5 Signs That You Can Benefit From Physical Therapy
Over 36% of physical therapy patients are seniors.
As you get older, doing the same physical activities you’ve always done exacts more of a toll on your body. If you’ve dealt with a particular injury in the past or you’ve recently had a fall, recovering might be more difficult.
Your ability to heal and get back on your feet is important for your ongoing wellness. For this reason, it can be highly beneficial to work with a physical therapist.
Today, we’re going to give you some important information about physical therapy and tell you 5 signs that you might benefit from it. The benefits of physical therapy are numerous, so keep reading and you’ll understand why this is an avenue to investigate for helping with your physical struggles.
1. You’re Feeling the Pain After a Minor Injury
When you’re young, your ability to heal after small injuries is seemingly miraculous. In a few days, you’re basically back to normal with a full range of motion and almost no residual pain. That’s simply not the case when you get a bit older.
Even injuries that seem like nothing at first can have long-lasting repercussions for seniors. A rolled ankle or a light fall that results in ongoing pain is a telltale sign that you should seek physical therapy.
A home care physical therapist will come to you and get to the root of the pain. After assessing your injury, they’ll work with you on exercises to help make the pain go away without adjusting your lifestyle.
Just because you don’t end up in the emergency room doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek help for an injury. One of the benefits of physical therapy is that it can relieve pain symptoms in a natural, non-invasive way.
2. Recurring Pain
There’s pain that comes as a direct result of an injury, and there’s unexplainable pain that crops up time and time again. Recurring pain, however dull it may be, is a sign that something’s wrong and should be dealt with by a physical therapist.
For example, recurring headaches are often a sign that you’ve got a pinched nerve in the neck or back tension. A physical therapist will be able to feel around, work out any kinks, and develop a stretching routine to eliminate the issues that could be causing the headaches.
Back and neck pain is extremely common among older adults, with 65 million Americans claiming a recent episode of back pain. It’s easy to wrench your back, whether it’s from poor seated posture or the way you lifted a heavy object. Again, physical therapy can target problem areas and work the pain out.
3. Stiff Joints
Your range of motion tends to shrink with age. This is often due to your joints becoming stiff, unstable, and/or weak due to overuse or underuse. The root of this issue could be anything from arthritis to the long-term effects of an injury you suffered many years ago.
Whether you’re dealing with joint pain or stiffness, it’s important to have it dealt with so you can stay active. When it’s difficult to move around, you’re going to avoid certain activities and your quality of life is going to suffer. It’s so important to stay active when you’re older to promote heart, brain, and bodily health and wellness.
The longer you let joint issues control your life, the worse they’ll become. Now, you don’t want to deal with joint replacement of any kind, so it’s best to hire a physical therapist. Working with you, they’ll create a regimen of exercises to help you regain your range of motion.
One of the biggest physical therapy benefits is how it can increase the longevity of your joints through manual therapy and other non-invasive methods. With healthy joints, you’ll be free to move around and experience all of the wellness benefits that come with exercise.
4. Your Mobility and Balance Are Off
The symptoms of vertigo can be absolutely terrifying. When the room starts spinning, the likelihood of losing your balance and severely injuring yourself goes way up. If this ever happens, it’s essential that you contact a doctor or physical therapist immediately.
Physical therapists understand how to diagnose and treat conditions like vertigo. There are a number of treatments designed to alleviate the troubling symptoms. In many cases, they can be taught so that you or a loved one can perform them in emergencies.
Vertigo isn’t the only cause of balance issues. Things like nerve damage or the effects of diabetes can cause you to lose feeling in your limbs, which results in a loss of balance. Your physical therapist can improve motor control, balance, and coordination to help lower any risks involved with being active.
5. Your Home Isn’t Suitable Anymore
Over a quarter of Americans over 65 experience falls each year. Whether you’ve had one or not, it’s something that’s on the minds of seniors everywhere, especially those that experience some of the other issues we’ve discussed here.
Maintaining independence is a major priority for most seniors. If your home poses too many risks, however, it’s only a matter of time before you experience a fall. When you hire a physical therapist, part of their home care duties is to perform a fall risk assessment on your home.
Our staff is specially trained to recognize safety hazards and fall risks in our clients’ homes. Your in-home safety is always our number one priority, so if your home does have hazards, we’ll make recommendations for improvements that can improve your overall safety.
Is It Time for Physical Therapy?
If any of these signs apply to you, it might be time to consider physical therapy from Med1Care. For over 2 decades, we’ve been a trusted provider of home care services in Ohio because of our highly-trained and compassionate staff.
To learn more about the benefits of physical therapy and the services we provide, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today to talk about your home care needs.
