Benefits of Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can be beneficial for a wide array of individuals of all ages. Whether you’re recovering from a recent injury or dealing with chronic pain, physical therapy can help you alleviate pain and get back to doing the things you love most. Learn more about some of the benefits of physical therapy and see why you should request a physical therapy appointment at a nearby PT clinic to get treatment for your aches and pains.

What is Physical Therapy?

Physical therapy (or physiotherapy) is a treatment method performed by physical therapists that is designed to help address and relieve pain, manage chronic conditions, improve mobility, improve strength, improve physical function, and to prevent future injuries. Physical therapists are movement experts that use manual therapy techniques and equipment to evaluate, diagnose, and then treat patients with individualized care tailored specifically to their unique needs and treatment goals.

11 Key Benefits of Physical Therapy

There are a multitude of benefits for individuals who utilize physical therapy. Take a look at some of the many benefits and see how physical therapy can help you.

Recover From Injuries

One of the main benefits of physical therapy is the focus on recovering from an injury. Physical therapists will work with you to help you recover from a recently sustained injury. Part of getting back to your pre-injury self is making sure that you take steps to rehabilitate properly. Even the smallest of injuries can turn into chronic pain if left untreated. Physical therapists will work with you to reduce the pain you experience, restore mobility, and rebuild strength to help get you back to where you were pre-injury. In addition, physical therapy can also be beneficial for reducing the chances of aggravating a recent injury. Physical therapy is a beneficial treatment option for identifying activities or movements that may aggravate symptoms and can help you identify alternative activities or movements to reduce the likelihood of aggravating a prior injury.

Reduce the Likelihood of Future Injuries

Physical therapy is also beneficial for reducing the likelihood of future injuries. Many injuries can occur from underlying issues that haven’t been addressed properly. Physical therapists will work with you to identify underlying deficiencies or areas of concern to help you address them over time and reduce the likelihood of future injuries from occurring.

Reduce Pain

Another key benefit of physical therapy is that it is an effective treatment method for reducing and alleviating pain. Physical therapy can be used to address both acute and chronic pain. Through a combination of manual therapy techniques and equipment, your physical therapist will work with you to address the underlying issue causing your pain and work to help you manage it over time.

Reduce the Need for Prescription Drugs

Reducing pain through the use of physical therapy also has many other associated benefits, including the reduction in the need for prescription drugs. The use of prescription drugs to manage your pain can be expensive, and physical therapy can help to reduce the need for those prescription drugs. Physical therapy can be a beneficial treatment option for those who are experiencing significant pain and are looking for alternative methods to alleviate their pain without the use of opioids or prescription drugs.

Avoid Surgery

In many cases, physical therapy can also be a viable option to help individuals avoid costly surgeries. For cases where surgery is an elective procedure, physical therapy can be an effective option for addressing the underlying issue and working to improve the condition through less invasive measures.

Shorten Post-Surgery Recovery

Through the use of prehab physical therapy, PT can also help improve post-surgery outcomes and shorten recovery times. Prehabilitation physical therapy is rapidly becoming an important component of a successful surgery outcome for those individuals who do need surgery. Prehab PT can help educate individuals on movements and activities they’ll do after their surgery to help get them up to speed faster after their surgery. Some of the key benefits of prehab physical therapy include helping individuals build muscle and cardiovascular strength, educating about what the recovery process might look like, boosting mental health and improving confidence in the recovery process, and educating about steps the patient can take to be an active member in their care post-surgery.

Manage Common Conditions

Physical therapy is a beneficial treatment option for managing common musculoskeletal conditions. Some of the most common conditions are head pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, wrist pain, elbow pain, lower back pain, abdomen pain, pelvis pain, hip pain, knee pain, foot pain, and ankle pain. Physical therapy can also be beneficial for neurologic conditions, arthritis, cardiopulmonary conditions, and much more.

Improve Mobility, Coordination, and Strength

Chronic pain can significantly limit one’s ability to move with confidence or an injury may have made it difficult to perform certain movements or activities. Physical therapy can be an effective treatment option for helping individuals restore function, improve their mobility, coordination, and strength. Your physical therapist will work with you to address underlying movement issues and help you build your confidence in performing everyday activities.

Education for a Healthier Lifestyle

Your physical therapist will also play a vital role in providing education on things that you can do to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

Improve Overall Quality of Life

Physical therapy is also an effective way to improve your overall quality of life. You don’t need to live with pain and physical therapy can help get you on the pathway to feeling better through effective pain relief techniques.

Tailored Treatment Plans

Another benefit to physical therapy is that each treatment plan is tailored to the patient and their unique goals throughout their plan of care. Your physical therapist will work with you to implement a personalized plan that is designed to address the underlying cause of your pain and help you work to improve underlying weaknesses, mobility challenges, or other dysfunction and improve your activity tolerance and overall function. This tailored treatment plan ensures that you will have a targeted and effective recovery specifically for your recovery needs and goals.

Gain the Benefits of Physical Therapy – Request an Appointment

There is no shortage of benefits of physical therapy for individuals of all ages and activity levels. Physical therapy can be beneficial for individuals who are looking to alleviate pain, recover from a recent injury, or build their confidence in their ability to perform everyday activities. Request an appointment today at a physical therapy clinic near you to see how physical therapy can benefit you!

1. “The Physical Therapy Profession.” American Physical Therapy Association, APTA, www.apta.org/contentassets/5a330c03bbe24a999608030270ced59c/physical-therapy-overview-high-early-college.pdf. Accessed 26 Dec. 2023.
2. Shakya, Pawan, and Sagar Poudel. “Prehabilitation in Patients before Major Surgery: A Review Article.” JNMA; Journal of the Nepal Medical Association, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Oct. 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9924929/.