by Rozy Andrew
If you have been experiencing debilitating pain in your back for over three months now, then you shouldn’t rely on home remedies anymore because it could be stemming from underlying illness. Pain that lasts over three months is known as chronic pain, which can occur due to problems like arthritis, osteoporosis, ruptured disks, and ligament strain, etc., so it’s essential to seek professional help.
You can’t afford to ignore a pain that results from a severe health condition. And if you do that, you will have to face its consequences later on in your life. Seeking physical therapy at the right time can reduce your back pain tremendously.
According to Rebound Rehabilitation, “Chronic pain is not only a physical condition as it can also take a toll on your emotional health and well-being. It affects every part of your life, keeping you from enjoying your daily physical activities. Fortunately, physical therapy has been clinically proven to improve your body’s ability to function without pain.”
Long-term back pain can lead to psychological distress, which can diminish the quality of your life in a big way. Since chronic back pain reduces your concentration level, you fail to achieve any task effectively, which leads to stress, anxiety, and depression.
However, if you consult a physical therapist, you can see a world of difference in your health. Physical therapy techniques will not only reduce your pain, but will also help in relieving stress, anxiety, and depression. However, not everyone is aware of the kind of benefits that physical therapy provides. Even today, when physical therapy clinics are mushrooming across the world, a wide range of people with sports injuries and chronic illnesses still opt for surgeries over physical therapy, when it comes to managing the pain.
Since people think that surgery can help them recover from their problem quickly, they prefer it over physical therapy. However, they fail to notice the fact that it takes a lot of time to recover from surgery.
Sometimes, patients with chronic pain and injuries also ignore the instruction of their doctor, who asks them to consult a physical therapist – just because they believe that physical therapy is not that helpful.
So, if you are also one among them, here is why you should opt for physical therapy for chronic pain.
Addressing the Underlying Cause of the Pain
When you consult a doctor for relieving your pain immediately, they often give painkillers – which subside your pain temporarily. It means it doesn’t offer a permanent solution to you. However, when you consult a physical therapist, they focus on determining the primary source of your pain.
Apart from that, they also conduct a detailed evaluation of your musculoskeletal fitness. The physical therapist examines your range of motion and refers to your medical history, to get a comprehensive idea of your problem. And once they arrive at a reliable diagnosis, they create a personalized care plan to heal your pain.
By addressing the actual cause of the pain, physical therapy offers a permanent solution to your problem.
Avoiding Surgery
It’s true that you can’t always be successful in avoiding surgeries when it comes to healing injuries and illnesses. However, it is equally correct that if you seek physical therapy at the right time, you won’t always feel the need for surgery. Yes, it’s all about timing.
For example, if you consult a physical therapist shortly after you start experiencing pain in your back, they will create a unique care plan to address its cause. Physical therapy will reduce your pain and speed up the healing process, thus eliminating your chance of requiring surgery. In other words, since it plays a crucial role in preventing the inflammation from worsening, it eventually eliminates the need for surgery.
Apart from that, if you are someone who already had surgery, you can still seek physical therapy to shorten your recovery period.
Boosting Posture
Back pain can also result from poor posture; therefore, you should always focus on keeping your spine in good health. A physical therapist can teach you poster-boosting exercises, which can ultimately help in minimizing the stress on your spine thereby reducing your back pain.
Poor posture also increases the risk of nerve constriction, cardiovascular disease, and poor digestion, apart from back pain. Therefore, if you slouch while walking, sitting, and standing, you should consult a physical therapist right away.
Improving Flexibility & Mobility
There is little doubt that chronic pain that stems from an injury or illness affects your both your mobility and flexibility. And reduced mobility and flexibility prevent you from carrying out the activities of daily living with ease. However, when you seek physical therapy, your therapist will include therapeutic exercises in your care plan to strengthen the ability of your body to carry out physical activities.
In short, therapeutic exercises help in increasing your flexibility and range of motion, which makes it easier for you to get back to your normal life.
Preventing Injury
If you are someone who leads a physically active lifestyle, it’s essential for you to have strong muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints; otherwise, you will end up injuring your body frequently. In other words, people with poor muscle, joint, and bone health receive injuries frequently, so it’s essential for them to work on their fitness. The best way to do that is to seek physical therapy services.
Your physical therapist will include techniques like massage therapy, manual therapy, and therapeutic exercises to improve your overall fitness.
Lastly, if you believe that your body is your most prized possession, you should seek professional help immediately the moment you start experiencing pain and discomfort.