Remember those song lyrics The knee bones connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bones connected to the hip bone? Its actually a good anatomical reminder about the importance of seeing an injured or arthritic joint as part of your whole body and not something to be treated in isolation. If you are limping or favoring a joint, more than likely other parts of your body are off as well. The whole body is connected in one way or another. The joined-up skeleton is the reason why physical therapy is so important to the recovery process. A physical therapist can improve a patients core strength and manually manipulate the joint itself, working on the soft tissue around it as well as working with the rest of the body, mobilizing the hip and the back and helping the patient to regain full range of motion and improve their gait. Soft-tissue manipulation makes a huge difference in how people heal, in large part by reducing swelling, inflammation and scar tissue. In some cases, physical therapy can help you avoid surgery altogether. A physical therapist can look at a patient with an injury and figure out why they got injured, help the patient learn exercises and techniques to recover from the injury and guide and motivate them to work to improve (without fear of pushing too hard). Most people are unaware of their posture, of how they walk or how their feet hit the ground. They dont realize how loose or stiff their joints are or their back is. If youre hurt or in pain, a physical therapist can teach you about the mechanics of your gait and the mechanics of your sport, valuable information to help speed your recovery and protect you from further injury. Many patients who undergo surgical procedures and do not have a great physical therapy program before and after surgery or who try to do all of the program on their own tend to recover more slowly than those who go through a physical therapy program. Theyll also tend not to have as complete a recovery and certainly wont learn as much from the experience. If youre injured or have arthritis, we strongly encourage you to see a physical therapist in addition to an orthopedic surgeon, especially if its likely that youll need surgery. Working together, the PT and surgeon are able to get a 360-degree picture of our patients and help them back to full strength. Give us a call for all your physical therapy need - we value our patients.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 15:44:54 +0000
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