Did you know that over 60% of the American population does not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity?
Living a sedentary lifestyle is a great way to cause injuries, and pain, and reduce overall health. You don’t want that, right?
Whether you’re active or not, going to physical therapy is a great way to get some extra physical activity in, as well as prevent injury. If you’re interested in learning more, you’ll find three amazing physical therapy benefits listed below.
Injury Prevention & Management
A good handful of people mainly go to physical therapy because of a recent injury. For instance, a person who was recently in a car crash and is experiencing pain or loss of mobility will be referred to physical therapy. Chances are, your insurance will fully cover this and you might be asked to work with a caseworker.
Both student and adult athletes will find physical therapy to be absolutely crucial to helping them recover from a sports injury.
But what if you don’t have an injury? Many people may find themselves asking ‘should I go to physical therapy even if they haven’t sustained an injury recently.
The answer is: it depends, but it might be a good option! Talk to your primary care doctor if you are experiencing any pain, loss of strength or mobility, or are doing extreme exercise (such as bodybuilding or sports). A physical therapist can help identify imbalances in your body or weak muscles, and give you ways to prevent injuries!
You can look for specific sports-related therapy such as golf physiotherapy here or by talking to your doctor.
Improve Mobility and Flexibility
Physical therapy isn’t all about injuries, it’s also about getting your body to the best state it could be in. Because of the way work culture is in many of the world’s nations, a large majority of workers are sitting at desks for long hours every day.
Sitting at 90Β° isn’t exactly the best for your health. Not only does your body get used to it, making it harder to move through other seating positions, but it decreases muscle flexibility and mobility.
Flexibility is essentially how far your muscles can stretch without tearing. It’s not necessary to be extremely flexible, but having some degree of it can help prevent injuries. Mobility is how fluid your joints can move through an active motion.
Both, alongside strength, are necessary to living a healthy lifestyle. Going to physical therapy, you’ll be taught numerous ways to improve both.
Can Help With (Or Even Eliminate) Pain!
Pain comes as a result of many factors. The best way to identify the cause of your specific pain is to talk with a primary care physician and go from there.
If the pain is manageable, your doctor should be recommending you to visit a physical therapist. Pain medication works and shouldn’t be chastised, but it is often a temporary fix. Going to physical therapy can help reduce or even get rid of pain permanently!
Other Physical Therapy Benefits
Not convinced yet? Here are some more ways that physical therapy can help you:
- Aids in stroke recovery
- Helps manage chronic conditions
- Improves balance which reduces as you age
- Very good for women’s health, especially during pregnancy
- Prevent the need for surgery
Some cases have shown that physical therapy can even help with vascular o and lung health.
Living Your Healthiest Life
Having an active body is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle. Staying sedentary too long or neglecting proper treatment for injuries will only do more harm than good. One of the ways to eliminate this is to invest in physical therapy!
Listed in this article were just a few of the many physical therapy benefits. If you’re interested in learning more about what you can do for your body, please visit the sports section of our blog.
