injury, the pain felt should serve as a guide to where the sensitive areas are located. Physiotherapists stress that there are two major types of pain: first is the pain due to stiffness and the second is pain due to damage. Pain due to stiffness may be quite bearable when you are doing exercise, and may be relieved gradually once you finish an exercise. The pain basically means that your muscles are a bit out of sync, and need to be eased back into working condition. Pain due to damage can be unbearable, which is an obvious indicator that your muscles are damaged, and are not ready for any exercise yet.

Once your physiotherapist determines the extent and cause of your pain, he or she will ask you to perform an array of physiotherapy exercises. There are practically hundreds of PT exercises for different injuries, from injuries to the neck, lower back, shoulders, spinal cord, legs, and feet. Your Physiotherapy clinician may also specify additional personalized stretching exercises for you. Stretching, as you should know, is important for maintaining proper range of motion of the joins, and also promotes flexibility of muscles.

For example, if you have tight muscles or stiff joints, performing normal activities like climbing the stairs or reaching for items above the cupboard may be tough to do. With proper stretching exercises, the normal body functions can either be preserved or enhanced. Scar tissue is formed and soft tissue becomes contracted as a result of an injury or a surgery. It's important that you regularly perform physical therapist-assisted stretching exercises, to ensure that the scar formation does not impair your movements.

How Prescription Exercises Help to Improve Muscle Strength

Prescription physiotherapy exercises are generally employed to specifically target muscle deficiencies, and also to help rehabilitate patients after an injury or after undergoing surgery. Therapeutic or prescription exercises are often used to improve the patient's strength, function and mobility, as well as to significantly lessen pain and swelling in the affected part of the body. Family doctors and PT practitioners often prescribe simple and easy home-based physiotherapy exercises, and also provide their patients with handouts and easy-to-understand instructional manuals or guides. Many agree that supervised physiotherapy exercises are more effective than home-based exercises, especially in patients who have osteoarthritis of the knee, low back injury and intermittent claudification. Still, physiotherapy exercises performed at home have their own advantages as well, more so for the post-operative recovery of anterior cruciate ligament.

Exercise is truly vital for the treatment and management of a wide array of chronic health conditions and injuries. Supervised physical therapy exercise programs consist of individualized prescription exercises that are specifically designed by trained physiotherapists, and are done in conjunction with the patient's condition and fitness level. Physical therapists are specialists in movement impairments, and are effective in developing or designing therapeutic exercise programs and modalities which suit a patient's specific needs.

One past study by a group of physicians from The Netherlands concluded that supervised physiotherapy exercises also result in less pain and improved function for tested patients, both in short term and long term durations.
Resources on Physiotherapy Exercises and other Information
A number of helpful physiotherapy resources are available online, to give you more helpful information on new and improved modalities for easing pain and improving strength and mobility. The American Family Physician's website offers relevant information related to physiotherapy exercises. Another authority site when it comes to information and resources about any specific therapy program, such as physiotherapy exercises, is the Canadian Physiotherapy Association.

Discover the benefits of physiotherapy exercises - for a healthy lifestyle, safe weight loss and effective injury rehab - you are sure to be on the path to wellness. Learn more about Exercise Prescription with the help of the PT Health Team. Get in touch with one of the competent health professionals today. 

Book your free consultation with PT Health now!

Image Credit: sciencephoto.com

3 comments:

  1. In what circumstance would you use physical therapy? Is it only if you have broken or torn something? My son had physical therapy a couple times because he broke his legs and those are just some questions I had forgotten to ask the physical therapist. http://www.mizutapt.com/our-team/

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  2. Nice Post.. If you're craving for best therapist in Denver visit cacc-pt.com. Cacc-PT provides best and knowledgeable expert in Denver.

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  3. My Mom has been trying to get me to go to physical therapy for a while now. She has heard that it is really helpful for a lot of people. I have had a bad ankle for a while that has kept me from playing soccer. I would love to get back on the field. Maybe I will give it a try.
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