5 Benefits of Physical Therapy

Whether you’re injured and looking for treatment options or recovering from orthopedic surgery, physical therapy is a great option for optimal healing and recovery. And while healing is the primary goal, of course, physical therapy brings a range of other benefits that you may not even realize.

The certified orthopedic surgeons at Peninsula Orthopedic Associates, located in Daly City California, realize the importance of physical therapy in the recovery of your orthopedic conditions. That’s why they opened a rehab clinic for their practice to make getting better easier and more convenient for their patients.

Physical therapy: What is it?

Physical therapy is a conservative treatment that helps your body heal from underlying physical conditions. It involves specific exercises and muscle-strengthening techniques to facilitate optimal movement and healing.

Physical therapists work with you and our orthopedic surgeons to come up with a comprehensive treatment plan to strengthen your body in ways that other treatments can't and get you back on your feet.

The main goal of therapy is promoting movement and improved function to parts of the body that may be affected by age, injury, and disease.

Reasons you might need physical therapy

There are so many reasons that you may be in need of physical therapy. There are the obvious causes, such as recovering from an orthopedic surgical procedure or to regain mobility and function after an accident or injury.

However, there are many other reasons that you may want to look into physical therapy, such as:

• Osteoarthritis
• Sports injuries
• Repetition injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome or tennis elbow
• Musculoskeletal conditions.

Other less common scenarios for physical therapy include conditions you may not immediately consider, such as cerebral palsy, cardiopulmonary problems, and pelvic floor dysfunction in women.

Physical therapy has emerged as a powerful tool to improve the body's ability to heal and recover from an array of health problems that may plague you.

Benefits of physical therapy

Besides avoiding surgery, physical therapy brings a multitude of benefits. They include:

Reducing pain

Chronic pain can cause you a lot of frustration and distress. Therapy can help mobilize your joints and soft tissue, sometimes completely eliminating pain and discomfort.

Improving mobility and balance

Physical therapists can focus treatment on the area of injury or recent surgery to help improve muscle strength, which in turn helps with making that part of the body more mobile. This also improves balance because of increased muscle tone.

Preventing injuries and falls

Being injured or recovering from surgery can put you at risk for falls due to decreased mobility and range of motion. Your physical therapist works not only to strengthen the problem area, but to improve your overall movement.

Manage age-related problems

It's no secret that as people get older, their joints begin to break down from wear and tear. Conditions such as arthritis can affect your ability to get around as well as you once could. Therapy can reduce the pain from these conditions and improve your range of motion.

Lessen the need for surgery

You can reduce the need for invasive operations by listening to your body, and trying to heal your condition from the inside out. When you and your physical therapist find a good plan, it’s likely that with time the pain and discomfort will subside.

Physical therapy may be a great option if you’re suffering from an injury or age-related condition that isn’t getting better with other conservative treatments. Rather than another more invasive treatment, physical therapy may be just the option you’ve been looking for.

If you’re ready to get started with physical therapy, call one of our four locations to set up a consultation, or you can use our convenient online booking feature. You can also send a message to the Peninsula Orthopedic Associates team here on our website.