Jordan Sudberg Physical therapy, commonly referred to as PT, is a method of identifying, diagnosing and treating issues with movement. Physical therapists evaluate patients and then work with them to create individualized plans using various techniques to improve mobility and function, reduce pain, and enhance the quality of living. Therapy for physical therapy can be an active and not passive treatment method. Many treatment plans incorporate stretching and strengthening exercises that patients can do at home.
How It Works
The purpose of physical therapy isn’t only to treat the symptoms but to tackle the root of the problems with movement or pain for long-term relief. For instance, a patient’s back pain might be caused by bad posture or muscle weakness, which can be improved with exercises. Joint pain due to arthritis could be alleviated by strengthening the muscles surrounding the joint to help protect it.
Jordan Sudberg Physical therapists can also provide hand-on therapies to aid a problematic healing area, which can include manipulating the affected area, ultrasound therapy, and dry needles. This last method involves needles not containing medication inserted under the skin and into the muscle to relieve trigger points or activate them to reduce pain and increase the range of motion. Therapists might prescribe assistive devices such as splints for carpal Tunnel Syndrome or a brace following an injury to the knee.
Chronic pain is a complex issue. According to Colleen Louw, a physical therapist, it is a complex issue. She is the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) spokesperson and program director of the Therapeutic Pain Specialist Certification for Evidence in Motion. “Physical therapists are now adopting a biopsychosocial approach. We aim to educate patients to help them comprehend why they hurt and decrease their fear of moving so they can return to normal lives.”
Chronic Pain Symptom Relief
According to Jordan Sudberg, one of the chronic pain issues that physical therapists are often able to treat include lower back pain, knee arthritis, and fibromyalgia Louw. Louw. Recently physical therapy has been praised as a method of treatment that can decrease the excessive use of opioids. Physical therapy is among the first methods suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest draft guidelines to treat pain. The draft guidelines say, “There is high-quality evidence that exercise therapy (a prominent modality in physical therapy) for back pain, fibromyalgia, and hip or knee osteoarthritis reduces pain and improves function immediately after treatment and that the improvements are sustained for at least two to six months.”
In addition, a scoping study identified a connection between the early PT treatments for pain-related conditions such as lower back pain, joint pain, orthopedic recovery from surgery, and a lower chance that a patient will be prescribed opioids.
Many studies have shown physical therapy to be beneficial for treating specific chronic ailments of pain:
- Knee Pain In a study, it was found that osteoarthritis patients at the knee who were treated with physical therapy experienced less functional impairment and pain in the first year than those who received injections of steroids.
- Sciatica A study revealed that back pain sufferers from sciatica that were sent to physical therapy following their diagnosis had less back pain intensity than those who weren’t.
- Pelvic Pain Therapy is being utilized for treating chronic pelvic pain. A study examined patients with cervical cancers. They discovered that patients treated using pelvic floor physical therapy experienced decreased discomfort, improved sexual function, and a decrease in urinary complaints.
Jordan Sudberg General Health and Wellness Benefits
Jordan Sudberg Physical therapy is a wide variety of uses, from prevention of falls in the elderly to post-surgical rehabilitation. The most common health concerns that physical therapists address are pelvic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, and rotator cuff injuries.
The main goal of PT is to help individuals overcome obstacles that hinder them from becoming more active. This is important because a large body of studies has proven that increasing physical and mental exercise can help with a variety of mental and physical ailments and help reduce the overall risk of dying. “Movement is medicine,” Jordan Sudberg.
How to Use It
Physical therapy is offered through licensed physical therapists. It is accessible in many settings such as hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, and pain programs. Physical therapists are now offering appointments via virtual technology as well.
Your primary physician can provide a referral or contact an individual physical therapist without a referral, according to APTA. Certain physical therapists are specialized in the treatment of chronic pain.
Fees: Is PT Expensive? Will Health Insurance Cover It?
A variety of insurance plans, such as Medicare and workers’ compensation and private insurers, will pay for physical therapy services medically needed and delivered by a licensed physical therapy professional or certified assistant to a physical therapist with the guidance of an experienced physical therapist.
What to Expect
Make sure you wear comfortable clothes that allow you to move and stretch. Your physical therapist will conduct an extensive health history at your first appointment and ask questions regarding your health condition and symptoms. They’ll conduct physical examinations, typically assessing your flexibility, strength, and balance. They will also look for any other symptoms and signs like sudden warmth in the area, which could signal an infection or loss of sensation that may indicate an issue with your spinal nerve and require referral to a medical evaluation.
They could make use of their hands to sense the area of concern. It may be necessary to carry out everyday tasks such as walking or standing up from sitting in a chair so that the therapy therapist can see how you move. Following the exam, the physical therapist will review your treatment goals and work with you to design an appropriate treatment strategy.
Alongside your in-office therapy sessions, you’ll generally be given homework. Your physical therapist might teach you exercises to do and help you learn better ways to carry out your everyday tasks.
Considerations
You might be concerned that physical therapy could hurt you. “People with chronic pain tend to be afraid to move. They fear that any activity will cause pain or make problems worse,” Louw says. Louw. First, she suggests it’s important to build a sense of trust with the patient. This could mean gradually increasing the amount of exercise, step-by-step so that the patient is securely moving. If you experience discomfort or pain, talk to the physical therapist who might alter your treatment or suggest techniques like icing to lessen the soreness after an exercise. “I might suggest a patient with knee arthritis exercise in a pool to start to reduce the load on the joint, for example,” Louw states.
