When you’re dealing with bodily pain that just doesn’t go away, what is your #1 go-to remedy? Do you pop an over-the-counter pain pill, or call your primary care provider for a prescription refill? Or do you crack open the old phone book and search for a physical therapist near you?
Austin Manual Therapy is hoping your answer was the latter, but on the chance that it’s not, our clinic in Austin, TX has put together 10 reasons why physical therapy is beneficial for people in need of pain relief.
Keep reading to learn more about all of the awesome benefits therapy in Austin, TX has to offer, from improved health to decreased levels of stress, and give us a call when you’re finished to schedule an appointment!
1. Physical therapy decreases stress on your nerves and muscles.
If your body is unable to maintain its natural balance, support, and symmetry, it is sure that chronic pain conditions will follow. That’s because to preserve healthy posture and musculoskeletal alignment, your spinal column needs adequate support from major muscle groups.
A physical therapist may prescribe exercises to strengthen the muscles of your back and neck, give much-needed support to your spine, and ease the strain on those tissues. Improvements in your posture can help relieve neurological pain by removing pressure from the nerves.
2. Physical therapy improves joint mobility.
You may be surprised to hear a physical therapist suggest walking as a way to get pain relief, especially if you experience paralysis of the osteoarthritis of your knees or hips. But walking will also help alleviate chronic articular pain and help arthritis move more freely!
3. Physical therapy can help improve chronic inflammation.
Inflammation occurs as part of your immune system’s natural response to disease or injury. Many kinds of chronic pain are inflammatory in nature or origin.
Certain white blood cells and proteins trigger inflammatory processes even as they’re fighting to help protect tissues. But your body also has a process for suppressing the production of these substances, called “sympatho adrenergic activation.”
Physical therapy exercises can trigger the release of this substance and help your body get rid of accumulated inflammatory substances by boosting your circulation. Massage, heat, cold, and laser therapy all increase blood flow to inflamed tissues. This allows the tissues to expel toxins that cause or worsen your inflammation.
4. Physical therapy can help you avoid taking addictive medications.
Prescription opioids may seem harmless the first couple of times you use them to help get rid of nagging pain, however, they’re highly addictive and can pose the threat of overdose as well. Physical therapists teach you how to manage (and even eliminate) your pain in a safe, healthy, drug-free manner, so you can toss the pills from your medicine cabinet once and for all.
5. Physical therapy can improve your quality of sleep.
Nothing is better than actually being tired at bedtime and getting a full night’s rest with no interruptions, tossing and turning, or waking up from pain at 3 am. If the idea of being well-rested doesn’t improve your mood, we’re pretty sure nothing will.
Physical therapy at Austin Manual Therapy can help you to ease stress and tension in your body that could be the culprit behind you not getting the right amount of rest your body needs!
6. Physical therapy can help you understand pain, and experience way less of it.
Ever heard of “neuroscience?” It’s the scientific study of the nervous system. Many physical therapists offer pain therapy education and will make it a priority to not only treat their patient’s pain condition but also educate them (in an easy-to-understand method) about what is happening in their bodies to make them experience pain.
7. If you’re dealing with depression or anxiety, physical therapy could help.
Physical therapy is no substitute for the care of a mental health professional, however, it can certainly supplement your other treatments! Getting more activity releases endorphins, or those “feel-good” emotions that everyone talks about after exercising! If you’re experiencing pain as a result of stress or mental overload in your life, contact Austin Manual Therapy for a comprehensive evaluation.
8. Therapy can improve your posture.
Sometimes physical therapists employ massage in a patient’s treatment. Massage helps bring your body into an optimal place of alignment, which can naturally improve your posture. Better posture also has multiple benefits for athletes. When you maintain a proper posture, your body can move at its peak at all times — which means you’ll be playing your sport with a bit of a natural advantage built in!
9. Got a surgery on the books? Physical therapy can prepare your body beforehand.
Going into surgery as strongly as possible also reduces the risk of surgical complications. Pre-surgical rehabilitation, or “pre-hab,” as it’s been coined, can effectively “tune-up” your body so that you go into your procedure with greater strength, endurance, and stamina.
Plus, a pre-operative physical therapy session or two can also give you a chance to practice the post-operative exercises you’ll be expected to do during your rehabilitation, learn how to move with any new weight-bearing precautions or mobility restrictions you’ll have after surgery, and overall make you a better educated and more well-informed patient!
10. You might be able to avoid surgery altogether.
This is not promised, so don’t hold your breath, however, there is a chance that you could avoid having a pricey surgery by turning to a PT for care instead. Many patients find that after regularly visiting a physical therapist, they experience less pain and discomfort, and no longer require extensive, expensive surgery. Of course, this is something you’ll need to discuss with your doctor beforehand, but it’s worth having a conversation about!
Call our clinic today
Nobody wants to live in discomfort, constantly dealing with random aches and pains. With the help of a physical therapist at Austin Manual Therapy in Austin, TX you don’t have to.
Call our office today to schedule an appointment with one of our therapists, and let us show you all the ways that a customized physical therapy treatment could benefit you.
