Discover the Benefits of Physical Therapy for Chronic Pain
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who experiences chronic pain, you are likely to agree that living with the condition is frustrating. While you may have better days than others, there are a number of different treatment options available that can make your good days outweigh your bad ones. One of the best ways to treat and manage your chronic pain, without resorting to potentially addictive medication or invasive medical procedures, is with physical therapy interventions.
Physical therapy can treat your chronic pain using a variety of tools and techniques. Not only do physical therapists have the knowledge and expertise to treat pain but we can also identify and treat the source. Our personalized treatment plans can help strengthen your muscles and joints and we can also educate you on the best ways to move and perform daily activities in a particular way that doesn’t aggravate your condition or put you at risk of acquiring new injuries. Additionally, the effectiveness of physical therapy can even have an impact on your central nervous system, training it to be less sensitive to the pain signals your body transmits. Eliminate your chronic pain and keep it from coming back, by working with a physical therapist today.
How Physical Therapy Can Help Improve Your Chronic Pain
Are you at a point where chronic pain is interfering with your ability to carry on with work or preventing you from enjoying time with the family? If so, it may be time to consider physical therapy. If you’ve tried everything to manage your pain and are wondering how physical therapy can help, read on to learn more about how this type of treatment can benefit you:
- Personalized Programs: Chronic pain can be caused by a number of different factors. That’s why it’s important to follow a treatment plan that is just right for you. A physical therapist usually performs a physical evaluation to determine your capabilities and how chronic pain impacts your life. A physical therapist will also discuss what your treatment goals are and how you want to better manage your pain. Using this information, your physical therapist can develop a therapy program that is suitable to your specific case.
- Passive and Active Treatments: Physical therapy encompasses both passive and active treatments. Passive treatments, such as deep tissue massage or hot and cold therapies, are those that don’t involve you to participate and are specifically designed to help your mind and body relax. While you may start your treatment program with passive treatments, the goal is to eventually engage you in more active treatments. Active treatments can include strength and flexibility training, core stability exercises and exercises that improve your range of motion.
- Reduces Physical and Mental Stress: Physical therapy gives you the necessary tools and techniques to encourage a habit of regular exercise. Exercising can reduce your stress levels by reducing the amount of cortisol in your bloodstream. By reducing the amount of stress you experience on a daily basis, you can reduce pain by helping to break the cycle of stress-associated pain with physical therapy exercises.
- Builds Your Confidence: One of the goals of physical therapy is to help you become less fearful of movement. Learning how to exercise safely and properly can help you build confidence in your own abilities and allow you to feel more in control of your body and its reactions. Therefore, restoring your confidence through therapeutic exercise can help significantly improve your quality of life.
Since there are several different treatment options available for chronic pain, it may take some trial and error to find the best one for you. However, physical therapy has been shown to help individuals living with chronic pain, improve overall function while simultaneously decreasing or eliminating pain. At Medical Rehabilitation Centers of Pennsylvania, our licensed physical therapists offer you their knowledge and expertise to provide you with high-quality physical therapy services to meet your rehabilitation needs. Our comprehensive and multidimensional evaluations can help us determine the source of your pain, so you can receive a targeted treatment program featuring various therapeutic strategies to help treat and manage your specific condition. If you are one of the many individuals who have chronic pain, don’t give up. With the right physical therapy treatment, you can be well on your way to enjoying a life free from pain.
To book an appointment with our licensed physical therapists, contact us at the location of your choice, or complete our online form and our team will get back to you at the earliest.